CRUMBLETOWER is a tough-as-nails roguelike about getting down a tower before it crumbles
FEATURES:
Fully procedurally generated terrain
Schmoovement
CONTROLS:
Movement - WASD/ZQSD
Attack in 4 directions - Arrow keys
Fullscreen - ALT + ENTER
CREDITS:
Art - @ArtKaiden https://twitter.com/ArtKaiden
@KaidenTBIO https://twitter.com/KaidenTBIO
Music - Adrien Dittrick https://soundcloud.com/adrien-dittrick
Programming - tfg
Music - @ZenProductions https://twitter.com/ZenProductions
Source code is attached to this entry, and on https://github.com/torontofangirl/gm48_37
TIPS:
The exit to the next floor is always the furthest tile away from the entrance
Knight enemies take more damage based on how much knockback you deal
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Patron
I liked the cutesy graphics and music works here. I tried to play it five times, but time was bit too unforgiving and couldn't beat it ^^" I almost got to the second last level, I managed to kill the enemies, but time run out before I could get to the next floor. So bit of luck and more practice I might beat this game, but time is short and I am trying to play other jam-games too. Good entry :)
SubmittedPapers & Dragons
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Lv. 26
Good work with the opening cutscene, I like how the level aesthetics change as you go further down. The timer feels a little unforgiving since you also have to find the exit in time even after killing all the enemies, but I guess that adds to the hectic vibe.
SubmittedThese Old Bones
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Patron
I like the concept. The difficulty is definitely as tough as described, however it mostly felt hard due to the slippery movement more so than the game actually being difficult.
SubmittedMailbag Tag
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Patron
This is a great concept and an interesting game, there are a few little tweaks here and there that I think could improve it though many of these have already been mentioned - but overall the game was fun, it's just one of those that needs a little tweaking to take it to the next level :)
SubmittedCookies & Cataracts
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Lv. 9
Wow that was one tough game. Not going to lie, I got quite frustrated numerous times but for the most part it was the good kind of frustration. The one that makes you think "I know I can beat this, just one more try!". Despite dying many, many times, I did not want to give in and after nearly 2 hours I finally beat it.
The procedurally generated levels are great. There was never an instance where I felt they got me stuck or anything. Certainly there was a few times where they were the cause of frustration, such as sending me down dead ends when trying to find the exit, but I think it was done very well and was perfect for this sort of game. Gameplay was very fun and the movement very smooth too. I also really liked art and the music. The main level music sort of had a spyro the dragon feel to me for some reason haha.
However there is a lot I think can be improved upon. Just some small changes here and there that could make things a bit easier on the player but still keep a lot of the challenge currently present:
- The HUD is often covering parts of the screen which can then hide enemies or the exit. I think for the tower on the right it would be nice if it shifted over to the left hand side when you are further on the right side of the screen and vice versa. Then for the timer and hearts have them shift to the bottom of the screen when you are towards the top and vice versa.
- The exit can spawn in on top of walls. It's never completely inaccessible however it does mean that you can't always get to it from certain points even though it looks like you can. Sometimes you have to find a corner or side that isn't overlapping a wall and when you're on a timer that can add a bit of unnecessary stress.
- Diagonal attacks would be a welcome addition. Even though your regular attack has a pretty wide range, there were plenty of times when I would've benefitted from being able to attack diagonally.
- Searching for the exit can feel a bit unfair. I think the more difficult part is taking out the enemies, so to manage that only to lose because you couldn't find the exit in time is a bit annoying. You could have the exit spawn in when the level begins but have it closed until all enemies are defeated, that way you could potentially see it while fighting the enemies and know where you need to go when they are all defeated. Alternatively, when the exit spawns in after defeating the enemies, have an arrow or something at the edge of the screen pointing you towards it. You could still end up going down dead ends or something so I don't think this would make it too easy but it would give you some sense of direction which would be helpful.
- The timer feels a bit too quick. I will say the longer I played, the less my game ended because of the timer. But I think It could at least start with some more seconds on the clock. Maybe when the floor changes, the timer could get shorter, with the current timer being the length of time you have on the last levels.
- The knockback on the knights is very unpredictable. Sometimes they go flying and die in one hit, other times they barely move and can quickly come back in to hit you. I couldn't really figure it out and it did cause quite a few deaths for me as I couldn't really plan ahead after hitting them.
- The green knights' bullets seem to ignore invulnerability. At least I think they do. I'll be honest, by the time I reached them I would often die so quick I just couldn't tell. But because i died so quick it often felt like they're bullets had damaged me whilst I was supposed to be invulnerable from either spawning in or taking another hit. Again I'm not 100% on this one but perhaps something to check over.
- The falling blocks can be confusing. You can't really tell if they are blocks waiting to fall, or blocks that have already fallen. It might be better to just have the shadow on the ground and then the block spawns in when it's time to fall. Otherwise it just takes up more space on the screen and can cause you to think a path is blocked off when actually it is still open.
- A retry button after dying would be nice rather than going back to the title screen and having to skip the intro again. Just something to speed things along a bit more.
- It could be good to have a counter of how many enemies remain. Not entirely necessary but just a possible feature to add in so you know how many more enemies are still alive. I did find sometimes that I thought I was about to kill the last enemy only to discover there was another alive somewhere. It didn't really cause any problems but again might just a good feature to have.
- The text on the ending screen goes off screen.
- One time after skipping the intro the game just quit. No error message or anything. It just closed completely and I had to reopen it. I'm quite sure i was only holding Q at the time but maybe I accidently hit another key that could've been used as a Quit Game key during testing. Not sure. Can't really explain this one. It only happened once and I couldn't replicate it but thought it was worth mentioning.
There we go. That's everything I have in terms of things I think could be improved but despite all that, I had a ton of fun with the game in its current state and I was really impressed by it. Would be nice to see more of it in the future.
SubmittedMechon Assault
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Lv. 8
Wow, thanks for all that feedback! I think another person had that same issue with restarting, though there is no restart key for debugging or anything so ¯_(ツ)_/¯. This game definitely needs more polish (we ran out of time at the end) but glad you enjoyed it. Also, ty for taking the time out of your day to complete it!
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Lv. 10
Great graphics, fun gameplay, and impressive procedural terrain!
SubmittedRobots Don't Get Scared
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Lv. 6
Fantastic art! Really impressive. It was a good game, but I think I encountered a bug where after dying, no exit would ever spawn again every time I retried. Really well done though!
SubmittedBreak Ship
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Patron
Super fun - lost a few times right as I touched the stairs which was a bit frustrating but it was a gorgeous game and didn't mind playing a few times :)
SubmittedAeronautical Antidote
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Patron
The procedurally generated terrain was impressive, fun and difficult game
SubmittedSpace Station Meltdown
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Lv. 4
Fun game!! I think the UI covered the stairs up once or twice, when I wasn't full screened so that might be something to complain about, but I enjoyed playing it overall! The AI was a bit silly you could wrangle up a few and just stick em in a corner to deal the damage to them like with the knights, and they had too much damage delay to act. But overall I really liked it, super cool idea that really fits the theme. Only other complaint is dying taking you to the cutscene over and over is a bit frustrating, I would have preffered it take you to the first level?
SubmittedLost In The Fall
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Lv. 4
It's a fun concept and an interesting execution! I'm impressed you were able to get some decent procgen stuff done in a jam timeframe. It's a little bit harsh, damage-wise, it seems far too easy to die, and I actually couldn't find the exit one time, over a handful of attempts... Also the UI covers up a lot of the action. But I like it conceptually and thematically, and I wish I had gotten to play a little farther in. Great work overall
SubmittedRoll & Break
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Lv. 3
The art and the controls for this game are actually good. I think this game suits the theme well. I liked the character and when me and my son booted up the game we went "whooooaaaaa".
My main gripe is that the time limit is way too fast which made me feel like I didn't get to spend time with your game. Which is such a shame because I think it would have been really good if the time limit wasnt that fast.
I could tell that the control scheme is there I like wsad controls teamed up with the arrow keys. I just thought it might be important for you to know as you can see the immediate potential there.
SubmittedNuts and Bolts Bot