GMC Jam Voting GMC Jam 41 Voting Topic - Closes June 22nd

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Evanski

Raccoon Lord
Forum Staff
Moderator




Get the Games:

ALL GAMES + RANDOMISER (300 MB)
this zip folder contains a handy jam game player made by @Alice to help you play & rank the games!
[mirror]

or you can just download individual games from the games topic here:
https://forum.yoyogames.com/index.php?threads/the-fuzzy-gmc-jam-41-games-topic.86229/


Voting Deadline
June 22nd at 12:00 UTC


  • As soon as the Jam ends on May 31st at 12:00 UTC, a zip folder of the games will be created and posted in the voting topic so that players can download all the entries at once if they wish.​
  • Voters will then have around 3 weeks to play and rank the games and voting will close on June 22nd at 12:00 UTC.​
  • Any member of the GMC can vote, even if they didn't enter the jam. You cannot vote for your own entry.​
  • Votes shall be posted in a single post in the voting topic. You may create a post and continue to edit it as you review more games, do not create more than one post for your votes.​
  • Voters are encouraged to rank as many games as possible, and their final votes must include at least their top 3 games.​
  • The top 3 votes must also be accompanied by a short review of why you liked the game and voted for it (any beyond the top 3 do not need a review, but it is nice to have).​
  • Voters can also vote for the best game in each of the following (optional) categories: Best use of theme, best concept, best story, best presentation (gfx/sound) and best devlog (as written in the games topic).​

Voting Template
(optional but helpful)
XYZ'S REVIEWS AND VOTES

1st Place - Game Name by Author Name

I voted for this game because...



2nd Place - Game Name by Author Name

I voted for this game because...



3rd Place - Game Name by Author Name

I voted for this game because...



Best Ofs

Best use of theme: game name by author name

Best concept: game name by author name

Best presentation: game name by author name

Best story: game name by author name

Best devlog: game name by author name



Full Ranking

1. game name by author name

2. game name by author name

3. game name by author name

4. game name by author name

5. game name by author name

6.... etc.
That's all you need to know!
Get playing and voting and enjoy those jam games :)

Boring technical info about how the votes are counted: Entries receive points based on where each voter ranked them, following the formula <BASE SCORE> * <TOTAL VOTES> / (<TOTAL VOTES> - <VOTING AUTHORS>)
For example, with 20 votes:
- the entry whose author didn't vote would have average score of <BASE SCORE> / 20
- the entry with 1 voting author would have average score of <BASE SCORE> / (20-1) = <BASE SCORE> / 19
- the entry with 3 voting authors would have average score of <BASE SCORE> / (20-3) = <BASE SCORE> / 17

More info in the Jams Suggestion topic
Alice shall handle voting for the most part. Alice you are the best!



Live Streams! This is a list of people who have told me that they are planning on streaming their playthroughs of the jam games! I encourage those that want or are wanting to stream the games to do so and also let the community know! Streaming games allows the devs of the games to have play tests of their games and gain useful info about how they can further improve their game dev skills!

 
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Pixel-Team

Master of Pixel-Fu
Reviews

Top 3:

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
A bear and a bomb guy are defending a facility from goblins who want to nuke it. The bear needs to mount the machine gun and shoot the goblins. The bomb guy's job is to defuse the bombs coming along a conveyor belt. The bomb guy also needs to kill anyone who tries to get in the door. The bomb guy falls asleep frequently and the bear needs to get off his gun and slap him awake. What's worse, the bear turns into Dark Phoenix and blows the entire planet if the bomb defuser siren goes off for too long, so the bomb guy needs to hurry up and defuse those bombs with haste. So you got two guys who have to multitask under pressure, and the fate of the world is at stake. I was frustrated in the beginning after playing this, but after several playthroughs, I started to get good. This game has a great premise, really good pixel art and sound, and an interesting game mechanic that keeps the player in a constant state of panic, and it fits the theme perfectly. I enjoyed the crap out of this one. Well done!!

Boom! by Alice
Boom is a top-down puzzle game where you have to form the word BOOM! with the letters B, O, O, and M, each lined up against the exclamation mark tile. Each letter is a controllable character, and has a special talent, and they all have to work together to solve each level. What a unique and original idea. I loved the puzzles and game mechanics. The characters were cute and bouncy. The instructions were clear, and the game as a whole was so cleverly designed and challenging! I did find a rather serious bug on "The Unblockable" level, where if you undo moves after moving some of the metal blocks, the blocks disappear rather than go back to their previous positions, effectively clearing the path for you. Despite the theme not being strongly represented in this game, I feel compelled to score this game high, for sheer innovation. A solid entry for sure!

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
This game is a polished looking puzzle platformer where you have to capture your own shadow using a tesla coil looking device. I really loved the general look and feel of this game, and the steampunk pixel art was exceptional. The little tune that played in the background was pleasant and fitting for a puzzle game where you have to take your time to think things through. I really liked this game, and some of the puzzles had me scratching my head for a long while, until I figured out how simple the solutions were. Excellent job!​

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
Best Concept: There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
Best Presentation: Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
Best Story: Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
Best Devlog: Fish Food by Ezra

Full ranking:

  1. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  2. Boom! by Alice
  3. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  4. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  5. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  6. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  7. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  8. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  9. Fish Food by Ezra
  10. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  11. COLD by Toque
  12. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  13. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  14. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  15. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  16. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  17. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  18. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  19. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  20. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  21. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  22. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  23. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

This game is about a jumping ball trying to get on top of big mistakes. Big letters making up the word Mistake. This game is extremely challenging. If the music wasn't so soothing, I'd have the jitters from stress. This game is very strict on colllisions. I'm still trying to beat it.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

This game is based on a video someone made of an arduino encased inside a box, with a tentacle coming out the top, and the tentacle swings the knife wildly about, and the designer invites anyone to come and turn it off. I really liked this physics game. I found that if I just spin the knife in a clockwise (or counter clockwise motion) I can kill scores and scores of people. Very cool!!!

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

This is my entry. It is my first game that uses Gamemaker Studio's physics. I'm not much of a physics guy, but I found GMS to handle it pretty well, at least for a pinball game. If I work on this game any more, the three things I would add is a pause feature, a level select, and at least one more level.

Boom! by Alice

Boom is a top-down puzzle game where you have to form the word BOOM! with the letters B, O, O, and M, each lined up against the exclamation mark tile. Each letter is a controllable character, and has a special talent, and they all have to work together to solve each level. What a unique and original idea. I loved the puzzles and game mechanics. The characters were cute and bouncy. The instructions were clear, and the game as a whole was so cleverly designed and challenging! I did find a rather serious bug on "The Unblockable" level, where if you undo moves after moving some of the metal blocks, the blocks disappear rather than go back to their previous positions, effectively clearing the path for you. Despite the theme not being strongly represented in this game, I feel compelled to score this game high, for sheer innovation. A solid entry for sure!

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

What can you say about a game where you click a clown face? On one hand, it provided MINUTES of entertainment. Roughly the length of that titlescreen music. On the other hand, you click a clown's face.

COLD by Toque

Cold is an apocalyptic side scrolling platform game where you play a gun wielding trenchcoat wearing protagonist, and piecing together bits of newspaper trying to get back your memory. This is a departure from the comedy games that Toque usually makes, and I thought it was really cool to see a more serious narrative. You have to make your way through each area and shoot mutant creatures. You have to make sure you don't run out of bullets. Little by little you find out the cause of the horrible state of the world. While there was not anything overly innovative as far as game design goes, the gameplay was solid, and the pixel art was well drawn. Another reviewer mentioned the collisions were a bit harsh, and I observed that as well, but it wasn't too bad. I dug the music track for this. It reminded me of a John Carpenter film. The adventure was way too short, and I wish it were longer. The game fit the theme perfectly.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

E.T. 2021 is based on the critically shunned and highly unsuccessful Atari 2600 game that would have singlehandedly destroyed the entire global videogame industry if Nintendo didn't swoop in for the save. The submitted entry for this game crashed upon launch for me, so... matching the fun factor of the original? Check. I did want to download the fixed version of this game, because it would be a shame to at least not see what was done, which I did. Although this game was somewhat ugly to look at, which would put it in the running for ugliest game of the GMC Jam 41 if it weren't for 'I will Win the GMC41 Jam,' I have to say that there are some actual gamey elements going on here that were noteworthy. You get to run around grabbing up Reese's Pieces. But you can't eat them right there on the spot though. This particular E.T. Is the Bourgoise E.T. that needs silverware to eat his Reese's Pieces. So rather than going around finding parts for your phone pieces, you basically have to constantly search for dinnerware so you can feed this little snob his diet of chocolate and peanut butter candy or he'll act like a 2 year old who just got told it's time to leave the toy isle at Walmart, and sit on the floor, refusing to move unless you drag him by his arm. There's an interesting twist if you can actually make it to your ship that reminds you that some things are better left buried in a landfill.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

This was a fun adventure that explained all of the events following Evanski's historic blunder of sleeping in on the first day of the GMC41 he was hosting. I got a kick out of this entry, and there were a couple minor points where you get to interact, but mostly it was like watching a movie. The dialog was witty and well thought out, and I had a couple laughs. And the sounds when the talking took place was excellent, and something I'm wanting to try in the future. Nice job!

Fish Food by Ezra

This is a game where you are a rabbit that has to perform jobs for a load shark to pay his debts, and these come in the form of minigames like memory games, sorting games, etc. I like the art style of the characters. The games, while not too complicated, were definitely challenging, and the game fit the theme.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

Fjootjah Skate is a 3D "skate" simulation, except you're on a hoverboard. You have to skate around a skate park and collect letters, find hidden items, and catch some air in the half pipes. You can zoom if you have enough Hype. I managed to get all the challenges and complete the game. By the way... I really liked the disco song. At the skate park, Bart may be called a poser, but you can't say he's not a good composer.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

This game started pissing me off before I even launched it. First of all it weighs in at 40 megs. If I ever make you spend 40 megs of hard disk space for a gag game, please slap me in the face as hard as you can. So then, it wanted to install an extra thingy in Windows just to play it. After reluctantly agreeing, I run the thing and I hear layer upon layer of the most obnoxious sounds I've ever heard. Soon after that, It lies and says its an MMORPG, then a platformer (if you can call one white box jumping over another box a platformer). I would rather have just the white box platformer than what immediately preceeded it, which was the worst drawing of a person I've ever seen, and the words "Tinky Winky Dipsey Pola" a couple dozen times. Even the end screen had bad grammar. I mean who says "You're winner!"??? And to think I vouched for this game when my virus scan wanted to flag it as malware...
I fully intended to rank this as the worst game not only in the GMC 41 jam, but of all time! Unfortunately I had to disqualify it due to Rick Astly's lawyer showing up at my door wondering how his song got on my computer.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

Right on the heels of Godzilla Vs. Kong comes I, T'kemsa, a monster game where you get to eat people, destroy military vehicles. I was a big fan of Rampage back in the 80's. Seeing buildings get smashed up, people getting eaten, and tearing up the military is super cool, and this game is pretty well executed in each regard. If I were to have any complaints, its that with the mouth beam, you're only allowed to do short bursts, and so I was finding it difficult to hit the planes, particularly when they came at me in groups. Because the beam only came out in bursts, I could only hit 1 plane out of 2, and one of them was guaranteed to get by me. If I could suggest an improvement, I would love to just hold down the beam, and then use the direction controls to control the beam direction. I think Siolfor did an excellent job on this game, and I'm going to keep playing to see if I can see the ending!! ***EDIT*** I finally saw the ending. After spending more time with this game, I do see that Siolfor went to lengths to warn the player about the incoming planes, and this allowed me to anticipate their attacks, and this is what got me to the end. Some part of me was hoping there'd be a battle with another giant monster at the end. Still, this was a polished game. Great job!

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

This game is a pixel platformer with an interesting game mechanic that features a lens that you have to drag around while you are running and jumping on the platforms. The lens has an alternate dimension that changes the scenery, and has to be used in different situations to progress, and also in some ways to protect you. I got all the way to the end, and as Mercerenies says in the afterward, the game just shuts down. I think with sound and a little narrative injected in, this game could have been much higher on my list. I hope to see this game again in a more finished state!!

Magic's Final Stand by The M

This fun little game with a satanic asthetic has you drawing shapes over a pentagram to create magic and fight an onslaught of demonic monsters. I almost felt like I was letting demons into my house just playing this game. Oooh, the chills! What was really cool was how you had to draw different shapes to perform different types of magic, and it recognized the shapes very well. I started to get good after a couple playthroughs. I finally survived until dawn, once I started to fully take advantage of the healing and repel spells. A very good entry here!

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

This game has you helping a mosquito suck the blood out of some poor dude's back. It was an interesting concept for sure. I enjoyed giving this dude tramp stamp tattoos. Not sure how well it fit the theme though. There was only one level, and once you figure out all you have to do is cover the guy's back with the smallest, most detailed tattoo, you'll find most of the vein areas. After that, you get to cover the guy's back and which way, and even overlap tattoos, which was exciting until I ran out of back.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

I am a sucker for pixel games, and Pursuit is a pixel platformer game with a Gameboy Color look and sound. The story centers around getting past mistakes, and has some clever jumping based puzzles to get through. The chiptune music was well done, and I dug that the palettes got changed during the levels. There was an interesting feature that if you didn't read the readme you could miss (I missed it on my first playthrough) where the mouse would control a butterfly, and the butterfly could freeze the bad guys so the player could get past them easier. I had to really think about that last puzzle before the end. I see a lot of potential here, and I think a little more innovation with the puzzles or game mechanics would have pushed this game higher on my list. That said, the game as it stands was enjoyable to play all the way to the end, fit the theme very well. Great job!

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

This is a game where you have to protect the buildings from robot dinosaurs. I found the gameplay rather basic... That is until I got to the level that looked like I was playing Afterburner by Sega. I think this game would have been a little better if there was sound, too. The pixel art was neat though!

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

This game is a polished looking puzzle platformer where you have to capture your own shadow using a tesla coil looking device. I really loved the general look and feel of this game, and the steampunk pixel art was exceptional. The little tune that played in the background was pleasant and fitting for a puzzle game where you have to take your time to think things through. I really liked this game, and some of the puzzles had me scratching my head for a long while, until I figured out how simple the solutions were. Excellent job!

Shroom Boy by Poizen

Shroom boy is a physics platform game where you play a mushroom and you have to get through some very big obstacles. You can run, but when you need to jump, you have to curl up into a little ball and point the arrow in the direction you want to jump, and hold the jump button for strength. Another cool mechanic is that if you jump into moss, you can grab the moss, and then jump off it. Some of the areas required you do do bank shots with the jumping, and I wanted the game to go on and on. This game king of reminded my of an old commodore 64 game I loved as a kid called Bugaboo. This was a charming entry, and had an interesting ending, which I don't want to spoil for you. Very nice entry!!

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Super Ordinary Brothers follows the adventures of a guy who thinks he's Super... But is in fact very human. I definitely got a kick out of this one, even if the experience doesn't last very long. It did fit the theme perfectly. I was really hoping for Super Mario Brothers with GUNS... Perhaps later!

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

The secret and the bread has you as a baker, wielding a baguette as a weapon, fighting off fire creatures on your way to find the King. The graphics were smooth, and the characters well animated. There was a boss fight at the end. I found the fighting mechanic a little frustrating at times. moving the mouse to swing the bread, while easy to do, can also cause you to accidentally move the mouse behind your character, leaving the bad guys to get cheap shots on you. Likewise, if you move the mouse further in front of you to prevent this from happening, you make smaller swings that are not as effective. I would have had the character swing automatically with a mouse-click rather than the shake mechanic. Other than that, the game played well, and definitely fit the theme. Good job!

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

A bear and a bomb guy are defending a facility from goblins who want to nuke it. The bear needs to mount the machine gun and shoot the goblins. The bomb guy's job is to defuse the bombs coming along a conveyor belt. The bomb guy also needs to kill anyone who tries to get in the door. The bomb guy falls asleep frequently and the bear needs to get off his gun and slap him awake. What's worse, the bear turns into Dark Phoenix and blows the entire planet if the bomb defuser siren goes off for too long, so the bomb guy needs to hurry up and defuse those bombs with haste. So you got two guys who have to multitask under pressure, and the fate of the world is at stake. I was frustrated in the beginning after playing this, but after several playthroughs, I started to get good. This game has a great premise, really good pixel art and sound, and an interesting game mechanic that keeps the player in a constant state of panic, and it fits the theme perfectly. I enjoyed the crap out of this one. Well done!!

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

This game was very fun to play, and reminded me of the great Flash Games of the early and mid 2000's. The graphics were crude, but the game made up for it with replayability. Lots of upgrades you can buy, and I must have sunk in a good hour into it. Very addictive!!! Shame on you!

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

This is a puzzle game where you have to get the wheelchair into the door to get to the next highest floor. There's only 5 floors, so this makes for a very short game. I liked how you had to hide the gun from the skate guy, and its these kind of elements that could have made for a larger game if used with more levels. I just think this game should have had some more stuff in it.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

This is a stock market simulator, and a second entry from Mr. Magnus, where the assets being bought and sold are the other games submitted to the GMC Jam 41. The game saves your login on a server!! You can go to the website mentioned in the game, and it will show everyone's holdings. Despite the fact that this "game" didn't fit the theme at all, I spent more time with it than any of the other entries. I was glued to this thing all day long, every day. If I could change anything, I would rather see the stock graphs show price history a little better, perhaps with times added, along with a zoom for the graph, I enjoyed this experience, and salute @mr_magnus for his web development prowess. Maybe he can teach me how to make an online high score table. I'll pay him in Yoyo Coins! I'm rich, BEEYAAAATCH!
 
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Bart

WiseBart
Bart's Reviews

Top 3:

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
This is a very fun entry! A very simple idea but so much fun to play.
The characters are lovely, even the dinosaurs. Some great subtle humour here and there.
I really liked the change in perspective in the Bridge level.
One thing that felt missing was some background music or just some basic sound effects.

Fish Food by Ezra
Overall a very nice entry! Beautiful visuals, a bit of nice voice acting and some fairly hectic background music
Most of the minigames aren't too hard to complete but are fun to play.
Quite a "macabre" situation the main character got himself into though, if you ask me :p
A nice entry and overall very polished

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Overall (and once again) a neat, very polished entry.

The introduction to the game is great to read. And a nice pun with the "utter madness".
It does seem like that same introduction isn't shown anywhere in the game itself?

I played two levels (the only two?) and managed to get a high score of somewhere over 1000000.
I didn't manage to clear the barn so I might have missed an ending.
Also, an original way to use the theme, though not really related to it.

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
Best Concept: Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
Best Presentation: Magic's Final Stand by The M
Best Story: Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
Best Devlog: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

Full ranking:

  1. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  2. Fish Food by Ezra
  3. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  4. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  5. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  6. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  7. Boom! by Alice
  8. COLD by Toque
  9. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  10. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  11. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  12. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  13. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  14. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  15. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  16. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  17. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  18. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  19. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  20. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  21. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  22. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

I wasn't sure what to do here
The jumping doesn't seem to be working properly on slopes. Or is this intended?
I accidentally got to the second level but didn't figure out how to continue from there

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Definitely a very interesting idea and also an intriguing video to start with.
It's a neat concept that I'm sure could be taken further.
Not sure what the link to the theme was, though. Was the invention itself the big mistake?

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

Overall (and once again) a neat, very polished entry.

The introduction to the game is great to read. And a nice pun with the "utter madness".
It does seem like that same introduction isn't shown anywhere in the game itself?

I played two levels (the only two?) and managed to get a high score of somewhere over 1000000.
I didn't manage to clear the barn so I might have missed an ending.
Also, an original way to use the theme, though not really related to it.

Boom! by Alice

I'd love to advance in this game but unfortunately I didn't figure out how to play.
You collect a bomb with any of the letters and that bomb should then go near the exclamation mark, I assume.
Pressing Space doesn't seem to do anything.

Second time playing this entry. So apparently the game objective is explained in the help.
You need to collect the bomb and then create "Boom" with the letters.
Very intriguing puzzle game. Though I didn't make it that far.

I can really appreciate the little details on the letters and their animations.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

A very basic game but I found it fun to play for a moment.
The clown's sound effects are strangely satisfying for some odd reason.

COLD by Toque

What a great atmosphere! The setting is perfect.
Too bad this is such a short entry. I'd love to see more of this!

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

I'd love to try this entry but I get an error:

Code:
___________________________________________
############################################################################################
ERROR in
action number 1
of Create Event
for object objMainController:

Unable to find a handler for exception FHINPUT: fhInputInitialize(): Project Directory #macro setting is not set to a valid directory(or you forgot to turn off the sandbox).
NO CALLSTACK
at gml_Object_objMainController_Create_0
############################################################################################
gml_Object_objMainController_Create_0 (line -1)

I downloaded the version with the fix from itch and tried that.

The sound effects and background music increase immersion a lot. I really like how it helps create an atmosphere and set the game's tone right.
The visuals feel a bit incoherent though all together they make a nice whole.

The FBI agent seemed to be able to catch me but then he suddenly changed direction.
The configurable inputs are definitely nice for someone like me who uses an AZERTY keyboard where WASD should become ZQSD.

I'm not sure if I should rank this entry since the original one crashes on startup. I guess I won't add it to the ranking since, technically, I couldn't get the original entry to run.
I'll include this feedback.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

A nice point and click adventure
I really like the story and how GMC members are in it

Fish Food by Ezra

Overall a very nice entry! Beautiful visuals, a bit of nice voice acting and some fairly hectic background music
Most of the minigames aren't too hard to complete but are fun to play.
Quite a "macabre" situation the main character got himself into though, if you ask me :p
A nice entry and overall very polished

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

A joke game that happened to last longer than expected.
This was fairly entertaining for a while. Though I'm too not sure what it is that I experienced here.
According to what I've read this entry contains copyrighted material so I'm not too sure if I should include it in the ranking

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

I like this game a lot, quite honestly. It's a lot of fun to play, plays smoothly.
I like how T'kemsa is first introduced, in such a way that makes you feel "poor child".
Next thing you see is the adult version that destroys buildings. I really like that transition.
I managed to stay alive until the time ran out but nothing seemed to change. Is there an ending that I missed?

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

I really like the concept behind this game.
The square makes the area that it covers solid. Very interesting.
The visuals are rather basic but they work well enough to convey the idea.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

I played the game to the end.
The gesture recognition is very neat.
There's a nice variety in enemies and spells that you can use.
The background music and the sound effects were particularly good, especially combined with the great visuals.

A candidate for best presentation

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

A very unsettling thought this is.
Great concept.
Some great piano play in the background!

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

"A problem occured when running the entry"
It seems like this is caused because the Jam Player detected this as a potential virus. Going to try that HTML5 version on itch instead.

This is some great platforming. A lovely visual style that reminds of those older GameBoy games.
Seems like art and engine where done before the jam period.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

This is a very fun entry! A very simple idea but so much fun to play.
The characters are lovely, even the dinosaurs. Some great subtle humour here and there.
I really liked the change in perspective in the Bridge level.
One thing that felt missing was some background music or just some basic sound effects.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Beautiful presentation, both the visuals and the music and sound effects.
I finished the first 9 levels and then got stuck in level 10.
Overall this is an interesting concept.

Shroom Boy by Poizen

"A problem occured when running the entry"
It seems like this is caused because the Jam Player detected this as a potential virus.

I downloaded the version from itch and then played it.
I really like the idea of combining the normal movement with the aiming and shooting.
I played for a bit and tried to advance but did give up at one point because of the precision that's required.
It also feels a bit slow to play in my opinion.
Other than that I think this can work well as the basis for an interesting concept that could be expanded upon.

I particularly liked the environment and the colours, those are very satisfying to look at.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

What a nice twist at the end!
I played a second time to see if there was more to it but apparently not
It felt a bit like a joke game

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Interesting idea to attack by "swinging" the mouse.
Nice visuals and a pretty color scheme. And a nice tune that plays in the background.
I got stuck at one point. The arrows pointed to places I couldn't reach, not too sure where I missed something...
Also, a very nice story to introduce you to the game.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

The idea behind this game looks very interesting but there's a bit too much going on at the same time here, for me at least.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

Entry number 2, very nice :)

So for this jam you made two entries of which the goal is essentially to get as much money as possible, by repeating and by buying better things.
Perhaps an idea could be to combine the two entries? Throw a steak into the air and try to reach higher than a specific share's curve (so above the graph at that point). That, in its turn, could affect the stock market in some way. Just an odd idea, though! :p

The visuals are somewhat basic though that really doesn't make a difference for this kind of game.
Lovely sound effects! They contribute a lot to the overall experience in my opinion.
One thing that caught my attention are the controls. Aiming is done with the Space key but in the shop you can only use the mouse.
That seems a bit inconsistent.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

Interesting concept. I think more could be done with this.
I managed to finish the game. The last couple of levels seemed to be very similar, though.
Very nice sound effect when the big mistake message is shown.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

This has been quite the entry if you ask me.

I played this for quite a bit of time. Initially I switched my investments fairly actively but at one point it seemed that I just benefited from the clever investments of the monopolists/duopolists :D

It's been interesting to see what interaction it gives in the community.
With, at the peak, the Kwittr Network even becoming irrelevant and the GMC status updates becoming the main source of information.
That Kwittr Network is great, by the way. The messages that appear there look very authentic.
At one point there were new messages, several of them made me laugh. There's some great humor in those!

EDIT: So now there's a round 2? I'm in! :p

The stock market crashed a couple of times for me at one point:
___________________________________________
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action number 1
of Async Event: HTTP
for object o_networker:

JSON parse error
at gml_Script_updateAfterSellOrder
############################################################################################
gml_Script_updateAfterSellOrder (line -1)
gml_Object_o_networker_Other_62


___________________________________________
############################################################################################
ERROR in
action number 1
of Async Event: HTTP
for object o_networker:

JSON parse error
at gml_Script_anon_network_companies_gml_GlobalScript_scr_newsnet_632_network_companies_gml_GlobalScript_scr_newsnet
############################################################################################
gml_Script_anon_network_companies_gml_GlobalScript_scr_newsnet_632_network_companies_gml_GlobalScript_scr_newsnet (line -1)
gml_Object_o_networker_Other_62
 
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Evanski

Raccoon Lord
Forum Staff
Moderator
YOUR JAM LORDS VOTES


Reviews

Top 3:

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
as always more please!

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
I want to see this as a mobile game or somthing.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
Needs able to run fast. I takemasa!

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
Best Concept: YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
Best Presentation: Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
Best Story: The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Full ranking:

  1. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  2. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  3. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  4. Boom! by Alice
  5. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  6. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  7. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  8. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  9. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  10. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  11. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  12. COLD by Toque
  13. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  14. Fish Food by Ezra
  15. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  16. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  17. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  18. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  19. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  20. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  21. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  22. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  23. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  24. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

fix the hit boxes! please I beg you! over all nice message and enjoy full game, but i wont be playing it again.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

96 is my score, funny game, fun to play, kind of annoying that i need to watch the cutscene at the start every time, all in all really entertaining

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

as always more please!

Boom! by Alice

maybe more polish more levels, i'd like to see where this goes in the future.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

nocturne i expected more from you, its a good game if its trying to be bad

COLD by Toque

very cheaty with enemy placement, few bugs here and there, but over all very enjoyable

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

The game is actually fun to play, and has a lot of challenge to it, the rules are simple
the ai is annoying but thats the point.
even tho I may appear to have the worst time of my life, the game was really fun to play.
that being said E.T should have stayed in the landfill where it belonged.

Fish Food by Ezra

I suck too bad to do this properly, over all very nice and funny game, the failure cutscene was pretty funny also

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

The physics are really cool, once I learned to spam right click instead of holding the game got a load better,
Would recommend using the physics for some 3d pool game

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

no....Was all I was going to say.

First of all it requires Direct play to play
This game is obnoxiously loud.
Everything besides the ms-paint was copyrighted and as such you've broken one of the jam rules



I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

Needs able to run fast. I takemasa!

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

really wish you had that time to polish, very cool idea

Magic's Final Stand by The M

maybe fine tune the drawing as it seemed like it didnt get the right thing i was doing some times.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

Give me a free draw tool, like a paint brush, and more levels! love it.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

its a very fun and challenging platformer, it its really short once you get good at it

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

needs sound effects and music, all in all really cute and short game

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

my only complaints are there was magnus but not me, and you can cheese it a bit with the timing on the shadow machine, other wise solid game!

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Was not expecting this at all, amazing

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

kinda feels clunky to use the mouse as a weapon but thats my personal opinion and the lot of reading is tiering.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

I want to see this as a mobile game or something.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

it has a lot of fun factor, make some more polish and you'd have one of those mobile microtransaction games

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

I feel like there is potential here but it needs to be more fleshed out into a more polished game

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

I love to see some kind of community user base style stock market thats influenced by status pots and topics, really cool idea, but really slow to play
just steal most of if not all from gta v's stock market and it would be really good


Stream
00:21:40 Fjootah Skate @Bart @Xor @TheSnidr
00:50:55 Shadow Bouncer @JordanOttesen
01:15:04 Catch the damn Clown @Nocturne
01:41:38 I, T'kemsa @Siolfor the Jackal
02:06:25 COLD @Toque
02:16:30 A Small Mistake @Ericbomb
03:02:59 E.T 2021 @kburkhart84 (warning very strong language)
04:12:41 Super Ordinary Borthers @Yal
04:22:10 Fish Food @SoapSud39
04:36:25 Lens of the Last Surviving Human @Mercerenies
05:02:01 The Secret and the Bread @Josh Chen @bandman28 @Micah_DS
Stream
00:05:27 YoYoCoin Market @Mr Magnus
00:17:29 Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake
00:57:18 I will win the gmc jam 41 @Cantavanda
01:08:37 Boom! @Alice
02:22:18 A tentacle with a knife! @BreakfastBoy
02:33:17 Robozoic Park @GameDevDan
02:45:43 There is going to be a bomb @Bearman_18
03:07:50 Wheelchair Joyride @Terminator_Pony
03:15:43 Magic's Final Stand @The M
03:27:34 Mosquitattoos @Yozoraki
03:47:09 Shroom boy @Poizen
04:00:16 Pursuit @BluishGreenPro
04:16:11 Big Miss Stake @Pixel-Team
05:26:18 Evanski's Raccoon Adventure @EvanSki
 
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kburkhart84

Firehammer Games
This time around was certainly harder for me to rank things. There weren't too many entries, but so many were good that it wasn't easy. There were 2 joke games, which are at the bottom due to that, though one got BEST STORY.

Reviews

Top 3:

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
That was fun for a few minutes! I also noticed you mentioned using particle illusion. I hadn't seen mention of that one in quite a long time :) Also, the ramp in the upper left corner of Big Miss Steak's table was unfair as it meant instant ball loss anytime you went up it...that sucked.

This got BEST PRESENTATION for me because of all the little details. I liked the display in the upper right...I liked how there were always things happening, sounds going, etc... There were little details like the ball trails. It was basically overall a neat little package.

Magic's Final Stand by The M
You could actually market this as a game meant to train people on drawing tablets, or for something for touch screens specifically, including mobile. I think the concept would work better in such places than with a mouse. I also think there may have been too much variety of things you can do and hardly did anything but raw damage just to get rid of the enemies faster.

Boom! by Alice
Another unique puzzle concept...just when you think all puzzles have been done, here comes another :) Puzzles aren't really my style, but it could certainly be expanded with more levels and mechanics and sold as a casual game.

I gave this one best concept because it is certainly a concept that could be turned into a commercial product, and it is something I have never seen before as far as concepts go. It isn't just that it is unique or that it would be marketable, rather the combination of the two(other entries had one or the other, but not both).

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
Best Concept: Boom! by Alice
Best Presentation: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story: Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
Best Devlog: ...

Full ranking:

  1. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  2. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  3. Boom! by Alice
  4. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  5. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  6. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  7. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  8. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  9. Fish Food by Ezra
  10. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  11. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  12. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  13. COLD by Toque
  14. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  15. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  16. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  17. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  18. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  19. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  20. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  21. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  22. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  23. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  24. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

Interesting, but as you say, fix the hitboxes. :)

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

It was a fun concept...needed more mechanics but you already know that :)

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

That was fun for a few minutes! I also noticed you mentioned using particle illusion. I hadn't seen mention of that one in quite a long time :) Also, the ramp in the upper left corner of Big Miss Steak's table was unfair as it meant instant ball loss anytime you went up it...that sucked.

This got BEST PRESENTATION for me because of all the little details. I liked the display in the upper right...I liked how there were always things happening, sounds going, etc... There were little details like the ball trails. It was basically overall a neat little package.

Boom! by Alice

Another unique puzzle concept...just when you think all puzzles have been done, here comes another :) Puzzles aren't really my style, but it could certainly be expanded with more levels and mechanics and sold as a casual game.

I gave this one best concept because it is certainly a concept that could be turned into a commercial product, and it is something I have never seen before as far as concepts go. It isn't just that it is unique or that it would be marketable, rather the combination of the two(other entries had one or the other, but not both).

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

I know you aren't personally attacking my clowns....but you are attacking my clowns :)

I gotta say it was certainly A BIG MISTAKE making this game if nothing else. I'm aware you went "a few" versions of GM back to make this one happen. Plus, you copied "catch the clown" which is a big no-no. So yes, you followed the theme quite well, even if that following was more real world than the game itself. This is why you get BEST USE OF THEME from me!

COLD by Toque

Honestly it was pretty generic and bland. I added a point for Presentation as the graphics style was good and consistent.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

Narrative and point-n-click stuff isn't really my thing, so this may be lower ranked than it deserves due to bias. I appreciate the effort though.

Fish Food by Ezra

Mini-games... I think remembering the 10 numbers' positions in the grid was pretty hard. The trivia was also not as easy(or simply not forgiving enough).

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

It wasn't obvious to me that you could use multiple boosts, I thought at first you had to wait for the bar to fill up...I randomly did multiple clicks and figured it out. More mechanics would have served this one well.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

GM8.1?!?!?! OK Then. Long loading time must be attributed to those motion graphics! Your joke fails though since you didn't credit the stuff made before the jam :)

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

Neat concept, as is feels like a mobile game. To make a full-fledged release out of it you would need to figure out some more enemies and/or mechanics. You have a good start on something for sure though.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

Unique if nothing else...maybe I just suck but it was pretty hard to coordinate the mouse dragging with the platforming stuff.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

You could actually market this as a game meant to train people on drawing tablets, or for something for touch screens specifically, including mobile. I think the concept would work better in such places than with a mouse. I also think there may have been too much variety of things you can do and hardly did anything but raw damage just to get rid of the enemies faster.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

It was an OK concept, I think one thing that would have helped to really make it more playable would be to be able to remove tattoos. Having to restart the whole thing was quite tedious.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

I gave extra story point from the little quotes thrown around here and there. And the presentation was good, the style was consistent, both graphics and music. It did have that generic platformer feel though. I had to disable my AV to play it though(and pull it out of quarantine :) )

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Felt like it was missing mouse controls...and obviously sound. The bridge level added some much needed variety too though.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Pretty neat concept(similar to some I've seen, but not exact), more mechanics would make it an actual viable casual game.

Shroom Boy by Poizen

Interesting idea...got annoyed by a specific part where the ceiling pushes you back down two launches behind so I quit.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

No rank due to joke game, but me and the daughter certainly got a laugh!

I actually gave you BEST STORY simply because everybody I saw that did your joke game got quite a laugh from that surprise there.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

This reminds me of my entry honestly in certain ways...multiple things happening all at once. Mercerenies had a thing with multiple controls at once, but yours is easier to do since you don't depend on the mouse click-dragging.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

A twist on the physics launching(like Angry Birds) concept. There was a lot of luck involved. I think if there had been any real skill involved once the stake is launched(besides the boosts), maybe something like slowing down or speeding up, then it would have more complexity. I'm not sure how easy that would have been considering the speed the stake flies.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

I actually liked the concept, as a somewhat unique puzzle concept. As is typical of jam games, you were missing more mechanics, levels, etc...

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

I gave you concept points because you made something that can be interesting to the whole community at large. It seems like it would get really stale really quick though.
 
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Toque

Member
I play. I vote. I sleep.

1) Big Miss Steak Pixel-Team
2)I'Tkemsa Siolfor the Jackal
3)Fish Food Ezra



Best theme: ET
Best Presentation Big Miss Steak
Best concept YoYo coin
Best story Evanskis Racoon Adventure


1) Big Miss Steak
2)I ' Tkemsa
3)Fish Food
4)Boom
5)Van Helsings Big Missed Stake
6)Magics final stand
7)Robzoic park
8) There is going to be a bomb
9)Fjootjah Skate
10) Shroom boy
11) ET
12)Evanskis Racoon Adventure
13)Pursuit





A small mistake Ericbomb

A cool idea. Jumping to get on top of big mistakes. I found it pretty challenging but it was fun. Could use a bit more polish and work but good job.


A Tentacle with a Knife Breakfast Boy

Love the inspiration and the idea. Very creative. Swinging a knife around. I liked it.

Big Miss Steak Pixel Team

Pinball games are not easy to really get right. This one is pretty good especially for a jam game. The theme was pretty cool. Art and sounds were right on. Perhaps my top pick but will see how he dust settles.


Boom by Alice

Puzzle games are not my favourite but man this one was fun to play around with. Simple art. I liked the moving animations of the characters. I made a little ways into it. Enjoyed it.

Catch the Damn Clown Nocturne

Well its easy to hate clowns with representation like this! Quick little game. Theme was there. It was ok.

Evanskis Racoon Adventure EvanSki

Series of mini games. I like the presentation and thought into it. References were a nice personal touch. Pretty good for a jam game.

E.T.

Ok so I grew up with Atari. I had ET on the Atari 2600. So I disclose my bias. WIth the history of the game and Warshaw's story of how he made it. Its a brilliant play on the theme. I think the game could of used some work to pull it off. But maybe thats the point. I dont know. Maybe a fixed version of the original would go against the mistake?? But I liked the ET character. So I will rank higher than deserves and give best theme. Thanks for the fun.


Fish Food by Ezra

Visually very satisfying. Its pretty smooth. I found it a bit a challenge but I have to remind myself to put my pants on some mornings......... Hey good effort/ game.


Fjootjay Skate Bart, Xor TheSnidr

Its a pretty cool world. I like the physics in it. Good job.


I will win the GMG Jam 41 cantavanva

Ok I like crazy stuff. But it has to have some meaning or thought. Cant be just loud noise. Like something like from pink floyd. But floyd had purpose. The game Im sure will be crappped on. Need a bit of direction. Not sure about the copyright stuff but Im giving you a pass. Barley. Should of just tied some meaning into it.



I, T'kemsa Siolfor the Jackal

Ok Its really cool. I loved rampage but could never get far in it. So getting far here was a bit of a redemption. I really liked it.


Lens of the Last surviving Human Mercerenies

Its a mind boggling mash of code there that is beyond me. Its a bit of trick on the mind to get through. More than the few neurotic neurons I have left needed. Its impressive. I struggled with it but I really do appreciate the skills you have. Well done.

Magics Final Stand the M

Drawing was a bit tricky but Im impressed how well it worked. Again how to code that is baffling. It was good. Nice idea.
I think it fits the theme.


Mosquitatoos by Yozoraki.

Very cool idea. Unique in every way. I give full credit there. Had fun playing with it. Good job.


Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Challenging platformer. Liked the art and the worlds. Big. Huge effort here. Really hard to find any faults unless you dont like platformeres. I approved. Yeah Im a pixel art fan for sure.




Robozoic park GamedevDan

Cool art. Pretty basic but hey it was fun and thats the whole point. 8/10. I dont think it had sound?


Shadow bouncer JordanOttesen

Oh yeah this game. Its a platformer/ puzzle thing. Again found it tougher but its really well done. Liked the looks and feel. Yeah good job.


Shroom Boy Poizen

Kind of physics platformer thing. A pretty cool mechanic. Great idea and twist. Art was basic but good. Hey I like it.


Super Ordinary Brothers Yal

I think a good fit for the theme. Mario influence. It was a interesting adventure.

The Secret and the Bread Josh Chen bandman28 Micha_Ds

I like the story of the game. I like the weapon. I think it fits the theme. Mechanic took a bit of mastering. Pretty cool.

There is going to be a Bomb Bearman_18

A bear and a bomb guy are defending against goblins. Kind of interesting things going on there. Multitask under pressure. The art was great. The sounds are satisfying. Its frantic crazy fun.


Van Helsings Big Missed Stake Mr Magnus

Sprites were adequate but the game play shines here. Can buy upgrades. This is a game you can spend some time with. Good job.


Wheelchair Joyride Terminator_pony

A bit of a puzzle game. Where you try and get to a door by changing the floor. Actually a pretty good premise. Needs a bit of polish but its pretty good.



YoYoCoin Market Mr Magnus

This is a brilliant idea. Buying stock style of game. It could use a bit of polish and you would really have something. Brilliant.
 
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Seeing there were only 25 entries gave me courage to play them all in one sitting... it's been a night.

Reviews

Top 3:

Boom! by Alice
THIS GAME THO. I'm blown away. Phenomenally designed puzzles around thoughtful mechanics. Incredible game.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Amazing job capturing the magic of the old arcade (and that space pinball that used to come installed with Windows). Lots of good bells and whistles in the game. I'd like to have been able to progress through levels more easily to see more of the game. Regardless, solid entry. (Can anyone beat my 2.9M high score?)

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
Gosh this game is addictive. I played it all the way through, bought everything in the store, and got a record of 8071 Meters for distance with the glass stake. I had tons of fun with this one. I think my only critique is the artwork, though the goofy aesthetic still works great. it would be nice to have some sort of a background to see the stake moving quickly when its super high in the sky. Way fun game though. I'm embarassed at how much time I spent playing it...

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
Best Concept: Boom! by Alice
Best Presentation: Boom! by Alice
Best Story: Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
Best Devlog: ...

Full ranking:

  1. Boom! by Alice
  2. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  3. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  4. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  5. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  6. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  7. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  8. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  9. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  10. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  11. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  12. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  13. COLD by Toque
  14. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  15. Fish Food by Ezra
  16. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  17. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  18. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  19. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  20. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  21. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  22. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
Unable to run on my machine:

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

It took me a little while to realize I could jump in mid air to get past that first part. I like the idea of having a large level made out of the word "Mistake." Definitely would be happy to see this idea built out in more depth. Nice work.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Super fun physics in this one. The reset doesn't seem to spawn new scientists though. I have to reopen the game to get them to come back.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

Amazing job capturing the magic of the old arcade (and that space pinball that used to come installed with Windows). Lots of good bells and whistles in the game. I'd like to have been able to progress through levels more easily to see more of the game. Regardless, solid entry. (Can anyone beat my 2.9M high score?)

Boom! by Alice

THIS GAME THO. I'm blown away. Phenomenally designed puzzles around thoughtful mechanics. Incredible game.

COLD by Toque

Good use of theme. Did a great job making it feel post apocolyptic with the color scheme. Would have liked to see the theme used more in the game's mechanics, rather than just running and shooting. All in all though, nice work.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

Couldn't get it to run.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

I'm still blown away that folks can make 3D games in GameMaker. Nice job on this one.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

The Rick Astley cameo in this game just about sums it up.


I don't know what just happened to me.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

I absolutely love the concept of moving a lense around while platforming. Very cool mechanic. I would like the player to feel les floaty while jumping, especially with some of the more technical jumps. Regardless, the cool mechanic overrides that in my mind, making this a really good entry.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

Very cool mechanic.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Couldn't get this one to run.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Fun simple game. No complaints here, just didn't have anything that stood out as amazing either.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Okay that was shocking. And funny. And sad... lol great use of theme. I'm still shocked lol. There aren't actually 15 levels like the title screen implies are there?

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

I scored 660. Excellent game. I genuinely had a lot of fun with it one I figured out what was going on. The tutorial is rocky. 9 pages of how to play kind of turns off the player. Once you learn the game though, it's super fun. Maybe consider incorporating a level that slowly eases the player into each of the different scenarios.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

Gosh this game is addictive. I played it all the way through, bought everything in the store, and got a record of 8071 Meters for distance with the glass stake. I had tons of fun with this one. I think my only critique is the artwork, though the goofy aesthetic still works great. it would be nice to have some sort of a background to see the stake moving quickly when its super high in the sky. Way fun game though. I'm embarassed at how much time I spent playing it...
 
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Yozoraki

Member
Reviews

I've decided I'm gonna stick with my Things I loved/ Possible improvements/ Full game worthy? system from last jam, because its easier for me to write and seemed to be received well enough last time.
The main things I take into consideration when reviewing jam games are fun-factor, creativity/originality and intuitive gameplay. Effort and visual/audio are also noted!
Some really nice games this time! As always well done to everyone, and I'm looking forward to seeing more games from you all in the future!

Top 3:

Boom! by Alice
This game is so clever and I can't believe you pulled it all together in 4 days. The portal O guys are my favourite

Fish Food by Ezra
This feels like a game where I'm the target audience. I love the combination of horrible crimes with memory games.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Pinball at it's best, the pixel animation and feedback from hitting things is really great

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
Best Concept: Boom! by Alice
Best Presentation: Fish Food by Ezra
Best Story: Fish Food by Ezra

Full ranking:

  1. Boom! by Alice
  2. Fish Food by Ezra
  3. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  4. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  5. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  6. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  7. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  8. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  9. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  10. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  11. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  12. COLD by Toque
  13. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  14. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  15. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  16. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  17. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  18. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  19. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  20. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  21. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  22. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  23. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
  24. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

Loved: That was a very unique experience. One of those games you have no idea where it's leading you (in a good way). Visually it's weird but I like it in conjunction with the weird music. It feels like the game version of a TTS voice reading you the alphabet.

Improvements: The platformings a bit janky with some weird hitboxes but I thought it was fun and smooth to jump about, but those AI letters that follow you are brutally unfair sometimes and I have to admit I didn't see the ending because that damn S really f**ked me up everytime just before I'd reach the end. If you were aiming for an infuriating challenge, you succeeded.

Full game: I dunno but that visual style is something I've never come across before, I reckon take that in some unique direction for that cult classic appeal

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Loved: Just straight up fun to mess about with. I love the set up of having to turn the switch off, links straight into gameplay. Aesthetically its pretty nice too. Nice take on the theme!

Improvements: A larger motivation to get it with the knife. The higher score is a good idea but by the end there's not much tactics to it other than just spinning around in circles. Even that was fun though haha

Full Game: The movement is fun so you could take this in many directions if you wanted to expand

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

Loved: I haven't played a pinball game in years so this gave me a lot of nostalgia. Super polished and plays really well. Well designed boards with a funny theme. Animations, sound effects and the screen in the top right were all perfect. I ended up playing for a lot longer than I expected. High score 2721537, with that multiball and x5 I'm sure you could get waaay more though.

Improvements: The quests on levels were always my favourite part of pinball games, so more of them (like the three hearts) would be cool.

Full game?: I dunno how big the audience is for a pinball game is but more levels at this quality would continue to entertain me.

Boom! by Alice

Loved: This game is so clever, so logical. So many new ideas and all of them make sense and add depth and new tactics to the levels. Level design is great and visuals are solid.

Improvements: Nothing comes to mind

Full Game?: this is already a full game really

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

Loved: no i absolutely didn't

Improvements: I can't comment because i didn't see anything past the 20 second mark

Full Game?: A longer expansion of this is already planned for release in my nightmares.

COLD by Toque

Loved: Went in expecting a comedy game but instead got a moody, cool one. Love the art style and the simple gameplay to tell a story.

Improvements: Change the mouse menu buttons to keyboard for consistency. Death felt a bit unfair sometimes but consistent AI and quick resets stopped it being an issue.

Full game: A moody game in this style would be cool, I don't know how long you could make it without adding some additional gameplay mechanics. Maybe an open world style would be cool.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

Loved; Aesthetically super creepy and consistent, the ET/enemy models and animations especially are very nice. Sound design is great.

Improvements: It was very hard to understand what I was doing, prioritising an in-game tutorial may have been a better idea, I couldn't figure out how to get out of holes once I was down? Maybe just me being dumb.
Bug: A combination of pressing space and turning around near the wall in a hole made me fall off screen.

Full Game?: The first ET was released to market so sure, what could go wrong? :p

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

Loved: Love the inclusion of everyone's favourite jelly, I'm honoured. The purposefully bad minigames were amazing and made me laugh. Bonus points for dialgoue accessibility options. Well done.

Improvements: More horrible minigames!

Full Game?: Probably not, but that dialogue system is niiice.

Fish Food by Ezra

Loved: I love the visuals for this especially the cutscenes with smooth transitions. I'm pretty good at memory games and even these gave me a decent challenge. Some really interesting ones here too! The directions based on the letters one is especially cool. Music fits perfectly

Improvements: Keep it going longer! I could've kept going for ages

Full game: If you do make one let me know, because these games are right up my alley

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

Loved: Impressive as ever, I love the gameplay model of having a bunch of tasks to do in any order. Its a cool world to explore and visually janky but also charming.

Improvements: Camera control could use a bit of work, camera would go under the floor quite a bit. A faster speed up for the speed up would have helped me get that damn disco ball quicker haha, but I did get there regardless.

Full Game: The best thing you have going for you is the game formula, the open world with various tasks and exploration. I'm always up for more games like this.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Loved: Best hands-over-face simulator I've ever played

Improvements: Impossible

Full Game? God please no more

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

Loved: As always music was great. The game feel for this one was really good and the loop of eating and destroying is fun. Visuals are great and makes the gamplay feel more fair (see incoming planes etc)

Improvements: Nothing comes to mind

Full game?: I'm surprised there aren't more giant beast smash em'ups on the market already. Might be hard to flesh out for a longer experience

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

Loved: It's a concept I've seen done in vearious ways before but there's enough here to make it unique. The slow introduction of new mechanics is well done and visually it's very nice, especially the contrast between worlds.

Improvements: The hit boxes could have been a bit more lenient (for me personally), otherwise just the natural expansions I imagine you would have gotten to with more time (sound, story etc)

Full game: Like I said, it's a concept that has been done in full games, so you'd need to add something new to it. The story in your afterword would definitely add to the experience

Magic's Final Stand by The M

Loved: A very well rounded game, I managed to reach dawn on my first try but in a very satisfying way. The moves are all interesting enough that even though majority were circles even near the end I was still switching to others. The shape recognition works really well and felt fair, as in every time it wasn't recognised it was most likely my drawing that wasn't accurate. Music and sound is well implemented. The star power feels chunky as hell and I love it

Improvements: For a game jam, I like the single night and free for all style attacking and i think you made the right choice, but moving forward some sort of level up and exp/ money and upgrades system would be cool.

Full Game? : Hell yeah, put this on an iPad with a progression system and it'd be a blast

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

how dare you even release this, 1 level? this is garbage. There isn't even a penis tattoo?!

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Loved: The art and engine used are very nice. The level design is good too with various ideas and gameplay never gets boring.

Improvements: I would have liked to see something more unique, platformers are very common especially with gamemaker but they often don't bring enough to the table to feel worth playing unless you're already a huge fan on platformers. This one does play very well and I enjoyed it but I think it needs some wow factor. (as a standalone game it would be much higher on the list, but as a jam game it doesnt meet my criteria)

Full Game?: Clearly the engine is high quality and would definitely support a full game from what I see

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Loved: A great example of how you can take simple gameplay and make it fun with creative ideas. Thinking of it as a sort of demake of jurassic park, its pretty cool.

Improvements: Sound etc would be good of course. I think incorporating the story into the levels more would be cool, even just a single frame between each level.

Full game?: Unlikely but I'd be interested in seeing where you'd take it if you were to

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Loved: There's some really great level design here. The level layout and movement allows for experimentation and possibly multiple solutions. Visuals and audio are nice too!

Improvements: Nothing comes to mind

Full game?: I think you've explored the concept to pretty much it's capacity, so in the best possible way- probably not.

Shroom Boy by Poizen

Loved: Just overall I really loved it. It has Getting Over It vibes, and similarly has a great balance of frustrating and wanting to keep going. I love the art style and unlike GOI it's a word that makes visual sense which made get through it. I surprised myself by finishing the whole thing and I really liked the ending. Great use of theme in gameplay, as multiple times I made big mistakes!

Improvements: Nothing comes to mind

Full Game: I think any longer and I probably wouldn't have finished it, so I like it as is.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Loved: You got me haha. A perfect example of a gag game, and actually very well made and polished haha

Improvements: n/a

Full game: please no, I can only handle so much haha

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Loved: Interesting style of melee that felt pretty satisfying to do. Wailing on the boss was fun too. The visuals are very polished and consistent. Music and sound is very nice.

Improvement: A more visually interesting world to explore would be nice, as well as changing the blue dots to something that visually showed me what I was collecting.

Full game: The combat is interesting so I'd take that and add ways to make the baguette bigger with powerups and make it a 1 vs 100 sort of slash em'up

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

Loved: Art style is really nice, gameplay is action packed enough that it doesn't feel tedious. I played it multiple times but never really got "good" at it, it's enjoyably hectic

Improvements: Nothing particular comes to mind, I guess just more polised visuals and sounds for gameplay cues would help.

Full game: This sort of gameplay doesn't transfer well to full games, but I think the characters and art style is great for expanding on.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

Loved: These types of games are my childhood so you get nostalgia points immediately. As soon as I opened the store I smiled with the urge to and knowing that I will buy out that entire store, and of course I did end up doing so. The effects and sounds are well done. I had a fun time

Improvements: I think the art does the job but I think more consistent style and look to the design in general is the next step to immediately upgrading the quality of the game.

Full Game?: Games like exist and have been successful in the past, and you got me to spend a half hour playing it.



Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

Loved: Interesting concept and a good take on implementing the theme into gameplay. Ending was great.

Improvements: The puzzles were a little illogical, and it became more about finding the created answer instead of playing around with the mechanics.

Full game: The concept/mechanics work well but the logic and puzzle design would need an overhaul

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

Love: Suits the theme and current state of our awful planet to a tee.

Improvements: Please adjust the price of my crypto to be much higher.

Full Game?: Oh yeah baby I'm gonna be riding on my yoyocoin winnings for the rest of my life
 
I'll be reviewing every game submitted to my stream.

Played so far:
  • Evanski's Raccoon Adventure (voice-acted with Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged Series voices)
    • I had a lot of fun reading out the voices for this one, and the dialogue was amusing if perhaps a little clearly "first-draft". A valiant effort from our jam host, but most certainly over-scoped.
  • ET 2021 by Firehammer Games (Interview with Ken Burkhart)
    • This game actually shows a lot of potential. It really tests your patience; you are most likely to succeed if you take measured steps towards the goal, but you'll lose it all in moments if you let your impatience get the better of you.
  • Boom! by Alice (Part 1) / (Part 2)
    • Really tricky. I liked the core concept behind the puzzles, but I found a few levels where the difficulty jumped up a bit more steeply than I would have liked. Also, I think it would be a significant improvement to use a controller's face buttons, and perhaps the 1/2/3/4 keys to alternate between characters.
  • A small mistake by Ericbomb
    • By and large, a solid and challenging platformer with a great emphasis on unique challenges in each level. A few parts stood out as frustrating, like the "M" level, and in general, I think it would have benefited from a 16:9 display to see a bit further ahead in each direction.
  • Big Miss Steak by PixelTeamPat
    • Incredible polish for a jam entry. I'm not a huge pinball buff, but I would have loved to see more things you can interact with on the board, perhaps a stage involving a third / fourth flipper?
  • Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake & YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
    • Missed Stake was fun to mess around in, but doesn't seem very distinct from other games in the same "genre". I liked that you had at least a little influence with the use of Holy Hand Grenades. YoYoCoin Market is conceptually quite interesting, but I don't feel compelled to keep playing it, probably because I wouldn't want to spend time on something that I could "lose" for reasons outside my control.
Streams run daily from 7:30 - 9:30 PM [GMT-4]. If you're able to participate in chat, I'd be happy to try your game!

Rankings:
TBD (when I've played more games)
 
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Ericbomb

Member
Top 3/thoughts!

Shadow Bouncer
The simple art style is so perfect and the levels were the perfect difficulty for a game jam it felt like!​
Big Miss steak​
Well done retro pinball game, fantastic art/graphics. Gave me such nostalgia and I kept wanting to look away from playing to look at the funny stuff in the top right.​
Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake
Good classic throw the thing game. I could only imagine Vel hesing making the noises with his mouth as it went.​

Full rankings!

Magic's Final Stand​
Shroom Boy​
Lens of the Last Surviving Human​
Super Ordinary Brothers
I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal​
A Tentacle With A Knife!
Cold
Robozoic Park
The Secret and the Bread​
Fish Food​
ET2021
Pursuit​
Wheelchair Joyride
Evanski's Raccoon Adventure
Fjootjah Skate
I will win the GMC Jam 41. The winner for the worst game. Mark my words!!!​
Catch the damn clown​
 

TehPilot

Member
All games were played live on Twitch:
twitch.tv/tehpilot


First Place: Boom! by Alice
This was the game I spent the longest amount of time playing this Jam, and for a very good reason: it's the most well-built puzzle game this Jam and one of the best I've seen in a GMC Jam personally. An interesting mix of small mechanics that compound on each other very well and were introduced in a good, gradual pattern. This entry also had a good level of polish and direction to compliment a well-built set of mechanics, and held my attention long enough to finish the whole thing in a single sitting just over an hour long. I felt the game had the right balance of difficulty, good presentation, and overall enjoyability to be seen to the end properly. Great stuff.

Second Place: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
My favorite presentation of any game this Jam. It's a good, simplistic pinball game that lends itself well to multiple attempts - replayability is a rarity for any given Jam game to me and this is an entry that hit that mark. Although it makes use of basic GameMaker physics for the underlying engine, I was still able to apply the few pinball tricks I knew and the board layout lended itself to using them. Good, fun mechanics (multi ball was well done!) and getting to the bonus level to be greeted with the pinup-pose cow was hilarious. I ran through a few times for a high score and enjoyed it a lot, in no small part due to the polish and care taken with the presentation of the game.

Third Place: I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
Perhaps the fastest way to my heart is a good heavy metal soundtrack and Siolfor delivers once again. It took me some time to pick up on the nuances of the gameplay (namely that you absolutely can't let airplanes get away or they'll respawn in numbers that'll quickly get out of control...) but after a few runs I was able to consistently level the entire city with time to spare. It's a fun romp through the city with a few subtleties in how you use your moves that takes a bit to warm up to, but I found it a lot of fun once I got to my run that flattened every building in the city. A fun game to learn and get the best possible run for, with a great presentation to boot.

Best Use of Theme: Pursuit by Bluish-Green Productions
Best Concept: Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
Best Presentation: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story: Fish Food by Ezra
Best Devlog: N/A

1. Boom!
2. Big Miss Steak
3. I, T'Kemsa
4. Shadow Bouncer
5. Fish Food
6. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake
7. Fjootjah Skate
8. Pursuit
9. Magic's Final Stand
10. COLD
11. Lens of the Last Surviving Human
12. Robozoic Park
13. Mosquitattoos
14. A Tentacle With A Knife!
15. YoyoCoin
16. The Secret and the Bread
17. There Is Going To Be A Bomb
18. Shroom Boy
19. Catch The Damn Clown
20. A Small Mistake
21. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure
22. Wheelchair Joyride
24. Super Ordinary Brothers
25. E.T. 2021
 
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dadio

Potato Overlord
GMC Elder
Reviews

Top 3:

1. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Wow, ok. I really liked this one! Knife wielding tentacles rock! Lol! Art not up to much, but I really enjoyed the simplicity and fun of the game-play. Story/Music also very nice! Great work!

2. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

Very cool little pinball game! Great pixel style and gorgeous presentation!


3. Boom! by Alice

Nice puzzly gameplay and neat sound fx and music nice job!

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
Best Concept:
A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
Best Presentation:
Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story:
Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
Best Devlog:
N/A

Full ranking:

1. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
2. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
3. Boom! by Alice
4. Fish Food by Ezra
5. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
6. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
7. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
8. Magic's Final Stand by The M
9. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
10. Super Ordinary Brothers
by Yal

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

Kind of red ball platformer spike em up.... meh. Dull and poor presentation.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Wow, ok. I really liked this one! Knife wielding tentacles rock! Lol! Art not up to much, but I really enjoyed the simplicity and fun of the gameplay. Story/Music also very nice! Great work!

Big Miss Steak
by Pixel-Team

Very cool little pinball game! Great pixel style and gorgeous presentation!

Boom! by Alice

Nice puzzly gameplay and neat sound fx and music nice job!

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

Lawdy. Loox like one of mine! Lol! Gold star for you my lad. *sticks gold star on Marks head before placing him gently in the bin*

COLD by Toque

Neat pixel style art. Couldn't get very far at all to see how the game really was, but interesting!

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

Fatal crash bug on start, sorry!


Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

Haha. I like this one! Funny story/dialogue. Neat one off adventure thing.

Fish Food by Ezra

I really liked this one! Unexpected unusual theme. Decent art and neat presentation / story sequences. Nice work!

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

3D. Ball skating collectig letters thing. Best part was the opening screen sorry lol! Not much gameplay here.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Actually enjoyed this! Lol! Funny joek gaem.

I, T'kemsa
by Siolfor the Jackal

Very cool. Giant dino attacking the city. Would have preferred more smashing/crumbling action... but very cool!

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

Pixel platformer. No sound at all. Dull.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

Cool. Nice presentation. I like this drawing shapes mechanic! nice job! Wish there was more to it!

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

Weird hand drawn tattooing mosquito thing... not sure how to do it properly lol!

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Low res pixel platformer.... nice clean style. Music. Was oooook. Not so exciting.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Love the ultra low res/low color art here. Looking very cool. Gameplay was alright. 2 (genuine( big mistakes here... 1. No sound at all (WHYYY?! - takes away so much from the game. 2. No mouse control for the targeting (WHYYY?! - madness I tells ya.) Anyway, beat, and coulda been a contender - if dem 2 things hadda been done.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Very nice pixel art and music and sounds! Nice presentation. I've seen this kind of gameplay before... but pretty cool!

Shroom Boy by Poizen

Eaten by antivirus - sorry!


Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Lol! Funny stuff! I liked it.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Weird bread weilding top down thing... not very exciting, sorry!

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

Yep. A bit crazy. Pixel art bear thing. Odd non intuitive controls. Weird meuic. Scream was funny! Instructions much too long and boring.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

Not much to this one... arc throwing stake thing lol.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

Er... slow moving wheelchair getting into lifts game. Not much to it.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

No idea what i was doing. Interesting concept tho.
 
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Alice

Darts addict
Forum Staff
Moderator
Alice-really-wants-to-work-on-Amaze-Me-Game-Jam-now Reviews

A few notes:

First, I've found A BIG MISTAKE theme pretty vague and uninspiring, to the point where I mentioned it as a passing remark in my entry instructions. Usually I would try and come up with some cool game mechanic based around the theme, or at least a story centered around it, but this time I came up with nothing. Thus, I wasn't particularly paying attention to theme much when ranking and reviewing the entries; perhaps the best testament to that is the fact that the game with Best Use of Theme is the one I ranked last.

Second, please don't get discouraged even if your entry is pretty far down in the rankings. In general the entries this time were mostly decent-to-really-cool, so just because your entry is ranked pretty low doesn't mean it was bad per-se.

Top 3:

Fish Food by Ezra
I generally found the entry enjoyable, with a nice variety of minigames and nice non-pixelated graphics, too. ;)

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
I've found it pretty fun, especially with the variety of challenges.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
A pretty cool and nicely polished pinball game. Would be nice to have more levels, though.

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
Best Concept: YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
Best Presentation: Fish Food by Ezra
Best Story: A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

Full ranking:

  1. Fish Food by Ezra (@SoapSud39)
  2. Fjootjah Skate by @Bart, @Xor, @TheSnidr
  3. Big Miss Steak by @Pixel-Team
  4. I, T'kemsa by @Siolfor the Jackal
  5. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by @Mercerenies
  6. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by @Bearman_18
  7. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by @EvanSki
  8. Shadow Bouncer by @JordanOttesen
  9. Magic's Final Stand by @The M
  10. Pursuit by @BluishGreenPro
  11. Mosquitattoos by @Yozoraki
  12. A Tentacle With A Knife! by @BreakfastBoy
  13. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by @Mr Magnus
  14. A Small Mistake by @Ericbomb
  15. YoYoCoin Market by @Mr Magnus
  16. Shroom Boy by @Poizen
  17. Super Ordinary Brothers by @Yal
  18. COLD by @Toque
  19. Robozoic Park by @GameDevDan
  20. The Secret and the Bread by @Josh Chen, @bandman28, @Micah_DS
  21. Wheelchair Joyride by @Terminator_Pony
  22. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by @Nocturne
  23. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games (@kburkhart84)

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

This game reminds me a lot of these philosophical platformers that appeared frequently on Kongregate around early 2010s. The overall message is nice, and it's nice to see a variety of mechanics. Platforming itself feels too clunky, to the point of adding unfair difficulty (as opposed to fairer difficulty of general level design).
On a side note, it was a mistake to use mouse controls to start a level in an otherwise keyboard controlled game. A small mistake, but still.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Got the top score of 743. Once you realise that you need to stay close to the center at the start of the wave and let tentacle swings deal with a mass of humans somewhere, it becomes somewhat schematic, but still pretty satisfying. Would be nice to have more going on in the background rather than just a solid colour. The music is pretty cool; I would like to know where you got it from (unless you composed it yourself?).
The inspiring video is hilarious and I'd have given the game Best use of Theme if not for the E.T. crashing.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

A pretty cool and nicely polished pinball game. Would be nice to have more levels, though. Also, I feel like in the Miss Steak it's much harder to rack up the x5 multiplier and thus increase score altogether.
The presentation is great as always. I particularly liked the little banner switching around in the corner, with various messages. It nicely adds to the general franticness that pinball is and should be.
Also, I see you missed a potential pun in "Utter/Udder Madness". Was the no-pun intended?

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

This might have been a big mistake, but for what it's worth, it's oddly enjoyable.

COLD by Toque

Not too fond of having to switch between mouse (for newspaper) and keyboard (for main gameplay).
The variety of monsters was nice, even if most ended up with the mutant dog corpse...?
The dying voice is legendary. ;)
It's nice to see you writing something less in-jokey and more serious this time, but the general gameplay and the writing could still use some work.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

Ranked last because the author made A BIG MISTAKE of having the game crash on startup. Best use of theme though.
The game itself has pretty cool general concept and interactions between game elements, though it feels clunky at times, especially when ascending out of holes. It also would be nice to have some quality of life features, like having the scream show "rings" of sound going as far as the scream range and having some little indicators to show when humans are scared and when they aren't.
When I watched the final ending on stream, I got an impression it was just the Atari ship breaking, which would have been pretty lame. On closer look after my win, it turned out E.T. destroyed the ship while ascending himself, which is much better. Well played.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

A nice and silly GMC-themed story with Evan's classic messing with game files (though I still feel it doesn't beat Forty; or the Modern Big Brother).
I liked these little voices as text was typed out. The graphics... could use some more work. ^^'

Fish Food by Ezra

I perfected the game on Hard Mode!
I generally found the entry enjoyable, with a nice variety of minigames and nice non-pixelated graphics, too. ;)

I really enjoyed the presentation of this one, especially with its cutscenes. Maybe the ending could have a cutscene of its own, with the rabbit happily playing games or feeding Claude or something. Maybe even something different depending on whether it was a perfect run or not? As much as I love the cutscene with the cat (?) police spotting a suspicious person, I mostly knew about it from Evan's streams since I never made a mistake that big myself (except when on purpose). So giving the ending some extra love to make it even more satisfying would work better for me.

For memorisation games, it would be nice to have a button/key that proceeds to the input part, instead of making the player wait until the memorisation part timer runs out.

Also, when the shark mentioned the rabbit becoming fish food, I thought it would be the shark eating the rabbit, not the rabbit just being thrown into water? Or maybe the shark wouldn't stoop so low to eat such a poor quality employee?

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

I've found it pretty fun, especially with the variety of challenges.
The map elements were also nice, and it seems there's no longer an issue of same-coloured walls at different distances blending with each other (as it was the case for Spielcomm 2020). The music was fitting as well, though I'd have liked some more sound effects. The movement was tricky at first, but I've got used to it quickly enough.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Unranked because of what seems like a rampant illegal use of copyrighted and possibly gruesome content. EvanSki elaborated more on that.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

So, it's possible to make it in time destroying about every building from the starting position forwards. My completionist tendencies are pleased. I, A'pprove.
The premise of the game is entertaining, and the audiovisuals make it quite satisfying, except for one detail - the controls feel a little too unresponsive, especially with up/down key combinations. And once you begin an attack, you cannot make another until it finishes. Maybe the game could feel more responsive if accepting the up/down input for combo wasn't only at the moment of pressing the attack button, but also shortly afterwards, switching the animation? Having a few shared animation frames between directional and regular variant of the attack could help, too.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

I like the concept of using the lens to switch between views. Using lens to find hidden areas or messages makes things even more interesting. Too bad the migraine stopped you from concluding the story and polishing the game - even something as relatively simple as audio could enhance the game a lot. I'm not a big fan of floaty controls, though, especially with the kind of precision the game requires.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

The shape-drawing mechanic was cool, though I mostly kept drawing circles and occasional bolts to attack enemies and triangles around myself. Oh, and occasional pentagrams, of course.
What I tried from other shapes was still pretty cool, though; it's just that circles happen to be the most no-brainer shapes coupled with the most no-brainer ability, which are invaluable factors for fast games like this.
I really appreciate that the game stuck to the fixed timeframe of a single night, instead of going on indefinitely. That way the game presented all the interesting things it had and didn't keep me playing long past its welcome. If it had an illustrated ending cutscene, it would have been awesome.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

Interesting concept, though the no overlapping tattoos rule seems to favour small tattoos. Maybe instead there could be a limited number of tattoos (like e.g. one tattoo of each type)? Also, maybe allow rotating tattoos to allow more optimal coverage (e.g. the sword could be placed at different positions)

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

A nice and personal game developer story wrapped in a decent platformer with varied mechanics.
Lots of pre-existing assets, so I'm going to adjust the rank for that.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

No audio at all, sadly. :<
Levels are nice and somewhat varied, and excluding the missing audio the game is generally well-polished (I particularly like the level select screen). The gameplay feels a little generic compared to most games ranked higher up this Jam.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

A neat puzzly platformer with good presentation. Would be nice to see a little more variety of gameplay elements.

I would have preferred if the background was a little dimmer, to make the foreground stand out more. Also, the level titles and R = Reset Level instruction could be drawn on a black semi-transparent rectangle so that it doesn't mix too much with the gameplay elements.

Shroom Boy by Poizen

A pretty cute game with a wide world and a little too much falling at times.
Took me a bit to make sense out of controls. Personally I'd have preferred Space to toggle (not just enter) the ball form and use left/right to either move around as a shroom or change direction as a ball. Somehow I find it easier to read left/right movement as counter-clockwise/clockwise compared to up/down.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

That moment when Yal runs out of Jam time to draw a letter L and only has "HOSPITA" instead.
There is not much to this entry - it being more of a joke than a full-fledged entry - but it's a nicely executed joke.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

The concept of hitting people with swung bread is pretty amusing, but overall the game felt a little lackluster. In part beacuse of little variety of enemies (only one regular enemy + boss who mostly spawns these regular enemies), in part because of gray backgrounds without any decorative elements (grasses, houses, things like that), in part because of text-only cutscenes. The limited area of vision and sluggish movement out of roads also drag the game down.
I appreciate the general idea, the graphics style is nice and clean and there is some nice audio work (though the bread swings seem too loud), but I feel there's too little variety spanned over too large of a map.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

Controlling two characters at once can get pretty hectic at first, but after a few plays I figured it out. Managed to get pretty far until the spawn rates of bombs made me unable to answer the door in time. I'm sort of reminded of simultaneous control in thijsmie game for Jam 40 (Your Brain on Party), but in There Is Going To Be A Bomb I feel there was a better balance between both sides of simultaneous playing.
Would be nice if defusing would stop after one bomb, and I'd need to interact with defuser again to handle subsequent bombs. As it is now, once bombs frequency reaches a certain point it becomes nigh impossible to answer the door.
Also, I feel it would be less confusing if the defusing code was shown left-to-right, not right-to-left. As it is now, I need to spend extra split second on consciously focusing on the right side.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

A pretty enjoyable faraway-thrower entry. Kept me interested long enough to purchase all upgrades. Financial Stake is OP as far as earning money goes, and the last stake is OP in pretty much all other regards.
The art was crude, but Van Helsing's grin is so beautiful. I liked the spoken-out voice effects. Would be nice to have some goofy spooky music in the background.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

Would be cool if at floor 5 you could wheel to the left, revealing that there's further corridor there and there are the keys (I checked, there wasn't).
Other than that it seems like there could be a nice concept, but the game is too short to display anything particularly interesting.


YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

Put all my money in BOOM! shares, because it was clearly about to become The Big Thing (also, because I made the game). It worked pretty well to me so far.
Despite not engaging in active trading myself, I like to pop up and see how market is performing every once and then or read related posts and status updates. So I'd say it turned out pretty nicely as a community game.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
Reviews

Top 3:

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
That was great fun! This kind of game is very difficult to balance and do well, and I think this has pulled it off. Starts easy, but the difficulty ramps up very nicely as you play, and each of the different tasks is quite easy on it's own, but a real challenge when you have to mix them up! I also really liked the little extra challenge of having to wake up your companion with a slap every now and again! Graphics and sound are excellent, and the presentation was good too... Excellent game, that I really enjoyed playing.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
I really liked this game! It's got some very cute retro graphics and the gameplay was actually pretty fun (even if you can't play with the mouse!). I liked that this is a well rounded and "complete" game, that has a good presentation with a story (basic, but it's there), and as such it feels like a prefect Jam game. Special mention to the bridge level for mixing up the gameplay a bit and managing to actually a bit like the mode7 style it was emulating! This would actually have been my number one game, I think, if it wasn't for one thing... No sound. Might not seem a big deal, but with a game like this having some pumping music in the background and a few "pew pew" sounds and explosions would have really improved the experience.

Boom! by Alice
I really liked this and was quite sad when there were no more puzzles to do. I think that, for the Jam, this was perfect though, however I can't help but feel that there is a really good full game hiding in this concept... Would be really interesting to see this whole idea expanded on with (for example) more letters that have different skills. This could really be a spectacular puzzle game! As it is, the graphics were functional, with some excellent details like the cute letters, and both sound and presentation were adequate. The difficulty curve was just right too, and the puzzles lend into each other nicely. Well done!

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: Fish Food
Best Concept: Boom!
Best Presentation: Fish Food
Best Story: Pursuit

Full ranking:

  1. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  2. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  3. Boom! by Alice
  4. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  5. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  6. Fish Food by Ezra
  7. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  8. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  9. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  10. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  11. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  12. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  13. COLD by Toque
  14. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  15. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  16. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  17. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  18. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  19. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  20. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  21. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  22. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  23. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  24. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
I liked the concept of this and the messages were wholesome... but the gameplay was abit iffy! I mean, it was okay, and at least the game could be completed, but it needs a lot of polish and a redesign of some of the levels which are are just too punishing. I also hated the blue check background. Still a good effort!

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
LOL! This is brilliant! I mean, yes, it's INCREDIBLY simple, but I think that's part of why it's so fun to play. Quick game loop, tricky mechanics that CAN be mastered, and a high score to chase. Not much more to say about this... Great fun, if a bit limited in scope.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
This was a surprise! Didn't expect to get a full-blown pinball game in the GMC Jam! Especially not one with such an amazing production and execution. Really good fun to toplay, and I love the way it looks and sounds. I also love the pun on "mistake" that was used as the core idea of the game. Lovely way to subvert the theme!

Boom! by Alice
I really liked this and was quite sad when there were no more puzzles to do. I think that, for the Jam, this was perfect though, however I can't help but feel that there is a really good full game hiding in this concept... Would be really interesting to see this whole idea expanded on with (for example) more letters that have different skills. This could really be a spectacular full puzzle game! Graphics were functional, with some excellent details like the cute letters, and both sound and presentation were adequate. Well done!

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
I am ashamed of this...honestly, like, REALLY ashamed. I'm sorry. Don't hate me...

COLD by Toque
I really liked the vissuals in this, and the presentation and concept were pretty good. Not sure I really enjoyed playing it though, as I don't appreciate "trick" enemies, and also the whole bullet mechanic was a bit pointless as you get given more bullets when you die anyway. Still, it's a complete game, and looks really nice.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
Okay, I wanted to love this, but - like the original ET game - this is just a horrific nightmare that is practically impossible to play and enjoy. Level 1, fine. Level 2, annoying. Level 3, ARGH ASDFHGASDJFHG I WANT TO KILL THE PERSON THAT MADE THIS. It is nicely presented and fulfills the jam theme nicely, though, so kudos to that...

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
This was a silly but fun meta-game-point-and-click adventure type thing. Really, no more than an interactive story, but still well presented and fun, especially as I'm in it. :)

Fish Food by Ezra
Hahahha! Awesome. This really appeals to my macabre sense of humour. Excellent presentation and lovely sound and graphics. The game itself is a wario-ware type game of mini-games, all of which are pretty simple to understand and perform (althought the memorise directions one was a pain... :p ), and there is enough variety in them to make playing through the game to the end both a challenge and fun.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
This was fun and impressive as a 3D protoype. Controls were pretty good, and the visuals were nice. Gameplay was... Okay. I'd have liked to have a bit more of an idea of what the challenges to do were, and I don't know if there is a game-over state, since I feel I completed all the challenges but nothing happend. I got GMCJAM, and SPHERE, I got the Red DOt thing, I got the dico ball, I got the monument. Not sure if there's anything else to get! As you'd expect from the people involved a solid 3D entry that plays well, but sadly nothing special in terms of gameplay.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
What an epic masterpiece. I laughed. I cried. I felt angst, rage, sadness, and every other emotion in between. And then... and then... RICK ASTLEY! WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR IN A GAME.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
This game was quite a nnoying to play at first, especially when the number of aircraft ramps up... however after a couple of tries, you realise that aircraft are foreshadowed and it suddenly becomes a lot easier. Visually, the game looks great, and the sound and music are excelent. too. All in all, a very fun and polished game with just the right amount of challenge and content for a Jam.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
This was a very interesting puzzle platformer, and I'd really like to see a more polished and expanded version... I mean, this feels very much like a dev prototype rather than a game, as it's missing a lot of things (sound, menus, general polish, etc...), and I also found the movement to be just a little too floaty and didn't really feel like I had complete control over the character. Still, a good effort and I hope that this becomes a full game as it has a lot of potential.

Magic's Final Stand by The M
Another really good entry into the Jam! Loved the idea, and the gameplay itself was challenging and fun. I'm impressed by the draw-detection that's been implemented, espexially as I know how difficult that can be to pull off... and even though it's not perfect, it's still very good and works really well within the concept of the game. Like a couple of other games in this jam, I really think there is a full game in this, and that expanding on this idea (much like Loop here did to turn its Jam version into a full game) would create a great and unique game.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
It was quite fun to add tattos to the guy, but the gameplay was pretty limited... after the initial fun of adding all the different tattoos, there really wasn't much more to do. That said, the presentation was good, and the concept I think has potential.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
This was an excellent game. Incredibly well presented, with a lovely look about it. The platforming was very solid, and I loved the variety of elements that were managed to be included in the gameplay... a LOT considering the time that the Jam gives to make something like this. The level progression was good too, with no level really being too difficult (although that first teleport level is B**TARD!). Seriously good work, and deserves to rank high in the final results.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
I really liked this game! It's got some very cute retro graphics and the gameplay was actually pretty fun (even if you can't play with the mouse!). This would have been my number one game I think if it wasn't for one thing... No sound. Might not seem a big deal, but with a game like this having some pumping music in the background and a few "pew pew" sounds and explosions would have really improved the experience.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
This jam may have had less games than others, but the quality of the games has been excellent! This is yet another really well made puzzle platformer, that has a great presentation, excellent graphics, nice sound, and a simple yet challenging core mechanic. I've said it already for several games, but I can really see this being an excellent full game with a bit of work.

Shroom Boy by Poizen
Got stuck between two trees just after starting and couldn't work out how to get past it. Seems like an impossible part of the level? As such, couldn't really play very much of the game, although I liked the ide of mixing a platformer with some more physics based movements.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
Lol! Wel, this was a fairly clever subversion of expectations, and as such it was quite funny. Not really a game, however... but still a well made joke!

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
Okay little game. Nothing really stands out to me about it... Everything was well done and it's a complete package, that's well presented, but it wasn't really that fun to play.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
That was great fun! This kind of game is very difficult to balance and do well, and I think this has pulled it off. STarts easy, but the difficulty ramps up very nicely as you play, and each of the different tasks is quite easy on it's own, but a real challenge when you have to mix them up! I also really liked the little extra challenge of having to wake up your companion with a slap every now and again! Excellent game, that I really enjoyed playing.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
This was a great game! The main negative about it is that it lacks polish (a LOT of polish), but it has all the ingredients of a fun casual game of this kind. I really liked the concept and the upgrade options were just the kind of thing you'd expect for a game of this type. I also loved the homemade vocal sound-effects!

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
This was a bit of silly fun! Liked the concept, but it could have done with a little more polish and gameplay.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
Okay, this isn't really a game as such, and, it's not really "fun" to play. HOWEVER, I think that it's a really interesting idea, and actually reminds me of an old DOS game I used to play that was a stockmarket simulator! I loved that game, even though it was slow and didn't have any fancy graphics. There was just something fun in speculating and trying to make money! So, while I can't rank this very highly in the Jam, I do applaud the concept and the technical achievement in making this.
 

Mr Magnus

Viking King
Reviews

Top 3:

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
A great looking game that's filled with personality and a good pun that I always enjoy. There really isn't much to say: it's a pinball machine that does everything I'd expect from a pinball machine, animated delightfully with a great soundtrack to boot.

Boom! by Alice
A wonderful puzzle game that's unique, delightfully animated, and has fairly interesting puzzles. There are some levels that feel a bit off regarding balancing but puzzle games are always really hard to curve and this is such a strong entry that I spent a lot of time with.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
Look, I can't *not* give good marks to a game with my face in it, that would be dreadfully rude.

But even without a level in my name this game is all around a great little package. Well polished, appealing to look at, incredibly charming music to follow, and the puzzles are actually fun and perfectly challenging without going to frustrating. Well done!

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: A Small Mistake by EricBomb
Best Concept: Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
Best Presentation: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story: Fish Food by Ezra
Best Devlog: Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

Full ranking:

  1. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  2. Boom! by Alice
  3. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  4. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  5. Fish Food by Ezra
  6. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  7. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  8. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  9. COLD by Toque
  10. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  11. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  12. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  13. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  14. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  15. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  16. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  17. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  18. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  19. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  20. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  21. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  22. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  23. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

A very zen, chill experience. It's a bit janky, but it's a good game. if you'd gotten more time to polish the engine to make it more reliable and gotten some user testing so that the challenge is in increasing order this would be a proper rage game. Great concept, needs a few more minutes in the oven.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Wonderfully entertaining, albeit very simple. Once you figure out you can just utilize a tiny bit of momentum to swing your knife in big arcs round and around your only real goal becomes not to accidentlly hit anyone while boosting up your swing after drag starts to slow you down.

I'd actually consider making this in to a mobile game. It's delightfully simple and good way to waste a minute or two.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

A great looking game that's filled with personality and a good pun that I always enjoy. There really isn't much to say: it's a pinball machine that does everything I'd expect from a pinball machine, animated delightfully with a great soundtrack to boot.

Boom! by Alice

A wonderful puzzle game that's unique, delightfully animated, and has fairly interesting puzzles. There are some levels that feel a bit off regarding balancing but puzzle games are always really hard to curve and this is such a strong entry that I spent a lot of time with.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

The fact you went all the way back to GM1 is an achievement in of itself, and I commend you for the effort. On that note... Was catch the clown always this violent?

COLD by Toque

I really like the aethestics of this. It's not terribly difficult and a bit predictable but it sets a good atmosphere and executes on what it wants to do.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

It could potentially be fun if it wasn't so dreadfully repetitive. You did a great job with the recreation, this came is actually playable, but unfortunatly your source material didn't give you a lot to work with.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

Right up my humor level. Sure, it's short and a bit patched together, but what it managed to squeeze in the time limit was very fun and decently polished.

Fish Food by Ezra

I'm fairly bad at memorization so I got turned in to fish food a lot. My incompetence aside however Fish Food is good fun. It's animated well, soundtrack is great, story is delightfully silly, and while little more than a collection of simple memory and cognition games I quite enjoyed myself. It's a simple concept wrapped in great packaging.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

Is it bad that I spent most of the time playing around watching the 2d debug menu? It's amazing what you three do in GameMaker.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Did not run on my PS2 emulator despite clearly being marked as a PS2 game. 0/10, false advertising.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

A bit clunky to control, but it's absolutely wonderfully animated, is a fun arcade experience, and has a banging soundtrack.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

A really good concept that's decently executed with a charming little "you're the monster" story attached to it. Would have appriciated some sound effects but it's understandable that they didn't make the time constraint.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

Fun concept that's surpisingly hard to master... didn't help I did this on my laptops touchpad.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

A very cute-ish concept. Bit short sadly, but an interesting idea.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

My anti-virus ate this one. I had to boot it up in a VM which made giving it a fair shake difficult. In the future I'd recommend exporting as a .zip, the single executable option tends to be treated as suspicious.


That aside the game sports a very appealing visual style and smooth gameplay. It's a well put together entry that I quite enjoyed.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

I'd really have appriciated some sound effects, even if just stock effects from freesound.org or something. That aside the game really was well put together, fun, visually pleasing, and delightfully varied despite its short length. Well done!

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Look, I can't *not* give good marks to a game with my face in it, that would be dreadfully rude.

But even without a level in my name this game is all around a great little package. Well polished, appealing to look at, incredibly charming music to follow, and the puzzles are actually fun and perfectly challenging without going to frustrating. Well done!

Shroom Boy by Poizen

Sadly got eaten by my anti virus, had to boot it up in a VM. I'd recommend the export as .zip for future entries. AV's often get antsy about single executables.

Its a fun concept and reminds me of the good old rage platformers. However my main issue is that the way forwards isn't always clear, making it all the more frustrating. It's a lovely visually appealing game however so you get points for style.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

I can't say I saw that one coming, which I believe is the point.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

You maybe have a point when you recommended a proper mouse. That aside this is a very solid entry with a humerous story. The gameplay isn't too complicated but swinging bread around is very entertaining.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

Very fun. Very stressful. Very on theme. It could have used a bit more polish but the core gameplay loop is there and while not exactly easy it serves the purpose plenty well.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

A bit slow and not much too it, but I liked the joke of it and it was perfectly functional in doing what it wanted to do.
 
Last edited:

Roldy

Member
Top 3:
  1. Boom! by Alice @Alice
  2. I, T'kemsa by @Siolfor the Jackal
  3. Shadow Bouncer by @JordanOttesen

  • Boom!
    • Genuinely fun. Good puzzle design. Great mechanics.
  • Shadow Bouncer
    • Nice game. Looks good. Really like the sound and music.
  • I, T'kemsa (not so short)
    • I had alot of fun and it is just a straight classic arcade concept. I also like the presentation and style (except for pointless text at beginning).
    • If it wasn't for the following flaws I would have rated this #1:
      • The controls where not intuitive to figure out and it took me too long to find the control explanation and I accidently skipped past it twice trying to get past the pointless text
        • ESC to skip pointless words also skips the control explanation
        • If you instead spam a key to skip pointless words you can skip right past the control explanation
      • Transitions on title and menu are too slow
        • I hate waiting on the fade out for your logo and menu
        • Don't do that to me
      • Pointless words that I am forced to skip
        • If you want to make a game with a story then integrate the story into the game
        • This is an arcade game. I want to play, not read
        • Anything that doesn't promote or aid (or at the very least not impede) playing is trash that should be removed

Best use of Theme: Fish Food by Ezra
Best Concept: YoYoCoin by @Mr Magnus
Best Presentation: I, T'kemsa by @Siolfor the Jackal
Best Story: Fish Food by Ezra
Best Devlog: Fish Food by Ezra

  1. Boom! by Alice
  2. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  3. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  4. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  5. Fish Food by Ezra
  6. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  7. COLD by Toque
  8. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  9. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  10. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  11. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  12. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  13. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  14. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  15. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  16. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  17. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  18. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  19. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  20. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  21. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  22. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  23. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
  24. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games (would not launch and I didn't try to fix it. Sorry)
  25. Shroom Boy by Poizen (would not launch and I didn't try to fix it. Sorry)
 
Last edited:

Poizen

Member
Reviews

Top 3:

Boom! by Alice
A really clever puzzle game. The level design feels really tight and focused (though one time I had a leftover bomb). Nice difficulty curve. The second to last level had me stumped for a while.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
Pretty fun, and a godzilla-like monster certainly fits the theme. Reminds me of one of the minigames in Bart's Nightmare. This one's way easier though. I wish there was a bit more of a challenge actually.

The transition fades feel a little slow. Like it takes a couple of seconds before you can start the game after exiting the options. It's not a huge deal but it's noticeable.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
I wish it was easier to see how a specific asset is developing. Maybe it could highlight the corresponding curve when you select a thing. Like currently if I see that a red line is on the upswing, I can't really easily tell which game it is. Or if my portfolio value is growing I can't easily tell why (if I've diversified a lot).

It's a fun idea and has great potential. But it's not as satisfying to play as it could be for the reason above. I still played with it quite a bit. It's kinda addicting. And it fits the theme so perfectly.

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
Best Concept: Boom! by Alice
Best Presentation: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story: Fish Food by Ezra

Full ranking:

  1. Boom! by Alice
  2. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  3. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  4. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  5. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  6. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  7. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  8. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  9. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  10. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  11. Fish Food by Ezra
  12. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  13. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  14. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  15. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  16. COLD by Toque
  17. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  18. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  19. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  20. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  21. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  22. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  23. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  24. Baserisk by TheMiningBoyAlpha
  25. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

I get the idea; you make a lot of mistakes and then learn to do things differently. It's so hard though. Made harder by the fact that the ball gets stuck in walls. I gave up in the A level.

That contrast between the motivational tone and the chill music and then the aggravating gameplay. It's a little funny.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

The swinging tentacle is an interesting mechanic but the game doesn't do a lot with it. There's only a very simple score attack. I wish there was more elements.

Also, there seems to be a bug where if you restart the game nothing happens.

Baserisk by TheMiningBoyAlpha

This game wasn't in the zip but I wanted to give it a shot. There's not much content. The style is kinda neat. Resolution is way too small.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

I do enjoy a good pinball game. It's fun to watch the board go nuts and feel accomplishment. The polish is good as always. The music is great. I'm impressed it was all done during the jam.

Boom! by Alice

A really clever puzzle game. The level design feels really tight and focused (though one time I had a leftover bomb). Nice difficulty curve. The second to last level had me stumped for a while.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

This is art. I kinda like what it's trying to do, but I can't bring myself to rate the gameplay very high.

COLD by Toque

Looks like a hardcore survival game. Well it's not too hard. Which is good. It's more about the story. Which left me with a lot of questions. Like, who wrote that newspaper article and why when the world is just a desolate wasteland?

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

Ok, I found the non-crashy version and played it.

I know of the old E.T. game but I'm not that familiar with the mechanics so this feels very obtuse. I almost beat the first level but then I missed the ship and nothing happened when I tried to call it again. Frustrating.

Good choice of topic for the theme, I like it. Though I'm a little torn because it means it's going for a "bad unplayable game" aesthetic.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

A little fourth wall breaking visual novel sitcom. It was entertaining enough.

I'm relieved that the rhythm game wasn't actually a rhythm game, or at least I didn't have to do well to progress in the game.

Fish Food by Ezra

This is almost like the plot of Cuphead. :p

At first it seemed easy but then the grid memorization games came in. Couldn't do them for the life of me. Switched to easy. Got a "comprehension typing" game that stumped me. Wew. (Third time was the charm though.)

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

The controls are a bit clunky. You'll be holding shift down the whole game so it feels unnecessary that you have to do that. I struggled a bunch but I beat the game.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

You know what they say. Fool me once, shame on something something.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

Pretty fun, and a godzilla-like monster certainly fits the theme. Reminds me of one of the minigames in Bart's Nightmare. This one's way easier though. I wish there was a bit more of a challenge actually.

The transition fades feel a little slow. Like it takes a couple of seconds before you can start the game after exiting the options. It's not a huge deal but it's noticeable.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

Oh my god, that last level made me feel stupid. I was trying to jump to the coin around the block when the solution was obvious. But overall that was a really clever and original puzzle game. It does a lot of things with its core mechanic.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

Drawing shapes to do different things is a really original concept, I like it. Gets tiring on the mouse hand though. And the game is pretty long too without any respite between waves. In the end it wasn't that difficult to survive though so maybe I wouldn't have had to be so stressed about killing all the enemies right away.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

What a weird idea for a game, also original and interesting. It's kinda like Battleship.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

It's a neat platformer with some motivational blurbs laid on top. Something that kept tripping me up was the over-eager wall cling which I don't recall if it was even a required mechanic at any part.

I liked the portal part. I wish there was more of that.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Good humor. The gameplay feels a little lacking. Could use something more than just holding down space and moving a cursor around with arrow keys. I was pleasantly surprised there were more than one kind of a level though.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

I like the cute simple story that directly ties the jam theme and gameplay together. I like the chill vibe. The levels are mostly very easy though. Maybe this could use some additional mechanic to spice things up.

Interesting choice with the Peter Pan dialogue in the background. I mean I realize how it's kinda thematically related.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed there's no platformer. On the other hand it's a funny gag.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Spinning a weapon, a baguette no less, with the mouse is a fun mechanic. The boss was pretty unclimactic. I don't know if he even did anything before he was already dead.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

3095 points in 2 minutes and 14 seconds was my highscore after a couple of tries. Eventually I messed up and panicked.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

The sound effects are top notch. They remind me of Loonyland: Halloween Hill and I love it. I didn't know I would have so much fun with this when I saw the MS Paint art. The concept is simple but the various upgrades bring some depth to the game.

This is one of two games that's based on a pun of the theme's wording. While it's funny and all, I can't give many points (I'll give some!) for the use of theme because it kinda ignores the meaning entirely.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

The game is kinda frustrating. I'm not the biggest fan of interpreting the theme in such a way that it negatively affects gameplay. But at least the game is short. And I did find the last bit funny: "Thanks for playing. That was a big mistake."

It was really unclear how you shoot the blue circles. For the longest time I thought the bullet just had to hit them. But no, you have to click the circles.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

I wish it was easier to see how a specific asset is developing. Maybe it could highlight the corresponding curve when you select a thing. Like currently if I see that a red line is on the upswing, I can't really easily tell which game it is. Or if my portfolio value is growing I can't easily tell why (if I've diversified a lot).

It's a fun idea and has great potential. But it's not as satisfying to play as it could be for the reason above. I still played with it quite a bit. It's kinda addicting. And it fits the theme so perfectly.
 

GameDevDan

Former Jam Host
Moderator
GMC Elder
Reviews

Top 3:

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
Easily the most fun I had in the whole jam. It's super simple, it's not particularly unique in that these "throw an object very far" games exist a billion times over - but I did have *the most fun* playing it. Played it for the longest time as well! I really wanted to get that stake to 1000 meters, which I eventually did (got to 1300 iirc). I like the sound effects made with your mouth, very funny, and the upgrades were all interesting and humourous too. Leaves a bit to be desired in the graphics department but I think if the art was good it would actually make the game worse lol, just because a lot of the humour comes from the fact that it's cheap and cheerful. One big thing this is missing - which I know you're capable of doing because of the work you did on YoYoCoin this jam - Online Highscores!!

Boom! by Alice
Almost every level was a struggle for me intellectually - perhaps because I am playing too early in the morning lol. The idea is really great though, and well executed. The characters being just letters makes their in-game functions kind of unintuitive - I guess there's a trade off here. The gimmick of them spelling out BOOM is worth keeping, but also if they'd been characterised more as animals or monsters it might have helped me to remember what each one did. Anyway I love the game overall, just nitpicking so that you have some constructive crit in there, but this is a 9/10 entry for sure.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
Not finished like you say, but a very interesting mechanic and well-implemented too. Would've loved to have seen this in a more complete form! Big points for doing something ambitious and thinking outside the box though.

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
Best Concept: Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
Best Presentation: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story: The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
Best Devlog: ...

Full ranking:

  1. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  2. Boom! by Alice
  3. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  4. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  5. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  6. Fish Food by Ezra
  7. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  8. COLD by Toque
  9. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  10. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  11. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  12. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  13. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  14. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  15. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  16. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  17. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  18. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  19. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  20. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  21. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Unranked (see comments for why)
  • E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  • I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
  • Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  • Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

Quite clever, I really liked that opening sequence how navigating the first level zooms out to reveal the big "Mistake". Not a fan of the graphics, they make the game hard to look at for an extended period of time. Overall I like the thought but could be done a little better on the execution side of things.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Nice one - a pretty funny little minigame. Could do with some online highscores!

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

A well-made pinball game with a good physics engine, nice graphics and sound. Really well presented - although my main gripe is with the color of the ball vs. the color of the background! It can be hard to see sometimes, maybe the ball could have been silver or something. Also online highscores would've been great, although I recognise that's not within everyone's reach in the timescale of the jam. Finally, the play on words for the title is fantastic.

Boom! by Alice

Almost every level was a struggle for me intellectually - perhaps because I am playing too early in the morning lol. The idea is really great though, and well executed. The characters being just letters makes their in-game functions kind of unintuitive - I guess there's a trade off here. The gimmick of them spelling out BOOM is worth keeping, but also if they'd been characterised more as animals or monsters it might have helped me to remember what each one did. Anyway I love the game overall, just nitpicking so that you have some constructive crit in there, but this is a 9/10 entry for sure.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

Lol well done for trying. It's amazing that you managed to create something in such an old version of GameMaker that *sort of* works... however it repeatedly locks up on my machine and has to be closed with the task manager. The perils of using such an old program! The best I managed was 9 clowns with 49 seconds left to go before it crashed.

COLD by Toque

I was working in the lab late one night, When my eyes beheld an eerie sight (etc. etc.) I like the concept of this one. Good story - I guessed the gist of the ending a few scraps of paper in ;) I feel sorry for the owls and polar bears I shot, but not the zombie humans. They can go to hell as far as I'm concerned.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

___________________________________________
############################################################################################
ERROR in
action number 1
of Create Event
for object objMainController:

Unable to find a handler for exception FHINPUT: fhInputInitialize(): Project Directory #macro setting is not set to a valid directory(or you forgot to turn off the sandbox).
NO CALLSTACK
at gml_Object_objMainController_Create_0
############################################################################################
gml_Object_objMainController_Create_0 (line -1)



Sorry, can't play this one.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

Well that sure was a game! I don't know that the C--- word is appropriate for the GMC Jam, but other than that the story was good, pretty funny. Thanks for hosting the jam Evan!

Fish Food by Ezra

The graphics are really good, and the animations in between levels and when you die etc. I really like the story, the overall concept and the humour. The clues to the words to type are a bit vague, and tripped me up on pretty much every run-through when I got to them.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

As usual it's impressive that you manage to do so much with the 3D visuals in GameMaker: Studio, but I think the gameplay itself suffers as a result of spending all your time getting the 3D to look good! The controls are quite claggy and the pick-ups hard to navigate to. I think if you guys are sticking together as a team for future jams try reducing the scope of the graphics a bit and focusing around one air-tight, fun game mechanic.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Well, it fits the theme! I made a BIG MISTAKE playing this game and you made a BIG MISTAKE using loads of copyrighted material :p

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

A pretty well-made city destruction game. Who doesn't like controlling a giant man-eating dinosaur on its murderous campaign to destroy civilisation?? Good graphics, good gamefeel. Gamepad controls are mapped a little weird (A/gp_face1 doesn't advance the main menu or do anything in game?) - that's my main suggestion for improvement.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

Not finished like you say, but a very interesting mechanic and well-implemented too. Would've loved to have seen this in a more complete form! Big points for doing something ambitious and thinking outside the box though.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

Very clever gesture mechanics - I really like that. Never seen something that complex in terms of gestures made with GameMaker before, so that's a huge bonus. The game itself is pretty boring/repetitive unfortunately - but I'd love to see you make use of that mechanic in something a bit different.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

A cool idea for a game and the graphics are good - but it's obviously not finished.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Could not open on my PC, sorry.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

My game. Needs audio but tbh I'm pretty happy with the gameplay. It stands up on its own two feet and I think I did well to keep the scope small so I'm not hogging everyone's review time lol.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Ah, a game of the old "move two things at once using the walls to stop one thing while you move the other" - a timeless classic mechanic, and pretty well executed here. All the levels were well designed (and some funny with hidden references cough cough) and the graphics and sound were good. Well done.

Shroom Boy by Poizen

I can't say for sure but it seems the big mistake is falling down the hole with the skeleton in it? I can't seem to progress beyond that room. Anyhow, I really like this. There could have been a little more to it, but the controls are good and the visuals are cute. I like that the physics are unrealistic in a "forgiving" way, so the game has better quality of life (you roll down hills but stop dead on flats so you don't frustratingly roll down hill forever).

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Afaict it's a joke game! Only got the one ending (despite the title screen saying 15 levels - I assume that's part of the joke :p)

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

This is pretty good! I really like the story, although I thought it jumped the shark a bit at the very very end. A baguette is always a funny weapon, the graphics were pretty decent despite being so simple. I think there's room for improvement in a variety of places: a mini map for places you've already been, faster movement, more complex enemies and more attack patterns for the final boss. But overall it's a solid entry.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

I understand it's not always easy to do in a jam but my first piece of advice is introduce mechanics / post tutorials *one at a time* - see Alice's entry for an example of this. Players who start the game reading nine pages of text will forget half of it ;) In terms of the game, there's not an awful lot to it but it *is* funny. I like the humour, especially the simple but effective animation when you lose a round.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

Easily the most fun I had in the whole jam. It's super simple, it's not particularly unique in that these "throw an object very far" games exist a billion times over - but I did have *the most fun* playing it. Played it for the longest time as well! I really wanted to get that stake to 1000 meters, which I eventually did (got to 1300 iirc). I like the sound effects made with your mouth, very funny, and the upgrades were all interesting and humourous too. Leaves a bit to be desired in the graphics department but I think if the art was good it would actually make the game worse lol, just because a lot of the humour comes from the fact that it's cheap and cheerful. One big thing this is missing - which I know you're capable of doing because of the work you did on YoYoCoin this jam - Online Highscores!!

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

I get the "joke" here, wheelchairs are a slow method of transport, but it really doesn't make for a fun game to play especially when you have limited time to get through all the games lol.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

I had high hopes for this being a cool little widget to play with - but maybe I've come to it too late? (playing on June 13th). The shares are all quite expensive, I poured 5,000 into @yoyo and 5,000 into @ROBO - beyond the obvious motivation of backing my own game these were some of the only shares I could actually afford! The share prices change ULTRA ULTRA slow, IDK if there's some interactivity I'm missing which influences them. I left the game open while doing other things and all that happened is my share price dropped (very veeeery slowly).
 

The M

Member
Reviews

Top 3:

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Fish Food by Ezra

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro



Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
Best Concept: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Presentation: Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
Best Story: Fish Food by Ezra

Full ranking:

  1. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  2. Fish Food by Ezra
  3. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  4. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  5. Boom! by Alice
  6. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  7. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  8. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  9. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  10. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  11. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  12. COLD by Toque
  13. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  14. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  15. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  16. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  17. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  18. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  19. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  20. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  21. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  22. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  23. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  24. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

Some of the puzzles were really challenging and there were a lot more than I expected. I felt clever once I realized the first level took place on a huge MISTAKE, and the zoom-out at the end of the level was a nice reveal (though the background didn't scale well with that kind of zoom). While it was very thematic, reading the text in the first level was awkward as large portions were outside the screen at once and you had to read while completing challenges. I also didn't find it obvious what was dangerous at first and had to find out through trial and error.

The levels varied in difficulty between challenging and brutal. I think the margin for error was a little narrower than I would have liked, especially for the S level where you didn't have any control over the rhythm and had to hope you wouldn't get shot because there wasn't much you could do about it. I felt similarly with the M and A levels, while the rest felt at least somewhat fair. I liked the variety and the way you managed to incorporate each letter into the levels.

The platforming engine was decent. I'm not sure if the mid-air jump was intentional or not but I made sure to use it to its fullest and it turned out to be very useful in some levels. I think it was a little too easy to get stuck on walls and I felt like hitting the Ts from the side was a bit of a gamble, but considering how well I could climb the S shapes I'd say it's a win over all.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

I think the phrase "I have *armed* the tentacle" is such a great line and it really fits the theme. I think this game makes it justice and I had a lot of fun swinging the tentacle around.

In my opinion the game is too easy. It's not very hard to get the tentacle spinning around you and then you're more or less impossible to reach. I think that maybe slowing down scientists and giving the knife a slightly larger hitbox would be well enough to add some challenge while still being possible to overcome. Alternatively, if the game had a fixed length, then hitting people with the knife would be more important because it would be the only way to reach the higher scores.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

The physics of the game impressed me, though the speeds sometime made it very hard to follow the ball, especially since the backgrounds and the ball had very similar colors. I enjoyed the challenge of getting past the bulls to hit the heart squares and collect the keys. In comparison it felt like the second stage with Miss Steak was not only harder (to both survive and to rack up points in), but a little less interesting in its layout.

I loved the graphics on the side bar. Even though I didn't have too much time to look at it, it added up over the course of the game. In general, the maps looked great and the game felt complete.

Boom! by Alice

I liked how much you managed to get out of each letter, both in terms of gameplay and personality. I'm especially in love with the wheel O, which came as a surprise after the other O moved like a normal letter would. I liked the many different ideas explored and it didn't feel like they outstayed their welcome. I thought the difficulty curve grew nicely over the course of the game (though with the final level being surprisingly simple). The level where you locked the Os into different rooms was a real curve ball, but I managed to figure it out by means of eliminating any other possible solutions (which there thankfully were few of) and it was fun to have that move in the arsenal for the later levels (though I don't think it was strictly necessary).

It was a little confusing to get controller instructions for something other than an Xbox controller, which I would assume to be standard for PC-gaming. It wasn't hard to figure out how the buttons mapped, but it was still a surprise.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

I have to say, It's amazing to think this was made with Game Maker 1 and it still runs well. It puts into perspective how far we've come!

I'll consider this the official sequel to Catch the Clown. Getting the clowns were easy enough at first, but they got darn fast really quickly. I think the game lasted just long enough that it felt like it was worth going to the end. When all's said and done, the game is only so interesting, but I love the challenge of it.

COLD by Toque

I really like the color scheme, it adds a lot of mystery to the world and looks great! The gameplay was straightforward, though some of the enemies felt a bit unfair (in particular the wolf appearing out of nowhere on the third floor of a building) and I wasn't sure at first whether the humans were hostile or not, though I decided to shoot first and question it later.

I liked the variety to the visuals, but at the same time wished there was more variation in the gameplay. Of the four enemy types I counted, only the spiders were different from the rest in that they took a second hit to kill. Ammo management was an interesting aspect, but I didn't feel too close to running out. I think if some buildings were optional (perhaps containing ammo or such) and if you could avoid some enemies, it'd be more interesting. The way the story was revealed through news scraps was awesome!

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

It took me a couple of tries to understand what to do and how to do it. I think having some small tool tips would help a lot as I wouldn't have to memorize to the same extent which icon means what when reading the manual. Also, the graphics aren't bad but since everything is so dark I found it hard to see things properly.

I love the idea of basing this on the old E.T. game. While I haven't played the original, this seems to be a rather faithful recreation from what I can tell. I liked the cut-scenes and the game actually works pretty well once you know what to do: It's intense and you have to be constantly aware of both the surroundings and your health.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

The guitar battle was such a great gag. I even tried to beat it after figuring out how the keys mapped. The humor of this game was right down my alley and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It'd have been nice with a few more interactables as most of the game consisted of reading dialogue and playing unbeatable(?) mini-games.

It's always interesting when people use assets outside the game to do meta things. In this case, it felt a bit arbitrary, but it's gotten me thinking about what could be done. Maybe I'll steal the idea for a later jam! ;)

Fish Food by Ezra

I'm glad I failed one of the tasks because that animation was on a complete different level of spectacle! The game has a lot of charm and is so absurd in everything it does that I can't help but love it. The mini-games, unfortunately(?), are completely unrelated to the rest of the game.

I was impress by the sheer number of different mini-games. I failed one because I thought it was the same as another I'd already done and was super-confused when it turned out to be something else entirely. Other than that instance, I found the games to be straightforward and easy to understand. I think the balance of the games was good over all, and they felt mostly fair.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

I like how smooth movement is in the game and it feels great going up ramps and into the air, especially when combined with the hype boost. On the other hand, the inability to jump felt limiting and also meant that most of the map was flat, which wasn't very exciting. The glowing trail behind the player was cool and added to the sense of motion.

I liked the different tasks and the sheer size of the city, complete with trains moving on the bridge, was impressive and made it fun to explore. I kind of wish that more elements, such as the merry-go-round, were interactable to get more challenging things to complete. While hunting for letters was fun on its own, it felt somewhat mundane in comparison to, say, catching the disco ball.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Well, I was expecting something, but I wasn't expecting this. At least there actually was a platformer in there. I think you have a chance of reaching your goal!

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

Being able to fire beams of destruction from your mouth is a great way to start a power trip. It was a little tricky getting the buttons right for moves, especially for the stomp, which I often messed up. Thankfully, your health pool is just as big as your body and eating enemies to regain health helped keep me going. I think the people were a little dull, not reacting to the collapsing buildings around them. On the other hand, I liked how you could predict where planes would approach by looking at the background.

I wasn't sure what the goal of the game was: to kill people, destroy buildings, survive until the time ran out, or get all the way to the right. In the end I basically did all of it.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

I think the mechanic of having a movable window that can be freely controlled is a novel one. At first it seemed fairly basic, but when you started mixing in spiked and the levels had you make sure only parts of the area was covered, it got a lot more complex and interesting. I think that despite the game not being what you'd envisioned there's enough here to show the core of the idea.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

The game's interesting but it seems a little odd to only have one level, considering the huge number of tattoos available. Maybe the priorities were a little skewed? I think the premise is fun, but I wonder if the game would get repetitive quickly, as it's basically a guessing game and which tattoos you pick doesn't really seem to matter.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

The game nails the retro style, thanks to awesome sounds, graphics and a kicking music track. It all works together to create a lot of atmosphere. I loved the particle effects to show water and teleport surfaces as well as the squash and stretch on the player character. The only thing that stood out as not quite fitting was the sparks the flames let off. I think they would be better as a single pixel, rather than a semi-transparent star, as all other effects are more pixelated.

When it comes to gameplay, there were a lot of content and I liked how natural movement felt through the different mediums. Picking up speed as you run, jumping higher in water with rising bubbles, and bouncing on enemies all felt natural and gave dimensions to what could have been a very standard platformer. Add to that breakable platforms, waterfalls and teleport surfaces and there's a smorgasbord of mechanics to play with. Honestly, it all ended too quickly. I wasn't prepared for the sudden empty room just as the challenges started ramping up. It felt like the game stopped right before the climax, which put a little dampener on the experience. I still enjoyed it thoroughly, and while the story was something I've seen before, it still resonates and adds a solid thread to the progression.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

It's a cute game with interesting mechanics. I found the lack of sound to be a bummer because it would have made the experience much more complete and, somewhat ironically, the silence stood out more given that the rest of the game felt very polished.

I thought the base mechanic of shooting enemies was fine, but not super-interesting. I really liked how you built on it though, and how each level got its own twist on the formula (except for the last one?). It helped keeping it fresh and added some tension, both with the enemies being invisible between pulses, but also how just having a larger target through the city made it harder to defend and upped the ante as houses crumbled. By the time the purple dinos were introduced I had to throw accuracy to the wind in favor for button mashing, which was a little bit of a let down because it worked really well and I feel like accuracy should matter in some way. I did appreciate the leniency on the timing and positioning of the shots though. That felt fair.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

The game has a very chill vibe that is complemented by its snappy transitions and puzzles that never push into "difficult" territory but instead present a large set of smaller challenges. Combined with generous range of the coil, it makes the game flow and feel great to play. I think the background is a little hard to distinguish from the foreground, which makes the level more obtuse than necessary, but that's a minor complaint.

I think the game used the wrapping screen to its fullest. With that said, I think that if you were to add more levels you would need to introduce another mechanic to keep it from growing stale. Maybe a locked door and a key to collect could add a couple of more levels and spice things up?

Shroom Boy by Poizen

I think the mechanic of turning into a ball is really interesting and the way you get to explore the level is exciting. The world is beautifully drawn and I like the simple art style. It's also neat how you get different sound effects depending on how hard you launch the ball. I wasn't a big fan of how slow the ball felt when moving, especially since you can't control it in mid-air. I feel like speeding it up a little would improve the pace of the game. The camera work was interesting and I think it worked pretty well, though in some cases it felt like it snapped unnecessarily much when continuous, smooth movement would be better.

Also, nice little reference there at the end :)

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

I was fully expecting something along the line of Rules of the Rhinoceros and then the game did a 180 in a way I definitely wasn't prepared for... Well done!

I naturally restarted the game and tried to not hit any blocks, then, considering its origins, I tried hitting the blocks with my fist instead but alas, it didn't work. At least I got to see a flying ambulance!

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

The mechanics were very interesting, both with the bread swinging and the muddy rooms. I liked finding paths through the rooms but it felt somewhat arbitrary to have rooms to begin with, especially since the arrows clearly didn't care for walls and only showed the direction of the goal, not the path to it.

I think the bread swinging could be improved if the mouse was locked in an area around the player. As it was now, it worked great if you held the mouse close but as you moved, or got near a corner, it was hard to get any major effects. If you held the mouse far away from the baker, the baguette barely moved at all despite me swiping across the entire screen. It was pretty fun to whack the enemies (why fireballs with teeth?) and I think it could be elevated further with some cartoony sound effects and a smack of visual flair.

The story was nice and encapsulated the game nicely, making it feel complete.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

The instructions were scary, going through so many things you had to do, but at first the game didn't feel too challenging as tasks were easily enough to schedule, which was nice. It took quite a while before things started getting hectic and then it quickly spiraled out of control. I'm not sure how to answer the door when the bomb guy gets swamped in bomb after bomb to disarm. It felt like I hit a wall that just wasn't possible to get past. I'd have liked some clearer indication of bear guy's mood to help me know how dire the door situation was. With that said, I enjoyed the challenges and they had a good complexity level: enough to demand attention, while simple enough that they could easily be started and completed without losing track of the rest of the game.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

It's a very clever take on the theme and something about a vampire hunter just flinging wooden stakes around, hoping to hit something appeals to me. I like the upgrades and think there's a pretty solid number of different obstacles and bonuses. However, the lack of player input and output was a bit disappointing.

For one, because the camera has a fixed field of view it means that high throws will mostly be the player watching a wooden stick against a purple background and nothing more. You have no frame of reference so it's very hard to tell anything about the throw. Secondly, once you've thrown the stake, you have almost no input. Yes, there are the grenades, but they only speed up the stake and can't help you if, for example, there's a water pit that you're heading right for. Also, since it's hard to see things coming, you also have very little chance to react to anything.

I guess you could argue that the game doesn't have to give a ton of options mid-flight, (and for a jam game that might be well enough) but I'd say the best games in the genre do, so that could be worth taking inspiration from.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

It's an interesting concept, though I feel like it could be explored further. The way you move in the game is funny, but it's atrociously slow and the entertainment value faded quickly. I think the way you could use the gun to shape the stage allowed for some interesting puzzles, but they were all variations on the same thing and never grew in scale, which was a little disappointing. I imagine you could do some large, intricate puzzles with the node-popping mechanic too!

I was considering shooting the witness on floor 4, but then I thought better and just played stealthily, which felt was the right way to go.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

I'd hesitate to call this a game, though I guess that's a question of definition. It's a very interesting simulation and I'm curious as to what will become of my investments. I think this was a great idea, but I also feel like I was late to the party so we'll see if I can still turn a profit.

The UI is neat but doesn't give enough information in my opinion. While it's great to see the growth over the last 24 hours of all stocks, I miss the ability to tell which line represents which stock. It'd be neat with a bit of highlighting.
 
Sorry for the delay, played all but one game right away and had troubles getting back here to wrap things up. Just wanted to mention I enjoyed participating and playing everyone's entries!

Reviews

Top 3:

Boom! by Alice
This game hurt my brain and I liked it. Some very clever puzzles and each puzzle builds on the mechanics rather than having single-scene gimmicks. Takes a little time to get familiar with the rules, but it does start becoming second nature by the end. Pacing is hard to do in puzzles, but I think this pulled it off fairly well.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
6170 is my best score so far. I keep wanting to defuse the bombs left to right, so I end up with a backlog. The controls are very fluid though and it still feels great in all the chaos.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
I've probably played this the longest. Some type of sky gradient would be cool, because without the ground and enemies everything is just purple. Current best is 7500m across, 1600m up.

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: Boom! by Alice
Best Concept: There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
Best Presentation: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story: Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Full ranking:

  1. Boom! by Alice
  2. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  3. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  4. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  5. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  6. Fish Food by Ezra
  7. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  8. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  9. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  10. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  11. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  12. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  13. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  14. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  15. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  16. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  17. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  18. COLD by Toque
  19. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  20. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  21. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  22. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  23. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
  24. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

I can't believe I beat it. Well done.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Cool knife mechanic, unfortunately 'try again' doesn't work so it makes it really hard to play.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

Solid pinball game! Reminded me of the hours I'd spend on Space Cadet back in the day, so this brought back good memories.

Boom! by Alice

This game hurt my brain and I liked it. Some very clever puzzles and each puzzle builds on the mechanics rather than having single-scene gimmicks. Takes a little time to get familiar with the rules, but it does start becoming second nature by the end. Pacing is hard to do in puzzles, but I think this pulled it off fairly well.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

The audio makes this one. I think 61 is a respectable score.

COLD by Toque

Nice atmosphere! I really like the inclusion of limited ammo.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

Crashed on launch, I thought that might be a clever homage the original, but I found your fixed link and I gave it shot. I struggled a bit, but I feel like any critique I could make would be more guided at the original, so I'll leave it at that.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

Lots to appreciate here, and it has enough self-critique that I don't have much to add. I'll have to mention the file-part to my wife, she used to play a game with that mechanic.

Fish Food by Ezra

Very polished and full of clever puns. I found the directional puzzle a little confusing at first, but it also came up first so I wasn't in the swing of things yet.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

Really struggled to get the letter at the starting area, otherwise really well done. 3D work in GMS impresses me, and to go for it in a jam (and pull it off) is really cool. Reminds me of the pc games that would come in cereal boxes back in the day.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

I've never seen so much effort put into being the worst game. +10pts

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

Brings me back to playing Rampage on the NES. I wasn't sure what the objective was at first (survive until timer, amount of destruction, etc), but got to the end eventually.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

First off, really cool. Love the visuals and how the wrenches collide with the block when its visible. I had trouble with jumping accurately though and died at times not knowing why, which kind of took away from the experience. Also closed abruptly after what I presume was the last level.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

Was excited to play this, but it turns out I can't draw very well. Very nice visually, and nice variety.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

Ran out of back space the first time, second time I just followed the lines. Next playthrough I put down four large pyramids for the win - the Egyptians knew what they were doing. Some sort of fail condition would've added to it, but cool nonetheless!

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Amazing. The fluidity, animations, abundance of checkpoints, multi-purpose enemies, and ability to go back through the map are just a few of the awesome things in this game. I thought I might have to give up on the last portal section, but glad I pushed through. Loved the block-platforms and how they'd break in the direction of movement. Great attention to detail.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Reminds me of movie tie-in games. Good variety in the levels without straying from the core mechanic.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Really like the puzzles, never felt unfair. Controls are smooth!

Shroom Boy by Poizen

It feels like it's impossible to know where you'll end up. I couldn't make it through a bend in the underground portion, so unfortunately thats as far as I got.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

That was pretty funny, I'll give you that.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Neat concept. I'd have appreciated buttons to do a few preset moves, but that detracts from the fun of flailing the mouse I guess.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

6170 is my best score so far. I keep wanting to defuse the bombs left to right, so I end up with a backlog. The controls are very fluid though and it still feels great in all the chaos.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

I've probably played this the longest. Some type of sky gradient would be cool, because without the ground and enemies everything is just purple. Current best is 7500m across, 1600m up.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

Hard to navigate the tickers and they all show up as an undifferentiated blob of red. I love the concept though (who wouldn't want to buy there own jam game?) and the backend seems really cool.
 

Micah_DS

Member
~ Reviews ~

Top 3:

COLD by @Toque
Oh hey, a moody, action adventure-like artsy thing? Yes, please!

I thought the ammo being limited combined with many enemies being unavoidable would be a problem, but it really wasn't. After playing carefully on the first play, I played it again, except this time I fired like mad, without much thought of conserving ammo, and I still made it through just fine. Since the limited ammo didn't prove to be a real issue, the harshest critique I can give is that the collision handling on the walls hurts the game feel and presentation a bit, since it 'jitters' when holding into a wall. Still, it's not enough of an issue to truly mess with the game's appeal. At least, for me..

Now on to the good: Looking at what this game is trying to be, it clearly delivers. The art is a great example of using limits to achieve a goal within a time frame, and looking great doing it. I think you did amazingly well with the art, because the art combined with the music choice really creates the proper mood and atmosphere. And combining that with how the story unfolds for a twist ending really seals the deal, making the game a pretty special experience. I'd say this is a great story-based use of the theme.

Looking back on previous jams, this is easily my favorite game from you, Toque. It's not an earth-shattering game, sure, but I don't think I'll forget this experience for years to come, and that's an incredible feat for a jam game. Bravo.
Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by @Mr Magnus
This is that genius kind of addictive game that would work well on phones; it is extremely addictive. I played this for over half an hour, continuing on for quite a while after unlocking everything, attempting to achieve larger distances. My furthest horizontal distance is 4655.94 meters, using the leg of lamb. My highest vertical reach is 2245.42 meters, using the glass stake.

I 'think' it's intentional, but I'll put this out there in case it's a bug: Sometimes the stake would reverse direction after hitting the base of a treasure chest. In this case, I did not get the golden speed boost, just the direction flip.

I don't really know what to say except that all the mechanics worked great together. The only suggestion I would make is to allow the player to stop a stake's run at any given time to begin a new run, because there were times I had to wait a stake out for no reason. The wait was never bad, but it would still improve the fun factor to give the player the control to cut a run early.

So I can't really see anything too terribly wrong to criticize here. The lack of music didn't really hurt the game at all, since the sound effects were a lot of fun, and the rough art style is quite fitting with the humorous stake on the theme (yes, that typo is intentional). Great job at making a game with very simple input while still being super fun and funny!
Big Miss Steak by @Pixel-Team
Quite fun! On my first play, I scored 2,055,331 points. On my second play, I scored 2,584,463. Both times I made it past the first stage, reaching Miss Steak.

This is the weirdness I both expect and crave from game jams, thank you. Only one real problem here... where is the cow bell?!? There's no cow bell in the music and no cow bell sound effects, unless I just missed them somehow? If there is truly no cow bell, I wouldn't say it's a big mistake, but it's certainly a missed opportunity. Aside from that, I never really know how to control the ball in pinball games. I can tell there is some level of control, but if there is a way to truly control the trajectory, it's lost on me. Breakout physics make sense to me, but pinball never has. Despite that, this pinball game is more forgiving than other pinball games I've played, so I like that. The scoring system and all the things to hit and trigger really made it fun and rewarding.

I really enjoyed the art and audio (despite the lack of cow bell). The intro and menu feels a bit more graphically polished than the game itself, but the game's art is still good. I guess I just enjoyed the overall aesthetics, perhaps because it has a somewhat classic game feel to it, like some DOS games I've played in the past.

In summary, this one feels special to me. It was a pleasure to play.

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme "A Big Mistake" : YoYoCoin Market by @Mr Magnus
Best Concept : Boom! by @Alice
Best Presentation : I, T'kemsa by @Siolfor the Jackal
Best Story : COLD by @Toque
Best Devlog : Fjootjah Skate by @Bart, @Xor, @TheSnidr

Full ranking:
  1. COLD by Toque
  2. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  3. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  4. Fish Food by Ezra
  5. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  6. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  7. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  8. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  9. Boom! by Alice
  10. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  11. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  12. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  13. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  14. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  15. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  16. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  17. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  18. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  19. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  20. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  21. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  22. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  23. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
Note: 'I will win the GMC Jam 41' was left unranked, due to a violation of jam rules (and the forum's general guidelines). See my comments below for details.

Comments:
A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
When I first played this, I couldn't figure out how to pass the very beginning part with the pit, so I actually gave up, thinking the game was too hard, if not impossible, and I left a review expressing my dissatisfaction (I've included my original review below). Thankfully, I came back to this game after playing and reviewing all the other games and that's when I realized you could actually clear the pit by jumping across the top. On my first play, I didn't think you could jump across on the top because of the red death above it, plus it was a really long jump, so I was always trying to go down in the pit and land on safe areas. Anyway, once I figured that out, I was able to continue on to beat the whole game, so here's my revised review:

It was a little on the unforgiving side, and the platforming was a bit rudimentary. I found myself catching on the terrain a few times, which usually got me killed. Also, a lot of the text placed in the level was too hard to focus on enough to read because I was focusing so hard on surviving, so hopefully that stuff wasn't too important. Despite missing some text, I think I read enough to get the gist of it.

Though I have a lot of criticisms, overall I think you made a good game. You did really well keeping most bounding boxes at a good size, like the things you have to bounce on top of but can't touch the bottom - those felt really good. You also offered some pretty interesting and varied situations to go through. The gameplay didn't get stale. The first level seemed a tad long, but only because I wanted a checkpoint sooner, but the rest of the levels were perfect.

I'm glad I gave this another shot. I can't say the narrative touched me or made me feel a new sense of revelation about overcoming mistakes, but I can say that the gameplay was a fun challenge to overcome.


~ OG REVIEW ~

I NOPED OUT.. FAST.. LOL.

Joking aside, I honestly did quit pretty fast. The skip button didn't seem to work either. I tried to use it so I could at least see some more of the game, but since it did not work, I ended up never seeing past the very first pit of spikes. Is it even possible?

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
A very minimal concept, yet it still makes for some pretty fun gameplay (physics, ftw!) and it's also a solid and great comedic use of the theme. I really like that the tentacle and knife give different point values, because that adds a lot to the challenge and reward for skillful execution.

Admittedly, I didn't read the readme at first, so - due to the way the intro was worded - I thought the goal was to let someone turn off the switch without getting them killed, haha. Yep, I lost the first time around. Then I clicked to play again and no one ever came, so there's a bug that you'll probably hear a lot of people point out. But exiting and reopening the game is simple enough. My only real gripe is that the high score isn't saved.

Boom! by Alice
Ok, don't think I hate this, I'm just starting with the negative stuff:

First, the difficulty progression was good, except I felt that 'No Room to Swing a Cat' was MUCH harder than 'Hitting the Wall', which directly followed it.
Secondly, the theme usage seems to be a failed application so I'm considering it weak. The game says "notes are filled with mistakes" and we need to "eradicate the mistakes", yet the play field doesn't look like any kind of notes, as there are no words or even any letters other than the BOOM letters. It appears that we aren't eradicating typos. It would've made more sense to make it about construction, where people built walls where they shouldn't have, and you need to blow them up. Something like that. Hopefully I've explained this well enough - it just seems like the theme use was a miss here because it depends a lot on the situation described, but the situation described doesn't appear to match the gameplay correctly.

Now for the good:

The concept is awesome. I absolutely love the puzzles. There are SO many great mechanics here, and the puzzles were interesting and they actually took a bit of thought to solve. I think I spent far longer on them than I should have, taking me just over 40 minutes to play the whole game, but perhaps it's just an off day for me, or maybe I was enjoying them too much, who knows.

Honestly, the only thing I found bad about this game is the theme use, which will unfortunately knock my ranking of it down pretty hard, but the game itself is super good, wow. I think this might be my favorite puzzle game out of all the previous GMC Jams I've been a part of.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
Ahh, a little nostalgic nightmare. This was a necessary evil, thank you. It's terrible, but that was clearly the intent. And I love that you made it with GM1. I didn't think GM1 games would even run on a modern OS, haha.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
Whew! That is certainly a challenging game on level two and three, but especially on level three.

I almost gave up on the third level because of the timing I had to have to set up an opening for the final push to the rocket spot in the corner. In explaining, since the FBI building is so freaking close, scaring the agent away won't keep him away for long, so you have to scare him then immediately make a dash for the rocket, but on top of that you have to time scaring away the lab enemy before that, so you don't have to deal with them as well, and to give you time to replenish energy because if you don't, you'll likely run out of energy from the screaming and levitating you'll be doing, since there is no spot to eat in the lower right corner. All of this adds up to a very challenging spot there.

I think the game really just needed a tutorial to teach the player all of the elements step-by-step, as opposed to throwing them all out there in a readme. I understand you opted for working on the endings, but just saying.
Aside from that, movement didn't feel the greatest in the pits, especially with how levitating requires you to hold up along with the levitation button. That really didn't feel good. Why did up need to be pressed along with the levitate button? Very strange choice. In any case, the game is very doable once you learn the layout of the map and once you have studied the enemy movements enough.

I'm not sure what the theme use is though. Is the big mistake E.T. allowing himself to get left on earth, like in the movie? If the big mistake is ending 1 and 2, then it feels strange, because what if a player skips those levels and only beats level 3? Since the big mistake doesn't HAVE to happen, it feels to me like a poor use of the theme.

Moving on from gameplay and theme use, it seems a considerable amount of the assets were made pre-jam, and quite a few were 3rd party, so not much to say there, except that your combined choice of art assets are a bit on the horrendous side, yet somehow it kind of works to give a certain character to the game, which avoids a dull or plain look and feel, so it might not look great, but I think you could've done worse.

That's about it. Hopefully this doesn't sound 'too' negative. In truth, I was a bit frustrated with the game at first, but once I learned how everything works and got familiar with the map, I had fun. So, again, I think it really just needed a proper tutorial to get the player ready. Playing the levels in order sort of does that, but as I said, it needed something more "step-by-step", introducing elements one by one.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
I used alt+enter to go fullscreen and I didn't understand why the game went into windowed mode by itself at a certain point, so I just put it back to full screen, and then just a bit later it said to go into the app data... ah....

I can't think of too much to say here, since this was really just an interactive story. That's fine, but I do prefer at least some gameplay, and by that I mean something you can win or lose, so there is a sense of accomplishment.

The humor was like cheap wine. It did the job.

I didn't hate this, but I didn't get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Sorry to say that. The humor was good, just not great, and that's basically all this was, and a lot of assets were made pre-jam and were made by a 3rd party, so I feel like I need to rank this pretty low out of respect for other games. I wanted to like this a lot more, but it just fell a bit flat, sorry mr. raccoon.

Fish Food by Ezra
I beat normal on my third play. On my fourth play, I tried hard and lost. I won hard on my fifth play, but I messed up once. At that point, I decided I needed to move on to other games, so I didn't quite rise to the challenge of a perfect hard game, but I was very close. That said, I admit, I saw an exploit and I took advantage of it; I screen-captured the memorization parts. That's not cheating though! It's not cheating unless you're hacking, that's the rule. ;)

I really liked all the things. You did a great job on all the assets and the mechanics. Your readme is quite wordy, so I thought the game was going to have overcomplicated mini games and/or inputs, but it was actually very easy to pick up and play, even if I hadn't read the readme, I would've been able to follow along just fine. The mini games were impressively fun too. Very good!

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
Slightly buggy, but fun.

The Bugs: After boosting like mad to launch off of the steep ramp to collect the disco ball (I guess that's what it was?) I found myself stuck on an invisible upper layer. I was only able to drop down once I made my way back to the half pipe area near the steep ramp where you collect the disco ball. Aside from that, when I got to the exit, I pushed the alien ball dudes outside, hoping to have some fun launching them off of ramps, but I soon realized that they were obviously locked to a certain "z" level. I ended up pushing one guy into a hill, effectively burying him alive... I was unable to get him out, so... RIP, sorry bro.

Anyway, the physics were a little lacking, not really making for much of a skater game, but it worked well enough to be enjoyable, and the humor was good. I noticed some nice material shaders in there too. Nice work, guys!

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
This is a tough one. The memes make me say "yes, daddy", but the copyright infringement makes me say "this ain't it, chief".

It was really funny, but since the jam rules state "The creators of the entry must have rights to all of the assets; unlicensed use of resources is not allowed.", I'm leaving this unranked. If you want last place, I think you should earn it properly by making a beautiful dumpster fire that is all your own.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
On my first try, I ate 69 people and destroyed 31 buildings. Strangely, on my second try I only got 50 people and 31 buildings. On my third try, I ignored as much as possible while trying to get as many people as I could, which got me.... 49..? .. So it was at this point that I realized I should be happy with a 69.

Anyway, as far as what I think about the game, who doesn't like a good oversized dinosaur/monster rampage sim? While I do tend to like your previous 2.5D fighting games a bit more, this is definitely right below those in terms of fun factor for me. I'm not sure why I prefer the 2.5D fighters over this, but I'm assuming it's just because I can either more around more freely and/or it's because of my memories of playing TMNT with friends.

Of course, you never fail to deliver some nice rock music and your art and animation here seems to be some of your best yet. I really can't see anything bad here, though I will say that a different scoring system could have made it even more fun, like combo chains with score multipliers, and giving the ability to block incoming damage to prevent combo breaks or something. Of course, along with that you'd want to save the high score, either locally, so the player could come back to try to beat their best, or online with a leaderboard, so people could compete.

Ah, but I digress. Good game, well done.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
Unfinished, sure, but it's still fun.

The bad:
The signs were very, very hard to read, due to the black text against dark brown. Also, using WASD and the mouse in this manner was actually really unintuitive, at least for me. It's weird, because WASD + mouse works great in FPS games, and that feels great to me, yet it felt awkward here and it was a bit frustrating, because I had a hard time controlling and often overshot platforms or I just felt overwhelmed. But maybe it's not even the controls. Perhaps it's the movement physics and/or the split focus on the player and the lens. All I know is that something or some combination of things made this game feel a bit too awkward.

The good:
I like the idea of dynamic addition and subtraction of elements from the play area, and this concept utilizes the idea in a way that makes for very interesting gameplay. I also think you explored the mechanics very well, creating a number of different scenarios. Because of this I was ultimately able to look past the awkward feeling I had, finding enjoyment in the game. I also really like how you made the mouse wrap within the window - that felt perfect.

I beat all the levels. BTW, I never got soft-locked.

Magic's Final Stand by The M
Very cool shape drawing mechanic, and it worked quite well. I used alt+enter to play in full screen, btw, so I don't know if it'd play as well windowed. Actually, I did accidentally click outside (on my second monitor) a couple times, even in full screen, but it wasn't a big deal. Of course, if it were a commercial game, I'd expect a camera to be implemented to follow the mouse, keeping the mouse more centered on screen, so the mouse never gets near the window edge, preventing the issue of a misclick.

I made it to 8:01 at "Dawn". It was fun, but my hand and wrist got tired enough that I died simply because I couldn't draw anymore and had to stop making shapes. Weird. I must've been really into it and was overly forceful or something. Whatever the case, I had to quit, and I think it's best I don't play it anymore.

It's presented quite well though, and I did find it enjoyable, even though my wrist didn't.

BONUS - A reason to move on to GMS2:
Your music doesn't loop seamlessly because music loops will always have pauses with any GM version prior to GMS2 (unless you use custom code). For a while, music didn't even loop properly in games made with GMS2, but it was addressed at some point. In GMS2, you can even stream from disk without any pause in the music loop (tested on a SSD). GMS2 is awesome! *wink wink*

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
A hilariously unique and weird concept. It's kind of like Battleship, but not really.

It's a good use of the theme, because it certainly is a big mistake to trust someone to give you random tattoos, and even more so when it's a mosquito! I think it was more 'funny' than it was 'fun' for me to play though, if that makes sense.

On my first play, I barely nailed the veins enough to beat the level, because I didn't really know what I was doing at first and I placed some larger tattoos in just the wrong places, preventing me from placing any other tattoos on vein points, even when using various small-shaped tats. On my second play, it was a lot easier to win.
Also on my first play, I was afraid the guy was able to cause me to lose if he hated a tat, so I played very carefully, sticking only to the 'cool' tats, since that's what he said he preferred.

Overall, not bad.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
Pretty cool. My only real gripe - and what I think to be this game's greatest flaw - is that it's really trying to go deep with the words/story, but the gameplay is demanding enough that the player may have trouble giving the story enough focus. Because of this, some players (like me) will find themselves forgetting what was just said on the last screen, meaning the next bit of text loses context. When I played it a second time, I didn't have much of an issue focusing on the storytelling, but I did on my first play.

I was very happy to see a lot of checkpoints. The game would be great with a hard mode as well, but for jams, if you don't have time to make difficulty levels or other accessibility options, I think it's always best to opt for making it easy.

The controls were easy to pick up and they were introduced pretty well. I was a bit sad to see a lot of the assets and engine were made before the jam, but I understand time constraints sometimes mean you can't make everything from scratch during the jam. I'm assuming you made the art and engine though, and I thought it looked and felt great.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
I'm assuming you didn't have a whole lot of free time for this jam, because the game feels like it's lacking a bit, especially compared to what you usually put out. That said, despite the lack of audio and more varied gameplay, it's still pretty fun, and you did quite well in creating fresh gameplay without changing much.

I think the thing I like most is that the different enemies not only have more health, but they also move at different speeds, which means you don't always go for the guys who appear first or even the guys who might be the closest at a given time, because another enemy might overtake them and begin causing damage first. It's a simple thing, but it really does add some spice to the gameplay.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
I love the overall concept and aesthetics, and the simple core mechanic of aligning your shadow to capture it, and the music is super nice as well, BUT the strong-yet-simple mechanics are stretched out too thin over too many levels, as they are unable to offer truly new problems to solve/overcome on each level; the player often beats a level by essentially doing something they've already done, just with an alternate route. Not in all levels, but in most of them.

The level design is often very 'loose', meaning puzzles can be beaten a number of ways, almost as if there really isn't a puzzle to solve, just a goal to reach and multiple paths to get there. This could make players (such as myself) feel less excited/satisfied when beating the level, because there are obviously multiple ways to beat it. Personally, it just feels so much more rewarding when discovering and solving 'the' solution.

There are also progression issues. For e.g., level 1 allows the player to find out about screen wrapping, but level 2 is dedicated to teaching that, making it redundant. There are other examples as well.

All this adds up to make the game feel a bit dull after just a few levels, which is very unfortunate, because I think this 'could' be a very good action-puzzle game. To fix the problem of becoming dull, it needs to cut back on levels and get redesigned, tighter levels, or - if you really want to have 15+ levels, it needs more elements added. For e.g.: Buttons that open and close doors, more elements that only the shadow or player can interact with, enemies, conveyor belts, - whatever you can add to either increase the puzzle aspect or the action aspect. With this game, you could really go ham with many types of puzzle and action elements.

-
OK, so I've rewritten this review A LOT. In the interest of keeping this somewhat short (yes, this is MUCH shorter than what I've ever had before...), I'm going to leave it at that, but I also highly recommend that you watch/listen to this Game Maker's Toolkit video, because it does amazing at explaining good puzzle design.

I hope I didn't sound too negative. I only said all of this because the game grabbed my attention more than most of the other games, and for good reasons, not bad ones. Again, the music is really great, and I love the sprites and the setting. I'd love to play an expanded game, with tighter puzzles and more elements added.

Shroom Boy by Poizen
I'm assuming this is similar to "Getting Over It", but I never played that or any game like this. Perhaps that's why I found it too difficult.

It was fine up until I came to the leaning sandy brick tower. I could get on the middle part, but the angle needed to get on top was apparently so precise that it was next to impossible to get a trajectory that would clear the underside of the top platform while allowing you to still move over enough to land on it. After numerous attempts, I gave up.

That said, it was a fun level of challenge up to that point, and I enjoyed the simple hand drawn graphical style and colors.

- EDIT -

After reading your response to my comments, I went back to play the game again, looking for that hole you mentioned. I didn't remember any hole at all, but when I played through it again, I soon realized what you were talking about, and I realized how it was that I missed it every time I played.

The hole looked dangerous with the red sign and all, so I naturally assumed it would kill me if I fell in, so I always jumped over it. The thought of going down it as an option didn't even cross my mind. I think the red sign was the culprit, and I consider it a design flaw. Perhaps having a sign at the tower pointing back or even downward would've fixed this, or instead of a red danger sign at the hole, you could have a yellow sign with a question mark or something.

Anyway, I continued on down the hole and made it to the end. It was an enjoyable experience. There were a couple challenging parts and I fell pretty far at one point and had to try it again a few times, but it never became frustrating enough to ruin the fun. I think my favorite part is where you shoot up into the underside of a curved wall to bounce away from the wall to do a wrap around of sorts that lands you on top of a platform. That felt super cool and it was very satisfying.

BTW, since I've now been able to experience the whole thing, I bumped your game up a couple more ranks from where I had it before.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
Oh come now, how is jumping that high ordinary? And how come I could jump off the highest block and fall all the way to the ground and be fine? How is that ordinary? It could've been funny, but I ruined it for myself because I overthought it...

I love NAAHH though. That's hilarious. And the theme use is actually very good. I just think the lack of consistency kind of ruined it, since he's not truly super ordinary.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
I only did the audio on this and I only ever played it after it was done, so I'm giving my review, just not ranking it:

Good difficulty level, great storytelling (my favorite part of this game is the way the story is told), and pretty fun combat, though the game does feel a bit lacking in variety. It feels like the core is there and polished pretty well, but it's lacking that extra spice in the gameplay to make the main goal of collecting things to unlock the door more fun.

The presentation is quite nice and the game overall is a good experience.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
You do know that it's a lie that people can truly multitask, and that what we actually do is rapidly switch our focus between tasks, and the faster we do that, the worse we perform, right?............. You do?....... and you still made this?...... *gasp!* eeeeevilllllll.

I died so fast on my first try that I don't even want to tell you what I scored. On my second try I scored 7895 in 2 minutes, 58 seconds. After my second play, I didn't want to prolong my suffering, so I called it at that, lol, nah, in reality I actually didn't hate the multitasking - it was fun. Hectic, but in a fun way. I just had trouble managing everything, but I guess that's the point. It was very weird/creative and I enjoyed the humor, especially being able to slap something as a bear and I love the extreme response of gunning down all the individuals who kindly knock. That's glorious.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
A man in a wheelchair with a gun... serving as more proof that jams bring out some truly wonderful concepts.

The movement almost felt slow enough to make me impatient, but not quite to that point, so I guess you nailed the speed, haha. If the levels were bigger, it would've been too slow though, but I'm pretty sure you were aware of this, so I guess I'm saying you did a good job there.

Aside from being a guy in a wheelchair with a gun, my favorite part is the ending. Oh, I also really like the squeaky sounds. On that note, I don't know if you intended this or not, but the lack of music allows the sounds to have more impact, so I think the lack of music is actually a good thing in this case, since the squeaky sound is very comedic and plays often, and amazingly, it isn't annoying. Maybe I'm crazy, but I honestly think the squeaky sound plays a key role in giving the game its character.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
I'm glad you brought this idea to life, even though I have very little idea on how to properly invest in the stock market. I just threw some money into multiple things. I came back to the game once or twice, but I didn't really feel much desire to really get into it. I felt like that would be... a big mistake.

I'm conflicted on how to rank this, but I'm going to rank it very low, because I ultimately see it as more of a somewhat cool experiment than I do an actual game. That said, it's a darn solid use of the theme, in my opinion.
 
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Reviews

Top 3:

Boom! by Alice
Awesome concept for a puzzle game. Other than mistakes that the player could make, didn't see much use of the theme. But that didn't stop me from enjoying.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
A fun, simple game filled with lots of destruction. Love the monster design

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
Cute artstyle and good detail on the backgrounds. A very satisfying puzzle experience.

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: COLD by Toque
Best Concept: Boom! by Alice
Best Presentation: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story: Fish Food by Ezra
Best Devlog: Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

Full ranking:

  1. Boom! by Alice
  2. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  3. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  4. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  5. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  6. Fish Food by Ezra
  7. COLD by Toque
  8. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  9. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  10. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  11. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  12. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  13. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  14. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  15. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  16. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  17. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  18. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  19. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  20. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  21. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  22. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  23. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda
  24. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

Skip button wasn't working, couldn't get past first level

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

Good, classic pinball fun with a clean, retro 16-bit style. Nice use of a pun.

Boom! by Alice

Awesome concept for a puzzle game. Other than mistakes that the player could make, didn't see much use of the theme. But that didn't stop me from enjoying.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

I never expected someone to remake the tutorial game from the earlier game maker days. Very amusing.

COLD by Toque

Such a powerful story told with few words and graphics. I just wish I didn't have to click the buttons each time.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

I can only assume this was an homage to the atari E.T. game which, even to the slightly initiated game historian, was definitely a big mistake. The game has awkward controls and is just barely playable but I beat the first level and I'm happy enough. Sound and animation are pretty good. I can't say I was interested enough to try the later levels, but if your intention was to create an awfully controlled game, you have succeeded.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

An amusing joke-game. While I feel it relies a lot on in-jokes within the GMC, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a laugh or two (especially at the rhythm game). Also not to spoil anything, but the hunt near the end was interesting.

Fish Food by Ezra

Good, fast paced minigame fun. Love the artstyle and insanity of the cutscenes.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

Looks cool, has great presentation, doesn't really fit the theme in my opinion. Also quite hard to control

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

what a šŸ’©šŸ’©šŸ’©šŸ’©post

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

A fun, simple game filled with lots of destruction. Love the monster design

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

Cool concept for a puzzle platformer. Even though it's unfinished, I had a lot of fun. The character animation is fun and simple. There are a few glitches here and there, but for the most part it looks like a lot of work was put into the platforming and wall puzzles. I'll give the story an "OK" since you included it in the afterword.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

I like the designs and cutscenes, as well as the general concept. I'm just not very good at these types of games.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

Not sure how it fits the theme of "A big mistake", unless it's showing how getting tattoos done by a mosquito would be a mistake. It isn't clear where I can/can't place the tattoos and it's difficult finding the right shape. Still, I enjoy the concept and art and I'm sure this game has potential if you develop it more.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

I like the bouncy pixel art. Story seemed more like a soliloquy that did not fit the rest of the game. I can sort of see how certain themes of the fit each level though.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Even though the story is simple, it works with a game like this. I enjoy the pixel art and the way you introduce new mechanics in certain levels. The cutscenes are a neat touch too.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Cute artstyle and good detail on the backgrounds. A very satisfying puzzle experience.

Shroom Boy by Poizen

Neat concept for a platformer, but the controls are a bit awkward. I got frustrated after trying to get past the cave so I stopped playing. Maybe make the game a bit faster?

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Ok, that was hilarious. Platformer of the year.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Story doesn't make much sense but at least it looks and sounds neat.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

The tutorial made the game seem very overwelming, but it turned out to be a pretty fun experience. I like how you incorporated multitasking and I like the pixel art and animations. I guess it fits the theme because the mistakes can make you lose.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

A fun variation of the rocket launch games from numerous flash sites. The human sound effects are amusing too. Presentation is a little lacking, but at least the controls are simple. A like the way you incorporated the theme into a pun.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

Interesting concept and presentation. I had trouble figuring out the 3rd puzzle, couldn't keep my interest enough to keep trying. I wish I didn't have to wait for the title of the level to keep [laying each time I tried again.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

I have no idea what's going on. Looks like a neat stock simulation I guess.
 
I streamed myself playing everyone's games on Twitch. Click here to watch the replays. Fair warning, I swear sometimes. Usually when I'm losing.

Reviews

Top 3:

Fish Food by Ezra
This was really fun! I didn't want to stop playing, but had to in fairness to the other games and my limited amount of free time this week. I have to say, this was the most... brutal/morbid educational game that I've ever played. It's like, you're harvesting organs, and selling them on black market to pay off a debt to a loan shark... but also you're doing math, and exercising your brain. I love it! You should probably talk to Jump Start about publishing this one. Anyway. I was struggling with Normal difficulty and bumped it down to Easy (which seemed to make a noticable difference in difficulty... I'm not sure if it affects the word problems or not, but it seemed to.) The graphics were awesome! They were like MS Paint drawings... but really good MS Paint drawings, with lighting and all that. The music and voice acting was perfect! It fit the theme well. Really nothing to complain about on this one. GREAT JOB!

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
This game rocks! I loved the core gameplay loop, and wish that there were more levels so that I could keep playing. Or, if not more levels, additional difficulty settings. I managed to destory the entire city on the first playthrough with relative ease, even though I was often hitting different keys than I intended to. The controls themselves weren't bad, I am just a little slow to the uptake sometimes. The graphics were great, and the soundtrack was fantastic. The dialouge was well written, and I appreciate you explaining it to the rest of us in the afterward. I didn't quite understand I T'kemsa's dialect, but someone in my chat on Twitch did... so I think that you nailed it. That's probably exactly how a mutated dinosaur lizard would talk. Anyway. That was a lot of fun. Great job!

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
I really liked this one! The concept was fantastic, and the level design was pretty solid. A bit on the easy side, but with some more levels I definitely think you have a winner here. The graphics and sound were absolutely delightful. I love the background music, although it may be just a tad on the repetitive side... The story makes it fit the game jam theme well enough... and explains the gameplay. All around, this is a great game. Good job with it!

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: E.T. by Firehammer Games
Best Concept: Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

Full ranking:

  1. Fish Food by Ezra
  2. I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal
  3. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  4. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  5. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  6. Boom! by Alice
  7. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  8. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  9. COLD by Toque
  10. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  11. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  12. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  13. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  14. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  15. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  16. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  17. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  18. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  19. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  20. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  21. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

I really like the concept behind this game... and how well it uses the theme of the jam. The story-telling was also great! There were a nice assortment of different levels each with it's own unique challenges to over-come. The only thing that I can really penalize this game for is the presentation. The graphics, and the programming were both a little bit rough in my opinion. The graphics aren't as big of a deal to me, but the platforming felt very... sticky/clunky for lack of better words. It made it a bit difficult to maneuver some of the puzzles because I kept sticking against walls and the player object wasn't doing what I expected him to do. Aside from that, I really like what you have put together here. Great job with it!

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

I liked the music and graphics a lot. The core gameplay loop was fun, and the difficulty progressed at just the right speed. It seems pretty well tuned... other than the fact that there is a bug which required me to restart the client every time I wanted to play another round. Good job!

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

This was a pretty good pinball game. I think that the pinball physics were just about spot-on, but it was a little hard to tell because of the motion blur on the ball... it made a little hard to tell what was going on. Also, the ball perhaps could have been a brighter color - I think that it blended into the background a little too well, especially on the first level. The music and sound effects were good, and other than the nits I just mentioned - I really liked the pixelated art style. I was wondering if the high scores were local or online, until I set the high score on my first playthrough, which pretty much answered that. Very cheeky use of the theme, by the way. LOL. Great job!

Boom! by Alice

Overall, I think that this game is pretty great. It just needs some minor adjustments to the tutorial/onboarding process. Specifically, when you go the tutorial page in the menu, I would add a page counter (IE: 1/X) and left/right arrows to indicate which keys to press to advance the slides. I tried space/enter and neither of those work, so I was blissfully un-aware that there was a second slide with very important information on it. Somehow, I missed the slides at the beginning of the first level, and they didn't come up again on following playthroughs. I may have missed them when I was trying to figure out the controls, because the readme was written in playstation (which I'm not familiar with, at all) and my gamepad is more Nintendo like. That aside, I did enjoy playing this... and the graphics/sounds were top-notch. The little animations on the characters really brought them to life. The music never got repetitive or annoying, and the effects were spot-on. The level design was good, but man, this was a really tough game overall. I needed quite a bit of help to figure out some of the puzzles from the chat in Twitch, otherwise, I'm not sure that I ever would have finished this game. At the very least, it would have taken much, much longer. There is a good amount of content. I think that this game kept me busy for several hours, which is by far the most of any game in this game. The level editor is a nice additon, also. All in all, great work, and a very cool concept.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne

Well, that was definitely the best Click the Clown game that I have ever played. Hands down. The best. The sound effects and music were absolutely hilarious. This made me laugh more than once. The whole experience was just super creepy and funny to me. The art was pretty good, also. The blood splatters were a nice touch. It sounds almost as if the clowns enjoyed getting killed. Like, the exact opposite of the Insane Clown Posse... because they never die, right? Anyway. I can't help but wonder where you got the dialouge from, or if you made it yourself. I need answers LOL.

So, this was made in GM1? Right? That's awesome. A big mistake indeed. Although, it worked surprisingly well on Windows 10. I wouldn't have figured that.

Great work with this! I wasn't expecting much from it, being a click the clown game afterall, but I was pleasently surprised. You made it work.

COLD by Toque

The graphics and sounds were awesome. I loved the pixel art style, and just... the overall aesthetic of this game. The concept and story were both good. I was really surprised that I turned out to be the evil. I didn't see that coming. I really have nothing negative to say about this game... it was rather short, but what little bit of it there was - was well done in every aspect. Great work!

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

Interesting. I never played the original E.T. game but I've heard horror stories... so re-making it is most certainly "a big mistake." Also, the version you submitted for the jam had a fatal runtime error... so that's another big mistake. Definitely, maybe, giving this one the "best use of theme" nomination lol. Anyway. I really liked the soundtrack, and the graphics for this. The cutscenes were really nice. I thought it was hilarious that the spaceship had Atari written on it, although, that may be a homage to the original. The gameplay was, actually, pretty fun once you get the hang of it. I didn't have the chance to beat levels 2-3 due to time constraints but I'm going to come back and try to beat it after the jam.

Edit: I did come back to this game, and managed to beat the final level on my third first try!

It pains me not to rank this game (because I did have fun playing it) but the "jam version" is nothing more than a runtime error... which is another reason I nominated it for "Best Use of Theme." Your first big mistake was deciding to re-create E.T.

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

I like it.

The dialouge was really funny, and the story was pretty good. There were some noticable rough-edges, but you know, it's a jam game... so... I wasn't exactly sure what was going on during the spar with Nocturne and Alice, even though I read the readme prior. Also, I don't think that I ever would have found the %appdata% folder without your help on stream... but I do think that was a creative mechanic, and I probably could have googled it, so... not that big of a deal. It never ceases to startle me when a game knows my name, and I didn't input it... nice touch! The graphics and the sounds/music were VERY well done. Great work with the aesthetics! Quite a lot of typos in the dialouge, I don't know if that was on purpose or not? The game fit the theme of the jam well, and made me laugh a lot. Great job!

Fish Food by Ezra

This was really fun! I didn't want to stop playing, but had to in fairness to the other games and my limited amount of free time this week. I have to say, this was the most... brutal/morbid educational game that I've ever played. It's like, you're harvesting organs, and selling them on black market to pay off a debt to a loan shark... but also you're doing math, and exercising your brain. I love it! You should probably talk to Jump Start about publishing this one. Anyway. I was struggling with Normal difficulty and bumped it down to Easy (which seemed to make a noticable difference in difficulty... I'm not sure if it affects the word problems or not, but it seemed to.) The graphics were awesome! They were like MS Paint drawings... but really good MS Paint drawings, with lighting and all that. The music and voice acting was perfect! It fit the theme well. Really nothing to complain about on this one. GREAT JOB!

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

The graphics in this game were absolutely beautiful! The low-poly style worked surprisingly well with the photo-realistic backdrop. It just looks... fantastic. The gameplay itself was pretty good. I wish that there were more things to do besides jump out of half-pipes. Maybe a simple jump would have helped? Although, I understand that this a jam game and that there are time constraints so I can't really hold that against y'all. The challenges were fun and diverse. It was just "okay" in the story department, but then again not much story is really needed for this sort of game. I did manage to get stuck on top of a building a few times while trying to collect the disco ball. Also, the HYPE meter didn't appear for me, for some reason. It's a small thing, but I also think that it would be nice if the letters you collected changed color on the TAB menu. All in all, great effort! This game shows what GMS2 is really capable of doing. Nice work!

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Well... that was... special...

You absolutely had me fooled. I thought that you made a 3D MMORPG in 4 hours somehow, based on your dev log. I was not expecting.... that. I was basically expecting a tutorial with some or no customizations made to it. FYI - I know that this is a jam game, and you're not selling it or anything, but it is never cool to use a company logo or copyrighted music. Had evanski not warned me about this, I could have gotten a copyright strike on my Twitch channel, and that would have made me a SAD PANDA.

Good work, though. You set a goal, and you made it happen. This is definitely the worst game in GMC Jam 41. Although, it does violate the jam rules and perhaps should be disqualified.

I, T'kemsa by Siolfor the Jackal

This game rocks! I loved the core gameplay loop, and wish that there were more levels so that I could keep playing. Or, if not more levels, additional difficulty settings. I managed to destory the entire city on the first playthrough with relative ease, even though I was often hitting different keys than I intended to. The controls themselves weren't bad, I am just a little slow to the uptake sometimes. The graphics were great, and the soundtrack was fantastic. The dialouge was well written, and I appreciate you explaining it to the rest of us in the afterward. I didn't quite understand I T'kemsa's dialect, but someone in my chat on Twitch did... so I think that you nailed it. That's probably exactly how a mutated dinosaur lizard would talk. Anyway. That was a lot of fun. Great job!

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

That was awesome. I love the concept. Very creative! I've never played anything even kind of like that before. The level design was just about perfect. The puzzles introduced mechanics at just the right pace, and some of the later levels took a bit of trial and error to figure out the solutions. The graphics were simple, but they were effective. One thing you might do is use white text on the signs, or tinker with the graphic a bit to make the text more readable. A bit of sound would have gone a long way, too. I know that you were pressed for time but it just takes a few minutes to grab some things from opengameart.org. I really like the story, as well. Good idea summing it up in the afterward, so that I could fully appreciate the writing on the signs that I read along the way. I see what you intended to do, and I like it. I hope that you expand on this idea post-jam. It's a gem and it would be a shame if you don't move forward with it at a more oppurtune time.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

That was really cool! I've never played anything like that. It would make a really good mobile game, in my opinion. The mechanics were fun, and interesting. Although, they were presented a little bit fast. Perhaps they could have been introduced incrementally, with a few short waves so that the player has time to absorb each one individually... but once you get a feel for each of the abilities, it's well-balanced and very fun to play. The shape recognition was... a bit janky at times. I was drawing perfect squares and they were registering as circles and triangles. Caused a bit of panic on my end lol. The graphics were terrific! Great use of particle effects for the different spells. It just looked and sounded great. Nice work! :D

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

Interesting concept... albiet, a rather strange one. It was fun painting tattoos all over people, and rather difficult to find veins and draw enough blood from them (even with just one level.) If you were to expand this, I'd definitely add an easier first level to start wtih. The presentation was great! The graphics and sound were top-notch. Great job with this.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

Unranked because the game would not open. My computer seems to think that it contains malware or a virus. Malwarebyes agreed that there is something up with this game, so I didn't feel safe running it.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

That was pretty good overall. I found the controls a bit awkward. I think that mouse controls, gamepad support, or even just WASD would have been more comfortable for me. My laptop has tiny up and down keys which makes it tricky to maneuver the laser around the screen. I did get the hang of it with some practice... and the game was pretty fun. I especially liked the diversity in the level types. The graphics were nice and retro. I really liked them, but this game absolutely needs some sound effects and/or music. Screaches, pew pews, etc. It fits the theme of the jam well but the story was a little un-inspired. *Winky face* Good job with this one.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

I really liked this one! The concept was fantastic, and the level design was pretty solid. A bit on the easy side, but with some more levels I definitely think you have a winner here. The graphics and sound were absolutely delightful. I love the background music, although it may be just a tad on the repetitive side... The story makes it fit the game jam theme well enough... and explains the gameplay. All around, this is a great game. Good job with it!

Shroom Boy by Poizen

Unranked because the game would not open. My computer seems to think that it contains malware or a virus. I also scanned with malwarebytes, and it didn't detect anything... so I tried to run it, and got an error message.

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

LOL! I was not expecting... that... to happen when I punched a brick. Unfortunately, that is all that I could figure out how to do. The title screen led me to believe that there are 15 levels and guns but I could not figure out how to advance past the first level - only how to punch bricks and die. I tried going left, I tried going right, I tried going down the warp pipe, I tried all of the keys on my keyboard to find a hidden shop page... none of that worked... So, in short, this game was good for a quick laugh, but not much else. Is that all there is? If so, the title screen is a LIAR! If not, I will give this game another playthrough once I figure out what it is that I am missing... and adjust my review/rating accordingly. It's entirely possible that I'm just stupid, and missing something obvious.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Overall, this was pretty good. The graphics were nice, and everything was well animated. The gameplay was pretty smooth. I was a little bit confused by the arrows at first, but then once I realized that the blue coins could be hidden in the "sand-traps" (or fake walls) everything made perfect sense. There wasn't much content, but that was explained in the story. The story itself was pretty good... it was a little bit text heavy, but I think for the average person that it would be alright. I just struggle to comprehend things by reading, so that's probably a personal issue and not a fault of the game's. Perhaps cut-scenes would have worked better, time permitting. Even just simple graphics to go along with the text (like a picture book) would have added something, I think. Also, the fact the weapon was a 12 foot baugette (or would that just be a "baug") was silly, and I really enjoyed the spontenaity.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

Neat game, Bearman_18! I had fun playing this. Although, admittedly, it took me a few minutes to understand. Once I got into the swing of things, I really enjoyed it. This was a refreshing change of pace from the stereotypical "just shoot all teh zombies" type of game that we've all made played before. The mechanics were strange, but worked together perfectly... and make a weird kind of sense. The situation that the bear and the bomb guy were in together make a really odd kind of sense. What I'm trying to say is that this game is weird in all the right ways. Great job with it! Personally, I was only able to make it to the 2::30 minute mark, but I'm not that great of a multi-tasker, so I actually did better than I expected to. The graphics were good enough for a jam game. I especially liked the game over screen. The sound effects and music were good, and effective also.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

I really enjoyed playing this one, which was a bit surprising to me because I don't usually enjoy this sort of thing. The sound effects were hilarious to me, and while the graphics weren't "great" they definitely "worked." I can't tell if there is any skill involved, or if it's basically just "blind luck" but I was having fun either way. The shop upgrades seemed to have a meaningful impact on your score, and while it was a bit "grindy" it wasn't excessive or punishing, and most importantly, it never stopped being fun. Good job with this!

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

Oh my... I don't know how I feel about this game. It's equal parts funny, and horrible. I'm probably going to H E "double hockey sticks" for laughing at it. The graphics and sounds were simple but effective. The core gameplay loop was alright... I struggled a bit to figure out the puzzle on the fourth floor, but managed to figure it out with a bit of help from chat on Twitch. Normally, I'd recommend some background music, but the lack thereof really highlighted the sound effects, and in this unique case I don't think it's necessary.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

Initial Thoughts: Very cool concept! I've always been fascinated with stonks and cryptocurrency, but have never had $10,000 to invest all willy-nilly like... so this should be interesting. I'm looking forward to playing it more over the coming week, and seeing how my portfolio performs.

Upon Reflection: Well, somehow I managed to come in third place for the second round. I'm not sure how I managed that, as I don't understand how stock markets work, or how to play this game... I just took my $10,000 and invested it in games that I believed in, then came back the next day and moved some funds from the worst performing stocks to the best performing stocks, and let luck do it's thing. I would like to know how Alice made 5 million dollars, though.

I applaud you for doing something that is out-of-the-ordinary, and creating a simulation of something that is trending right now. Also, the front-end design was incredible. XD
 
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Siolfor the Jackal's Last Minute Voting Post

No stream this time. I feel like we got a good variety of streamers this time so I didn't feel like I needed to. It didn't take me all that long to get through the games, I still took my time and tried to get to the end of them all. I wasn't chuffed with the theme, so I didn't judge theme integration too hard if at all.

Top 3:

COLD by Toque
Moody adventure game. I dig it.

+ Love the art, some terrifying creatures.
+ Good minimal introduction and tutorial.
+ Controlled quite well.
+ Great presentation, especially the newspaper segments.
+ Great transitions into buildings and staircases.
- Perhaps a bit short.

This was such a departure from your recent jam games. I really enjoyed it.

Boom! by Alice
In a shocking turn of events, Alice creates a charming puzzle game!

+ BOOM!
+ It's a really weird but cool concept.
+ Giving each letter a unique ability was a great extra mechanic.
+ I loved the little personality you gave the letters like the bows and stuff. Even the Os animated differently. I really liked the smooth rotation of the pupils when changing direction. It's a tiny detail but those are the kinds I really appreciate.
+ Great length for a jam, and a good progression of levels.
- The backgrounds and interface could have been a bit more visually interesting, but that's really just me nitpicking.

I only really had trouble with one puzzle, the rest felt like the perfect amount of challenge for me. Great job.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Getting multi-ball is always satisfying. Sadly for my keyboard, my pinball reflexes kicked in and I may have hit my CTRL keys a little too hard...

+ The retro pinball aesthetic, you nailed it.
+ The pinball physics felt great.
+ Great sound effects and music, fit right in with the rest of the game.
+ All those extra graphics to the side really sell the pinball aesthetic.
- The two tables felt small and empty, I actually preferred the first one since it looked and felt more interesting to play. The second one had the ramp which if you aren't careful, just zeros your ball haha.
- No way to quit mid-game. I had to alt-f4 when I was just messing around.
- I have a fever, and the only cure is more cowbell. Or any cowbell. Talk about A Big Mistake... No cowbell...

6,268,542 baby!

Best ofs:

Best use of Theme: Fish Food by Ezra
Best Concept: Boom! by Alice
Best Presentation: Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
Best Story: COLD by Toque
Best Devlog: ...

Full ranking:

  1. COLD by Toque
  2. Boom! by Alice
  3. Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team
  4. Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki
  5. Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies
  6. Robozoic Park by GameDevDan
  7. There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18
  8. Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen
  9. The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS
  10. Magic's Final Stand by The M
  11. Fish Food by Ezra
  12. Pursuit by BluishGreenPro
  13. Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony
  14. Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus
  15. Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki
  16. Shroom Boy by Poizen
  17. A Small Mistake by Ericbomb
  18. Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr
  19. A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy
  20. CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne
  21. YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus
  22. Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal
  23. E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games
  24. I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

Comments:

A Small Mistake by Ericbomb

Weird letters game.

I don't really have any strong positive or negative things to say about this one. There was practically no art, and the platforming was quite buggy. It was an interesting idea with the letters, and I did appreciate how the goals of each stage were slightly different.

A Tentacle With A Knife! by Breakfeast Boy

Funny and kind of fun.

+ The rope physics felt good, great when you get into a good rhythm.
+ Different point amounts for accuracy is a great idea. Made me try harder to hit with the knife end.
- I feel like this kind of game would have benefitted from a more squared shaped room. Enemies coming in from the bottom have such a large advantage compared to those who come in from the side.

Big Miss Steak by Pixel-Team

Getting multi-ball is always satisfying. Sadly for my keyboard, my pinball reflexes kicked in and I may have hit my CTRL keys a little too hard...

+ The retro pinball aesthetic, you nailed it.
+ The pinball physics felt great.
+ Great sound effects and music, fit right in with the rest of the game.
+ All those extra graphics to the side really sell the pinball aesthetic.
- The two tables felt small and empty, I actually preferred the first one since it looked and felt more interesting to play. The second one had the ramp which if you aren't careful, just zeros your ball haha.
- No way to quit mid-game. I had to alt-f4 when I was just messing around.
- I have a fever, and the only cure is more cowbell. Or any cowbell. Talk about A Big Mistake... No cowbell...

6,268,542 baby!

Boom! by Alice

In a shocking turn of events, Alice creates a charming puzzle game!

+ BOOM!
+ It's a really weird but cool concept.
+ Giving each letter a unique ability was a great extra mechanic.
+ I loved the little personality you gave the letters like the bows and stuff. Even the Os animated differently. I really liked the smooth rotation of the pupils when changing direction. It's a tiny detail but those are the kinds I really appreciate.
+ Great length for a jam, and a good progression of levels.
- The backgrounds and interface could have been a bit more visually interesting, but that's really just me nitpicking.

I only really had trouble with one puzzle, the rest felt like the perfect amount of challenge for me. Great job.

CATCH THE DAMN CLOWN by Nocturne


COLD by Toque

Moody adventure game. I dig it.

+ Love the art, some terrifying creatures.
+ Good minimal introduction and tutorial.
+ Controlled quite well.
+ Great presentation, especially the newspaper segments.
+ Great transitions into buildings and staircases.
- Perhaps a bit short.

This was such a departure from your recent jam games. I really enjoyed it.

E.T. 2021 by Firehammer Games

Ahh, damn, This throws an error straight away!

Evanski's Raccoon Adventure by EvanSki

Evanski's overscoped raccoon adventure. Heh.

+ It was neat seeing myself in the game, using language completely accurate to how I talk.
+ The Animal Crossing styled dialogue system worked great.
+ The point and click stuff worked quite well.
+ Very funny, great dialogue.
- A bit disappointing that the minigames were either unfinished or a joke.
- Way too short and meandering. Really needed a more well thought out story.

These kinds of GMC games are fun, it's always nice to see other members represented in a jam game.

Fish Food by Ezra

Minigames in a funny wrapper.

+ The overall presentation was pretty great. Love the cutscene stuff and the voiced dialogue.
+ Great length for a jam.
+ The difficulty/complexity of the mini-games increasing with each stage is great, feels like a good progression.
+ Theme usage is bleeding outof the story set up, getting a loan from a literal shark is clearly a big mistake if I've ever seen one.
- MATHS
- MEMORY GAMES

Man... I'm in my 30s, I don't want to do maths or remember stuff, my memory is terrible.

Fjootjah Skate by Bart, Xor, TheSnidr

I think the set up led me to believe this was going to be a skating game so there is a wee bit of disappointment felt when I started. Always impressive to see 3D stuff though.

+ Great music, especially the end music.
+ Great 3D models and effects.
+ Really nailing that skate game collectable aesthetic(especially with that pop up text upon finding the jam)
- Firstly, it felt like there was no reason to not hold shift. So why wasn't that just the default movement speed?
- I tried to get some half-pipe air but I'd just jump out of the pipe, so that was a bit lame.
- This wasn't skating so much as just hovering around awkwardly towards collectibles.

In the end I think this entry was a bit of a misstep. It's cool to see your 3D stuff improve each jam, but it always feels like it's at the expense of the gameplay.

I will win the GMC Jam 41 by cantavanda

You're an oxygen thief.

Lens of the Last Surviving Human by Mercerenies

This was a really cool idea, and I'm annoyed at myself for not realising I could walk offscreen and wrap around until that one level where you needed to...

+ Great main mechanic, once I got more comfortable with it I was moving the lens and the player together and it felt great.
+ The progression in difficulty or complexity was well done, though that last stage I tried for so long at the end of it trying to get the coin in a way more difficult than I ended up realising I needed to.
+ Love the little walking animation
+ The effect of changing sprites and tiles when in the lens was great, it would have been easy to just have it hide or reveal platforms but to have it change the look of the game as well was a nice touch
- The platforming itself could be improved. It mostly felt ok, but there were a few times I wish there was a bit of a jump buffer or maybe more room above the head to give me more leeway to jump in those tighter situations.
- No sound was a bit of a mood killer.
- The text was unreadable on my monitor unless I moved my face right up to the screen. Enabling fullscreen switching would have done wonders here(I ended up using Windows' magnifier to play through it more comfortably).

Just read your afterword. I already assumed I was the monster mentioned, but it was a neat story idea. I think it was a fun use of theme there.

Magic's Final Stand by The M

An interesting concept that would likely work much better on a touch screen.

+ Great intro screens.
+ I liked the dual nature of the shapes depending on whether you cast them on yourself or the enemies.
+ Making the circle shape the default attack is smart.
+ Great simple art .
+ Enemy variety was varied enough that I started to feel the pressure towards the end.
- I rarely felt the need to do anything but circle enemies. I only did the square and lightning spells by accident, there never seemed to be a good reason to weaken an enemy when I could just straight up kill them just as quickly.

I've always enjoyed the idea of using simple shapes to cast magic. I think the concept works, but needs more work to make it more fun.

Mosquitattoos by Yozoraki

Fun idea. With some extra work it could be a great little game. A really unique concept using tattoos as a cover for drinking blood.

+ I still think it's rad that your mum helps you out with the music. She's great.
+ The tattoo placement mechanic works great, the size changing too.
+ Great variety of tattoo choices, with a great variety of shapes.
+ The idea of sectioning up types of tattoos is fun.
- Man... only one level, what a bummer.
- I'm sure this wouldn't be an issue if there were more than one level, but letting me just cover his back with whatever(as long as it was cool) made it easier.

Some stronger constraints(such as amount of tattoos or something) in future levels(if they existed) would have made this such a great entry, as it's a very fun and funny idea.

Pursuit by BluishGreenPro

I don't think I've had Windows Defender eat a jam game before. Got it eventually to accept that you were not a virus.

+ Platformer felt pretty good.
+ Great simple art style, the deformation effects and particles really enhanced it all.
+ The progression of introducing obstacles and mechanics was good.
+ As was the variety of the obstacles and enemies.
+ Great length for a jam.
+ Gamepad support is always nice, makes these games feel more comfortable.
- Not a big deal but ESC didn't pause the game, it restarted from checkpoint.
- Just noticed you said in your readme that the art and the engine was pre-made.
- While I think this kind of story implementation is neat, by the time I get to the next area, I've already forgotten what I read in the last area. So it almost feels like a series of random quotes. So unless the theme was tied up there somewhere, I didn't really see any theme implementation(Which is fine, the theme kind of sucked anyway).

I think this is a bug with GMS1, but when the controller is enabled, the game speed is super sluggish. I didn't realise this until I had beaten the game and tried replaying it with the controller disabled in the options. With that in mind, it *might* be your implementation, since the game runs fine with the controller plugged in, but with the option set to ignore.

Robozoic Park by GameDevDan

Glad I wasn't the only dinosaur entry. Love the Jurassic Park nod.

+ The cursor speed was kind of perfect, at first I was concerned that this would have been better with a mouse but this felt great as is.
+ The simple art style made it easier to prioritise who to shoot.
+ At first I was worried that the whole game was going to be just that first stage, but the way you changed it up with the sonar and that other level was a nice surprise.
+ Kept the game nice and short so it didn't wear out it's welcome, perfect length for a jam.
+ Loved the dialogue and the map screen
- No sound was a killer. Yeah, that's probably my only real negative, anything else would be needless nitpicking.

Shadow Bouncer by JordanOttesen

Neat concept, I like the combination of mechanics here.

+ Platforming movement felt good.
+ The levels felt well designed, and the progression in challenge was just right.
+ Controller support is always welcome(Though having the option to advance the text, or restart the level with a controller would have been nicer).
- Window was so small, I had to use Windows Magnifier to see what i was doing.

I was juuust getting on the cusp of thinking there were too many levels when it ended. Without any newer mechanics or obstacles, it becomes a bit repetitive. That said, I did have quite a lot of fun with this.

Shroom Boy by Poizen

Cute mushroom platformer.

+ Like the idea of the main mechanic, kind of like a golf platformer.
+ Cute sprite, and nice clean art.
- Most of the platforming/jumps were a slight exercise in frustration. Mostly because if you miscalculate, you have to wait so long for your body to roll(well, slowly slide) back down to a flatter area and try again.
- The level design started off promising but then half the game was samey looking cave colours.

I think the core concept is good, but needs some refinement to make it more fun.
(Obligatory "You maniacs! You blew it all up!)

Super Ordinary Brothers by Yal

I guess we have hover ambulances.

The Secret and the Bread by Josh Chen, bandman28, Micah_DS

Quite an amusing game with some strange combat.

+ Helicopter baguette.
+ Love the clean art style, overall presentation.
+ Rad music.
+ I enjoyed the silly story and the ending.
- As fun as it was swishing around a baguette, it did feel a bit unresponsive at times. The sound effects definitely helped though.
- A bit too easy(But this is great for a jam game)
- As much as I liked the clean simple art, it ended up being a wee bit too dull walking around.

Poor baker just having this thrust upon him.

There Is Going To Be A Bomb by Bearman_18

I love and loathe these kinds of games.

+ Once you get your head around what needs to be done, it's quite fun.
+ I was kept engaged pretty evenly with both characters.
+ Sprites were cute.
- The bomb guy falling asleep was annoying since it seemed based on a timer instead of activity(I would try moving him when there's nothing to do but he would still fall asleep). I think I would have preferred it if it was based on activity instead. That said, I could be completely wrong and that would make it too much easier, hard for me to say.
- A few times the bombs stacked up endlessly it seemed, which despite my(self reported) perfect bomb defusal skills, I still couldn't defuse fast enough to get off the machine and stop the door banging. I think it would be better if you made me reengage the bomb defusal if there are multiple ones, so that I have the option to attend the door.

Van Helsing's Big Missed Stake by Mr Magnus

Ahh, one of these. It's easy to lose a lot of time to these kinds of games.

+ A good variety of enemies.
+ Good variety of upgrades too, including stakes.
+ Love the sound effects.
- Art was a bit rough.
- Seemed a bit silly to have to use the mouse to retry/quit but for nothing else.

I managed to buy all the upgrades and get some good distance. Satisfying.

Wheelchair Joyride by Terminator_Pony

Kind of a weird combination of mechanics. Fun idea though.

+ Simple to understand.
+ Short but sweet.
+ I enjoyed the ending.
- So slow to move.
- Could have maybe used an extra layout or two. Though it was interesting having the skater in a level I knew the solution for already.
- The lose screen was a bit too long and unskippable. Not a big deal for such a short and easy game, but I can imagine how irritated I would get if this game was much longer and having to see that every time.

I think this idea could benefit from using a physics system, gives you more options for puzzle and layout designs. I think levels could get quite interesting with all that and then adding spectators to hide your gun from.

YoYoCoin Market by Mr Magnus

Yeah, not for me, buddy. I spent all my cash an then peaced out.
I do however appreciate the setup effort involved here.
 
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