Last month we hosted a HaxeFlixel Game Jam, with the theme, “Alone, Together.”
HaxeFlixel is a free, open source 2D game engine, give it a try!
Judges for this jam included HaxeFlixel regulars @squidly, @01010111, @GeoKureli @JoeCreates and @LarsiusPrime, along with myself.
Prize money was contributed by @squidly, @LarsiusPrime, @Ohmnivore, HaxeFlixel and NG.
Here are the winners!
1st: $350 - Drones
@GeoKureli - A great showcase for HaxeFlixel. Really excited to see where the dev takes this.
@Squidly - Stylish, fun, and beautiful, Drones is an excellent showcase of Flixel's power when in the right hands. Amazing use of FlxParticle especially and filters. One of the things that I love about HaxeFlixel is how it can be used to prototype quickly but it's extendable enough that you can easily go all the way to a full release. I think the dev should go all the way with this one.
2nd: $250 - Past Persistence
@01010111 - Playing Past Persistence was a rollercoaster of tension. Having not read the description, I had no idea what to expect. The intensity ramped up quickly and I was overrun. Suddenly I was starting over with my ghost-turret. That alone was a great experience, but the added tension of the curse kept me on my seat nearly throughout the game. It was only near the end that the first several waves of skeletons felt skippable. This ebb and flow of tension was the highlight of the jam for me!
@Squidly - The fact that this was made in a week while the dev was preoccupied with life things is astounding. This too is a game that has a lot of potential, but I'm more curious to see what else the dev can do with HaxeFlixel.
@TomFulp - Past Persistence has one of the best hooks in the jam, where your past performance is rewarded with additional ghost firepower in the next round. There is a lot of room left to explore this concept and I’d love to see it expanded with situations that require the player to be more strategic with where they die.
3rd: $250 - A Heart Apart
@JoeCreates - A Heart Apart is exceptionally polished, with beautiful effects, transitions, and minimal UI. It is also a unique take on the theme, given that the game can be played solo or cooperatively. The latter is not necessarily easier, it turns out, as a failure to communicate may easily lead to your killing each other. Great fun!
@Squidly - Admittedly I played this as a single player game so it was a bit tricky to get the hang of, but I'm in love with this game's elegant design. The best use of an "inside the game" UI so far.
Benedict has elected to give half his prize to his musician and divide the other half among 4-8th, giving them each a boost that has now been added on to their totals!
4th: $175 - Reboot Resume Restore
@TomFulp - Reboot Resume Restore is a puzzle platformer with some novel ideas at play, such as being able to freeze your block in place and use it as a platform for another block. I enjoyed solving the various puzzles and the overall lonely mood of the game.
@Squidly - Despite its performance problems, this puzzler has some interesting ideas that I'm a fan of. It also features an effective use of Flixel effects as well as extension libraries like zerolib (check out the improved dolly camera in that lib) that ought to get more love.
5th: $125 - Heartship
@TomFulp - Heartship is a fun take on the jam theme, as you can literally split yourself in half. It explores the mechanic in various ways, such as using your second half as a decoy for shield enemies, using both halves to push double buttons or splitting to confuse laser targeting fish. Some of the random spawns are punishing but Heartship is a solid game with cool ideas!
@Squidly - Very ambitious for a jam game, and I respect that. One of the things I consider the mark of a true game designer is the ability to "finish" a game and I stress people do that with their jam games. Heartship has multiple levels, replayability, multiple difficulty modes, and a proper ending. This is in every respect a complete game and that's something to be proud of.
6th: $125 - Quarantino
@Squidly - I really like the fact that the mechanic in this game is so simple and it works. I can easily see this being used as an educational tool, it reminds me of simulations you can find on certain online Newspapers, but the fact that it's so interactive I think hammers the point home, especially with the graphs at the end of each level. Stay inside, people! As the last level shows, sometimes you can't even see the virus until it's too late!
7th: $75 - Decryption
@Squidly - This one legit made me cry. It's a simple game, but it speaks to me personally as a person who used to play MMOs. The writer for this really did capture that feeling extremely well, and I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming loneliness while playing this. It's an abstract kind of feeling, and one uniquely of our era.
@GeoKureli - Best atmosphere of any game in the jam. It brings me back to my childhood when I would get to know people on places like Newgrounds and wonder what it would be like if we met in real life but being too afraid to do it.
@TomFulp’s Son - Gato Roboto lets you shoot enemies and it has a map.
8th: $75 - SweetCrush
@Squidly - I'm not too fond of jumpscares so I took the safe route on this one. What I think made this game unique is that it showed a lot of effort in its premise in that there was that second layer of 4th wall breaking interactivity. Sure it leans a little too hard on DDLC's inspiration, but I think the creator here does craft their own thing and it works. I can't wait to see what else they can do.
Thank you @squidly, @01010111, @GeoKureli @JoeCreates and @LarsiusPrime for your work in the judging process! This was a tough jam to judge, with lots of variety among individual favorites.
Other games that came up in our top eight lists included Mayor Outbreak, Convergence, No No Solo, Creep Away, Party Land, Ghost House, Bass Master Online, Gatherer, Together Alone - The RPG and Threads.
We enjoyed playing all of your games and seeing how each of you explored the “Alone, Together” theme. @Squidly will also be leaving longer reviews on each individual entry.
Thank you everyone who entered and we hope you all go on to make more great games with HaxeFlixel!
