The Mammoth: A Cave Painting
Platform: Javascript/HTML5
Blink and you'll miss it, but In Between Games' The Mammoth: A Cave Painting, made in just three days for Ludum Dare 33's "You Are the Monster" jam, is well worth the few minutes it'll take out of your day. In this piece of striking interactive art, you'll go through the history of one of the world's most iconic great shaggy mammals by playing as one who initially goes in search of her child, separated from the herd, and then must reconnect with the herd herself. Use [WASD] or the [arrow] keys to move, and, when available, hit [X] to trumpet, which will cause you to call your baby to sprint to you quicker. Later, you can use [C] to charge and trample dangers. The game tells a fairly familiar story, largely because it's been repeated throughout history with so many different animals in a very Potter/Voldemort "neither can live while the other survives" sort of way, and while it doesn't actually do anything tremendously different or unexpected with its story and moral, its striking visual style and somber storytelling fits the mood and setting extremely well. It likely isn't telling you anything you already know, but its well paced and executed. The Mammoth: A Cave Painting is a snapshot of well-crafted interactive art foreshadows good things from its development team in the future.
Geez, I know it's "interactive art" and all (and the artwork IS very nice and fitting) but you're
destined to fail as I'm sure you are supposed to in order to make the point of what the narrator is describing. You simply can't 'charge' fast enough (quite a lag between charges), I think my 'C' button may be damaged trying to save my babies :)
it's just so depressing. Maybe there is a way you can change the ending? I, being a mother of youngsters, can't bring myself to play again. LMK if anyone finds another ending...
This is so sad...
war has literally ended all life.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a second ending.
took a few tries, but
safe babies! Herd is still dead, though.
It seems like if
you trumpet, that causes the hunters to move away from you for just a little bit.
I was hoping that since the text at the first small group of hunters says they can't hurt you, that if you didn't trample the first group then the others might leave you alone instead of everybody killing everybody else.
If somebody manages to get a non-depressing ending, let us know.
I hate this game. First, the plot is terrible
everybody dies
and secondly (more importantly) the gameplay is terrible. The controls are choppy, there is a clicking sound in the background, and the action keys have a delayed response.
Thirdly (most importantly) it takes forever to download a large zip file, and then you have to install an unnecessarily huge software with 3rd party add-ons included, just to play this huge game file that could easily be made into a flash game for how short it is and how simple the graphics are.
I was compelled to do all of this because I was swung by the billing of a "compelling piece of interactive art" etc etc, which by the way it is not. Hopefully this game goes extinct like its subject matter.
event.preventDefault();
please put that in your onkeydown/onkeypress handler, so the screen doesn't scroll when you move the mammoth.
@andr01d while I agree about the principal notion about a hugh download just to compile something on clientside, from some strange package, note that a proper coded javascript/html5 game can be at least just as efficient than flash. Its not the language thats bad, its the actual coding.
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