They Need To Be Fed
A new game and it’s very “gamey”. I think I’ve finally found a way to make a 2D 360 degree gravity platformer *fun*. I tried this with Maru, but it didn’t really work out. “2d 360 degree gravity platformer”, a new genre? 
This is an entry for the YoYoGames “design a handheld game” competition. (It’s not an actual PSP game though). It’s amazing what a competition deadline can do for my creativity. I started the game less than a week before the deadline (of course I’m re-using a finished engine, but still, doing actual game design is the important work) and finished 30 minutes before it passed. Haven’t worked so hard in ages. Working at this speed really requires quick decision making and being creative. It turned out much better than I thought it would.
They Need To Be Fed is a casual platforming game with original mechanics. There are 5 worlds with 7 levels each. Please enjoy!
Download link (.zip, 8.22 MB)
or play at YoYoGames
Screenshots:
Great to see this made it into the comp!!
I’ve read two good comments about the music so far which is a relief for me lolz!
Nice work dude…
Good thing you made it in the competition, though your almost late hehe…
I liked the game! Its kinda like Maru but made it more unique..
Good luck in the competition…
(I entered competition05 too)
i want to see more of the level on the screen (zoomed out or increased resolution), in later levels it’s easy to screw up if you don’t know what’s next
@Jake
The music is very nice! I really like that it suddenly changes in world 3.
@ortoslon
I agree it’s a bit small. You can use up and down keys to shift the camera a bit.
Wow, you’re spoiling your fans, while you were in Japan we didn’t get much in the way of new material, and now I feel like we are getting a lot from you! I really enjoyed Maru, I saw that it got some negative comments, but for an ambient mellow play through I thought it was awesome, however I have to say that TNTBF was much more enjoyable to me. I think this game is very special and I wish you luck on the competition! I was wondering how this all fit in together design-wise, did you work on TNTBF and Maru at the same time, or did the concept for TNTBF come afterward?
I forgot to mention that I loved the ? level and would love to see more like it!
I really enjoyed Maru, for what it was. I’m enjoying this game a lot too though. Good music, cute graphics, fun gameplay.
My comments about this game are on a prototype a week, I really got messed up xD
[...] jag under gårdagskvällen satt och spelade indie-spelet They Need to be Fed var det någonstans mellan den fjärde djupa sucken och det första ”Amen va f..” som [...]
You still calling this an original idea?
Haha, nice game. I really like how your visuals are refining as well.
cool!
[...] Download it here, you won’t regret it « Broken Wear [...]
Jesse, I really enjoyed your game, so much in fact, I had to spotlight it.
Linky: http://www.itbgames.com/blog/2010/04/02/tntbf-they-need-to-be-fed/
Hope you enjoy the spotlight and thanks for the great free game.
@Jacob, TNTBF came afterward. However I had been toying with several ideas like these for a while.
@JW, nah, but definitely a perfection of my ideas.
I really like the graphics myself too. I should stick with these simplistic styles.
@Glen, very nice review! It makes me happy to read you could get so immersed into the experience.
It’s a great game, but I’m having a problem; I can’t figure out how to get from world 1 to world 2. I’ve unlocked it, I just can’t figure out how to get to it.
Oh ok, it seems I had a problem the first time I played, there was no main menu, I can get to World 2 now
wow, great work jesse!
this is an amazing distillation of many of the themes in your earlier games, both artistically and design-wise.
i usually hate the clutter of pick-ups/collectibles, but it feels like you placed the gems just right. it’s great how many of them are hidden just beyond the finishing point, reminds me of mischief makers. =)
i agree with ortoslon, but mostly just because i’d love to be able to play this game at a really high resolution, given how slick and minimal the visuals are. =)
playthrough of worlds 1-4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOSTTwELLJ0
@offal,
I agree, I should make an HD version or something haha
@ortoslon,
Awesome! Any reason you didn’t include World 5? It’s my favorite and I hoped you would play through that one as well
it’s too hard, i think unfairly so. i don’t want to record a video where i die many times over same checkpoint
[...] They Need To Be Fed ist schlanke 8.8 MB groß und ist komplett in Flash entwickelt worden. Die Auflösung beschränkt sich auf die des PSP-Bildschirms, weswegen die Grafiken im Fullscreen-Modus mehr als dezent unscharf werden. Trotzdem: wer an einem verregneten Ostersonntag dringen ein erfrischendes Plattform-Jump&Run spielen möchte, sollte den Titel hier bitte sofort runterladen. [...]
Interesting that the http://www.texturmatsch.de review says it was developed entirely in Flash lol
I hope you win the competiton
Another review on italian blog Idealsoft
Link: http://bit.ly/bPYuON
Hi, I would like to inform you, that I have added all the details to Wakoopa:
http://wakoopa.com/software/they-need-to-be-fed
Best regards,
Vankog
Homing missiles really ruin the fun for me. Regular rockets would have kept the tension/danger without the “WHAT THE HELL” moments when a homing missile wraps around the back of an object and kills you from a different angle.
Oh well.
Hi,just found your Blog when i google something and wonder what web hosting do you use for your web site,the speed is more faster than my website, i really need to know it.will back to check it out,thanks!
@free style music, I use BlueHost.com
you should make a massive multiplayer version
like The Balls, or Transformice. A estigian madness of mad people willing to sacrifice themselves for the ancients. Maybe they need to be fed until satisfy, and the rest of players that doesn’t reach the goal, are discarded and not receive points.
I agree, regular rockets affected by gravity are enough.
[...] They Need to be Fed es un juego de plataformas que se basa en la gravedad y en el que se podrán visitar seis mundos diferentes. Ha sido creado por Jesse Venbrux en poco menos de una semana para una la competición YoYo Games. El objetivo es llegar al monstruo al final de cada nivel, saltando de plataforma en plataforma mientras evitas el contacto con pinchos, rayos láser, misiles buscadores e incluso lanza misiles (Windows, 8.22MB). [...]