Mortar Mayhem

Great job for your first jam! This is a foundation for a great game. I think if I were to develop this idea more, the question I'd ask myself is what do I want the game to be about. Not in a story sense, but in a gameplay sense. Is the game about predicting canon trajectories or tactically upgrading your defenses? From there, figure out the simplest way to make the game more interesting in that way. Maybe diffent ships move faster, have different, hitboxes, etc. Or there are different cannon types and stats or whatever. The point is that this is a great jumping off point, now you need to make some choices from a design perspective that make this into a really unique and fun game.

Ok, so this was a ton of fun. It feels a lot like an idle/clicker game in the best ways. Having the upgrades just automatically apply at regular intervals worked really well. The art was simple, but all worked well together and had a nice aesthetic. For you're first jam, this was a spectacular entry. Looking forward to seeing your future work!

The click to charge style of shooting feels very good. I used to play a lot of those kind of browser games back in the day of browser games and this felt a little nostalgic for me! But I must say that the game starts up too slow and the initial shooting power feels very lackluster, but once you get a couple of upgrades it starts to feel fun.

I like how most things are animated even if the animation serves no function other than make the world look lively, for example the palm tree and the flag waving in the wind.

I feel like you've got the foundations of a fun game here, I wish there was a bit more fiting distance and I got over 500 points but I didn't know how to upgrade my fort or if it did it automatically, but these are small quality of life improvements - if you keep building on this post-jam then you've already got great foundations to build from with the subtle animations and effects you've got going here - good entry :)

Fun game. The shooting felt nice, and I liked the driftwood that came out of the ships. The variety of upgrades was also cool, and them being random always kept me on my toes.

The game is a little repetitive, though-- I think having more varied enemy types (maybe that shoot back, or airships that fly above?) could have gone a long way. Not bad at all for the time limit, though. Nice work!

Fun little game. Good job~

Early I found that the shots felt too short compared to when ships would come into range, it resulted in some unnecessary waiting. As it went on, it went from easy early to really easy later. Something to scale up larger ships a bit more on that front, or even increasing boat speed with time would help.

I really love the fact that ships leave boards in the water as you sink them, really makes the act of sinking them more impactful.

Fun game, I liked the mortar mechanics. Artwork and sound was nice too.

Hi, I'd like to report you for false advertising, because this is, in fact, a great game. I love the subtle animations in the graphics (the tower's flag, the palm tree, the ships' sails, and even the ships themselves rocking back and forth), and the sound effects fit perfectly. The upgrades are well-spaced and rewarding - when I finally got a range upgrade I went AWWW YEH! My only possible gripe is that the difficulty could use a bit of rebalancing - eventually I became nigh-invincible, and only died because I stopped trying - but you have the framework for something fantastic here. You should be proud of yourself!

Honestly really nice game for your first jam! I love going through game jam games and playing entries and it's always cool to see what people come up with. I think the games that cause me the most pain are those that feel frustrating to play even if the concept is cool. I never felt that once with your game. It's easy to get into and play, the controls are responsive. It isn't annoying to get into and play. Think that made it have a really nice solid foundation and I exited the game feeling "Yeah that was neat!" Rather than feeling "Oh thank goodness it's over."

Lots of really cool ways to expand this.

Some suggestions: I think a bar to show the strength of the tower shooting would feel better than seeing the small red line on the gun. It was pretty small so harder to see. Think it's fine having it on the gun but maybe expanding it a little to be easier on the eyes.

Small issue I had was after awhile, you're strong enough to basically kill ships off screen. I was able to keep that up indefinitely. I upgraded the fort a few times too but after the first upgrade, wasn't sure what the difference is. Noticed the first upgrade added a gun. Subsequent ones, not too sure.

Nice work!

Nice little game! I had fun learning the power and range of the cannon to best hit the ships. I thought the power ups felt good, I was excited when I was able to shoot a lot further and one shot the ships. The first upgrade for the double cannons was also cool but I became so effective at killing the ships that I could spawn kill them. I think this is a great first entry with a good foundation that a lot more could be added to.

I noticed in your description, profile, etc. you getting down on yourself and your game, but honestly I think you should be very proud with what you have accomplished in 48 hours. These jams are a great place to learn and grow as a game designer and it takes courage to put a game out there especially when you are still learning. I hope to see you submit more games in the future and welcome to GM48!

This was a pretty well-made game for your first jam. You did a good job. The game just needed... more. Which is a good place to be. That means all you need to do is add onto a good concept. Levels where they attack from multiple directions, new kinds of weapons, other enemy types, upgrade trees, etc. This is a solid entry, and it could turn into a pretty good full game if given the proper time.