Introduction:

A couple months ago, if I was told that I would be working on a game featuring a starfish who detaches her own limbs to reach other smaller starfish to consume, well, I would have been skeptical but not entirely dismissive. After all, anything can happen in a game jam; and for this one, our team of 9 produced a visually and mechanically phenomenal physics-based platformer in two days.

That being said, no game jam game is flawless. If it were the case, we’d see new installments of triple-A titles in a matter of months instead of years. Since the initial jam, I’ve been working on quality-of-life changes for Cannibal Starfish in my spare time. These updates aren’t drastic, but hopefully, they'll make the experience more enjoyable.

Updates:

• Mechanics
  • Level bounds
    • It was a little jarring how Maka could fall into the void endlessly after missing a jump over a crevasse. Now the level restarts if she falls out of the level's bounds.
    • 
  • Geysers
    • Geysers now apply a neat up-and-down sinusoidal force at their peaks.
    • 
  • Jump when Harmed
    • Maka now jumps away when a tentacle has been harmed by a sea urchin.
    • 
  • Grappling
    • Maka can now grapple onto the floor (consistently) and choosing whether to grapple onto an object is a little more precise.
  • Anchors
    • Anchors don't fall until they're grappled.
    • Anchors respawn after a while after being grappled.
      • Underwater Cave is now much less soft-lockable!
    • 
• Level Design
  • Swinging
    • Covered the top part of the level to incentivize going below the level instead of over it.
    • Added a ring of small starfish to introduce the utility of grappling to moving objects.
    • 
  • TidePool
    • Uncovered the first hidden sea urchin to better associate sea urchins with harm.
    • Continued to ignore the biological fact that starfish eat sea urchins.
    • 
• Art
  • UI
    • New level select button backgrounds and locked level symbol.
    • 
    • 
  • Tiles
    • New sand corner tiles that properly blend with adjacent sand tiles.
    • 

Best Starfish Wishes,

   werignac