110 replies to this topic

[Mr. Munchkin]

Screenshot

DOWNLOAD LINK
Arcadia. A simple little game that I cooked up for the Jam within a few hours. Rather proud of it

Hope you enjoy it. I'll have a feedback
Arcadia Topic Feedback

[RekNepZ]

A Circle Race


Bet on circles and win money.
Not really much to do with tranquility, but it does have achievements.

Download

Edited by RekNepZ, 30 April 2012 - 08:13 PM.

[Desert Dog]

A Warrior's Rest:
WARNING: Does contains blood.

http://www.host-a.net/u/Desert%20Dog/A_Warriors_Rest.zip

GMC WIP thread:
http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=538527

please reply with feedback, etc.

Will update with some screenies in the morning, and maybe some sort of post-mortem/devlog thing.

Gah.



Postmotem:IMPORTANT! Spoiler warning: Play game FIRST!

Spoiler

I'm reluctant to write about my game. In a devlog, or 'post-mortem'.
The game is more an 'experience' than a real game. So saying ANYTHING about it is a spoiler,
really.

That said, I will write about the game. In spoiler tags. Please.
Please, please, please. Try the game first, before reading.
It only takes a few minutes to finish.

Spoiler

This write up is more about how I came up with the concept&built it, rather than programming, or
things like that. Again, spoiler alert. Play game first!

When thinking on the theme Tranquility, I almost instantly thought of a death scene.

When you think about it, the best way to get an idea, or.. I don't know, 'feeling' across, is
by first knocking the viewer out with the opposite.

I'm not really an artist. I love art, I read many manga's, and do like doodling. However,
I was determined to get my blood-dripping warrior ready for death.

So I createdthis image, and intro of a dying warrior. Nothing is less peaceful than a warrior!
And one covered in blood, less so!
But there IS peace in death. Tranquility. I had this vision of the player 'leading' the warrior
towards peace.

Well, time was short, so my original concept was a bit dashed. It ended up a regular platform-
style engine. I wasn't sure how the gameplay would go, other than collecting 'peace'
orbs. but after some discussions withmy mate Mr. Munchkin, he suggested that the
orbs she collects be memories, (or something similar. anyway, it got me started in the right
direction)

This really was perfect. A bloody warrior, lost inside her current 'self'. To a person like this,
peace, happiness, tranquility (theme name drop there).. these things don't SEEM to exist

But they do, and they have experienced them. Some time. So the idea is she 'relives'
those experiences once more. Kinda like a life-flash-before-your-eyes experience.
But the memories help clear the doubt, fear, and despair she's currently feeling 'in life'.

Edited by Desert Dog, 30 April 2012 - 11:41 PM.
Updated game file. Added in-game blood warning. Changed music. Tweaked game text. Added post-mortem/thing

[coppolaemilio]

We present to you our JAM#6 Entry


(in HD) ;D

Download ZIP file: http://dl.dropbox.co...Serenata v2.zip

You play the role of an anonymous pianist through different pieces (Original work of André Marí Coppola) in a relaxing puzzle game.
The objective is to reach a certain amount of points making combos to succeed and advance to the next song.

It has some kind of storyline, with a surprise appearance at the end, but we'll leave the story line subject to the interpretation of each player.



////////////////////

-The game will be ready in a few Hours, we are giving the last touches before the release so we don't have time to update with a developing log.
-Like always, we didn't have enough time to add all the features we'd like too, and of course the game will maybe have a few bugs

Edited by coppolaemilio, 30 April 2012 - 11:15 PM.

[lukew23]

ESCAPE FROM HADES
Done, finally.
Not very polished as I ran out of time.

Controls:
Arrow keys - move and jump(up)
Z - Attack
X - Pause and change weapon

Note: you can hold on to rocks in the walls by holding the arrow key towards the wall. Once you are holding, you will not fall until you press down(to drop down) or up(to jump) You can hold the arrow keys away from the wall to perform a wall jump. Momentum is present in this game, so make sure you have a run up when attempting long jukmps - there will be a few which seem impossible, but I have tested the game and it does work. To buy weapons in the menu, you must click on them. The sword costs 3 lvl points, the spear 5 lvl points. You cannot buy the spear until you have bought the sword. You gain experience and level up by killing the enemies. Every time you level up you gain one lvl point. Also, there is no ending. Once you defeat the final boss, the game is over. Press Esc to exit.

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to change the game information to show the instructions, so this is where they are.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53737232/Escape%20From%20Hades.zip

Edited by lukew23, 30 April 2012 - 11:40 PM.

[Black Sheep Games]

Greetings everyone,

BlackSheep Games is happy to announce that our game for the jam is finally finished!
You can see some screenshots at our facebook page or below. We will post the information and screenshots here aswell.

Download link: https://rapidshare.c...7/LIFE_FLOW.rar

Information

Title: LIFE FLOW

Game info:

Initially, the player controls a happy cloud, which they should guide to an other happy cloud, successfully avoiding the angry ones and collecting
some flying notes, that earn them points too! When the two happy clouds meet, it is only natural for rain to be produced and there we go, the

little raindrop travels down , on its way to earth. The player has to avoid the fallen lightnings and pick up more raindrops, to gain even more points.
Once the raindrop reaches to the ground, a seed inside the earth grows into a beautiful flower that travels with air's aid.

Attention to the malicious bees! Their honey is wanted but rather difficult to pick up too, though it awards the player a good amount of points.
When the flower meets a boy out in the open, the boy runs with it, avoiding hazardous stones to reach ... well, you must find out yourself!

Controls:

-----Cloud controls-----

Use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to move accordingly to that direction

-----Raindrop controls-----

Use the LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys to move accordingly to that direction

-----Flower controls-----

Use the arrow keys to move accordingly to that direction (can move to any direction)

-----Boy controls-----

Use the SPACEBAR button to jump

-----Main Menu controls-----

Use UP/DOWN arrow keys to select either to play or to exit, and press enter to confirm

Screenshots:





Achievements:

There are 4 achievements to unlock (3 at the first three levels, and 1 for achieving perfect score without dying).



THANK YOU FOR PLAYING, if you like our game, please vote us!

Edited by Black Sheep Games, 01 May 2012 - 08:45 PM.

[Centauri]

A mini garden sim made in a few hours.

FEATURES

Online Highscores
ONE Achievement
Tranquil Gameplay
Watering Can Action

SCREENSHOTS



PLAY NOW (HTML5)

DOWNLOAD (WINDOWS)

Edited by Centauri, 01 May 2012 - 12:02 AM.

[blopit]

FLY
by Blopit

A game where you fly around planets!

Made in about 4 hours >.>

<UP> & <DOWN> arrow keys to fly!
http://www.host-a.net/u/blopit/FLY.exe

ALSO the game, as most other games of mine, is QUITE DIFFICULT.

Edited by blopit, 30 April 2012 - 11:52 PM.

[dereklarue]

Almost didn't make it! I did this last minute with less than 6 hours left so bare with me!

Bird. <- Click link
Fly freely through the air eating bugs and collecting achievements.


---

Edited by dereklarue, 30 April 2012 - 11:58 PM.

[Docopoper]

Download the Jam version.


Cat Martyrdom is a physics platformer inspired by Dominoes 2: Winter Edition and Cat Planet.
The game has a reasonable length story mode along with quite a good level editor.

As an incentive - anybody that votes for / reviews / plays this game may submit a level and I will add it to the level list in the post Jam update. ( Don't worry - I will polish the editor even more after the jam unless this game is a complete flunk)

The game features tranquillity in a whimsical way - just like everything else.

To be honest though - the most important thing this game has going for it is that Dr. Swiss supports it - he has even gone so far as to add his own achievement. I am permanently indebted to him.

Have a spamtastic Jam everyone!

Here is a screen shot of gameplay:

[Robert3DG+]

Fox In The Forest

Experimental little collection game.

[Nocturne]

THE GMCJAM Nº6 HAS FINISHED!

VOTING WILL BEGIN TOMORROW AND LAST 15 DAYS.

Good Luck To all!

[Nocturne]

VOTING IS OPEN!

Remember, this topic is ONLY for your votes and reviews (a mini review for the top three is OBLIGATORY). You cannot discuss anything here, for that we have the main topic and many games have their own WIP or Games Forum topics too.

Goodluck everybody!

[orange08]

FIRST VOTING POST HAHAAAA!!!
orange08's GMC Jam #6 Reviews (FINISHED)

My votes go to

1. Chaos - Davve
2. A Dying Curiosity - elektron
3. Gather - GreenBlizzard


Best Use Of Theme - elektron
Best Use Of Handicap - Davve

Best Presentation - Ataraxia
Best Devblog - no vote

I will put 3 asterisks next to the games that particularly piqued my interest and liking.
Reviews(All games done):

Spoiler

1. Aaaah... by makerofthegames

Spoiler

Interesting game. Music was okay. Pretty random, though. The tranquil part was shweet(where all the stuff like flowers and clouds comes on screen). I couldn't get past the target place. I'm pretty sure that part is impossible. Let me know if there's a way to get past it. Fine whatever, after about 20(or 5) more tries I managed to get past it. Then came the final boss, Sheesh... I tried so many times, every time it turned red I died soon after, I would have kept trying, but to be honest, my thumb feels like it is about to fall off.

2. ***Origami v.0.4 by TheUltimate

Spoiler

This is pretty sweet. The jump near the second origami part is really tough though. For some reason jumping next to a wall makes the game lag or something. Weird. I got to a dead end, I think.

3. Sea Of Tranqulity by Snail_Man

Spoiler

Nice idea, I guess. But this is rather boring and monotonous after a while. I got stuck on a level because it kept restarting without me doing anything. It might have been TNT blowing up but there was no explosions that I could see.

4. Aardvark CWM by NAL

Spoiler

Pretty random. Text was a bit hard to read. Nice text engine, though!

5. ***A Dying Curiosity by elektron

Spoiler

This was pretty interesting and fun to watch. When it got to the snow part, I exited because nothing else was happening and it seemed to be the end. Great job!

6. ***Isras Wings by...

Spoiler

Neat game! Nice big graphics and some amusing quests. I don't see any references to Tranquility in this, other than the music. Also, I got stuck with the coffee cup, I could get to it, but I found it impossible to return once I had it. And that feather on the far right side of the cave, kept getting killed there.
I beat the game and saw the word "Tranquility" in the text... some day you will learn, young one, as I did, that you must also use the theme in the gameplay.

7. ***Bloom by ChessMasterRiley

Spoiler

Pretty neat simulation. I guess you did make the game seem somewhat "Tranquil", so good job on the atmosphere This would definitely be a good game to put on mobile devices and such.

8. ***Chaos by Davve

Spoiler

Holy dang! This game is impressive. So much attention to detail. I love how the sun's rays don't show when you can't see the sun directly. So realistic looking! However I got stuck on one of the levels. The one that starts with all that wall jumping. So hard!

9. ***Ataraxia by Nocturne

Spoiler

This was really great and atmospheric. You did a swell job. I might write a poem for this just because it's so pleasant to play

10. ***Fox in the Forest by Robert3DG

Spoiler

Amusing 3D game. It doesn't seem particularly inspired by the theme, but fun, nonetheless. Good job, Rob! (Woah, I rhymed!)

11. Defending Tranquility by CaptainLepidus

Spoiler

Hey, man, as I told you in the GMC IRC, this game has a lot of potential! But it clearly needs more work and there is no evidence of inspiration from the theme. (We all know you just slapped Tranquility on the title )

12. ***Tripod by JakHak (I know I didn't put the capitals right in your name)

Spoiler

Wow, this game was nice. A really neat concept, too. I sortof ragequit after playing for like 15 mins because I was on a hard level and it was getting slightly monotonous. Fantastic concept, though. It seemed like you just slapped on the storyline, though. I did that in my first couple jam games and there were adverse results. It's best to work the theme into the actual gameplay.

13. The surreptitious Dr. Swiss by HayManMarc

Spoiler

Walking animations was lolz. Gameplay pretty bland and uninspired, though. On the second level, I jumped up and got my head stuck in a block, then I pressed space and got an error in regards to there being no global.ammo variable declared.

14. Ferret Jam by Kygons Cube

Spoiler

A somewhat glitchy platform engine... that's about it... just like it says, this is unfinished. Good luck finishing it!

15. ***Pig Out by Venomous

Spoiler

Sweet 3D game, too bad my touchpad is not suited for this type of game. But I liked shooting pigs. Crows were hard to notice. And I don't think they ever did anything bad to me. In summary, this is a fun game that gets boring after a while, and I don't see Tranquility integrated anywhere into it. But nice work, anyway.

16. I dub thee able by Spydog

Spoiler

Rage quit on level 9 (last level, I believe?). It's a good idea (basically the same concept of my game, great minds think alike, right? ) but it's entirely too difficult to jump over enemies even once you've tranquilized them and I don't get why the green enemies can kill you from the side. The player should be able to jump a bit higher, maybe have less gravity. Good job, anyway.

17. ***Divided I Stand by Soulsnatcher

Spoiler

Woah, Sweet! I love the idea! I hope you keep working on this after the Jam! I got through the first night, then used my blocks on the next day, and night never seemed to come. Then I pressed some buttons, and then I wasn't moving the robot, now I was on the side menu scrolling around. I finally figured out the controls! Up and down to scroll what space does, and left and right to move around. Good game! Keep working on it please!

18. HelloOleChapThisIsAStoryHello by ThatSnail

Spoiler

Press F1 to figure out the controls. I love the sound that plays when you get a rectangle :3 but it stops too abruptly.

19. Sleepy Maneuver by 11clock

Spoiler

Mmm... nice idea, I guess. The robot seemed to move a bit slow. The levels are rather long and monotonous. I wish this was easier.

20. Hillbilly Organ Grinder by Joe H

Spoiler

Slightly humorous. I don't get how it relates to the theme, though. Was pretty fun. MOAR WEAPON TYPES PLZ! Highscores were a nice touch, well done with that. Good game.

21. The thing money can't buy by Irfanfxo

Spoiler

Kinda short. If it wasn't for the text, this game would have no relation to the theme at all. Sorry, but I found this a bit dull :\

22. Traversia by Yagibabla

Spoiler

Um... nice... simulation? The graphics are good and engine was solid but I'm not sure what to do.

23. The Story of a Leaf by fireball16

Spoiler

Controls were weird, I could hardly tell if the arrow keys did anything. The game didn't incline me to keep playing because it was the same thing over and over. Nice sillhouette graphics, though.

24. Maggot In A Frying Pan by Dadio

Spoiler

Holy cow this game. Just when I thought I had seen it all, I thought I had seen everything there was to be seen. I thought nothing else in the world could surprise me, I thought every conceivable image had been rolled through my brain... but I was wrong. Thank you. Thank you, Dadio, for making my life complete.

25. Illusia

Spoiler

You do realize that the GMC is mostly comprised of 12 year olds? Right? Flashing boobs at the beginning of your game is unnecessary I'm sure.
Ok, I played the game, nice level generation, the combat was somewhat odd though.

26. Cry of the Forest by mads

Spoiler

Nice walking animation! O: The jumping sprites are lols. Well done there! When I got to the part that said I had to combine some sort of spells, I was stuck... I tried doing it, but nothing worked.

27. Sea Of Tranquility by coolbot4k

Spoiler

Sorry, I found this game more boring than "tranquil". Control over the hook underwater wasn't very responsive, but maybe that's what you were aiming for. Graphics would be better off being larger, too.

28. These Tranquil Waters shall not hold by johnki

Spoiler

Is there a point to this? What am I supposed to do?

29. Miniature Golf by Follomania

Spoiler

Not bad, took me a little while to figure out how the controls worked. Unfortunately these sort of games don't appeal to me, I'd rather play it in real life, where actual skill is involved, not pixel perfect mouse aiming!

30. ***A Figurative End by Blake

Spoiler

This was pretty cool. Definitely a tranquil atmosphere. It ended a bit abruptly though, I wanted moar!!! Really good job on the text engine and graphics and details.

31. Enough Portals by Ziggler1

Spoiler

This seemed to work pretty well. The movement was slippery as hell. Which is not a good thing. Not much else to say, good work!

32. Balance by NicroGames

Spoiler

Good idea and well made, I didn't encounter any errors. Gets boring after a while.

33. Peace & Quite Nightmarish by IceMetalPunk

Spoiler

Good game, the storyline with "Tranquility" in it seems rather slapped on, though I would have preferred it if the game was more puzzle-ey. Good work, though, too bad you didn't have enough time to make more levels.

34. Tranquility Restored by brighteyes

Spoiler

Nice game, I liked it. It seems tranquil enough, but you should integrate the theme more into the gameplay mechanics.

35. Retrospection by Mr Game

Spoiler

Doesn't seem finished. I couldn't get past that one large gap. :\

36. ***Gather by GreenBlizzard

Spoiler

Nice game!! Definitely a tranquil atmosphere. I wish there was more of a goal though. Great work here...

37. Just Let Me Sleep by Zakaos

Spoiler

Could not play it, was not compatible with my computer or something. :S

38. =()= by ChainsawKitten

Spoiler

Sound was good and visuals were nice. Controls were just weird, like, every 3 seconds the player stops abruptly and you have to left click again. And one time the player went in the opposite direction instead of towards the mouse. I got the first "achievement" by standing still for a while. But I'm not sure what else to do. The controls are really messed up.

39. Shoot The Pidgeon by Rusty

Spoiler

Mhmmmmm.....

40. Dreamy Beamy by kalzme

Spoiler

Kinda lame, sorry... the word "Tranquility" was just slapped onto the beginning storyline. I'm not too big a fan of the concept either.

41. Crystal Of Tranquility by zxmantisxz

Spoiler

Enemies are rather dim witted in this. And on laptops you can't scroll between the weapons(unless you have an external mouse). The crystal seems perfectly safe. Those spiders couldn't ever get to it :0

42. Way Of Tranqulity

Spoiler

Easy peasy lemon squeasy. The final boss you can just stand behind and attack him. I see no tranquility related to in this game. It's simply slapped into the text.

43. Forgotten Place

Spoiler

This game seemed a bit too large, and unnecessarily. I ended up quitting after getting the 2nd coin because it was so boring.

44. Protect The Guru

Spoiler

One of the more confusing tower defense games I've played. I figured out how to make towers that shoot but for some reason I could only make 3 of them. Also, do those sprites on the menu have any relation to the game at all? xD

45. Peaceful Warrior

Spoiler

Ah, neat, you press space and then you can't fall through the bottom of the world. Although even when I reached the far right side of the screen, it just restarted the room.

46. Cat Martyrdom

Spoiler

Text was lols. I couldn't get to the birtch guy, couldn't find any way to keep going right. Nice hopping engine thing, though.

47. Tranquility Mobile

Spoiler

Wow, really polished, shame it doesn't have much content :\ Also the asteroids should not be drawn above the hud text and stuff. If you keep working on this I would be sure to play the next version.

48. The Landfill

Spoiler

Graphics were stylish and unique, but on that one room where you jump up through the ghost platforms and the bird is coming down I could not get past it, also I could not return to where I came from. The bird killed me every time when I headed upwards, and the things you were supposed to use to climb up had either very small masks or the player's mask was so thin I kept falling off of them.

49.*** _WillO

Spoiler

Nice graphics! o.O But the concept seems kinda bland and uninspired. I would recommend adding something to make the gameplay new and fresh. Good job, anyway! (;

50. Bird

Spoiler

Just a note: The clouds in this game look a bit too oval and rough. Bug eating was kinda boring but I like how the bird keeps chomping for a few seconds after getting an insect.

51. Dandelion

Spoiler

Seemed pretty neat, but somehow I ran out of water? o.O

52. Fly

Spoiler

I like this. But it needs more work. Pretty neat idea :3

53. Escape from hades

Spoiler

I couldn't get out, there was an impossible jump near the top.

54. Arcadia

Spoiler

The controls were awkward (I wanna see where my mouse is!) and it's hard to tell what is what. Also the tranquility theme seems rather slapped onto the story.

55. A circle race

Spoiler

Not exactly a tranquility themed game. Wasn't very fun to just watch the balls race. :\

56. A warriors rest

Spoiler

Beat it. Was the ending in any way related to Christianity? The blue cross...? O_o

57. Serenata

Spoiler

Not exactly my cup of tea. It was funny the expression on the guy's face when you screw up :3 But these kinds of games are not very fun for me.

58. The Tranquilliser

Spoiler

Nice game. The Platform engine seemed pretty solid, too. The boss at the end was unclear, when are you supposed to attack it without getting hurt? o_O Also I'm not sure how this game is related to the theme.

59. An Ode To Dreaming

Spoiler

You should be able to use arrow keys as well as WASD in this. I got to the dead end on the far right, then turned back, jumped down into that opening I turned to my right and was stuck in the wall that was on the left. I must say, this is a pretty glitchy platform engine, I was able to go into ledges from the side and my head would be in the solid and it would make me go down slower.

60. Tranquility Is A Lame Theme

Spoiler

I played this way longer than I should have. Once you get the rocket launcher and the block creator it's easy going from there. Got all the smileys. Then I'm pretty sure there was nothing left.

61. Calm

Spoiler

All the particles really started to slow down my laptop. The platform engine was weird too, I would try to jump and instead it would boost me horizontally.

62. Fire Tears

Spoiler

I am sorry, YAL. This is a good 3D engine and it seems well done but games like these with 3D movement and mouse aiming are not suited well to my laptop (you can't use the touchpad if you are already pressing a key ). I will try to get an external mouse soon.

63. Swan

Spoiler

The theme was "tranquility" not "boringness". d: I played this game for what seemed like forever, but I never got anywhere. I was getting tired of holding down the right arrow key. I did get the "explorer went left" achievement though.

64. Serenity Slaughter

Spoiler

Didn't notice anything relating to the theme. I liked shooting enemies though d:

65. Akovi

Spoiler

Downloaded the game a 2nd time and now it runs. Pressed F on the menu but it didn't show anything... press F1 and got the jist of everything. After many (many) deaths, I got to the end, it killed me and said that I won. Thereafter whenever I was killed by an enemy It would say that I won, too. This game seems quite unfinished.

66. Payload
(Am not judging this because on it's post it says "DO NOT JUDGE")

67. Sleepshooter

Spoiler

What is that icky bump on the blue guys head?

68. Life Flow

Spoiler

Kinda fun game. I couldn't get to the end, ragequitted on the bee part. At first I thought I might be needing to let the bees pollinate me (since I was a flower) but I guess not, then my score went down to 0 e_e

Edited by orange08, 08 May 2012 - 10:41 PM.

[Follomania]

Votes:
1. Bloom--by chessmasterriley
2. Serenata--by coppolaemillio
3. Sleepshooter--by orange8
4. Sea of Tranquility--by Coolbot4k
5. Tripod--by JAk HAk

Best Use of Theme: The Story of A Leaf By Fireball16
Best Use of Handicap: I Dub Thee Able By Spydog
Best Presentation: Hillbilly Organ Grinder By Joe H

Intro:

Spoiler

When I think of a game based on "tranquility", I don't necessarily think of a plot revolving around tranquility, but rather
a game that embodies tranquility. I realize that many don't see it as I do, and I respect that. I'll still consider the theme used if
tranquility is used in the plot, however, it won't be rated as high as a game that is tranquil.

Concerning the handicap, I give 1/5 to games without any achievement system, 3/5 to games with achievements, and 5/5 to games
that have at least one achievement unrelated to the achieving the goal or failing to achieve it. If I give you a 3/5, and you
do in fact have an achievement that is unrelated to the main objective and I missed it, PM me how to attain it, and I will correct
the rating, if I am corrected.

Each game will receive a few comments I have, 1-5 score for graphics, 1-5 score for gameplay, 1-5 score for sound, 1-5 score
for use of the theme, 1-5 score for use of the handicap, and then what I liked best about it and what I liked least about it.
The scores will then be averaged for the total score. After I have played all the games, I will take the top five. If multiple
games have the same score, I will play each again, rating on a 1-10 scale. If there are still ties, I will play the tied games
and decide then on the rankings.

I will also try to order the games in a random order.

Games:

Spoiler

Aaaah... By makerofthegames

Spoiler

Interesting gameplay concept. Using the achievements to progress through the level. Quite dificult at times. Sound was okay. I can't really say I found tranquility displayed very well. There was indeed an achievement that satisfies the handicap, so that's a plus.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The using achievements to progress
Liked Least: The difficulty at times exceeded my patience, and I had to quit for a while.
Overall 3.4/5

Sea of Tranquility By Snail_Man

Spoiler

Tunneling through the moon to get to the other side of the Sea of Tranquility. This is a pretty entertaining game. It kept me playing for quite a while until I died too many times on a level and felt sad. The sound could be better.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The whole dual-robots tunneling through the earth was a pretty good idea, and kept me pretty occupied.
Liked Least: The collision masks seemed a little large at times, and the green robot bouncing was frustrating.
Overall 3.4/5

Origami By TheUltimate

Spoiler

I really like this game idea. I myself do a lot of origami. The levels were short and simple, as the beginning levels should be. However, the harder levels never came, which made me quite sad. The music was relaxing, as well.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The concept was a really good idea. I look forward to seeing the game developed further.
Liked Least: The levels were few, and the difficulty lacking.
Overall 3.2/5

Tranquilty is a Lame Theme By slayer64

Spoiler

It was an okay game. I enjoyed some of the humor injected. I found destroying every single block a bit too tedious. But I did play it for quite a while.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The game revolving completely around achievements was clever
Liked Least: Some achievements were pretty tedious
Overall 2.6/5

Bloom By chessmasterriley

Spoiler

Amazing!! I really liked it! I would have preferred a gauge or something so I could adjust the light levels more if I didn't have sufficient light.
Graphics 5/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The game was really relaxing and fit the theme well.
Liked Least: I didn't know how much light and water the dirt needed, so I wasn't sure at times if I had enough
Overall 4.4/5

Tripod By JAk HAk

Spoiler

Extremely interesting story. I enjoyed the game very much the sound was good as well.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 3/5
use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The idea of throwing your foot on the ceiling was intriguing
Liked Least: The difficulty of some of the levels made it frustrating.
Overall 3.8/5

Atariaxa By Nocturne

Spoiler

Very relaxing game. I found myself enjoying the tranquility of the game's atmosphere. I can get old if you need something more stimulating. But it's a good "I just want to shut off my mind" game.
Graphics 5/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The atmosphere invited me to play while receiving a back massage.
Liked Least: The game scenery doesn't change. I would like to see the colors slowly change, or something like that.
Overall 3.2/5

Isras Wings By Jools64

Spoiler

Very enjoyable game. Good story, good graphics, good sound, and keeps you entertained.
Graphics 5/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The game had good atmosphere and good gameplay
Liked Least: The spike part of the cave. It made me angry, ruining what would be a tranquil game.
Overall 3/5

Divided I Stand By Soulsnatcher

Spoiler

Pretty good game. It kept me intrigued for quite a while before I got so far behind that I couldn't do much. The graphics were decent, and the gameplay was okay.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: I really enjoyed building my planet, and that you programmed an auto-tiler.
Liked Least: The defense drone was very hard to control.
Overall 2.8/5

Gather By Greenblizzard

Spoiler

Enjoyable little game. It was quite tranquil, but got old pretty quickly. The soft body mechanics were awesome
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 5/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The slime ball was excellently programmed, and made it quite intriguing to play.
Liker Least: There was little to do, which made the game get old.
Overall 3/5

Hillbilly Organ Grinder By Joe H

Spoiler

Very enjoyable game. The difficulty rose well based on time played, and it kept me entertained.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The game keeps you playing and isn't that frustrating when you make a small mistake.
Liked Least: The loop during the instructions was too short and got annoying.
Overall 3.6/5

A Dying Curiosity By elektron

Spoiler

Interesting idea for a game. I grew the tree and then killed the tree. Not a whole lot to do, though.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The game is quite tranquil, and fits the them in that regard
Liked Least: Not much to do. Hit an arrow key here, and there.
Overall 2.6/5

Aardvark CWM By NAL

Spoiler

Not a much to do other than walk around. I really am not sure how I got some of the achievements, but I got them. Sound could be better.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 2/5
Use of theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: I got to control an aardvark. That was fun.
Liked Least: The subject matter was not what I enjoy having in a game.
Overall 2/5

Crystal of Tranquility By zxmanntisxz

Spoiler

Enjoyable game. For some reason, I couldn't by ammo for the weapon I started with, so I had to resort to ninja stars the whole game. The enemies would get stuck in the barricades a lot.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The weapon assortment was pretty good.
Liked Least: The gameplay wasn't too original.
Overall 2.4/5

Tranquil City By Magik--Entry must have been removed?

Balance By NicroGames

Spoiler

Nice little game. The graphics were good, and gameplay pretty original. The difficulty increased a little too slow, and the tilting got old with no added features.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The game was rather relaxing.
Liked Least: The game got a little dull after a while of tilting.
Overall 3.2/5

Arcadia By Mr. Munchkin

Spoiler

Here's an error I got when I popped a confidence bubble after winning:

Spoiler

ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event
for object obj_counter:

Error in code at line 3:
if global.stresslevel >=2 {if instance_exists(obj_messagelose) and obj_messagelose.x>=144 {obj_messagelose.moveon=true;} obj_itemspawner.spawn=false; obj_enemyspawner.spawn=false; with (obj_messagewin) instance_destroy();}
^
at position 85: Unknown variable x

Okay game. I see the tranquility of it. I found gameplay lacking a little. Graphics weren't too bad. The music was good
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The game strove to be tranquil and provide a nice atmosphere for the player.
Liked Least: It got old rather quickly. After level two, I started getting tired of moving my mouse and popping bubbles.
Overall 2.6/5

Traversia By Yagibabla

Spoiler

It was a decently built game. There doesn't appear to be any goal, which is okay. I went fishing, chopped down some trees, captured butterflies, and planted flowers.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme: 4/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The laid back atmosphere of the game was pleasant.
Liked Least: I think it needs more to things to do. Perhaps a goal or objective, such as building a house.
Overall 3/5

=()= By chainsawkittin

Spoiler

Interesting game concept. It took a while to figure out how to control my li'l guy, and even longer to determine what the point was. In the end, though, my li'l monk ascended to a higher plane of existence.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The game was laid back, and the water effect was pretty neat
Liked Least: There was no instruction or information at all. The only three words in the game were on the menu "Quit" and "Clear Data"
Overall 3.4/5

HelloOleChapThisIsAStoryHello By ThatSnail

Spoiler

Game keeps you busy for a while. There's not a whole lot of gameplay, but what is there is pretty good. The sounds remind me of Portal.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The mood of the game was pretty good and the game has potential if further developed
Liked Least: The abrupt sound beginnings and endings bothered me
Overall 2.2/5

The Surreptitious Dr. Swiss By HayManMarc

Spoiler

Entertaining game. I kept getting stuck in walls so I never got past the second level. I apologize for this, but I had done the first level enough times that I didn't really want to play it again. I always frown when games use graphics the creators didn't make, so while I appreciate why you used them, it does lower the score.
Graphics 1/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The mood of the game was well made, though it had a bit of disturbing-ness about it.
Liked Least: I kept getting stuck in block when I jumped into them, or landed on them wrong.
Overall 2.4/5

Fisher SAM By metalwings--Entry removed? I can't seem to find it.

Serenata By coppolaemillio

Spoiler

I enjoyed this game very much. It had a good rise in difficulty, and it was very relaxing. I bit more instruction might have been good, especially concerning the power-ups.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 5/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The relaxing atmosphere and the submersion of the music
Liked Least: There was a lack of instruction outside of the game help screen (f1).
Overall 4/5

A Circle Race By RekNepz

Spoiler

This is a different game. It appears to rely more on luck and statistics than on strategy or skill in pushing buttons. It was confusing to figure out with little guidance.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: You took a chance on a different type of game
Liked Least: You didn't explain much such as what the numbers by the balls meant
Overall 2/5

Sea of Tranquility By Coolbot4k

Spoiler

A quaint little game. Was very enjoyable. The only thing that really bugged me was that you couldn't go to the shop when you wanted to, but had to wait for it to come to you.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The game was pretty relaxing to play, and was put together quite well.
Liked Least: You had to wait for the shop to come to you, which was annoying.
Overall 3.8/5

The Thing That Money Can't Buy By IrfanFox

Spoiler

Okay game. Very short. I had to play it twice in order to catch the achievements. Sounds were okay, and graphics were okay. Use of handicap was extremely hard to determine. None of the achievements had to do with gathering the items, yet they all were related to his life, it seems. So I compromised.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 4/5
Liked Best: The story was decently put together, though it was short.
Liked Least: The time it takes to complete everything is under two minutes, and that's with the dialogue
Overall 2.8/5

WillO By GameDevDan

Spoiler

Very well put together game. I was able to finish the whole thing. The levels do pretty well in the raising difficulty factor, although, there were the occasional extremely easy level thrown in. I also wish the game was a little more forgiving on touching the walls.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The amount of content was very large, and the game was well designed.
Liked Least: The difficulty tended to be quite tedious and frustrating at times.
Overall 3.8/5

Fox In The Forest By Robert3DG+

Spoiler

Cute little game. The graphics (textures) seemed to be done well and matched, though Robert3DG+ did not make them. The modeling, which Robert3DG+ did do, though, was also well done. The gameplay lacked a little, as well as the sound.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 5/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The game itself was tranquil and very enjoyable to play.
Liked Least: The movement was extremely fast on my computer, and it made controlling your movement quite difficult.
Overall 2.8/3

Serenity Slaughter By Dangerous_Dave

Spoiler

Well made. Not a whole lot of gameplay available, aside from the shooting down li'l smileys. It would have been nice to see somethings added to kind of spice things up a little.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The waves of smileys were decently placed and numbered. With a little bit more work, the game could be pretty good.
Liked Least: I'm not a fan of blood in video games. I did not rate you lower because of it, though.
Overall 1.4/5

Dreamy Beamy By Kalzme

Spoiler

Very lovely game here. I enjoyed it a lot. I died around the same place three or four times before I decided to stop. The story was a bright idea.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The music and the graphics game this game a mood I really enjoyed.
Liked Least: I'd have liked some better visuals when you hit a cloud and such. The life hearts went down, but you don't see them if you're intent on your sun.
Overall 2.6/5

FerretJam By KygonsCube

Spoiler

This is a very good base to a game. When further developed, it would be very enjoyable. Sadly, it is not complete, which make it very difficult to play.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: I could see the making of a wonderful platformer here.
Liked Least: The game was incomplete, and I was unable to see it in all its glory.

A Warrior's Rest By Desert Dog

Spoiler

I saw the blood warning and almost did not play this one. But I'm glad I did. The gameplay itself was not that grand, but the dialogue and ending definitely were done quite well.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The game has a lot of emotion packed in it.
Liked Least: The blood at the beginning pushed me away quite a bit and I spent the rest of the game worried that some gory scene was going to play out.
Overall 2.6/5

Fire Tears By Yal

Spoiler

A pretty decent retro-style game. The objective was to collect the tears, which was entertaining for a while, but got frustrating due to me glitching through the floor a lot. It seems to have been built well, though, and kept me playing for a good half hour or so.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: Trying to make a 3D game still look retro can be a pretty big task. I appreciate you tried.
Liked Least: Some errors in the programming caused me to die by slowly sinking into the floor and then plummetting to my doom.
Overall 2.6/5

An Ode to Dreaming By Jobo

Spoiler

An interesting concept for a game. Sometimes I play video games in my sleep, but usually, I program them instead. The game felt very dreamy in it's gameplay. The character moved and fell slowly. There were some problems with the collisions, though.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The game fit the them quite well, as it had very tranquil gameplay
Liked Least: If I jumped wrong, my head would get stuck in the planks.
Overall 3/5

I Dub Thee Able By Spydog

Spoiler

A very nice little retro-style game. The levels increased in difficulty quite well. Some of them I resorted to just repeatedly walking of the edge at the start of the level to calm me down a little. I got all the achievements minus the not dying one.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The game was challenging and kept me entertained.
Liked Least: Some levels were so challenging though, that I did get mad, and it ruined any tranquil mood the game might have
Overall 3.4/5

Fly by Blopit

Spoiler

A neat concept. The execution of the concept needs a little work, though. It sent me right into the game, and I had to figure out the controls before I plummetted to my death. Once I figured out the controls, though, it was pretty fun. For some reason, the controls weren't always responding, I'm not sure the cause. My guess is I had to "refuel", but I couldn't tell for sure.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: Flying a bird can be quite tranquil if done right, so you're on to something good here.
Liked Least: No instructions quickly dampened my tranquility, as you die in under two seconds if you don't press the right button.
Overall 2.2/5

Protect the Guru By The Legend

Spoiler

This is a good start to a tower defense game. Some of the maps need some work, as the maps after the first two didn't have the mouse coordinates right. I did find a glitch where you can sell the range idols (cost 500) for 1500. Easy money there!
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The core of this game is well made, and I can see it being built upon and becoming a very good game
Liked Least: The graphics were mismatched, as well as the sound.
Overall 1.8/5

TranKOIlity By Robbiee--Entry removed?

The Tranquilliser By Fihrikamal

Spoiler

Fun while it lasts. The boss was extremely hard to defeat. I tried over and over but failed terribly. I think almost got him once, but the he killed me.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The gameplay was very well designed, and made for what could be an interesting game later.
Liked Least: The game was very short, and the boss really needs a health bar.
Overall 2.4/5

Shoot the Pigeon 2 By Rusty

Spoiler

Hmmm...could be better. I appreciate you making a sequel to last year's most successful entry. I must say, that I had trouble justifying translating and typing in 4 letters to play it.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 1/5
Sound 2/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: I always enjoy shooting things.
Liked Least: I never enjoy being attacked by pigeons, and there was no way to avoid it.
Overall 1.2/5

Escape from Hades by lukew23

Spoiler

Well made, and has decent graphics. It was pretty difficult, but not too bad. I think you should explain the ledges a little more, as it took a while to figure out why and how I was scaling the walls.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: Gameplay was very enjoyable while it lasted
Liked Least: When I got to the fight at the end, if I died, I had to scale up the wall, fight li'l dudes, jump a lot, and scale more just to try again.
Overall 2.4/5

Cat Martyrdom By Docopoper

Spoiler

This was a very good game. The physics was pretty awesome. I had to stop though when I started climbing the mountain because it got extremely slow. What I was able to play, though, I really liked.
Graphics 1/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: You were able to make a very nice physics puzzle
Liked Least: The cat always jumping made it very hard to time jumps
Overall 2.8/5

Enough Portals By ziggler1

Spoiler

Very neat little take on the portal mechanic. The man needs a bit more friction on the floor, but other than that, I think the game just needs more content. I didn't find any bugs or glitches. Good job!
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: I really enjoyed playing around with the portals and shooting myself across the room.
Liked Least: There wasn't many levels at all, and it could use more difficult levels.
Overall 2.2/5

Tranquility Mobile By 247slashGMC

Spoiler

I enjoyed this game for quite I while. After the first five hundred or so meters, I really could have used some more content to spice it up a little. After 2000 meters, I still had a third of my shield and four lives, but I quit. It was pretty well made, though!
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The game difficulty was pretty good for a game themed on tranquility; it keeps you engaged, rather than complacent, but it also doesn't make you frustrated.
Liked Least: After a while, the lack of change causes some monotonous feelings.
Overall 2.8/5

A Figurative End By Blake

Spoiler

A very nice little story here. The game itself is short and simple. It would be nice if there was a little more to do. I really liked the atmosphere you were able to put into the game.
Graphics 5/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 5/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The story was touching and the atmosphere was very pleasant
Liked Least: The game itself consisted of mostly just walking to the left and walking to the right with the occasional jump to get over a rock.
Overall 3.8/5

Dandelion By Centauri

Spoiler

This is a different kind of game. I enjoyed it, but I think the water should replenish a little faster. The speed you have to move takes away from the tranquility a little.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The gameplay was very unique
Liked Least: The watering can refilled extremely slow for the amount of flowers I had growing
Overall 2.6/5

Sleepshooter By orange8

Spoiler

This was a really enjoyable game! The puzzles were sometimes difficult and sometimes not. There wasn't a whole lot of difficulty from controlling your character, as it was all in the puzzle solving. There was a good amount of levels, and the sound didn't really get annoying.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 5/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The puzzles were very well designed, and increased well.
Liked Least: Nothing really comes to mind; the game was very well made
Overall 3.8/5

Tranquility Restored By brighteyes

Spoiler

An interesting concept. I found the collisions to be a little buggy, and at one point it time, my antlers got caught in a bear and I was launched into space. But I found the game to be pretty enjoyable, and played through twice.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The idea you had for your game is a very interesting one, that I think you could do something with if you worked on the game after the Jam.
Liked Least: I had trouble with the collisions with the ground and the bears.
Overall 2.8/5

Maggot in a Frying Pan By dadio

Spoiler

Hmmm...I suppose this could game could work on a mobile device. The gameplay wasn't really exciting on my computer. If it were on an iphone, though, you could really freak people out at bus stops when the maggot starts screaming.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 1/5
Sound 2/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: I can see some potential here. Buried under the maggot guts.
Liked Least: The screaming maggot's screams
Overall 1.8/5

Pig Out By Venomous

Spoiler

Well designed. I enjoyed shooting all the li'l pigs and crows. It got old fairly fast, and would have benefited from some more content. Perhaps sheep and cows.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The game's models seemed to have been decently made, as well as the animations
Liked Least: The gun seemed to shoot to the right; If I was far away, I always had to aim left of the pigs to hit them.
Overall 3/5

Bird By dereklaru

Spoiler

Pretty good. I think it's missing something though. I pressed up arrow, waited, pressed space, waited, pressed down arrow, waited, pressed space, etc. I think perhaps you should add other birds you need to dodge while eating the bugs. I got all the achievements, though.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 2/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The game was pretty tranquil; you never had to stress about dying.
Liked Least: It was lacking some gameplay elements that would have made it a lot more fun.
Overall 2.8/5

Feilds of Illusia By Viloen

Spoiler

Pretty neat game. It took me quite a while to get used to it. It would have been nice to have instructions for those who do not normally play these types of games.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 4/5
Use of Theme 1/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked best: Programming a pretty well-working map generator within the time limit is pretty neat.
Liked Least: The difficulty was pretty high for me.
Overall 2.6/5

Payload By Keevor--Download links are bad.

Calm By imonster

Spoiler

This was a very good game. The gameplay was pretty good, the graphics were pretty, sound was okay. The only problem I really have is that the particles slowed down the game a lot, it seemed.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: I really enjoyed the atmosphere you were able to put into the game.
Liked Least: The sounds were a little repetitive. I'd have liked if you found a way to change them up a little.
Overall 3.4/5

Just Let Me Sleep! By zakaos--File seems to be corrupt; it won't start at all.

Peaceful Warrior by _226266

Spoiler

Very interesting concept. I played through quite a few levels. The ledges need a little work, as you can land on their edges. Other than that, there weren't any noticeable problems. The level design seemed also increased the difficulty as you progressed, which was good.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 2/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: The concept you had for your game was quite original, and very interesting.
Liked Least: The sound really needed some work.
Overall 3.2/5

Retrospection By Mr Game

Spoiler

Okay little game here. There are many collisions bugs, which makes it very difficult to play. I'm thinking you used image_xscale for obj_player, as whenever I turned around next to a wall, I got stuck in it.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: I think you have a pretty decent game engine here that you could expand and make a pretty decent game. Just fix those bugs!
Liked Least: There were no checkpoints, so whenever I died, I went clear back to the beginning position.
Overall 2.4/5

Peace and Quite Nightmarish By IceMetalPunk

Spoiler

Really neat game. I enjoyed it a lot and was saddened that there weren't many levels. I really think you could do a lot with this.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: I really loved the graphics you put in the game. And also the night mare.
Liked Least: The wall collisions really need some work.
Overall 3.6/5

Forgotten Place (pologue) By Joexx3

Spoiler

This could be a really neat game! I enjoyed what was there! I did get stuck in the giant vases, though. The gameplay wasn't much, but I can see it being a neat game when you add content.
Graphics 5/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 2/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Liked Best: I really enjoyed the graphics you were able to put into this game in the time you had
Liked Least: There really wasn't much to do; walk, jump, swim, repeat
Overall 3.2/5

Chaos By Davve

Spoiler

Wow. That was a lot of rapidly pressing X. This was a very well made game. The gameplay was too challenging for me, but that's a personal preference. But for those who like difficult platforming, this would definitely make them happy.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: I really enjoyed the game's platforming mechanics. They were all programmed quite well.
Liked Least: The difficulty was quite high and made me throw my computer down in rage quite a few times.
Overall 3.6/5

Life Flow By Black Sheep Games

Spoiler

First, though this won't affect your score, I'd suggest a different file host next time, if you can find one. The one you chose had lots of buttons and made it difficult to figure out which button downloads your game and which button give me a virus.
Decent game. The graphics were pretty decent, as well as the gameplay. I'd have liked a bit more acceleration when moving, as the movement was very abrupt, and made the controlling harder.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 2/5
Liked Best: The atmosphere of the game was a pretty fun one.
Liked Least: While some sounds were good, others grated on my ears listening at hit-bee-sound), or started getting annoying after being played over and over (music notes when I'm doing well).
Overall 2.6/5

Cry of the Forrest By mads 2194

Spoiler

This was a well done game. It could use some more gameplay, but its length is to be expected from the short time it was made in. I enjoyed jumping around as a panda.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: The magic system was pretty neat; albeit, a little difficult to figure out.
Liked Least: The fire kept not appearing until after I died. Death by invisible fire is not something many people enjoy.
Overall 2.8/5

Akovi By Rusty

Spoiler

I really like this game! I think you should definitely continue this. The controls were confusing, though, even after reading through the help screen. I enjoyed running around in a little grass skirt. That was enjoyable.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 1/5
Use Of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: I liked being a little native man. There aren't a lot of games that give you a grass skirt and a mask and then say, "Go! Fight the mechanical monsters that shoot at our heads!"
Liked Least: The controls were difficult to understand, and at times it was unclear what I should do ("How do I get the li'l fella out of the cage?" for instance)
Overall 2.6/5

Sleep Manuever By 11clock

Spoiler

That was very difficult. It was made quite well. The levels were very challenging, and I found no glitches or shortcuts. I tried to get every yellow thing, but I got too frustrated, so I gave up.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 4/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: I really like the main game mechanic. Normally, I would say it was just lazy programming, but in this case, it added a lot to the game.
Like Least: There weren't really any easy levels at the beginning; I'd have liked a few more easier ones to help get use to the game.
Overall 3/5

Swan By Yal

Spoiler

Hmm...I'm not really sure I understand the goal or hidden point of this game. I did enjoy swimming for a while. Then I decided to just bounce my way through the levels. I got an achievement shortly before it looped back to the beginning.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 1/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 4/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: I liked the graphics style of the game
Liked Least: I don't really understand the concept
Overall 2.8/5

Defending Tranquility By Captain Lepidus

Spoiler

Pretty decent little game. I had some trouble clicking where I want. I was able to win every battle. I think some sound and more graphical work could make this a really good game.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 2/5
Use of Handicap 5/5
Liked Best: I liked that strategy element. Most of the games don't have the same strategical elements.
Liked Least: There was no way for me to know where I was clicking; do I click on the guy's head, or his feet?
Overall 2.6/5

Juniper Hill By max_r_61270

Spoiler

Neat little game. I liked your graphics style. The moving and collisions need some work. There were several placed that I had no idea where to go or what to do, so If you added sign or something to direct the player, that would be good.
Graphics 4/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: I liked the original art style. Very Dr. Suess-ey
Liked Least: That bird that kills you at the tower.

The Story of A Leaf By Fireball16

Spoiler

Very tranquil game. It took a while to get used to the leaf, as well as figure out exactly what I was supposed to do. I did get the highest score, though! 1957! Sound would be 4/5, but the music stopped and didn't start again.
Graphics 3/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 3/5
Use of Theme 5/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Liked Best: The atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxing.
Liked Least: The music stopped and never began again, leaving me to play in silence.
Overall 3.4/5

These Tranquill Waters Shall not Hold By johnki

Spoiler

Interesting idea. I couldn't find a purpose or goal. I went deep, I went far, but nothing happened. I even ran into fish thinking I might die or something. Nothing happened though.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 1/5
Sound 1/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 3/5
Like Best: I liked that the whole room rotated when you turned, instead of you rotating.
Liked Least: There was no direction on what you are supposed to do.
Overall 2/5

The Way of Tranquility By greyzebra

Spoiler

Decently made game. I can see it going somewhere. Overall, the quality is low. The graphics need some improvement, the sound needs some improvement, and the weapons need improvement (such as visuals when you hit someone with a fireball). But the gameplay was pretty good, and kept me playing to the end.
Graphics 2/5
Gameplay 3/5
Sound 2/5
Use of Theme 3/5
Use of Handicap 1/5
Liked Best: I liked the idea of your game. I enjoyed going on little missions for my master to learn things.
Liked Least: The running animation would play when I was standing still; it was a little annoying.
Overall 2.2/5

Edited by Follomania, 16 May 2012 - 04:44 PM.

[Snail_Man]

VOTES: Yay! Actual votes now!!

Spoiler

1st: Isras Wings by Jools64
2nd: Tripod by JakHak
3rd: Balance by NicroGames
4th: Hillbilly Organ Grinder by JoeH
5th: Aaaah... by MakerOfTheGames and Speedchuck
6th: Bloom by Chessmasterriley
7th: Sleepshooter by Orange08
8th: The Tranquilizer by Firhilkamal
9th: Landfill by max_r_61270
10th: Pig Out by Venomous
11th: Chaos by Davve
12th: A Dying Curiosity by Elektron
13th: Divided I Stand by Soulsnatcher
14th: An Ode to Dreaming by Jobo
15th: A Circle Race by RekNepZ
16th: Miniature Golf by Follomania
17th: Ataraxia by Nocturne
18th: A Figurative End by Blake
19th: Fox in the Forest by Robert3Dg+
20th: I Dub Thee Able by SpyDog
21th: Story of a Leaf by Fireball16
22st: C.O.T-Protector by Zxmantisxz and Kehran
23nd: Origami by TheUltimate
24rd: Fly by Blopit
25th: Traversia by Yagibabla

So I'm going to vote for my top 25... You got a problem with that?

Best use of Theme: An Ode to Dreaming by Jobo

Best use of Handicap: Miniature Golf by Follomania

Best Presentation: Tranquility Mobile by 247SlashGMC

Best DevLog: Divided I Stand by SoulSnatcher

Reviews of every game:

Spoiler

Sleepy Manuvuer by 11clock

Spoiler

I liked this game for a number of reasons. For one thing, the level design was simply superb
(Though quite hard in some places), and you always had the exact amount of jumps to complete the level. I did not play all the way through the game, as it became very hard later on, but I played enough to see that it was a solid entry. Another thing that the developer did very well, was the music. Although it was not very tranquil, the music was very good, and fit the game well. I never unlocked an
achievement, so I don't know if there were any. Overall, it was a good game, and a very solid entry. 6/10

Tranquility Mobile by 247SlashGMC

Spoiler

Really liked this one. When I first opened it, I expected it to be a blah 360 retro shooter thing. I couldn't have been more wrong. (Well, actually I could have be quite a bit more wrong, but that's not the point. It had very well done and colorful graphics, and fun gameplay. The music was finest 8-bit stock, and I loved the tranquil atmosphere. The whole thing was very polished and well done. 7/10

Life Flow by Black Sheep Games

Spoiler

This was an okay game, but it had several flaws. For one thing, all the games within the game were the same in essentials. In the cloud one, you dodge evil clouds, and collect music notes. In the raindrop one, you dodge lightning, and collect water. You get the idea. The music was also a slight problem. It was good, but very short, so it looped often, and not very well. There was always a slight glitch in the game when it did. However, it was a very nice idea, and the graphics were quite good. The gameplay may have been repetitive, but it also kept me playing until the “Boy jumping over rocks” level. Overall, a pretty good game, that could use a few improvements.
5/10

A Figurative End by Blake

Spoiler

Haha! Loved the intro on this one. The game itself was pretty good. The atmosphere was very well done, and I quite liked the music. The gameplay was fairly alright, basic walk/jump. I was kind of hoping it would be longer, but it's not a big deal. The graphics were fairly good, and all fit together nicely. Overall, I liked it because of good use of theme, atmosphere, and music.
6/10

Tranquility Restored by BrightEyes

Spoiler

Interesting game. The graphics were very good, pixel art-y with well done animations. The music fit well, and did not loop too much (Or it looped so well that I didn't notice). The gameplay was fairly good. It had a nice system of upgrades, and the enemies weren't too hard, or too easy. However, it was not very long, and the boss had no way of finding out how much health he had left. There were also a couple small things, like the fact that I got stuck in a ceiling for a while at one point, and that it will probably get more votes than my game. Overall score: 6/10

~
=()= by Chainswkitten

Spoiler

Very atmospheric game. The music was very good, and very tranquil. The graphics were very 8-bit and fitting. The movement system was very good. I can only imagine how long it took to code that :/
The reflection was also very good, and it added lot to the game. There was only one problem; The gameplay. This was either nonexistent, or It's really getting too late for me to be reviewing these still. You moved too slow in the game, and there seemed to be no point to the game other than wandering around a very well put together map. I'm sorry, but it really didn't have any point that I could see. If I'm wrong, the developer of this game can PM me and tell me what I missed.
Overall: 4/10

Bloom by Chessmasterriley

Spoiler

When I first saw the development blog for this game, I thought it would be another project with grand ideas, that would eventually fail, and drop out of the competition. Of course I was proven wrong, or I wouldn't be writing this review. I actually played this game before the jam was over, and was very impressed by it. Now I've played it again, and it's even better than I remember it. The music was perfectly done, and didn't get boring at all. There was a slight irritation, where after I beat a level, it'd go back to the menu, and that music would start playing, and then I'd click the next level and the main game music would restart. The graphics were very good, and fit the theme very well. Use of handicap was sort of unclear, I assumed it was finding those statue things. The gameplay was fun, and the level design was good. There were a couple flaws though, mostly bugs. One bug I found was that only the top half of platforms are solid, such that if you flip them upside down, the water will go through the top, and come to rest on the bottom. Also, the sunlight with mirrors seems to cause lag that sometimes makes it impossible to win. I eventually got stuck on a really hard “mirrors” level which I quit on. Overall, I will give the game an 8/10 for a really good game, with a few small irritations.

Sea of Tranquility by Coolbot_4k

Spoiler

An okay little fishing simulator. The controls seemed fairly well thought out, the music was okay, but got repetitive after a while. I caught a few goldfish, which was pretty fun, but then I got THIS

Spoiler

___________________________________________
ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event
for object fish:

Error in code at line 64:
image_angle = point_direction(x,y,fishing_hook.x,fishing_hook.y);
^
at position 57: Unknown variable x

message, and I couldn't do anything about it. Also, there was the small problem of it having the same name as my game. I might try to play it later to beat the error, and therefore I will not give it a number score, as that would be unfair. Overall: ?/10

Serenata by Coppolaemilio

Spoiler

Interesting game. The music was very good, as it fit the theme very well. The graphics, though pretty simple, were quite fitting and amusing. The menu screen and help screen were very profession and well done. There were, however, a few problems with the gameplay. At first I was confused by the game, as I thought you had to hit the green notes and not the red notes. (This was probably due to me eating lunch at the same time as playing the game). After I finally figured it out, it was quite fun, but after a while, it became boring. It would have made it more interesting if, say, you added yellow notes later on, or if you made the notes get gradually faster. I eventually stopped on the fourth movement, but I might get back to this one later. Overall: 5/10

Chaos by Davve

Spoiler

Ah! Finally a good, hardcore platformer. Music was good, though very loud, and I love retro graphics, so no complaints from me. The gameplay was very good, and challenging. I don't see how that many people can be stuck on the wall jumping level, as I didn't find it really hard at all. The controls were a little bit laggy, which made It a little hard to control precisely, and the gravity was also a bit high for my liking. Other than that, it was quite good. The climbing was very well done, and the wall jumping had good physics as well. The level design was well thought out, and very well done. There was also the problem where, when I stood in front of the door, it didn't always open, and I had to commit suicide to get it to work again. Overall though, it was quite good, and warrants a good 7/10

~
Bird by Dereklarue

Spoiler

Hmm... Pretty simple little arcade thing. Press space to eat bugs, and up and down to move. Graphics were okay, if a bit simple, and there
were only three sound effects I could find. The constant loop of wind, the achievement get sound, and the annoying open-mouth sound. There was no background music, which was a shame. The gameplay was kind of boring, with no way to lose, or anything to dodge. It had several achievements, which seemed pretty good, though I never did get the “Duck Hunt” one. Overall: 3/10

A Warriors Rest by Desert Dog

Spoiler

I really liked the atmosphere with this one, and the music was quite good, though a little bit repetitive. The graphics all fit together fairly well, and the story was good and well done. The gameplay was also alright, though I originally thought it would be more of a fighting game than a straight platformer. There were several small things though, that annoyed me about this game. The first of these, is the difficulty. It seemed to be oddly backwards. The first platforming segment was far harder than later ones, and the last one was quite easy. Also there was a small bug that made the little “Light Orb” around you jerk a little whenever you jumped or landed. Thirdly, the typing of the narrator should be about two times faster, as I often got to the next memory, or finished the level before it was done. Overall, this was a quite good game, with a couple small annoyances that irritated me throughout. Overall: 6/10

Cat Martyrdom by Docopoper

Spoiler

I found this to be a very interesting physics platformer. The music was very good, and the graphics were about average. However the gameplay was slightly troubling. The constant jumping, though quite cute at first, became very annoying as I progressed. The first challenge was very hard, for it's time in the game. It also had a pace problem. The challenges were clever, but on the whole, took far too long to complete. The first one took at least five minutes, and other times it was quite hard to see where to go. Also, there was one level, (Level four, I believe) that lagged something terrible, and had another one of those ambiguous challenges where there was no direction on where to go. The achievements seemed adequate. However, I saw no connection to the theme whatsoever. The gameplay was frustrating and not very tranquil, and I didn't see anything about it in the dialogue (Though maybe I just missed it cause I'm a stupid head ) Overall, 5/10

The Story of a Leaf by Fireball16

Spoiler

A nice, interesting arcade game thing. I liked the graphics, and the interface was very polished and well done. The upgrades were good and seemed to work well. There was no music that I could hear, nor sounds. The gameplay was quite... ...Interesting. It wasn't bad, but it was very unique. I did have quite a hard time controlling the leaf sometimes, but I eventually got the hang of it. Getting pollen was not that hard, though sometimes I seemed to get pollen even though I was nowhere near any. Oh well. The theme was well implemented, and it had a decent amount of achievements. Overall, I'll give it a 7/10

Miniature Golf by Follomania

Spoiler

Nice little golf sim. The graphics were standard 3d fare, but not bad. The sound was okay, but seemed to get annoying after a while. It might have benefited from some nice, calming background music. The connection to the theme was alright, as playing mini golf is quite relaxing, and the achievements were quite well done. The gameplay itself, however, wasn't perfect. Most game maker 3d games are far too sensitive, and therefore give me a headache by the end due to the small, jerky movements. This game was better than average, but still gave me a slight feeling on nausea by the end. The hitting of the ball itself was alright, you seemed to have a decent amount of control, but you had to stand far too close to the ball while you putted, so you couldn't really see where you were aiming at the same time as aiming.
The holes seemed to be many, and varied so I didn't really get bored by the end, (Although I didn't really figure out what those things that looked like chef's hats were until I had already gotten 17 strokes on that hole) and the windmill was very well done. Overall I'll give this a 7/10

~
WillO by GameDevDan

Spoiler

Before I'd played it, I heard a lot of good things about this game, so it was with some anticipation that I finally got around to playing this. The graphics were quite good, and the music fit, though a couple of other sound effects irked me. The beeping sound when you scrolled over a menu item had it's pan set all the way to the left, such that when I moused over something, I kept involuntarily looking left, for the source of the noise. There was also the sound of putting out a candle, which seemed more like a “Throwing things” sound, and the restart sound, which was extremely annoying and gave me a twitch whenever I heard it. The gameplay was alright, nothing too new, the second level seemed way harder than it should have been, and there was a bug, where you sometimes wouldn't go to the next room after you got to the door, causing you to have to go all the way back to the menu and back. Overall, I can see why some people thought highly of this game, but personally I didn't like it very much. 5/10

Peace and Quite Nightmarish by IceMetalPunk

Spoiler

Interesting little game. Graphics were pretty good, and the music was okay, and fit well. In the gameplay itself, the spaceship was quite hard to control, as it didn't bounce off walls, and just sort of stuck there. The first time I played through, I forgot about the rainbow bullets, and therefore got an achievement at the end (Yay!). There was a bug where sometimes you would get stuck in the misfiring neurons and take damage really fast. The game itself was very, very short with only three or four levels. Overall, it's a pretty good game, with a couple small things that need improving, and a whole lot more levels. 6/10

Calm by iMonster

Spoiler

Okay, first let me say, that this game really needs a way to exit. I had to open the task manager just to quit. With that said, it wasn't a bad game. The graphics were simple, but adequate, and had a but to many particles in my opinion, but other people have other preferences. The sound was good, though there was no music, but the ambient noise track was good. The gameplay was okay. The game seemed to lag a bit, but it wasn't a big deal. The enemies seemed pretty well thought out. There was the problem that the game said you press V to progress, when it means the down arrow. That got me confused for quite a while on the first level, until I eventually figured it out. Other than those small things, it was quite a fun game, and I might come back to it someday. Overall, I'll give it a score of 6/10.

Hillbilly Organ Grinder by JoeH

Spoiler

Nice little shooter game. The graphics were very well done (I love that cut out style) and the music was simply superb, though sometimes it would layer on other music and not sound so good. The gameplay was very relaxing and fun. The falling things were many and varied, which made it interesting, and the moonshine just with upgrades were very nice. The menus seemed very well polished, and there were a decent amount of achievements to unlock separate from the main goal or objective. There were a couple problems with the gameplay, for example it seemed almost impossible for you to keep more than one of the little people alive for more than a few waves, and some configurations seemed almost impossible to blast away, but overall, it was a very well-done game. 8/10

Forgotten Placeby Joexx3

Spoiler

Wow... That had a level of polish that I don't think I've seen on a jam game. The menus were impeccable, and the graphics were all very well done. The sounds made it even better, be it ambient noise, such as birds chirping, or gameplay sounds like walking, or jumping. The gameplay was quite good, though a few bugs made an otherwise tranquil experience, not-so-tranquil. There was this one kind of platform which I always got stuck in. This is why I eventually quit, because I got stuck in
a block, and just couldn't get out. Overall, I think this was a very polished game, which had a few annoying bugs that prevented it from really “clicking” with me. 7/10

~
FerretJam by KygonsCube, Furritus, and Neroveus.

Spoiler

It's a real shame that this was unfinished. It looked like a great start to a good platform-adventure. The physics were really very good, and the sprite looked great (except for when it turned into a random other guy while wall-jumping.) It also had a surprising amount of levels, for this level of completion. The music was also very good, and didn't get annoying at all. Unfortuantly, you didn't have time to finish thing. I hope you keep working on it, as it could be an awesome game with a lot of work. Overall
5/10

Escape from Hades by LukeW23

Spoiler

I'm sorry, but I played and reviewed this one earlier, but then I lost it, and I really don't feel like doing it again. Here's the bones of the review:
-Not so great graphics
-No music made me sad
-Gameplay was good
-Gravity was a little bit too high
-Okay combat system
-Rage quitted on final boss because of no checkpoint.

Sorry , but I really don't feel like doing another full review, and I need to get to three others tonight.

Cry of the Forest by Mads2194

Spoiler

Hmm.. Nice platform action thing with spells. The graphics were generally good, the music was fitting, and the sound effects were adequate. The gameplay was pretty standard jump & run platform action, with a nice little spellcasting gimmick, and not-to-hard enemies. The levels seemed pretty well made on the whole, and the enemies seemed well designed. The point at which I stopped playing, was when I'd gotten to the tree of life, but I couldn't get up. A couple times I could inexplicably double-jump using the trampoline spell, but I couldn't really figure out how to do it consistently. I didn't find any achievements, which didn't mean there weren't any, but there were none that I found. Overall it was a pretty standard platform action game with a pretty decent twist. 6/10

The Landfill by max_r_61270

Spoiler

Wow... That was just... Wow. That was, quite possible the weirdest thing that happened to me today (And that's saying something.), though I enjoyed it very much. The graphics were very very good, except a few small thing that irked me. The character seemed to glitch out whenever you touch a ladder or a rope, and the screen size/resolution seems to change randomly from room to room. The music, was nonexistent. I didn't see any achievements, but that doesn't mean there weren't any. The gameplay was basic platform adventure stock. The first challenge with the flower was far too hard, but after that it seemed to be very well thought out. Sometime I'll probably go through and try all the different doors and stuff. I wonder if there are multiple endings? It's possible. Overall, a weird game that I really liked. 8/10

Arcadia by Mr. Munchkin

Spoiler

Hmm... not much to say about this, but I'll give it a go. Graphics were sorta okay, though scaled a bit oddly. The music was very good and tranquil. The gameplay was pretty simple. The character was a little bit hard to control, but I got used to it in the end. It was also often quite hard to dodge the red things. I did encounter a bug, however. I was just finishing level five, when it said I had done 47/50. Then, it stopped making the things I was supposed to collect. It was impossible to continue, so I had to quit. Overall, I think it was a nice little arcade game, that could be improved in a couple of ways. 5/10

~
Sleepshooter by Orange08

Spoiler

Nice work with this one. It was a very well put-together puzzle game. The graphics were good, and all seemed to fit together well. The music was interesting (Where did you get it?). The gameplay was very well done. The level design was generally perfect, though there were a couple places where it didn't seem to quite mesh. The polish was very good, and the one bug I did encounter was very minor. (This was that when you died, the music would restart which could get annoying).
There were also a couple little details I liked, like the little bug-like things crawling across the ground, or the fact that the zzz's coming from the sleeping enemies got smaller as they woke up. There was also a slight problem, where for a while, I couldn't figure out which button changed the music tracks. (I eventually figured out that it was M). The game fit the theme well, I think, and it was quite tranquil. I didn't see any achievements though. Overall, it was a very good puzzler with some good gameplay elements. 8/10

Fox in the Forest by Robert3dG+

Spoiler

Interesting little game. The graphics were pretty good. I wish there had been music, as t would have helped a lot to set the atmosphere. There was a slight graphical annoyance for me, where when you jumped, your shadow would grow far too small for the relative height of your jump, but maybe that's just me. The gameplay was a fun, collecting sort of thing. I loved the nice little popping sound that the 'shrooms made as you collected them. The mushrooms themselves were well placed, such that they were challenging, but not impossible to find. I especially like that one place that was like a building with all the corridors, as it reminded me of that old windows “3d Maze” screen saver. Overall, it was a pretty good and fun 3d first person collection game thing. 7/10

Tranquility is a Lame Theme by Slayer64

Spoiler

I actually quite liked this one. Despite the name, this game has very little to do with hating tranquility. The graphics were utterly horrendous, as I assume (and hope) they were supposed to be. The music was quite good, and didn't really distract from the gameplay at all. I loved the “Yay” sound when you collected a smile, and the explosion sound effect was really, really annoying. The gameplay was another one of those “Get all the achievements to win” type things. Therefore, it didn't comply with the handicap. (The handicap was “Include one or more achievements to unlock within your game seperate from the main goal or objective”, and if the goal of the game to unlock achievements, then it does not comply to the handicap) It didn't particularly comply with the theme either, as it wasn't really tranquil. Although it didn't comply to either the handicap nor the theme, it was still quite fun to play. I liked coloring blocks and smiles, and blowing them up was even more fun. I also liked burning trees. I think in the end, I got like 13/17 achievements. I probably could have gotten them all, but I really didn't feel like destroying every block in the room, or collecting all the smiles, or anything like that. Overall, it was a pretty good game, that was purposefully bad in some places. Ultimately though, it was fun to play. 6/10

Sea of Tranquility by Snail_Man (Post-mortem)

Spoiler

Interesting puzzle game. The graphics are cartoony, and all fit together well. The music was alright, though it seemed to get quieter and louder randomly. The sound effects were a tad too loud for my taste. The gameplay was an interesting blend of top down and platform. The green robot's was a little hard to control at times, which made me use the double tap space trick a lot. The yellow robot's physics were mostly good, though there was sometimes a jerk downward if you hit a ceiling too fast. The green robot's collisions were a little bit off, as it had a circular mask slightly bigger than itself. There were a couple of other problems, like the fact that the green and yellow acid is hard to see on already-mined ground, and it's really hard to jump while you are standing in a shaft that an alien is currently mining downwards. It had a decent amount of achievements other than the goal, though one of them is impossible to get, and it's connection to the theme was average. Overall it was a pretty good puzzle platformer with a couple problems that need ironing out. 7/10

Origami by TheUltimate

Spoiler

This was an interesting little game. (I seem to be saying that a lot don't I) It was a standard platformer with a good gimmick. The folding of levels was visually pleasing, and it seemed to be relatively bug-free. The graphics were pretty good, cut-paper style. The music was okay, but it got slightly annoying after a while. The sound effects were pretty good, and didn't really get that annoying for quite a while.
The gameplay was a basic platformer, except with the folding gimmick, it was made slightly more interesting. There were a couple problems with the physics, such as the fact that I got stuck in a fold once, and the gravity was slightly too high for my taste. Also, some of the rooms seemed to run a significant amount faster than others, and the dieing animation seemed to take a little long. Overall, it was a very innovative game, that needed a little more variety. 7/10

~
Pig Out by Venomous

Spoiler

I quite like this one. The graphics were fairly good. The music was nonexistent, which made me sad. The sound effects were mixed. I loved the sound of the shotgun, and the crow sounds, but after killing 350+ pigs, I was getting really tired of the two pig-dieing sounds. The gameplay was quite fun. It's one of the few first person game that didn't give me motion sickness/a migraine. I loved the satisfying feeling when you shot a pig. It was not until later in the game that I noticed the crows, due to me accidentally skipping the second help screen. I got bored after a while, though due to the lack of variaty in the gameplay. The developer could fix this by adding more types of pigs, like fast pigs, and flying pigs, and that sort of thing. Overall, it was a fun first person shooter, and it's ultimate problem was it's lack of variety. 7.5/10

Fields of Illusia by Violen

Spoiler

Rpgs and rougelikes have never really been by favorate genre of game, but I thought this one was okay nonetheless. The graphics were absolutely superb retro stock, the music was pretty good, but looped too often. I really like the randomly generated rooms, as I've always been interested in how that sort of thing works. The game had standard rpg gameplay, but it seemed somewhat too hard. I spent most of the time walking back and forth in a deserted hallway just to heal. Some sort of healing potion would have been nice. Overall, it was a pretty fun game, but I'm not really a fan of the genre, so I'll give it a 6/10

Peaceful Warrior by _226226

Spoiler

An okay platformer. The graphics were okay, though they seemed badly scaled at some times. The music was good, and fit. The gameplay was mixed. There was some very good level design and powerups, completely ruined by crappy physics. The concept was quite innovative, and all the powerups were well though out. The levels were very well designed, though a bit hard. The physics, however, really ruined it. There would be a small bounce when you landed on the ground, which made it very hard to move or jump quickly off of it. You could also regain your double jump by hitting the underside of a platform. This would have been a good game, maybe even a great game, but the platform engine...
It it's current state, I'll give this a 4/10, but with the platform engine polished, I might have rated it a 7/10, so I'll avarage it out to a solid 5.5/10

Fly by Blopit

Spoiler

That was very unique. Unfortunatly, like many people, I could get very far. The graphics were fairly simple, which I liked, and there was no music or sounds. At first, I thought it'd be a “Tap up to flap” bird flying games, but with 360 gravity. Then, a whole other circle opened up off of the first one. I, naturally, was baffled, so I tried to go in there. It was there that the gravity suddenly flipped, and I died. I tried and tried, but I could never make the transition to the other circle. I'm sorry. It the developer somehow gave me a hint, however than I might be able to review it more thoroughly. For now, though I'll give it two ratings. What I played, and what I imagine the game to be like on the second circle and beyond.
6/10 7/10

_{Imaginary rating: 8/10
EDIT: Okay. With a little help from the creator, I managed to get to the second circle, and it was quite fun. I flew around the planets aimlessly for a while, then ran into a bomb. The planet switching was quite well done, so I'll bump my rating up to a 7/10}

Defending Tranquility by CaptainLepidus

Spoiler

This was actually quite a fun RTS game, once I found figured out that I was trying to control the other side's units. The movement system was pretty well done, and the enemy AI was also pretty good. The graphics weren't the best, and there was no sound or music. (I think this really could have befitted from some epic battle music). I wish, though, that it had been more than just fighting. Maybe if there were two towns, and both could create units by collection resources. Also customizable colors would be nice, and one thing that many RTS's don't have, is some way to name your opponents. I just love naming all my enemies in RTS's after my friends, and then pretending to wallop them on the battle field. Overall it was a pretty good RTS, but it seemed like it needed more... I don't know... Framework.
6/10

~

Tranquillity

Spoiler

Wow, this is, quite possibly, the most original name for a jam game. (Except for the game “Facade” in jam 5, and “Laws” in jam 4...
Seriously though, I really couldn't figure this game out. I got an achievement, went down a hole, and got stuck. Once I got to the cave, I couldn't fund anything. There was a weird thing that looked like a glass box with water inside, but it seemed to do nothing. The graphics were sorta alright retro, and the music was absolutely superb. Overall, it looked like a good retro adventure game, but I just couldn't figure it out. If the developer could post some sort of walkthrough, I might be able to review it more in-depth. Otherwise, I'll keep it with this rating. 5/10

Dandelion by Centauri

Spoiler

Quite an interesting game. The graphics were good for their style. There was no music, which was a shame. The gameplay was fairly straightforward, and, as I found out, easy. The weeds were very easy to kill, and the flowers were very easy to keep alive. I don't think in ten minutes of playing it, I ever had less than 60% of weedkiller. I did really like the way that the flowers swayed in the wind. Overall, I really don't have too much to say about this, except it did make me feel very tranquil, and there was an achievement. 5/10

Maggot in a Frying Pan by Dadio

Spoiler

Wow...
This was actually very polished.
0/10

Serenity Slaughter by DangerousDave

Spoiler

Lets see... Not a bad game by any measure, but needed improvements in a lot of areas. The graphics were pretty meh, and needed to be spiced up a bit. The sound and music was nonexistent, and needed to be existed up a bit. The gameplay was pretty fun, but I can still think of a couple of things it needs. For one thing, it's too easy. Until I got bored, none of the emoticons even came near hurting me. The second thing, is that it just needs a bit more variation. Make red angry faces that shoot, or XD faces that go twice as fast as the others, or something other than the humdrum happy faces that were all too easy to defend against. Overall, it was an alright game, but it needed something more to make it stand out from the crowd of TDS's like it. 4/10

A Dying curiosity by Elektron

Spoiler

This game was very unique. I loved the graphics in their “Watercolor” style. The ambient noise was very good. The gameplay was sort of interesting, “Figure out what to do”. There was one problem though. At the beginning of the game, it was running at a nice smooth 60 fps. Later, it eased down to a, still acceptable, 45 fps. Than 30. It was in the “Falling leaves” part that lag really became a problem. By the winter, the lag became so bad that the whole game froze up. I was forced to quit. I tried again, and it worked. I played all the way through, and it was a pretty interesting game. One question though: Why did the tree in the fourground go through an entire life cycle, when the tree in the background didn't even grow? Overall, a very interesting puzzle game, but too short. Great graphics and ambiance. 7.5/10

~

The Tranquilliser by Firhilkamal

Spoiler

Wow... This was quite a good game, but that boss...
The graphics were superb. The music and the sounds were very good. The Platform/fighting engine was very very polished. The only problem, is with the boss. It was far too hard for the first boss. It's not that hard at first, when you can just run up and smack it with the spear in-between it's wave attacks, but then it gets faster. Much faster. By the end, it's almost impossible to dodge the attacks, and because the character has only a few hitpoints. However, this game has great potential. With a lot of new levels and enemy types, and wall jumping, it could be a fully fledged platformer action game. Overall, this game had a level of polish that surpassed any other game in the jam. (Well, maybe except for “Maggot in a Frying Pan” ) 8/10

Gather by Greenblizzard

Spoiler

Interesting game. It was good as far as it went, I suppose, but there wasn't much to do. The graphics were good for Gm3D, there was no music, but it would have been nice. There were some sound effects,
and they were okay. The gameplay was basically playing as a gelatinous blob, and rolling around collecting crystals. The red crystals made you go faster, and that's about it. I wish there had been some sort of goal. There was one thing that I liked to do. What I would do, is collect a red crystal, then roll off in one direction as fast as I could. I would go flying over hills at a hundred miles an hour, and it was ridiculously fun. Maybe if you made the game some sort of blob race, or something where you have to go very fast. Overall, it had good graphics, but it felt more like an engine than anything. 6/10

Way of TR by GreyZebra

Spoiler

Hmm.. a platform action game. Unfortunately, it's not too great. The graphics were mostly the ones that came with Gm, except for the character which was from that outline that's been on the Yyg for a while. There was no music, and only to sound effects that were annoying. The lack of variable jumping was also annoying, along with the fact that you die immediately when you jump on an enemy's head. The collisions seemed sort of buggy, and the final boss was ridiculously easy compared to the rest of the game. Overall, it was an alright concept, that was severely lacking in polish, graphics, sounds, and general togetherness. 2.5/10

The Surreptitious D Swiss by HayManMarc

Spoiler

That was, quite possibly, the oddest game in this jam. I loved the semi-ripped graphics, and the crazy Dr. Swiss tap-dance like walking animation. The music was 60's sounding, and fit the theme well. It also didn't really get annoying after playing the game for a while. The gameplay was pretty standard platform, collect the items sort of thing. I liked the funny sound effect when you got a henchman. The engine seemed fairly smooth and well polished, except the time when I got stuck in a block. The time when I got stuck in a block, was when I quit. I just didn't want to have to replay all the levels again. Overall, it was a pretty good platformer, but there were a couple of bugs, and it really didn't really stand out from the crowd. 6/10

The Thing That Money Can't Buy by IrfanFox

Spoiler

Nice little game. The graphics weren't great, but they all seemed to fit together fairly well. There wasn't any sort of music, which would have been nice, and the ambient noise was slightly annoying. The gameplay was okay, you wander around picking berries, flowers, and mushrooms. You can also get some achievements, which made it fit the handicap decently. The story was pretty cheesy, but it was also charming. Overall, it was an okay game, that fit the theme and handicap, and had a decent story.
4.5/10

~

Tripod by JakHak

Spoiler

I really like this game. It was fun, polished, and very well put together. The graphics, were simple, but they all worked very well together. I loved the small details, like the inverted screen, the ever changing end, and the colored blocks when you footed onto something. The sounds were good, and seemed to work well with everything else. The music wasn't great, but it seemed to fit the mood of the game, and the theme of the jam. The gameplay was quite fun. I like hardcore platform-type stuff, and I could see immediately that this game was going to be very well designed. I was not wrong, and the entire thing was very well done. It was a bit fast, however, as the slightest twitch would send the poor protagonist flying in the the rainbow colored spikes. Also, the achievements seemed slightly unprofessional, as they used the default Game Maker pop up messages. The developer might have at least reskinned the boxes. Overall though, it was very well done all around, especially the level design. 9/10

An Ode to Dreming by Jobo

Spoiler

Very relaxing and- dare I say it- tranquil game. The graphics were very nice, and all fit together well. The music was one of the best in the jam that I've heard. It was very haunting, and very good. The gameplay was okay, but it did have several problems. First and foremost, the collisions. The game might have been a lot more engaging if the collisions hadn't been so buggy. Also, the story was okay, but I would have liked it more if you'd added more zainey dream-like dialogue into the game. Overall, it was a very atmospheric game, that had several small problems, and needed some polishing. 7.25/10

These Tranquil Waters Shall Not Hold by JohnKi

Spoiler

Not a bad game, the collisions were a bit bad, as many other people have pointed out, but it was quite a good game. The graphics were very good retro style. There was no music, and there were only a couple of sounds which were slightly annoying. The gameplay was basically exploration, and it was fairly fun, though you do move very slowly, and it was often hard to tell which direction I was going in. I didn't really have time to find all the objects, but I did see an achievement or too, which made it comply well with the handicap. It also was very tranquil, so it fit the theme. Overall, it was a pretty good game, with a couple problems, including the collisions, and the slowness. 6.5/10

Isras Wings by Jools64

Spoiler

Wow. This was very good, and very well polished. The graphics were superb. They were very fitting, and cartoon-y is a very good art style. The music was very nice, though it looped a bit too often, but each piece fit the area in which it was played. The gameplay was also very fun, as I could reach higher and higher places. And finally won the game. It didn't make much sense that you didn't need all the feathers to win, but I suppose you might get an achievement when you get them all. The whole thing was very tranquil, and I liked it very well. Overall, it was a very good game, with good graphics, and good music. 9/10

Dreamy Beamy by Kalzme

Spoiler

An alright game. The menu didn't seem all that professional, but the graphics were pretty good. The music was okay, I didn't hear any sound effects. The gameplay was pretty standard, dodge and shoot game. It was quite hard, actually. I also wondered why the clouds in the background didn't hurt you, when the ones in the foreground. Overall, it was an okay game, with fine graphics, and okay music. 4/10

~

Payload by Keevor

Spoiler

The first thing I noticed about this game, was that it had no menu. This seemed somewhat unprofessional, but I decided that maybe the developer spent all his time working on the actual meat of the game. However, when I first started, it became painfully apparent that you could not control the space ship. This was annoying. I continued to play, but I never really got into the game. There were some bars at the top of the screen, but I never figured out what all but the top one did. The graphics were fairly decent pixel art-y. There was no music, and the shooting sound effect was annoying. The explosion was pretty good though. Overall, it was a game that I felt needed a menu/help file, and the lack of control of the ship, while it might have been the gimmick of the game, was very annoying as I would sometimes just drift off the screen for a while.
3/10

Aaaah... by MakerOfTheGames & Speedchuck

Spoiler

This one was was quite good. The level design seemed very well thought out. The graphics were okay, and fit the game pretty well. The music was quite good, and it didn't get annoying for quite a while. The gameplay was a fun sort of puzzle/platform thing trying to figure out the achievements. I never did find the hidden achievement, I wonder how you get it? The physics were good, and there were no bugs that I could find. I did wish that you controlled the gun using the mouse, rather than WASD though. I loved the button puzzle, as you really have to be very smart to figure it out . Overall, it was a good puzzle/platform thing, with fitting graphics, and fairly good music. 8/10

Retrospection by Mr. Game

Spoiler

Hm. This actually wasn't a bad game. Unfortunately it had several gaping flaws which made it very hard to play. The graphics were sort of odd. The main character was a pixel-beast, but the ground and the bunny were all more cartoon/pixel art-y. There was no music, and no sounds, both of which would have made this game fell a lot more... there. The gameplay, unfortunately, had several problems. Jumping on the ground was all fine and good, but the horizontal collisions were abysmal. Sometimes I would get stuck in the side of a block, or I would totally glitch out when I hit one. They were not good. The actual level design was pretty good, but there was one thing it really really needed. Checkpoints. After you pass a really hard part of a game, you really don't want to be thrown back all the way to the beginning of the level, let alone the game, and have to do it all over again. The signs and achievements seemed pretty well done, and added some aspect of story to the game. Overall, it was an okay game with an abysmal platform engine that probably needs to be scrapped and replaced with another, much better one. 3/10

Aardvark Cwm by NAL

Spoiler

Hmmm... Weird. The whole game was basically “Walk to one side of the screen collection stuff, walk all the way back completing missions.” Not much too it. The graphics seemed like a combination between pixel art, and cartoon, but they seemed to all work well together. The music was okay, but it did get annoying after quite a while. The gameplay, as already stated, was pretty nonexistent, though the whole thing seemed like a decent attempt at a surreal rpg thing. Overall, it was nothing really special, but nothing too bad either. 5/10

Balance by NicroGames

Spoiler

This one was actually very good. I loved the physics, as they seemed very realistic and I had a lot of fun flinging the green rectangle around the screen. The graphics weren't very good, but they were consistant. The music was actually pretty tranquil. At first, I though the gameplay was going to be just “Keep the square on the board dodging things.” Therefore, when I first saw the stars falling, I assumed they were bad. However, when I accidentally hit one, and my score went up, I was very confused. I wondered weather there was any challenge at all with this game. Then, the board started to get a mind of it's own. For the next minute or so, it was a pitch battle between me, and the mysterious AI who was trying to pitch the poor green rectangle into the infinite nothingness. Eventually, I lost. Overall, though, it was a very fun and engaging game that was also very unique. 8.25/10

~

Ataraxia by Nocturne

Spoiler

Nice game. The graphics were very good, and the music and sounds were very well done. The gameplay was pretty fun snake style game, but with a slight twist. If you wrap around a big piece of food, or an enemy, it kills them. Unfortunately, the gameplay didn't have a whole lot of variety. Once the enemies were introduced, I didn't see any new elements. After that, I quickly got bored and quit. Overall, it was a very pretty game with great sounds, but I didn't really fancy the gameplay. 8/10

A Circle Race by RekNepZ

Spoiler

Quite a unique concept, this. The graphics were pretty mediocre, but they all fit together wwell and I like the textured racing background. There was no music or sounds, which was a shame, as I think it would have benefited from them. The gameplay was very unique. Bet on different colored circles, and win money from it. At first glance, this seems boring, but as I played, it became fun to try to determine every circle's stratagy. I wondered how the odds on the circle picking screen were assigned, and if they were recalculated every race to include the latest data. (Probably not, but it would have been pretty cool)
There was absolutly no connection to the theme of any kind, but there were a few achievements. Overall, it was a pretty fun, and very unique game, but it gets boring relatively fast. 7/10

Akovi by Rusty

Spoiler

Hmm... an okay concept, but little more than an engine at this stage. The graphics were good pixel art style. There were no music or sounds, but that's not surprising for a game at this stage of devolpment. The gameplay was okay, but the bullets from the mini guns hurt you far too much. The platform physics seemed alright and not too buggy, but not outstanding. The main mechanic of the game, however seemed slightly buggy, as you seemed to jump back a few pixels. Eventually I died, but it also said I'd won, so I was quite confused. Overall, it was a pretty good engine, but it really didn'y have the meat and potatoes of a game. 5/10

Shoot the Pidgeon II by Rusty

Spoiler

Uh-huh.
1/10

Divided I Stand by Soulsnatcher

Spoiler

Very fun! The graphics were fairly good, as they all fit together well. There was no music or sounds, which was a slight shame, as I think they would have enhanced the game a lot. The gameplay was very fun, but it seemed that the turrets were a little bit too expensive, along with the reinforced blocks. I do think, though, that the difficulty curve was a bit steep, and that the yellow enemies were quite hard to defend against. Overall, it was a quite fun game, with a couple of small flaws. 7.5/10

~

I Dub Thee Able by Spydog

Spoiler

This was quite a good, fun, game. The graphics were pixel art, and I thought, pretty good. I liked the retro 8-bit music, and it seemed to have a good amount of sound effects. The gameplay was fairly fun, and pretty innovative. It had a good amount of levels, and it was they were all well designed. I liked the block graphic, as the diagonal lines really made it look good. The physics were also pretty good, and the whole game seemed very well put together. The story was slightly strange, but I thought it was still quite good. Overall, it was a very well put together game, with a pretty innovative gimmick. 7.5/10

HelloOleChapThisIsAStoryHello by ThatSnail

Spoiler

It's really too bad that this game wasn't good. I loved the graphics, as they were very well drawn and put together. The music/sounds was kinda cool. The story was awesome, as it was well written and thought out. Unfortunately, the gameplay was very boring. It was basically a DdR game, and that distracted me somewhat from the story of the game, which was the best part. I'm sorry, but this seems more like an intro to a deep first person exploration game, than a DdR clone. Overall, it had awesome graphics and story, okay music and sounds, but bad gameplay. 4/10

Protect the Guru by TheLegend

Spoiler

Hmm... It's an okay tower defense game, but it was quite hard. The graphics seemed mostly ripped, but they all seemed to fit together well nonetheless. The music was quite good, and fit the game well. The gameplay was slightly comfusing, however. At first, I didn't know how to build turrets. When I read the help file, I figured it out. It was quite hard, though, as the turrets didn't appear to hurt the tanks at all, and they were very very expensive. After I played the game a second time, I found that just buying a bunch of basic turrets at first, then upgrading was a good stratagy. Once I got my foot in the door, the game was actually quite fun. After I got a lot of money, though, it became too easy. After that, I quit pretty soon. Overall, it was a pretty fun game, with several flaws. 5/10

Traversia by Yagibabla

Spoiler

Kind fun Minecraft-like thing. The graphics were very good retro styled, and all went together very very well. The music was very good, but it did get slightly annoying after a while. I didn't really understand the gameplay. It was basically a gardening game, where yuo can chop down trees and uproot mushrooms, plant and dig up flowers, stumps, and grass. I couldn't really see the point to catching fish and butterflies, though it was still fun. Overall, it was a pretty good garden sandbox thing with seemingly pointless fishing and butterfly catching, really good graphics, and good music. 7/10

Fire Tears by Yal

Spoiler

Ugh. I really couldn't play this for too long. The graphics were good 8-bit 3d. The music was pretty meh, but it fit alright, and the sound effects were okay. (Except for the one for collection tears, as that one was pretty annoying. The gameplay was alright, but it did give me motion sickness and a headache almost at once. This was caused by two things; The bobbing view, and the face that the character in the game seemed to be one foot tall. That being said, I was still able to play for a few minutes, and it was pretty good. The levels seemed well designed, and the engine was smooth enough. (Though the jumping seemed a bit too high for my tastes.) I did get an achievement, so that made it fit the handicap, but it didn't seem to fit the theme in any way. Overall, it was a pretty good first person game, but it did make me sick after playing for a few minutes. 7/10

~

Swan by Yal

Spoiler

Look, there is a differance between "Tranquil" and "Boring."
This game had okay graphics, as they were pretty minimalist. The music, however, was horrendous. I'm sorry, but the constant low buzz, coupled with the incessant whining of the high part was far, far too much for me to take for long. The gameplay consisted of holding the right arrow key, or the left arrow key, and jumping. It had no challange, nothing interesting, nothing different. In my eyes, it had no gameplay. Overall, it had fairly good graphics, but there were no other redeeming qualities in this game, other than the awesome reflection thing on the water. 2/10

Enough Portals by Ziggler1

Spoiler

Hmm.. this is a pretty nice engine for a portal game. The graphics were pretty okay, with a minimalistic style. The music was good and fit the game well. The gameplay was pretty fun. The physics seemed pretty well done, and they interact well with the portals. There was one problem though. The gameplay was good, but it didn't seem like the developer spent enough time on level design. It needs some more elements to distinguish it from every other portal clone, and it needs more attention to the elements it has. Overall, it was a pretty good engine, but not much of a game, and it needs more attention to level design.
6/10

C.O.T-Protector by Zxmantisxz + Kehran

Spoiler

This was an alright TdS.
The graphics were very good retro, the music was quite fitting, and didn't get boring at all. The sounds were a bit scarce, but they existed so that's good. The gameplay was pretty fun. Although I ran out of bullets very fast, I got enough money to purchase some ninja stars, and was able to hold my own for well over a minute after that. Unfortunately, after a while, I ran out of money and ammo at the same time, and was stuck without any means to fight the monsters now battering their way into the crystal. Not long after I died. I played again, and tried to make more money, but I could not. If I just knew an easier way to make money, but I can't Overall, it was a pretty good TdS, but I couldn't get enough money to get any good weapons. 7/10

I'M DONE!!!

Edited by Snail_Man, 14 May 2012 - 06:34 PM.

[RekNepZ]

Votes so far:

Spoiler

1. Isras Wings
2. Divided I Stand
3. Fields of Illusia
4. Sea Of Tranquility (Coolbot_4k)
5. Hillbilly Organ Grinder
6. Forgotten Place
7. Aaaah
8. Chaos
9. PigOut
10. Willo
11. Sleepshooter
12. Sea Of Tranquility (Snail Man)
13. Miniature Golf
14. Fly
15. Ataraxia
16. Tripod
17 Origami
18. An Ode To Dreaming
19. Life Flow
20. Sleepy Maneuver
21. Calm

Can't really decide on the other votes (best use of theme, etc.)

Honorable mentions:

Spoiler

=()=
A Dying Curiosity
A Figurative End
A Warrior's Rest
Aardvark CWM
Balance
Cat Martyrdom
Cry Of The Forest
Enough Portals
Escape From Hades
Fire Tears
Gather
I Dub Thee Able
Peace & Quite Nightmarish
Serenata
The Land Fill
The Story Of A Leaf
The Surreptitious Dr Swiss
The Thing That Money Can't Buy
Tranquility Mobile
Tranquility Restored
Traversia

Reviews so far:

Spoiler

=()=
Interesting. A good game, but needs A LOT more explanation. The graphics are really nice, and the music is fitting, but I can't seem to figure out the goal. All I can really do is move the character around this weird island. Looks good though!

A Dying Curiosity
Very unique! I like the graphics style and the gameplay was unlike anything else I've seen. Too bad it was so short. Good job!

A Figurative End
I recognized that music from Feet Of Clay and almost lol'd. Nice game! The graphics are very nice and the music is fitting. The game is too short and easy though. All I really did was walk back and forth. Still, nice game!

A Warrior's Rest
I'm not much of "experience platformers." Still, this game was okay. The graphics were good and the music was fitting. The gameplay was sort of fun, but reading the text was boring and was sometimes cut off by the end of a level. Still, it's an okay game.

Aaaah
Very fun! Unique concept, interesting challenges, a boss that actually isn't impossible. The graphics aren't great and the music is generic, but an otherwise fun game. Great use of handicap!

Aardvark CWM
Very Strange. The graphics are well done, the music fits very well, and the game itself is well polished. My bigist complaint, though, is that I couldn't ever tell what the heck was going on. The text seems to be filled with British inside jokes that don't make any sense to someone like me. Still, a pretty good game.

Akovi
I can't give a fair review because it's not complete. I couldn't figure out what I was doing. Sometime I could double-jump, sometimes I couldn't. Pressing space didn't seem to do anything useful, and the menu said F for help instead of F1. With some fixes, and better explanation, this could be an okay game.

An Ode To Dreaming
A great concept! Almost felt like a real dream, especially at the end! The collisions are a bit buggy, but other than that, very nice!

Arcadia
Interesting game. It was sort of fun. The menu would have been better if there were actual buttons to press and if you could see which levels you passed. Still, the engine was smooth and the game was okay

Ataraxia
The graphics are amazing! The game itself is okay too, but leaves a lot to be desired. For starters, it needs explanation. The game seems pretty simple, but I still like to know what I'm doing. It also gets boring after a while. All the green blobs grew to big and I quit because there was nothing to do. Still, this is a pretty cool game.

Balance
Not bad! I wasn't quite sure what to do at first, but I had fun once I got the hang of it. It gets boring fast though. More dangers, powerups, etc could make this a pretty fun game!

Bird
The graphics were good, and the sounds were fitting. However, there wasn't much in the game and I got bored fast. Powerups and the like would have made it better.

Bloom
Froze up when I tried to play it.

Calm
That font! I can't read it without getting a headache! Aside from the font though, this is an okay game. The graphics, sounds, and music are all pretty good. With a few changes, such as adding a quit button, this could be a good game!

Cat Martyrdom
I've never played Dominoes 2, so I don't know how much of a clone this is. It was pretty good though. The engine was very smooth and the music fit well. I never got past the market level though. I just couldn't get that ball up the ramp. Was good while it lasted though!

Chaos
Very nice! The graphics are quite good (the the character doesn't really fit the style) and the music fits well! The itself is pretty fun. However, I got fed up at the meteor level. The chunks seem to fall randomly, sometimes making the level impossible. Still, very nice!

C.O.T-Protector
The graphics, sound, and music fit well together. However, the game itself had a few problems. I didn't know, until I read Ziggler's review, that you could press R to reload because it wasn't in the help file. The main issue, though, is that it was too slow. It probably would be more fun if it was as exciting at the beginning as it was five or so minutes in. Still, it's a pretty nice game.

Cry Of The Forest
Not bad! The engine seems pretty smooth and the graphics are quite nice. The gameplay is rather repetitive, though, so the game got boring fast. Still, pretty good!

Dandelion
Good game. The graphics are simplistic, but still good, and the engine is well polished. I really liked the online highscores. The game itself, however, is rather boring. Without sound or music, there isn't much to keep me playing for more than five minutes or so. Still, well done.

Defending Tranquility
Interesting game. With no sound or music, though, there wasn't much to keep me in. The engine is very smooth, though, and I can tell a lot of work went into this game. Some sounds and a few graphic updates, and this could be an okay game!

Divided I Stand
Very fun! I had a little trouble at first, it took me a bit to figure out how to make it night, but I had a lot of fun once I got the hang of it. Great work! One complaint though. It was really annoying having Microsoft Word pop up when it could easily just be put in a normal help file.

DreamyBeamy
Interesting game. The game setting works well, which is good. The game is fun, but very hard. Some places seem impossible to get passed, and the lightning clouds are REALLY annoying. Still, an okay game.

Enough Portals
Pretty good demo! It's not much, so it's not quite on my top game list, but it has good potential. My one criticism is that only you only need the portals in one or two levels, the rest is just a dodger game. Still, pretty good.

Escape From Hades
Pretty good! The engine was very smooth and the graphics, while not top-notch, were still okay. There was no sounds or music though, so the game felt rather empty. Still, I had fun!

Ferret Jam
It looked pretty good and the engine was smooth, until I got stuck in a block when going in-between rooms and found that the game saved so I couldn't ever get out. Still, looked okay!

Fields Of Illusia
Very nice! I didn't find the menu as offensive as others did (though it's still bad if it offends people at all.) I really like this game! It was a little hard to understand at first, but it was quite fun once I got it. The level generator worked pretty well and the graphics and music were great! Good work!

Fire Tears
Pretty fun. I liked exploring around. However, the wiggling of the view combined with the closeness to the ground gave me a headache (just as I was healing from the last one.) Still, the graphics and music worked well and I had fun playing.

Forgotten Place
Wow! Very nice! Was this really made in a weekend? I was really liking it, and then I got stuck in a block and had to quit. The time it took each level to load was also rather annoying. Still, this game looked really nice and I enjoyed it!

Fox In The Forest
I was having fun collecting the mushrooms when I went into the maze-temple area. I moved forward and found that I couldn't stop. Then the FPS dropped to nearly 0 and I couldn't move or anything! I quit and tried again, but the same thing kept happening. It doesn't seem to happen to anyone else though.

Fly
Very nice! I really liked it! the graphics are descent and the gameplay is very unique! Could use some sounds and music though. It also could use some in-game explanation and a menu screen. Still, very nice game!

Gather
One of the most tranquil games I've played so far! The graphics are nice and the sounds and lack of music made it ever-more tranquil. The controls, though, were difficult and the game got boring fast. I was never quite sure what the point is and eventually got bored and quit. Still, very well done!

HelloOleChapThisIsAStoryHello
Not much to say, because there wasn't much in the game. It got boring way to quickly, doing the same thing over and over. Was there something I missed?

Hillbilly Organ Grinder
Really nice! The graphics, music, gameplay, were all very well done! Great job! Hillbilly is actually an offensive term though. Be careful when using it.

I Dub Thee Able
Pretty good! The graphics and music, like in so many other games, went well together and the game itself was fun. It got repetitive after a bit, though. More enemies/concepts would make it better.

Isras Wings
Very nice! I really like the graphics style and the music fits well too (though it's kind of annoying.) I enjoyed this game a lot! My one annoyance, though, is that the text sometimes disappears off the screen. Still, very nice!

Just Let Me Sleep - intro
Couldn't get it to work.

Life Flow
Very cute graphics and music! They go well together. The game is fun too. I got a little frustrated at the part with the boy, but still, this is a good game.

Maggot In A Frying Pan
Very weird. That's about all I can say.

Miniature Golf
Very nice! Was this seriously done in a weekend? Some of the graphics weren't top-notch, but the game was very good. I'm not to much of a golf person, so it got a little boring, but it did feel very realistic and I enjoyed it!

Origami
Unique concept! I liked it a lot! The graphics weren't great and the music was average. However, the gameplay was really good. I had fun. Too bad it was so short.

Payload
Interesting shooter. There was no menu so the game just started right away, which was sort of annoying. There was no help file either so I had to figure it out on my own. The ship also seems to have a mind of its own which is also kind of annoying, but I guess that's the gimmick of the game. I also got an unknown room error when I pressed S. Still, the graphics weren't too bad and the game was sort of fun.

Peaceful Warrior
Nice gimmick! I couldn't figure out how to beat the first level though. I collected every item I saw, but still couldn't advance. Great concept though!

PigOut
Very nice 3D! Some of the 3D graphics I've seen in a Game Maker game! The game was fun too, until I got the pigs in check. When I got down to about twenty plants, I was able to keep the pigs in check and I eventually got bored and let the pigs get them. Still, very nice!

Peace & Quite Nightmarish
Pretty nice! Looks and sounds very good! I didn't really like the blinking neurons though. They just got annoying. Too bad this game is so short, though, because it's pretty good!

Protect the Guru
I love tower defense game, so I enjoyed this. Still, there are a few problems. I learned the hard way that tanks could destroy towers when they go around turns, so I had to be more careful than I would normally like. The difficulty also is bigger problem. I got bored after reaching the point where all the enemies were killed before even making the second turn. Still, the engine was very smooth and I enjoyed the game.

Retrospection
It seems interesting, but almost unplayably buggy. I couldn't get across the big jumps because dashing was too hard and got fed up after losing the bunny twice. Nice graphics though.

Sea Of Tranquility (Coolbot_4K)
I really like this game! I played it for quite a while, until I got this error message.

Spoiler

ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event
for object fish:

Error in code at line 64:
image_angle = point_direction(x,y,fishing_hook.x,fishing_hook.y);
^
at position 57: Unknown variable x

Still, this is a really nice game. I love the graphics and music, especially
the equipment shop. Awesome job!

Sea Of Tranquility (Snail Man)
Pretty nice! The graphics were good and the music, while a little strange, fit well! The game was pretty fun. The green guy was a little glitchy, but aside from that the game was quite smooth. Good job!

Serenata
The graphics and music are very well done. However, I found the rest of the game confusing. I knew what I was supposed to do, but the goal seems nearly impossible to achieve. I found myself in the negative scores most of the time, especially after getting the bonus that makes a bunch of notes appear. Still, the game was presented quite well. Maybe I just suck at it.

Serenity Slaughter
Interesting use of theme. The game was highly repetitive, though, the graphics weren't that good, and there were no sounds or music. Funny opening scene though.

Shoot The Pigeon 2
Not much to say since it's supposed to be bad (I hope.) Rusty succeeded.

Sleepshooter
Nice puzzle game! It was pretty well done! The graphics and music were pretty good and the game itself was fun. I was stuck at level 10 for quite a while. My one complaint is that the music restarts after you die. Good job!

Sleepy Maneuver
Nice Concept! I liked it a lot. The graphics are not top-notch, and the music was a little strange, but the game is otherwise pretty fun! Good job!

Swan
Wasn't really tranquil, just boring. The music gave me a headache too. A little more scenery and less repetition would make it better. Two questions though. How does the swan jump like that, and how does the water sometimes come from no where? (Two waterfalls at opposite ends both leading up.)

The Thing That Money Can't Buy
Fits the theme very well. The game's short and cheesy, but is sort of fun and fits the theme better than the other games I've played so far. Good job!

The Land Fill
I really liked the graphics. The Dr. Seuss-like graphics looked really nice. The gameplay was okay too. Sort of Johney-like. However, it was way too hard and, also bcause of the lack of sounds or music, I got bored and quit. Still, very unique!

The Story Of A Leaf
Pretty nice! The graphics were really good and the music fit well (though it should have been looped.) The game got boring fast, though, and it was a little strange how the first round of upgrades actually gives you more money because of the achievements. Still, it's an okay game!

The Surreptitious Dr Swiss
Who knew a generic platformer with ripped graphics could be so interesting! I think that last sentence about sums the game up. The engine was very smooth, until I got stuck in a block and had to quit. Still, a very strange, yet fun, game.

The Tranquilizer
Amazing graphics! The best in the jam so far! However, the first boss is quite hard. I got bored after the third try and, with no way to tell how much I've hurt it, I got bored. Still, those graphics are amazing and you should be proud of yourself!

These Tranquil Waters Shall Not Hold
Fun concept! A few problems though. The collisions were buggy and I got tired of getting stuck in walls all the time. It also may have been better if the controls were simple. For example, if the ship always faced the mouse and you used the left click to move forward and space to shoot. Still, it was an interesting concept and I liked it!

Tranquility
Very unique and creative name. I can't seem to get passed the cave room though so that's not good.

Tranquility Is A Lame Theme
For being purposefully bad, this game is strangely addictive. There's something about shooting those blocks and collecting smiley guys that's rather fun. Very weird.

Tranquility Mobile
Pretty nice! The graphics were good, though very simple, and the music fit. The game got boring pretty fast though, especially when I got the bubble upgrade.The achievements did make it better, though I'm unsure how this game has to do with tranquility. Still, pretty good!

Tranquility Restored
Very interesting. The graphics are very nice and the music, while a little annoying, is fitting. The game, however, feels bad. Attacking the bears is rather hard, and nothing in the gameplay really makes it stick out. Still, the atmosphere is really good. Be proud of that!

Traversia
Pretty nice. First game I played that was really tranquil! The graphics, sounds, and music work well and the engine is quite smooth. There's not much to do, though, so I got bored fast. Still, I can't wait to see how this game turns out when it's finished!

Tripod
Pretty good! Setting was good and the gameplay was unique. However, the levels got too repetitive and I got bored. Still, pretty good!

Way Of Tranquility
A generic platformer. There wasn't much to do and punching those monsters was hard so I quickly got bored. The graphics were pretty good though! Hope to see them used well if you participate in the next jam.

Willo
Very well done! The atomosphere is very errie (they not really tranquile) and everything fits very well togather. One comment though, the beeping sound that plays when you scroll over a button only plays in one ear. Because of this, I thought it was coming from another room and I went mad trying to find it.


If anyone finds any typos, please tell me!

Edited by RekNepZ, 16 May 2012 - 01:58 PM.

[johnki]

1st: Bloom
2nd: Origami
3rd: Traversia

Best Use of Theme: A Dying Curiousity
Best Use of Handicap: Aardvark Cwm
Best Presentation: Traversia AND Bloom (couldn't decide)
Best Devlog: Soulsnatcher

Spoiler

______________________________________


Johnki's Tranquil Awards for Sea Dwellers:

Flying Bicycle Award: Undecided
Broken Bicycle Award: Undecided
The Kat Award: Undecided
The Koda Award: Undecided
Most Humorous: Undecided
Most Interesting Gameplay Element: Undecided

Guide to awards:

Flying Bicycle Award: Most innovative game.
Broken Bicycle Award: Best idea that just sort of fell flat in execution.
The Kat Award: Best graphics.
The Koda Award: Most clever game that caused the most frustration along the way.

______________________________________

Reviews:

Here's how I'm going to do my reviews:

10 point system. 2 point for graphics. 2 point for audio. 2 point for fun. 2 point for "feel" (controls/speeds/etc). 2 point for it coming together well.

Graphics - Mostly the style. If I like how the graphics look or not. This isn't going to account for repetitive tiling and such.
Audio - If it sounds good.
Fun - If I have fun playing it.
Feel - If I feel that the controls felt tight, and collisions were handled well, the game didn't disorient me with repetitive tiling, etc.
Overall - If I feel that the games other 4 elements came together to make a good game.

This way a game can do well in all 4 categories, but if it doesn't come together well, it'll still get 8/10 points, which I think is a fair analysis. Sometimes everything looks and feels great, but it doesn't look and feel great altogether. It also means that you could miss in some categories, but it could be okay because it still came together to make a good game as a whole. For example, I might not like the graphics, but it could come together to make something fun with a great feel anyways. It ALSO means that if you get a 10/10, you had a pretty good game.

It will probably feel really harsh to a lot of you, but I think it's a sound way of reviewing.

I'll put at the end a score and a "1/1/1/1/1" format for "Graphics/Sound/Fun/Feel/Overall".

______________________________________


Highest scores so far:

10/10: Bloom by Chessmasterriley
9/10: Origami by theUltimate
8/10: Traversia by Yagibabla and Ataraxia by Nocturne
7/10: Divided I Stand by Soulsnatcher

______________________________________


TTWSNH Post-mortem:

Spoiler

The game has an interesting graphical direction, reverting to low-resolution, single-color graphics (for the most part. one of the items to collect has two colors, and I forgot to change it to one color) for a more retro look (excluding the clear use of transparency in the light's overlay). I'm actually rather proud of myself for sticking with the style the whole way through. It was difficult at times, especially when it came to the creatures of the sea.

I had a lot of fun making the game, and I think I accomplished something close to what I wanted. It was hard for me to do though. Optimization was hellish. I had no idea how to optimize something like this in GM, and between ~9700 16x16 squares to place tiles, half of which were filled in, and thousands more instance active consistently, it took quite a bit of effort. In the end, over 6000 (or over 7000 if you increase the rendering distance!) instances are active at once. Before optimizing, it was common to see ~12000 active at any one time.

Unfortunately, the game has a few issues.

The first of which is that the goal is probably unclear. This was entirely intentional. I wanted the player to be able to sit back, relax, and get lost in the underwater world I created. I put a lot of effort into making sure that there was some sort of atmosphere so that they could do just that. The only goal of this game was to sit back, relax, and try to find things. It was in NO way meant to be a "rush here, rush there, grab this, grab that, DONE! RECORD TIME!" sort of game. If the player adventured enough, they could probably figure it out in no time. I wanted it to be a calm experience. One of the biggest problems here is that we're not still in an era where players can be dropped into a game with no instruction and have a desire to figure it out on their own. We're in an era that hands it all to you. I don't like handing everything to my players. Hell, I laughed when I heard about how Cactus likes to include things to torment his players because it's "fun", but I laughed in a "that sounds like something I'd do" way. It's just the kind of games I make and it probably won't change except for complex games.

Second, the first review of my game brought it to my attention that the view not going outside of the room is a bit irritating. In playing the game myself, I had had a few issues with it, but ultimately, I kept it to clearly define the end of the world. In fact, I used that sort of disorientation, issues moving, etc to my advantage at one end of the world to keep a challenge reaching one of the items, making it feel more like an achievement. But that was also the only time I had issues with it.

Third, the collision detection is a bit bad. It works fine, unless you hit something and then rotate to try to escape. This is an issue with inexperience, and it plagues another one of my WIP games. This weekend, there was nothing I could do to fix that.

Ultimately, I had wanted to do a lot more with the game. I had plans for a narrative, I had plans for music, I had plans for a hell of a lot more atmosphere. I wasn't able to do that in the time I had.

Also, as a last note, many thanks to icuurd for helping with optimization.

Swan by Yal

Spoiler

I played this probably a lot longer than others would have, hoping there was a carrot at the end of the stick somewhere, but the stick just kept growing and growing.

I like the style of the game. It's got a really neat look to it, however simple. The reflections were a nice touch.

The music seemed to drone on for the majority of it with many segments having long, single-tone segments in a tone that bothered my ears a bit.

I'm not sure why the swan sort of "hopped", but it gave the game some basic gameplay elements.

Overall, it goes on a little too long, and feels like a neverending journey up and down slight waterfalls. I liked the graphics, not so much the music, and the gameplay fell a bit short, with the meaning behind it a bit unclear.

3/10

2/0/0/1/0

Fire Tears by Yal

Spoiler

I started this game up thinking "wow, this looks great for a game made in 72 hours". The music is neat, the art direction is great, and it presents itself well.

Immediately after starting to play the game, I was thinking "well, moves a bit fast..."

Shortly after starting playing, the tiles that I thought looked really neat started to be repetitive and disorienting.

After my first encounter with lava, I was thinking that the screen turned red way too soon before reaching the lava.

After wandering around and seeing lava nowhere in sight, and the screen started turning red, I was thinking okay...

A few minutes after starting playing, I begun to think that the tears were hidden in way too obvious of places.

After being rejected by the first barrier, and gathering the required tears, my path to returning left me with a feeling of complete disorientation, due to the tiling.

After getting past the first barrier, the jumps started to become frustrating from hitting my head on the ceiling and falling instantly, and I ended my session frustrated.

Overall, the game seems like a really good use of 72 hours. A less repetitive tileset and a little more time designing levels would have gone a long way to a better score.

5/10

2/1/1/1/0

Sleepy Maneuver by 11clock

Spoiler

I played until level 5.

When I loaded up level 1, I was thinking that it was a cool idea. The first thing that jumped out at me, though, was that the music was so intense. It kind of threw me off, and heightened my sense in a way that had me hitting buttons prematurely and led to a lot of deaths. The graphics were clean, but they didn't particularly jump out at me, perhaps due to the large amounts of gray.

The first two levels had gold medals that seemed like later gold medals that were cleverly placed and challenging to obtain. Upon reaching level 3, I learned that the medals were less of a pure challenge and more of an exercise in patience. Especially on the level (level 4?) with no jumps, and only platform and gravity switching.

By the time I had reached level 5, the game itself was starting to feel more like an exercise in patience. The solutions were obvious, but getting there was a chore. Sometimes it would be an exact spot that was more difficult than the rest of the level I'd have to retry. After trying level 5 several times, only to be pixel hunting for the exact spot my robot could stand to not hit the platform above him, I gave up. Even more to my confusion was the fact that each one of the platforms provided an extra jump. I wondered why they all weren't just part of the initial amount of jumps, considering that you got a new extra each time you needed one.

In the end, I saw an interesting idea that fell a bit short due to obvious solutions that took too much effort to achieve.

4/10

1/1/1/1/0

Tranquility Mobile by 247SlashGMC

Spoiler

Wow. I loaded this game up and the title screen felt awesome. The music was great, it was simple, but it was animated, the actual title looked clean and fitting, and the polish on it felt great. The bar that goes all the way across for selection looked great. It was also all so organized, with achievements AND highscores listed on the title screen with their own little places.

Started play and the way the instructions were displayed felt clean and professional.

Then I started playing the game. The graphics continued their simple, clean look, and the music continued, but the game just felt kind of "meh", for lack of a better word. The controls were tight, but it was just kind of bland. For starters, you only seem to dodge one thing. I made it 500 meters in under a minute, it seemed, dodging the same rainbow-colored space rocks. At one point I got a shield. I expected it to die out after one hit or so, but it kept going...and going...and going. It's almost like it was designed expecting the player to get hit a lot, but they don't. At 500 meters, I spent my time trying to lose the shield. TRYING to, it took almost 15 seconds of continuous hits to take it out. I'd take a guess and say it was between 20 and 30 hits that it took. Compared to the 3 hearts I had, it felt like way too many.

Then I lost all 3 hearts. An achievement of some sort (well I assumed it was an achievement) popped up at the top and I kept going with no hearts left. Before I could test and see if I'd die when hit again, another shield showed up, as if like magic, to replace my last one. 500 meters without another shield powerup showing up while I had it and it came almost instantly after I lost my last.

Feeling way too easy, I ended my session there.

4/10

2/1/0/1/0

Life Flow by Black Sheep Games

Spoiler

Okay, honestly, I couldn't stand to get past the cloud level.

The sound was piercing. The collection sound literally hurt my ears after a while. The music was repetitive.

The level was so easy but it required so much that I just couldn't get through it. After 2000 points both times, accidentally hitting what I think was the same storm cloud both times, I just couldn't do it over again.

Overall, less repetition, shorter repetitive areas, less piercing sounds would have worked wonders for this game. The graphics had a sort of charm, but I couldn't get past the rest.

2/10

1/0/0/1/0

A Figurative End by Blake

Spoiler

Really short. The mood was set well, though. The music combined with the rainy day, and all. There seemed to be a lot of symbolism.

It seemed like it had sweet undertones, and overall I liked it, if a bit simple. It was more of an experience than a game, but that's okay.

In the end though, I feel the entire experience was soured by the fact that the game ended with a "Quest Complete. Achievement Unlocked:". It pretty much took the feel of the game, the experience of it all and tossed it out the window in favor of reminding you that it's just a game and that it doesn't exist.

6/10

2/2/0/1/1

Traversia by Yagibabla

Spoiler

Wow. This felt polished. From startup, I was already impressed. A bit confused as to why my mouse was following the screen before I could move, but impressed nonetheless.

The graphics really jumped out at me being clean, bright, and well-done. All the little effects for different actions added a great feeling. I also liked that the music wasn't overbearing and set a happy mood.

It's really simple in its current form. It's pretty much a garden-making game, rather than a garden-tending game. Fishing was a nice touch, as was insect catching. It was fun to toy around with the rest of the items, seeing what each one did.

I wasn't really sure what the time did. It kept going around but overall, felt like it didn't affect much.

Once you did toy around with everything, though, all that was really left was to make a pretty looking garden that could only be shared in videos and screenshots.

Giving how polished it is, and how great it looks and feels, this is an idea I would love to see continued after the Jam, if only to take it more to tending from creating.

Overall, it's a cool idea that ends up being a little light on content.

8/10

2/2/1/2/1

Maggot In a Frying Pan by Dadio

Spoiler

Umm...what?

So...you hit...a maggot...in a frying pan. And you get an achievement at 50 hits.

The graphics are meh (no animations really), the music is taken from Megadeth, and the sound when you hit the maggot is piercing.

There's no real goal, so I don't really even know if I finished it.

Not sure what else to say.

0/10

0/0/0/0/0

Ataraxia by Nocturne

Spoiler

Wow. The emphasis on the mood was fantastic.

The graphics were simple, but did a lot for setting the mood. I liked the glowy-edge feeling of them.

The sound was also great. The music was simple but set a tranquil mood. There were little effects to help, and even hitting the walls didn't knock me out of a tranquil feel. I do have to complain about the collection sounds being a little sharp at times, but otherwise, the sounds all fit well.

Due to the theme of tranquility, I liked that there was no real goal, and that you set your own pace.

My biggest criticism though, is that I would compare it less to a Jeff Minter game, and more to flOw with a grittier setting.

8/10

2/1/1/2/2

Aardvark Cwm by NAL

Spoiler

Heh, that was interesting.

The graphics were just silly enough to work, and the signs and all were really well put together.

The music was pretty interesting, but the selection sound hurt my ears a bit.

The nod to World of Goo was hysterical, as someone that finished the game a while ago. I also caught the True Valhalla cameo, even though haven't been around long enough to know why the associated achievement was funny.

The game itself was a bit easy, being that it mostly consisted of walking back and forth, grabbing things to take to people. The pacing was also a bit fast for my taste, given its nature. It was mostly the dialogue/achievements that kept me playing.

Overall, it was a funny little game about an aardvark. I ended up doing all but two achievements.

6/10

2/1/1/1/1

Enough Portals by Ziggler1

Spoiler

I wasn't too impressed with this game.

The game pretty much copied the 2D Flash version of Portal but with less quality, even in level design.

The graphics felt mostly ripped from different sources and didn't match stylistically.

The music was repetitive and a bit odd. There weren't any sound effects that I was aware of.

The level design mostly consisted of allowing the player to make it through the level without much effort at all, some levels allowing you to avoid the entire level by shooting a portal straight above the end.

The physics were INCREDIBLY floaty and the jumping level with the spike pit was a bit difficult because of that.

Overall, the game felt unfinished, and like it wanted to mash Portal and N without giving the game any of the mechanics of N or the motivation, much less the level design, of Portal. I came out of it feeling I breezed through it almost effortlessly, with most of my deaths being related to trying to destroy that first rocket launcher.

2/10

0/0/1/1/0

Origami by theUltimate

Spoiler

Wow, really clever idea.

I really liked the graphics. The player sprite was charming and the backgrounds looked great. I would have opted for a less repetitive paper graphic, but it still looks good even so.

Some of my favorite music so far. Really nice, calm track. The player and paper sounds weren't bad either.

The level design started to get really clever. For such a simple mechanic, it felt like you began to do a lot with it. I wish I had made it further, just to see, but I got stuck at one point and ended up giving up.

The game was really finicky though. By that, I mean that I often got stuck on corners I was jumping up to, when in certain spots, the framerate would drop heavily, I once got stuck inside a fold, and I once got flung into the air after jumping while trying to fold.

Overall, the game could have used a bit more polish, but it's a great idea and I'd definitely like to see it continued.

9/10

2/2/2/1/2

Peaceful Warrior by _226266

Spoiler

Well, it was an interesting idea.

The graphics didn't really grab me. They seemed like they could have had charm, but like they were bit unfinished.

The sound was almost inexistent, with only a few key actions having any.

The gameplay could have been better. The game's rooms must have been running at 30 FPS, and it kind of felt like it. Having to press the down arrow to pick things up wasted the valuable time from the powerup in a few cases. The powerup's length seemed to be just short enough to thwart the level design, making it frustrating. The levels seemed to be designed with a LOT of space to the far right, which made little sense to me. A few times I died trying to get out there.

Hiding the bags behind a powerup and then hiding them again behind the terrain was just a recipe for frustration.

The interface was really fidgety, moving around a lot.

Overall, it was a neat idea that needed more time.

2/10

1/0/1/0/0

Serenity Slaughter by DangerousDave

Spoiler

I wasn't really impressed by this game.

There wasn't a whole lot there. The graphics aren't all that great, the sound is non-existent, you can fire an endless stream of bullets with no delay, leaving no room for challenge. The enemies don't even fire back.

You don't even know your score exists until you die.

I was able to spin around in a circle and survive for quite a while.

Overall, a bit of a really simple, unfinished dual-stick shooter.

1/10

0/0/0/1/0

Divided I Stand by Soulsnatcher

Spoiler

Wow, really neat idea.

The graphics weren't the best, but they were all consistent and they did their job. I honestly wasn't too fond of the black outline of an interface, but I got used to it.

The sound did its job. I wish there had been some music to help set the mood a bit.

The gameplay was ambitious for 72 hours. I really like the mix of playstyles and, having done a very ambitious strategy game for Ludum Dare, I applaud the amount of polish the gameplay has for a 72 hour game. My biggest issue with it is that the defender drone is that it can't shoot, and given the amount of enemies, it gets really difficult to hit them all. The ones whose objective is to hit the player are the hardest to hit, being that they move the fastest and I almost never was able to destroy them, meaning I almost never had the energy to get the turrets to take them out for me.

Overall, very ambitious, very interesting idea, a bit difficult.

7/10

1/1/2/2/1

Bloom by Chessmasterriley

Spoiler

Wow. Just wow.

The graphics are great. Even having just loaded the game up, I was remarking how good the title screen looked.

The sound is fantastic. The music is really nice and mood setting and the sounds fit almost perfectly.

The idea behind it is just clever. It's like you took Enigmo and added another layer of depth to it (while simultaneously taking away a lot of the puzzle pieces). I really enjoyed it. It took me a second during the first puzzle to realize where to get the water to, and then another to realize that I had to put the sunlight on it, but once I figured it out, it all came together to form a really interesting puzzle.

Overall, I really liked it. I can't find anything to criticize about it. For a 72 hour game, it's fantastic.

10/10

2/2/2/2/2

=()= by chainsawkitten

Spoiler

I had issues figuring out what to do in this one. I only ended up getting one of the four achievement things.

I really liked the reflection effect. That was pretty neat.

The music was haunting, and set the mood well.

I had a few issues with the movement not working correctly, and the extremely limited range of motion felt a bit too restricting.

In the end, I just couldn't get over the fact that it looked nearly exactly like Sword and Sworcery EP.

3/10

1/2/0/0/0

Fox in the Forest by Robert3DG+

Spoiler

This one was really easy.

I liked the graphics, they had nice tones and all fit together really well.

The sound was kind of jarring. It was almost non-existent and the sounds that did exist sounded like a guy tapping on a microphone in varying manners.

Again, it was really easy. It didn't feel challenging at all, and none of the mushroom caps felt very well-hidden (most were strewn about in the wide open). The jump felt pretty much useless. I also had a few issues with room transitions taking a while, sometimes shooting me out into the air afterwards, and once shooting me back into the room I just came from.

I have to say that the player moved way too fast, and the shadow under him seemed out of place.

Overall, it was a charming little game that was a bit too easy.

4/10

1/0/1/1/1

Peace and Quite Nightmarish by IceMetalPunk

Spoiler

Interesting plot.

I liked the graphics. They had an interesting feel to them.

The music was pretty good. Some of the more interesting music I've heard out of the Jam games. The shooting sound was odd, though.

I was a bit disappointed by the game. I thought it would be more of a clever puzzle game, and finding that it was a bit of a generic maze shooter was a bit off-putting. The setting made up for it a little, but not a whole lot. Trying to turn the player character to hit some of the bad thoughts felt awkward. Also, I got stuck in a misfiring synapse while it wasn't active once and died.

Overall, interesting setting, generic gameplay, awkward movement.

5/10

2/1/1/0/1

Fly by Blopit

Spoiler

I couldn't figure out how to play this one.

I get that I was supposed to fly, I'm assuming with the arrow keys, since they seemed to do something or other, but I could only really get the bird to respond AFTER I had gotten a game over already.

The graphics were kinda meh. Only the bird really looked good.

There was no sound.

Overall, it seemed like it could have been a fun arcade-style game if I knew what I was doing.

1/10

1/0/0/0/0

Defending Tranquility by CaptainLepidus

Spoiler

This game felt really unfinished.

The graphics weren't all that great. I could tell what was going on, but the color choices and the character designs weren't very good. A lot of the colors were way too bright.

There wasn't any sound that I could tell.

It seemed like a solid base for the beginnings of a turn-based battle system. As a "feature complete game", though, it was way too simple. It was impossible for me to tell who hit who and when they hit them unless I checked their health. For some reason, all of the units could only move one hex at a time. And what bothered me most of all was that the game was controlled entirely by mouse, but the menu was controlled by keyboard.

Overall, it seemed like a good start to a really unfinished game.

1/10

0/0/0/1/0

Tranquility by CaptainLepidus

Spoiler

I didn't really get it.

I didn't like the graphics much. The colors didn't mesh too well, and there seemed to be a lot of tearing in the cave walls.

The music was a bit too intense for the game. Especially when you consider that there wasn't much going on.

I just didn't get the game. I walked left and got an achievement, I walked right and found a hole in the ground. I went into the hole and found a cave. I got stuck in that cave with no escape. Walking around to try and find anything was slow going due to low y-speeds.

Overall, it seemed like it needed a lot more to it.

0/10

0/0/0/0/0

Dandelion by Centauri

Spoiler

Interesting idea.

The graphics were nice and sketchy for the most part and the animation seemed really clean.

There wasn't any sound that I could hear.

It was an interesting concept, but I felt like both water and weedkiller ran out way too quickly, and were wasted too easily. I also felt that there wasn't enough to the game. It was a bit slow-going, and waiting for more weeds to sprout up was killer when trying to stay engaged in the game.

Overall, neat idea, not the best execution.

4/10

2/0/1/1/0

A Dying Curiosity by Elektron

Spoiler

I'd probably call this more of an art game.

The graphics were interesting. They definitely did their job.

The sound fit really well for setting a nature-y vibe.

It was an interesting idea, but it moved really slowly, and sometimes consisted of just holding down the down button.

Overall, interesting idea, slow moving sessions.

3/10

1/1/0/0/1

Edited by johnki, 16 May 2012 - 05:03 PM.

[Furritus]

Isnt there supposed to be a zip?
i found it hidden in the post below the main one
1st: Willo
2nd: Chaos
3rd: Tranquility mobile

Best Use of Theme: Undecided
Best Use of Handicap: ahhhh
Best Presentation: Undecided
Best Devlog: Undecided

Reviews:

None yet.`

Edited by Furritus, 03 May 2012 - 11:19 AM.

[CaptainLepidus]

Alright, these votes/reviews are WIP and I will edit as I go. The votes are certainly going to change as I play more games. By the way, my name was misspelled in the ZIP

1st: Bloom
2nd: Isra's Wings
3rd: Undecided

Best Use of Theme: A Figurative End
Best Use of Handicap: Bird
Best Presentation: Bloom
Best Devlog: Divided I Stand

Reviews:

Spoiler

Aardvark CWM by NAL
Strangely addicting game, I liked it. Got my time down to 79 seconds, didn't bother to keep trying after that. No real challenge, so it's not very re-playable, but it was funny. Graphics were acceptable and slightly humorous.
Pig Out by Venomous
Venomous has graced us with another 3D game! Impressive graphics, but it was rather easy. I just ended up getting bored and letting the pigs eat my plants. And there were birds? Never noticed them.
Traversia by Yagiblabla
Excellent use of theme, but I couldn't figure out how to do anything other than plant flowers. I knew the controls but couldn't figure out how to get more items. Nice graphics.
These Tranquil Waters Shall not Hold by johnki
I liked the graphical style. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out what to do. And collisions were annoying. Plus the view couldn't move out of the room which restricted my vision around the borders. I'm sorry but I didn't play for very long.
Sleepy Maneuver by 11clock
Original idea, and seemed like good level design. Unfortunately, I found the game very stressful, and I'm no good at stressful games. Sorry, I'm weak
Tranquility Mobile by 247SlashGMC
Kinda boring to be honest. The power ups added some variety but not enough to stop me deliberately ramming into those asteroids.
Life Flow by Black Sheep Games
Suffered from the same issues as other survival games. Boring, in the end I just killed myself. And the graphics were a bit too polished, IMO.
A Figurative End by Blake
Excellent graphics, excellent use of theme. Short but atmospheric. Room transitions were too slow. Other then that, great.
Tranquility Restored by Bright Eyes
Nice graphics. However, I almost felt guilty when playing. I was going around ramming these random guys. No wonder they tried to fight back. I didn't feel like I was restoring tranquility, really.
=()= by Chainsaw Kitten
Couldn't get past the start screen and had to task manager out of it.
Bloom by ChessMasterRiley
First: brilliant graphics. Also great gameplay. The physics worked well. The only weakness was how easy it was, but most games here including my own are too easy. Nonetheless, I started playing your game for fun, which proves you succeeded. Edit: And then it got insanely hard on that one all-mirrors level. Yeah. :/ But first place anyway!
Sea of Tranquility by Coolbot4K
Interesting game play mechanic but I didn't quite understand how it all worked. I also once encountered an error.
Serenata by Coppolaemilio
Probably the most original game mechanic in the entire jam. I loved the way it played. Sadly I don't have sound
Chaos by Davve
Nice platforming engine and fairly good graphics. Wall jumping drove me crazy though.
Bird by Derek Larue
Just so you know, tranquility doesn't mean boring But great achievements.
Fire Tears by Yal
Good engine and great level design. I sometimes glitched through the floor and slowly sunk to my death. Really could have used a save function, I was so close to getting 15 tears...Also, the blue flash when you collected a tear was annoying.
Isra's Wings by jools64
Incredible game. Very tranquil, great exploration, character handled very smoothly. Cute ending too. One issue was that you didn't save when you got a feather. This led to a scenario where you could get a feather but then die before you got back to the save point. Not a big issue but was frustrating. Great game!

Edited by CaptainLepidus, 15 May 2012 - 03:10 AM.