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Feedback comments for LD25
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| Timestamp | Since previous | Game | Gjarble's comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 24 14:53:00 | APATHY | I like the pushable blocks you use as obstructions- it's a very simple way to add a good chunk of depth to the gameplay. I doubt it was intentional to make the ground pushable, but it's funny either way (though it does make the game harder). Also, I disagree with the comments saying it doesn't fit the theme- I like that you used an abstract "villain". And, of course, the little captions really hit home (although I wish there was a way to read the captions when you collect a bunch of coins in quick succession- maybe it could be implemented as a multi-line text box that reads the few most recent captions or something like that). <br/> <br/>The trouble with procedurally generated levels is that, unless you're careful, the game can generate some impossible scenarios. One I encountered a lot was jumping between pieces of land while being forced to push a block (that is, the block is low enough that the goat pushes it while standing on the ground, but it's too tall to jump over). It's hard to prevent that kind of stuff entirely. It also might be a good idea to include a different game over message for players who end the game with negative XP (about how you overcame your apathy or whatever). <br/> <br/>If you plan on expanding this game for a post-compo version, one thing to think about might be how to make "apathy" manifest itself through the gameplay, instead of just through points and captions. Perhaps the more XP you get, the slower the goat moves? Or maybe the background becomes less colorful, or the music gets slower. Whatever you can think of. <br/> <br/>One fun little bug/feature I found: hold down the 'R' key for a few seconds during play. The coins will stay in the same place while the land, blocks, and goat shift around them- it looks funny. | |
| Dec 24 15:34:00 | 41m 00s | ECHO CHAMBER | Oh my god, this is a lot of comments. <br/> <br/>I love the wonderfully surreal ambiance. The game looks, sounds, and feels beautiful. I also like how you chose a villain that is not only quite abstract, but something negative (ignorance) in the guise of something positive (praise). <br/> <br/>The instructions weren't quite clear- particularly how the player is supposed to "use your words" against the waves of retribution. I got it after playing the first time around, but it still wasn't entirely clear at first how the position of the media guys you click effects the way the praise shoots out of the chamber's mouth. Once I figured out that it was just weighting the angles, I was able to receive no damage just by clicking a bunch of guys that were vertically centered-ish, with a bit of angular spread (my first playthrough I survived 1 wave; the second, I quit after 252,100 points and 31 waves). I was able to (intentionally) lose immediately by just clicking people at the bottom-right of the screen, so placement clearly has an effect on victory, but there's a clear dominant strategy, so the game become monotonous and non-challenging. I would recommend incorporating some element that changes randomly every round (like the location from which the retribution approaches), so the player has to change their tactics accordingly, and has a larger chance of failure. The important thing is to make sure there's not just one thing the player can reliably do every round to ensure victory. <br/> <br/>Also, since it seems from the comments like you weren't sure: you can use one of your entry links to link to a post-compo version, as long as you make it clear which version is the 48-hour version (it should be clear if you explicitly label your improved version "Post-Compo Version"). Participants are only allowed to vote on the 48-hour version. Be warned: you're not allowed to edit your entry page after judging ends, so if you want people to be able to easily find the post-compo version, you may want to post that link before then. |
| Dec 24 19:20:00 | 3h 46m | Witching Game | OSX user here, same error as jerrre. |
| Dec 26 16:06:00 | 44h 46m | Reverse_Shmup | (Note: these comments were made based on playing the game on a Mac using Wine. If you can't replicate these issues in Windows, maybe they were caused on my end by Wine's conversion process- but I usually know when Wine causes problems because the performance is slow or much of the graphics disappear/are cut off. In this case, the game ran fine and looked as it does in your screenshot.) <br/> <br/>A solid idea, and with some expansion, I think it'd become a very fun game. In particular, I think it would greatly benefit from some more collision detection. For instance, I noticed that the Battleship can pass through the outer walls and fire from beyond them, presumably out of reach of the Hero's bullets. Also, the Fighters spawn rather quickly when pressing down the mouse button, even if it's only held for a little bit (thus spawning a string when the player might have only intended to spawn one Fighter). I'd recommend changing that so a Fighter can only be spawned if the mouse is not currently over another fighter or something like that- this would also encourage the player to click and drag rather than just spawning in place. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if you were planning on implementing one or both of these but ran out of time, or if doing so was even what caused the game-breaking bug you mention in the description- collision detection really is a pain. Good job finishing what you did! |