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Feedback comments for LD35
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| Timestamp | Since previous | Game | Alphish's comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19 23:01:00 | NekoShift | The game is really pretty, but falls rather short on gameplay - the catgirl form is much slower than cat and can't reliably keep the spirits away, especially with seemingly long recharge and attacking only the spirits she's facing (and there's no way to turn back to agile cat shape manually, either). After a few tries I managed to complete a level once, but then I failed again and don't really feel like trying anymore. ^^' <br/>From minor qualms, the music (at least in menu) has audible loops, and the font was a bit hard to read. <br/>Keep improving! | |
| Apr 19 23:01:00 | 0s | Maigune | A decent metroidvania entry, though the movement felt a bit clunky. I liked the variety of abilities; rocket triangle has got to be my favourite (if only the rocket-launch didn't require holding button for so long), while the round with its overly bouncy mechanics was quite annoying (my least favourite moment was between coin 2 and 3, when I had to jump up two high ledges with round barely reaching their height). The graphics were simple, but serve their purpose. The soundtrack seemed alright, if somewhat unstructured. <br/>Overall, not bad. |
| Apr 19 23:03:00 | 2m 00s | The Elemental Shapeshifter | First of all - please, please don't mix mouse and keyboard controls unless necessary, especially if the keyboard controls involve anything more complex than arrow keys/WSAD. It's a pain to switch to mouse just because menus don't do keyboard. >.< <br/>Second - I wonder where all that filesize came from, since the game itself seems rather simple and I don't see too many assets or special graphical effects, either. O.o' <br/> <br/>As for the game itself, there's quite a room for improvement. In the upgrade screen, I'd really like to see the exact parameters and how they'll change depending on the upgrade. So e.g. it's not just "Reduce Earth Cooldown", but rather "now the cooldown is 5 seconds, but for that upgrade point it'll reduce to 4.8", that sort of feedback. As for the gameplay itself felt rather clunky for some reason, and I kinda just wanted the levels to be over already. Also, I really don't like the tendency for levels to become longer and longer; prolonging time to survive usually just makes things tiresome rather than challenging; maybe just stick to making enemies stronger with each level instead? I liked that there were a few kinds of enemies, but it wasn't enough to keep me really entertained, sorry. ^^' Oh, also, it'd be really nice not only to have shown whether a spell is in cooldown or not, but also how much cooldown is left (e.g. by gradually filling the elemental change indicator or such). <br/> <br/>I found the graphics to be a tad too simple for my taste, and the music seemed to go on really chaotic; like it was different tracks pasted together rather than one coherent piece. That might require some work, too. Another thing - the menus were bugged; i.e. after a game over I restarted and the buttons stayed there or something. <br/> <br/>Overall, keep working and learning, there's some way to go. ^^' |
| Apr 19 23:04:00 | 1m 00s | Figment | I've only played a few games, so take it with a grain of salt, but it looks like it'll be one of my strong favourites. It's got great visuals for both worlds (I particularly like the other-world's regular box/cupboard), catchy soundtrack (with a nice switching-between-worlds effect), quite fun puzzles that use the world mechanics well and adorable ending that has nothing to do with the main character dying or whatever (come to think of it, the cat-themed doormats were dead giveaway). Great work. ^^ |
| Apr 19 23:05:00 | 1m 00s | Shapeshiftmaze | When I read the game description, my first thought was "wow". As in, "wow, that's some unusual puzzle idea, will it work?" <br/> <br/>So, I ran the game, and I must say that the graphics could use some tuning; I don't even mean making the sprites more polished or something, but at least choosing something different than bright red background and blue buttons for menu. The game itself feels a little clunky, too, mostly due to suboptimal way the reordering phase is handled. First of all, it'd really help if reordering was made with the level state visible, so that I can see what I'm getting into (it's particularly important in the level with reordering checkpoint). Second, it'd be nice if the game remembered what was the last combination I started with, so that I can just do a single correction or so. Finally, the reordering phase uses mouse while the rest of the game uses keyboard, making controls a bit bothersome. <br/> <br/>As for the puzzles, they weren't as great as I'd hoped (in particular, there were not shape-specific abilities or anything; just walls that reacted to specific shapes), but still provided a little bit of a challenge. I particularly found the one-time passes and +1 shifters curious. <br/> <br/>Generally, kudos for the idea (and interesting theme usage), but execution could use some reworking. |
| Apr 19 23:20:00 | 15m 00s | The Vaultshifter | It's some little yet neat game. I particularly like how you are able to reach the goal in multiple ways. Various characters and little bits of humour are nice, too (I liked the kid with "Day 50 - still without nose" or something similar). <br/> <br/>One funny thing about it is how in order to present people with some items you *become* these items. That sure is some unorthodox way of using tools, but I guess it's hard to go wrong with? ^^' <br/> <br/>If there's something I'd change, that'd definitely be movement speed. The game isn't really big, yet I felt it was unnecessarily longer due to slow walking. ^^' |
| Apr 22 14:57:00 | 63h 37m | Sea Monster | Pretty solid entry; audiovisuals work well (especially music, even if not top-notch), and gameplay doesn't suffer from major bugs or anything. I think the main issue is with intuitiveness - the player starts out with octopus and no other forms, and using the first ability doesn't really provide any feedback, so at the beginning I thought the ability simply doesn't work. <br/> <br/>Also, I kinda skipped over the fact that there are ruins where I should obtain other forms. Personally, I'd prefer if they were all available from the very beginning, since they all need to be levelled up individually, anyway; so it introduces additional complication for little challenge. Another thing is no apparent penalty for death (aside from going back to the beginning); thus making me not very motivated to care about my life. ^^' <br/> <br/>Still, pretty good entry overall, even if the last boss pretty much boils down to chasing the 3rd form leaving destructive waves in its wake. |
| Apr 22 15:20:00 | 23m 00s | Trial 21 | I can't decide if it's rather crude or pretty smooth. ^^' The movement feels a bit clunky, but I really like how the puppet switches forms while still being the very same puppets (also, chicken form is a pleasure to watch). The music was barely audible, though, especially compared to some speech (?) at the beginning. <br/> <br/>Personally I'd prefer if jumping was available on UP/W button, aside from Space (since it's not used anywhere else, anyway). Also, perhaps add some sort of shapes indicator, and allow switching by e.g. Q/E (previous/next) instead of somewhat inconvenient J/K/L (climber/frog/chicken). That is, if you plan to expand upon that idea later. <br/> <br/>Also, was that white thing at the end with puppet becoming idle intended? It looked like it was supposed to be an ending, but I'm not 100% sure. <br/> <br/>Still, pretty good job, especially the animation. ^^ |
| Apr 22 15:24:00 | 4m 00s | HappyNest | Haha, that's pretty fun game. Maybe not particularly outstanding in terms of raw gameplay, but I've got to love spawning rainbow skeletons to the metal music. Too bad there's only one track for all levels, and there's little variety in the gameplay (completing wave 6 doesn't feel much different that completing wave 1). <br/> <br/>Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed the general idea. ;) |
| Apr 22 17:15:00 | 1h 51m | Family Slime | I like the aesthetics, and the shapeshifting mechanics work well enough, too. I'd have much preferred if the game was aligned to the pixel-art. It looks really unnatural to me otherwise (especially in case of the jump), like some sort of resolution mixup for no apparent reason. <br/> <br/>That aside, the game is rather solid adorable. I guess a part that annoyed me a bit were alone people, who didn't say anything about their preferences forcing me to do some trial-and-error. |
| Apr 22 17:18:00 | 3m 00s | Getting shifty | Neat visuals and sound, though the gameplay got stale for me rather quickly. I guess some variety in enemies behaviour could help, or something similar, instead of just the plain "follow the player". In such case, I guess making the map bigger (or player/enemies smaller) would help, too. |
| Apr 22 17:54:00 | 36m 00s | Shaze (Shape Maze) | So, is the name Bill Cipher? W.D. Gaster? I couldn't see it, because I accidentally keypressed once too much, and skipped the great reveal. ^^' <br/>(Satan/Devil? Naaah, that would be too easy) <br/> <br/>Either way, I probably enjoyed the shapeshifting mechanics more than multiple-shapes-at-once movement; then again, the latter may be caused by you using too many shapes at once (misapplied idea rather than one that's inherently bad). Bubble gum was somewhat interesting, but I don't quite see why it's a *bubble gum*. ^^' <br/> <br/>The game makes for a decent puzzle, though nothing too original nor exceptional (I and many others came up with multiple-entities-at-once idea years ago). There is some story, but I didn't really enjoy the writing, and it kinda seemed like its main purpose was to justify the bad audiovisuals. >.< <br/> <br/>Still, considering it's your first ever LD and you spent on it 7 hours, it's quite promising. Keep improving. ^^ |
| Apr 22 19:20:00 | 1h 26m | Subject 621 | Hmmm, at the beginning I didn't really know what to do, seeing only "LEFT" and "RIGHT" and no protagonist and such. Then upon second attempt I kinda used W/D instead and found that it's just that sides of the screen are cut off, due to using 3:4 ratio resolution. ^^' <br/> <br/>As for the game itself, I get the idea but the execution... didn't really end up well. I can understand having no time to make levels or something similar. However, the controls are rather horrid, with mouse and WSAD section and arrows section all being used and frequently alternated between. I'd rather have it kept simpler, e.g.: <br/> - get rid of grenade mode; it just adds an unnecessary layer of complication and isn't really used anywhere <br/> - use left-mouse button to shoot instead of Shift <br/> - once the shape has been selected, use Q/E and/or mouse scrollbar and/or mouse dragging? Generally, to keep everything in the WSAD + mouse zone <br/>I hope you can see where I'm coming from here. ^^' <br/> <br/>Also, the narrative font was kinda undreadable on that background, especially when a letter ended up between bright gray and dark gray zone. <br/> <br/>Aside from that, graphics and general idea were alright, but there's still a long way to go to have a solid game. ^^' <br/>Keep improving! |
| Apr 22 20:13:00 | 53m 00s | ShapeShift Runner | The idea was certainly innovative, though the execution needs a bit of polish and balancing. For example, once I get shoved a bit to the left, I can't seem to retain my original position (I even tried pushing ball to the right by widening a wall, but either I failed to do so, or it's not possible). Also, I'm not sure if the random platforms generation gives any guarantee that some segment will be possible to complete (guess it's not really easy to determine that, huh? ^^') which is essential for a fair, skill-based endless runner (as opposed to luck-based one). That aside, mechanics themselves seemed to work properly, and visuals are good, too. <br/> <br/>In general, solid entry, though I feel it could really use some balancing. |
| Apr 22 20:50:00 | 37m 00s | Rock-Paper-Scissors Man | To be honest, two levels are way more than enough. That game seems to combine the challenge of quick shapes parsing (i.e. how to react to opponent's shape), memorisation (because the game goes so fast that it's easier to memorise the patterns than react to them on runtime) and endurance (unforgiving life system). The mix of those doesn't really end up well; I mean, I don't really feel like completing level 1 over and over again so that I could learn how to complete level 2 (and it's rather lengthy, too). Remember that, as a creator, you can easily figure out the level as you make it; players don't have that luxury, and learning the level will be more painful for them. That is, if they want to reach a reasonable score, because for large time you can just stick to the bottom of screen and stay relatively safe (and limited lives don't really encourage player to do otherwise), skipping some segments altogether... <br/> <br/>Oh, also, twice in level 2, somewhere around the life power-up, I got killed when hit by a bullet, even though I had shield on. Needless to say, I didn't like the fact. <br/> <br/>That aside, this entry is quite well-made in terms of audiovisuals, mechanics and enemies variety. It's mostly the challenge design (i.e. combining lives system with not-so-easy levels) I find troubling. I think that if you made gameplay a little slower, but use random enemies, that'd shift the challenge from memorisation to reaction, which I think suits that game better. |
| Apr 22 21:00:00 | 10m 00s | BeatBox | Well, it's not particularly original game, but seems to work well enough. I don't really feel particular urge to keep playing, though, and at some points the shapes become just too fast (especially when there are combos of two). Maybe add multiple lives (or a gradually replenishing health bar...?) so that a single skip doesn't end the game altogether? |
| Apr 22 21:23:00 | 23m 00s | The Castle | I liked the shapeshifting castle idea as well as the general mood, though I'd prefer a different colour choice than a mix of red and green (plus, the handheld items don't really add to the mood, given their paint-ish style). Also, I'm not really a fan of platforming in general, and especially in 3D in first person perspective when I can't even see where my feet are (I had to make some jump by staring at the ground to make sure I time it right). ^^' <br/> <br/>Aside from that, it seems like the castle really wants to sound like speaking in Shakespearean English, but doesn't really know how (given the omnipresent "thy", even though there should be some declension, and if I'm not mistaken the original form is "thou"). <br/> <br/>Overall not a bad entry. ^^' |
| Apr 24 09:03:00 | 35h 40m | shape, LeSS | I quite liked the art style, as for audio, Kevin MacLeod did a good job, too. *whistling* Story is somewhat interesting and adds to the game. <br/> <br/>The gameplay idea is alright, but mechanics often fall short. People mentioned getting stuck, which happened to me once, too. A more serious issue would be slow movement (played the embedded version, don't know if it should have it fixed or not), but most importantly, I can't quite grasp the rules and objective of the game. It seems whenever I lose all "health" I go back to some checkpoint, but I can't quite see where the checkpoint is, and were constantly going back to the spot right when leaving outside, with 150 atom points. So, even though I'd like to record my progress after getting some difficult atoms (especially the one to the top-right of grandma, aaarrgh), I don't know how and keep going back where I started. Even then, it seems like not all atoms recover where they should. I have no idea what to do with atoms to complete the game, either... <br/> <br/>So, it's a game I'd like to like, but I can't quite figure it out to do so. ^^' |
| Apr 24 10:03:00 | 1h 00m | Secret of the Lizard People | The game is pretty cute. The art style is simple, but serves its purpose, and there was a good variety with the minigames. Mechanics were working pretty well, too (though driving was a bit of a pain). I'd have liked to have some special ending for getting 11/11, though; it's always nice when perfection is rewarded. Also, I haven't heard any audio... <br/> <br/>Good job overall. ^^ |
| Apr 24 17:35:00 | 7h 32m | Where Wolf? | Nice concept; plays rather nice, too (if a bit clunky), I managed to complete two stages. I'd have preferred if I was able to catch werewolves not only from sides, but up/down, too. Clearly, art isn't your forte, but you still have time to learn (or might eventually find some artist to work with). <br/>Also, gotta agree with adam: don't use mouse in menu when the rest is entirely keyboard-controlled (and conversely, avoid keyboard-based menus in mouse-controlled games, but that's more rare). Keep controls necessary to minimum. <br/> <br/>Overall, nice work, keep improving! ^^ |
| Apr 24 17:53:00 | 18m 00s | OneHourShaper | The first thing that I could notice, is that graphics are really horrid (and you have no excuse for that; choosing the better colours wouldn't take much more time and still work; heck, black and white would work better). <br/>Another, that menu is mouse-controlled instead of keyboard-controlled, despite the gameplay not using mouse ("press any key to advance" would be better). <br/>Then, once I got back to the game, I've found that re-playing the game after losing causes the soundtrack to overlap, so I had to pretty much restart whenever I lost (i.e. aside from my first attempt, whenever I reached that level with other random switcher). <br/> <br/>However, the puzzle idea itself isn't really that bad and, properly expanded upon, could make for a really fun game. Some puzzle game design related advice: <br/> - no such thing as random switchers; I imagine their very existence is just because you didn't have time to make it so that YOU doesn't change every single frame when it stands on some switcher, am I right? <br/> - no restarting the game for a single slip-up, there's really no point; this game has no skill/timing-based challenges (unless someone has hyperperception allowing them to time random switchers transformation just right), but relies on figuring out the correct sequence of steps instead; once that sequence is known, there's no point to make player repeat the challenge over and over again <br/> <br/>I hope the next time you won't forget about Ludum Dare, and choose the colours better. ^^' |
| Apr 24 18:14:00 | 21m 00s | Dustin Finamore | Pfffthaha, that was fun in a weirdly charming way! It took me a while to understand how exactly the Swedish Fish works (at first I thought it's more like snake, then it turned out not quite so, and it can cross over its trail, too), but then it was kinda fun experience. I wasn't too fond of the portals, though, especially since they had that weird mechanics when they sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. ^^' <br/> <br/>Also, gotta love "Sugar explosion" sound effects; especially since I looked up Swedish Fish. Audio in general was fine; I didn't find the music too annoying, either. Graphics aren't really top-notch, but they have some variety and for a 10-years old they look promising. <br/> <br/>(oh, and a technical note: the text box in tutorial seems to be above the Swedish Fish, i.e. when Fish enters its area, it becomes invisible; since you're using GameMaker, perhaps you could have set Fish's depth to lower value in the object settings?) <br/> <br/>It might not be the most polished game out there, but it's adorable in its own way. Keep improving. ;) |
| Apr 24 18:43:00 | 29m 00s | Cactus Corner | The art in this game is lovely. The mechanics work well enough, too; the gameplay is simple, but functional nonetheless. <br/>Good choice of audio, but since it's not yours, I won't rate it. That, and you already opted out from that, anyway. ^^' <br/> <br/>Also, don't be afraid of variables; they don't bite, and once you get to know them, they're really helpful. ^^ <br/>(too bad I don't know Construct, and thus have no idea how to help with cards scaling or weird Arial appearance...) <br/> <br/>Oh, by the way, I think you should change your "Web" link, as right now it points to the downloadable archive containing the HTML5 game. The thing is, browsers are mean and won't let people play HTML5 directly from their disk, so you would better replace it with link to page where the game is playable, or a non-browser version. ^^' <br/> <br/>Keep improving! :3 |
| Apr 24 19:59:00 | 1h 16m | Spirits of the Forest | Uh, oh, it's a platformer. Not only that, but it's a precision platformer. And with rather unfair collisions/hitboxes, too. >.< <br/> <br/>The art was mostly good, with background having better quality than some sprites (e.g. a hedgehog), but overall it serves its purpose well. I liked the soundtrack, too (some sound effects were a bit annoying, though, like kangaroo's dying... screech?). The story isn't particularly creative, but it works well enough. <br/> <br/>The collisions and maybe level design require some serious work, though; it's fine when a game is difficult (unless it's platformer, because I played way more difficult platformers than necessary to prove my platforming skills), but I've found some segments annoying, and not rarely because I died seemingly without any contact with spikes whatsoever. This led me to using R button so often that sometimes I was mistaking it with Space (including the one time when I reached the owl spirit and restarted mid-dialogue after a really, really painful segment). >.< <br/>Also, you need to get a better grasp of designing multiple-window maps. Sometimes when I jumped the view was moving up and down to catch up with main character, other times I tried walking left/right not seeing there's a ledge just around the window border, the ledge I need to jump on. Also, the flying squirrel fall segment (the one where you avoid bees nests) felt a bit luck-based due to little time for reaction to the next-screen obstacles. <br/> <br/>I like the game's mood, but mechanics and challenges require some serious reworking. |
| Apr 24 20:02:00 | 3m 00s | Tentatively Titled: Tentacle Terroir Terror! | Aw, too bad it's Mac only, because it's a game I'd like to try for the title alone. |
| Apr 24 20:21:00 | 19m 00s | Phil Fortier | Quite a fun puzzle idea. I liked the general mood, animation etc. too, it's a well polished entry. If there's some issue, then maybe that it's too short. ^^' <br/> <br/>Still, pretty good job overall! |
| Apr 24 20:59:00 | 38m 00s | The Incredible Tweene | The graphics are pretty cool, and choice of music is good as well. I felt the mechanics or level design were a little sloppy for some reason, though; maybe that's because I couldn't rotate the camera while I wanted to (the camera always stuck to the same perspective)? <br/> <br/>Also, the mouse wouldn't show up, and the only way I was able to press the button was to right-click on programs bar and click from there. Not really convenient, I think. <br/>Another thing is a lack of restart button; so if someone got stuck on level 2, they'd need to play the game again (which also involved pressing the "Start" button again, which for me was way more challenging than it should be). That aside, it was pretty solid entry. <br/> <br/>Hopefully you'll have better luck the next Dare. ^^' |
| Apr 24 21:12:00 | 13m 00s | Wizard of Shapes | The gameplay isn't particularly creative, though a twist with watching the shapes' change and striking at the right moment was nice. I quite liked the audiovisuals, too (especially the animation). <br/> <br/>Overall, maybe not outstanding, but pretty solid entry nonetheless. |
| Apr 29 14:13:00 | 113h 01m | Jeffrey with a Sword | Creative concept, but kinda killed by poor mechanics. Just for the record, I've found the most efficient strategy to stand around and do nothing, with a sword lagging behind; enemies would then walk onto the sword themselves and I'd be virtually invincible, if not for the aging. <br/> <br/>Graphics are alright, but not stunning. Music works fine, though I haven't heard sound effects. <br/> <br/>Next time, you might want to focus on the mechanics rather than title (or at least in-game art player will see 99% of time, rather than a title that player will see only for a bit). ^^' |
| Apr 29 14:26:00 | 13m 00s | The polyman | Ooooh dear, a platformer. Not only that, but a platformer with a time limit (game-scale rather than level-scale, at that!) and very sloppy mechanics. Also, no ingame explanation for controls, so I had to check for these in game description, losing time in between. It didn't work out well. The graphics didn't really help, either (so *that* was a rabbit? O.o'). <br/> <br/>I guess you still have a rather long way to go to become a full-fledged games developer. Keep improving! |
| Apr 29 16:05:00 | 1h 39m | To The Rescue | The general concept seems fine, though I haven't really made use of the power-slide and often (especially at the beginning) I was getting a game-over seemingly out of nowhere (might be because of the super-quick guards); you might want to fix that. <br/> <br/>The graphics were fine, but I'd make the background less contrasting (see those bright-gray/dark-gray tiles); else it stands out too much. <br/> <br/>I kinda wonder why the friend ended up in a shady government facility, and why governments must be responsible for everything. But I guess that's another story... |
| Apr 29 17:16:00 | 1h 11m | Agent Shift | I quite enjoyed that detective game; it incorporated the theme quite well, too. The game seemed rather well-balanced overall, except for one thing: the clues were often redundant (sometimes even repeated, word-to-word) which was way too luck based; when I get the precious progress bar to 100%, I expect at least a reasonable chance it'll advance me somehow. <br/> <br/>If I were to implement a game like that, I probably would make it in such a way: <br/> - determine variables involved and divide into slots (e.g. highest point into 501-749, 751-999, 1001-1249, 1251-1499; population into 10k-20k, 20k-30k, 30k-40k, 40k-50k; %water into 1-24%, 26-49%, 51-74%, 76-99%; has port into YES or NO, has airport into YES or NO) <br/> - when generating the states, I'd make sure no two states fall into the exact same set of slots <br/> - when giving the first clue, I'd pick an incorrect state at random, compare it with the correct state, randomly pick a property where the states fall into different slots, and make a clue based on that property, making sure that it eliminates the incorrect state <br/> - once the first clue is provided, I'd eliminate all other states that don't meet the condition in the clue (mark them internally in the game; the player wouldn't have it explicitly told) <br/> - once another clues would be needed, the procedure would be the same; except the random incorrect state would be one of those that hasn't been yet marked "eliminated"; that'd guarantee that at least one state would be ruled out by the clue, making it useful <br/> <br/>You might want to refine the algorithm to your needs; also, if you want to guarantee that all clues bring you at least one step closer to solution, you might want to increase the number of states (or maybe even have different difficulty levels with different map). <br/> <br/>That's it, your friendly neighbourhood mathematician is out. Really cool and enjoyable game, overall~! (I rather liked cards descriptions, too) |
| Apr 29 17:27:00 | 11m 00s | Curse Of Circe | Pretty neat entry. A bit tricky to figure out at first (as there isn't really much time to play around and learn at that point), but once you get the hang of it it's rather pleasant, if maybe a bit too simple. The graphics weren't really top-notch, but they have their charm and serve the purpose well enough. Pretty neat game overall. ^^ |
| Apr 29 17:46:00 | 19m 00s | Trolldom | Awww, there I thought I found a really neat puzzle game, but it ended so quickly. :< Too bad, because the idea had quite a potential. <br/> <br/>The graphics work well enough, but they lack animation, which I'm not really fond of. The mechanics aren't too advanced, but they didn't seem to break to me, so I guess it's alright. <br/> <br/>I hope the next time you'll have more time for levels, because you seem to have cool puzzle ideas; it'd just really help if you made more levels based on that... ^^' |
| Apr 29 19:10:00 | 1h 24m | Pretend | Ah, another shapeshifting platformer. Somehow, these aren't a rarity round here. ^^' <br/> <br/>The controls felt a little clunky, but were passable (they do take a bit to get used to, though). Graphics work well enough, though sometimes I felt animation was off (most likely the cat, whose animation was not synchronised with movement). On a side note, I wanted to pick up a flashlight and ended up taking a cannonball in the face. Boo. :< <br/>The soundtrack... I appreciate the attempt, but I didn't see much structure or melody here; it wasn't really something that "flows" inside my head, and definitely not something I'd play on repeat (which I tend to do, and even made a program to detect loops and extend tracks endlessly). ^^' <br/> <br/>As for the backstory... well, it's been a while since people discovered they can make games with statements about love, human, philosophy and whatnot, and I don't really think this game really stands out. I think "don't pretend to be someone else" would work better if it was implied through the game that pretending has bad effects, or maybe if the whole basis of the game is that all that shapeshifting is merely an illusion (rather than having a measurable effects such as flight). I hope you see my point - I'm not particularly against story- or message-driven games, but after seeing a fair share of them, it takes some clever integration into the game to impress me. <br/> <br/>Generally, solid entry, yet somewhat lacking in different aspects. Hopefully you'll get better with these by the next Dare. ^^' |
| Apr 29 19:54:00 | 44m 00s | Lycanthrope | Uh-huh, I wasn't really fond of the controls; personally, I'd have preferred WSAD + mouse + LMB; in the game turning around etc. felt way too slow and didn't really leave room to work around the wolves. Also, I don't like the idea of gameplay relying on finding secrets, especially if the game gives no indication where these are, or even whether I'm hitting the wall or not (punching sound effect is same for both cases, so I can't be sure if I'm really hitting the wall or not). Made it to level 4 twice, but couldn't complete it; I didn't find the fabled secret, either. <br/> <br/>From other things, I'd like to have more perspective and have different parts of the maze more distinct. Maybe it's the point of maze games to be easily lost, but in such case I wouldn't find plain mazes (or easy for losing-and-having-to-restart mazes, for that matter) particularly exciting. ^^' <br/> <br/>The gameplay concept in general seems decent, and audiovisuals work well enough (though nothing mind-blowing here), but due to some details (mostly controls and having to restart every time I lose) I can't really find it truly enjoyable. Sorry. ^^' |
| Apr 29 20:01:00 | 7m 00s | A Tetris Piece That Tilted And Fell | Haha, that entry is pretty sweet. Small, but has a bunch of touches that makes it feel complete (especially the slow-motion part). Really cool work. ;) |
| Apr 29 20:28:00 | 27m 00s | ColorShift | A technical note: it's more of a shooter than a roguelike (these tend to be turn-based rather than real-time, and have more focus on tactics/RPG elements than dexterity). <br/> <br/>I've played a few rounds, got the hang of it, though the slow movement is a bit discouraging. The snipers were OP indeed, too. Maybe I'd feel more eager to play around more if this game had some goal? Or maybe even a few levels, with each acting as a "checkpoint" (i.e. once you die, you don't go to the very beginning). This certainly has some room for improvement... <br/> <br/>The concept itself feels pretty generic, but I appreciate the variety of enemies. Also, hopefully by the next LD you will have better hang of balancing. ^^' |
| Apr 29 20:49:00 | 21m 00s | Scooter Magrew: Escape From Somewhere In Space! | Well, the puzzles here were very underwhelming. As in, "I've got a single red character that can cross red tiles, I can switch anytime when on neutral tiles, and I just need to cross red tiles after passing neutral tiles... what to do, what to do..." sort of underwhelming. Each character having distinct abilities works way better in games with character-switching, while this game's premise feels just too simple to me. >.< <br/>(then again, I'm not a 5-years old kid) <br/> <br/>Aside from that, I'd prefer if the graphics used consistent style, rather than realistic backgrounds and cartoony foreground. Also, you might want to make the tiles more distinct (it's a little tricky to tell gray, turquoise and purple apart; I didn't really have much trouble, but people with worse colour recognition could get confused...?). I guess the rest works well enough (or at least didn't stand out to me too much?). |
| Apr 30 14:17:00 | 17h 28m | Revamp | Yuss, I'm a vampire with #1 bragging rights! <br/> <br/>I'm not really a fan of platformers, and platforming with shapeshifting protagonist gaining different abilities isn't really all that innovative. However, the abilities are rather varied and the execution is solid enough that I rather enjoyed the game (though I'd have preferred if you were a bit more generous with checkpoints, especially in the last level). No music and a tiny bit of audio, but it's pretty forgivable, especially for Compo. Graphics work quite well for that game. <br/> <br/>Overall, pretty good job. ^^ |
| Apr 30 15:28:00 | 1h 11m | The Great Transmuter | Alright, that was rather fun puzzle idea, but sometimes I felt there wasn't enough determinism in the game behaviour; usually when two pieces needed entered the element at the same time, and the output element would then pass in the either direction. Instead I'd prefer if the game was more "discrete", in that all that shapes moving, inserting and outputting would be done on some regular "ticks" or something like that, making the game behaviour more orderly. <br/> <br/>Still, it was pretty fun to play for these several levels. |
| Apr 30 16:06:00 | 38m 00s | Whale quest! | Yay, apparently I've managed to become a super-whale. Pretty cute puzzle game, but the exploration part seems rather unnecessary to me (in fact, with all that random generation means sometimes items end up in configuration where a perfect victory is impossible), and I wasn't really fond of slow walking and having to *press* button to move to the next field. <br/> <br/>Maybe you can expand upon that general idea, somehow...? <br/> <br/>(I just wonder, what exactly happens to player character once they successfully turn into proper whale...?) |
| Apr 30 17:57:00 | 1h 51m | The cat of two worlds | A platformer where you switch between two worlds? Pshhhh, that's so 5 Jams ago! <br/> <br/>I tried playing the game thrice, at second attempt getting even a bit far (defeating the first boss as well), but got literally stuck (as in, game-breakingly stuck) in all cases and giving up in the end. The platforming here felt rather sloppy (and not really because of slopes), dialogue was getting cut on the screen of 1024x768 dimension, no matter how much I pressed Ctrl I couldn't get the cat to use fire breath, and in the final battle I lost and was moved to the last checkpoint, blocked out of the game area. In the end, the impression... wasn't particularly favourable. >.< <br/> <br/>Perhaps the next time make sure your game has no critical bugs (possibly getting someone else to test it, if possible)? They can really get in the way of the game... |
| Apr 30 19:01:00 | 1h 04m | Shapeless Dungeon | Well, the audiovisuals aren't exceptional (though I liked the design of later levels; it's just that sometimes things looked weird for some reason), and mechanics aren't perfectly polished, either, but the game still is somewhat enjoyable. The shapeshifting maze mechanic sounds rather interesting (not unique; there has been similar concept, but still not overdone), perhaps it could work as a sort of puzzle...? <br/> <br/>Pretty solid game, overall (even if the game is a bit slow when not running). |
| Apr 30 20:17:00 | 1h 16m | windowframe | That's pretty darn impressive game you got here, and one of the very best entries I've seen here (if not the best). The mechanics are smooth, the obstacles are varied, the levels creative, the progression logical (I liked the touch with lowering number of stakes), the graphics stylish and the bosses entertaining (maybe except for the first one). <br/> <br/>I'm not sure if the silver bats weren't underused. Also, there might or might not have been some music; sometimes I got impression I heard something, but might be random noise around... <br/> <br/>Still, really great entry here. Looking forward to more games from you. ;) |
| Apr 30 20:45:00 | 28m 00s | Reshape | Pretty creative idea, executed rather well, too (that frog took a bit of time to figure out). Guess it could benefit from better audiovisuals and more sensible progression mechanics (i.e. once you complete the level, you go to another level, not go back to menu and select another). Oh, also, menu itself could use some keyboard controls; it's an annoyance if the only situation I use mouse for is to navigate menus which easily could be kept, as the rest of the game, to keyboard. <br/> <br/>Still, pretty nice entry, especially given the timeframe. Good job. ^^ |
| Apr 30 20:52:00 | 7m 00s | Shifting Shifting Shapes | That was quite an interesting idea, though I find it a bit hard to tell if it would evolve into something fun with more puzzles and obstacles or not. <br/> <br/>Also, I can confirm that starting late kinda sucks; starting late after having work done on earlier idea even more so. >.< <br/> <br/>Hopefully you'll get more inspired for the next LD. |
| Apr 30 21:19:00 | 27m 00s | A walk to the top | Solid entry when it comes to audiovisuals, polish etc. (although I could use a button to stop the man going on path instead of restarting altogether; and the man could really walk faster). However, the puzzle mechanics and their usage in game is kinda too simple; only the last few levels were remotely challenging for me, since stairs and arrows alone leave somewhat little room for thought (most placements are pretty obvious, and those that aren't can be checked easily). <br/> <br/>Also, I feel the theme usage here is a bit of a stretch, even though other entries used environment alteration and I was fine with these. I dunno, maybe here it just seems too mundane (nothing as spooky as castle changing on its own or as wacky as warping the game window?). <br/> <br/>Still, it's quite decent game, just not too exciting for me when it comes to gameplay itself. You seem to have little issue quickly making a game that feels complete, nonetheless, and that's quite an important thing, too (many people can't get a game to feel complete even with all the time they want, ehehehehe...). |
| Apr 30 21:38:00 | 19m 00s | LabRadDog | Sorry, but I couldn't really get far. I had unlocked cat and dog shape, got to the second room, but didn't progress further and couldn't even get a fabled flea (a shame, because I was curious what SFX had the flea). The mechanics felt really weird, and I kept getting all these informative panels despite already having used the subject or something, and I couldn't really tell the useful items apart from decorations, nothing really sparkled with importance to me, I was just going in circles and couldn't even find anything really useful. I felt like I was in hunt for something, but couldn't even tell where exactly I should expect it... <br/> <br/>Also, the game worked rather slow and laggy to me. Maybe make desktop versions for graphics-intensive games? I doubt browsers have particularly great performance... <br/> <br/>The game looks like it could be interesting, but somehow I got little idea what was going on or what I was supposed to do, and clunky mechanics didn't help. Sorry. >.< |
| Apr 30 21:51:00 | 13m 00s | Mountain | Huh, that was an interesting idea. Even without reading on the game, I've noticed some face-like shapes (though for some reason I've noticed some of these on the mountain-side rather than sky-side...). However, I didn't quite figure out that I had to mouse over an eye. The fact that I didn't notice the plus-sign didn't help, either... <br/> <br/>That's rather atmospheric game indeed, though the background music might not loop perfectly. Maybe it could work with more levels, maybe not... |
| Apr 30 22:05:00 | 14m 00s | ShapeGrid | Pretty neat entry, though it could use more audio. An indication about the current score in the game wouldn't hurt, either. Also, you might consider making different distinction between various colours, so that colour-blind people can enjoy your game, too. ^^' |
| May 1 09:16:00 | 11h 11m | Blobs | Pretty cool concept, though gotta agree with others that sometimes it requires too much precision. The art isn't mind-blowing, but audio sets the mood right. I've got to complete all the levels, too (the last one even with a blob to spare!). <br/> <br/>Oh, and one option I was very, very missing in this game - quick restarting. The game isn't really generous with the blobs, and losing one somewhere at the beginning would mean I'd have to drop the remaining blobs until I run out of them; particularly annoying in the level with blobs that can't stand (on) triangles. <br/> <br/>Overall, quite cool and fun to play entry, if maybe a bit too unforgiving. Hope you get even better for the next Ludum Dare! |
| May 1 14:10:00 | 4h 54m | SHAPE.SHIFT() | Hmm, the game difficulty feels kinda unfair. Like, you need to be really precise to enter the center, and it takes long to go from the very top to the very bottom. I sense the serious need for rebalancing. The fact that restarting requires mouse while the game does not adds a bit of annoyance, too... I didn't see any difficulty progression, but then I guess there's little room for one, and no opportunity for me to notice it. >.< <br/> <br/>Too bad, because had the game been more balanced, I guess I could enjoy a few plays (even if the idea isn't particularly exceptional). Better luck next time, maybe? ^^' |
| May 1 15:08:00 | 58m 00s | ShapeMagnet | That game kinda reminds me of strong interactions between quarks. <br/> <br/>I rather liked the general game concept and aesthetics; it isn't particularly complicated, and the gameplay gets less challenging once you get the hang of it, but it was still pretty enjoyable. Pretty good job here. ^^ <br/> <br/>Also, wow, Kirzo, that's pretty amazing feat to get that far! :o |
| May 1 16:28:00 | 1h 20m | Spaghetti Slayer | Huh, another platformer that involves changing shapes. Given the general tendency, I find that hardly innovative. Still, the execution is rather decent, and the gameplay is rather quirky in a fun way, too. It doesn't really require the player to think creatively, though - if you have a spaghetti, you know you need to bring the eater, and if you have a high ledge, you know you need to use pogo. ^^' <br/> <br/>Still, gotta give a few points for humor, all that spaghetti has some charm... |
| May 1 17:12:00 | 44m 00s | Virgin Blood | So... I take that she wasn't a virgin after all? ^^' <br/> <br/>Pretty decent mix between a puzzle and a stealth game, but I've found controls really sloppy, often ending up walking a tile further than I intended to or having the vampire feed himself with no particular input from me. The graphics are solid, but not outstanding. <br/> <br/>Overall a decent entry, but somewhat rough round the edges; could use some tweaking (especially movement). |
| May 1 17:58:00 | 46m 00s | Schrift | I completed it on level 4. Can I get a cookie now? :3 <br/> <br/>That was quite an interesting take on the theme, rather difficult to play on higher levels, too. The visuals weren't particularly fancy, though; they don't need to be super-elaborate, but I think at least a change from dull grayscale could help. <br/> <br/>On another note, I'd have preferred if the level generation algorithm avoided clusters of swappable letters, while leaving large areas of words fixed; it makes some areas nonsensically difficult and others just a decoration. <br/> <br/>Overall, pretty interesting entry. If you expanded upon that idea, though, I'd recommend making it so that it accepts all combinations of existing words on both lowercase and uppercase crosswords; at some point it didn't accept SNIP but accepted SPIN. |
| May 1 18:09:00 | 11m 00s | SquareShift - Sticky Squares | Got to level 5, too, I even got 500 and got so many pieces I was pretty much immobile but then the game kinda said "eh, whatever" and didn't advance me any further (Berserker mode is soo OP). Rather funny concept, but I guess it'd need to be readjusted to make a complete and successful game. <br/> <br/>Overall, not bad. Keep it up. |
| May 1 20:13:00 | 2h 04m | Kitsune | Audiovisuals are great, gameplay concept isn't really bad either, but the gameplay feels rather bothersome, and what's worse, it seems that could have been avoided relatively easily in a number of ways. The thing is, the dashing is quick, but imprecise, while walking is more fine-tuned, but doesn't allow flying up; so with the game mostly taking place in air, I'm pretty much forced to haphazard dashing, which I'm not particularly fond of. Maybe instead Kitsune could always go head towards the mouse, which would also remove the need for some keyboard controls (having RMB for activating shrine would make keyboard redundant altogether, which I think is a good thing). Also, the enemies spawn rate could be a little higher; the thing is, individual segments of the game are pretty easy, and it takes little effort to keep shrines in a reasonable shape (with at least one unit of shrine health). Or maybe make it so that you can reset shrine protection timer by reactivating the shrine while the form is still present; so that I don't have to wait for time-out, because it's not clear if I manage to defeat the approaching enemy on my current timer or not (especially with the troubling movement). <br/> <br/>The thing is, right now it's supposed to be an action game, but it plays like it wants to be a relaxed game, and ends up being neither; more like a test of endurance and resistance to tedium, as when you're at the late stage of the game, having waited for enemies or collectibles to appear, you might really get careless just because things happen way too lazily. It's really tiresome... <br/> <br/>Then again, it was pretty fun discovering that it's not like I actually turn into a wolf, then into a deer, then a bird or something, but rather that I can be a wolf, a deer and a bird all at the same time - and a fox, too. Also, it appears the protagonist is actually Ran Yakumo, if her being a fox and possessing an ability to cross boundaries is any indication. <br/> <br/>Really good when it comes to presentation, falls short when it comes to core gameplay. |
| May 1 20:33:00 | 20m 00s | OnPoint | Nice puzzle, even if a little short. I've found the sound effects to be a bit too loud, especially compared to the soundtrack. The mechanics were rather interesting, having shapes buffer to swap different shapes around was an interesting twist, but ability to combine and separate the current shapes is what made things really neat. I think that, in general, it's an idea that's worth expanding upon. <br/> <br/>Overall, you've made your point. |
| May 1 21:26:00 | 53m 00s | Moveless Chess | Somewhat hilarious take on the chess, one of the best uses of theme in the entire Jam, really interesting puzzle. <br/> <br/>One thing I found annoying is that sometimes I don't feel like I can determine mechanics. As in, in level 2 I was doing some random moves which didn't lead to checking the enemy king, which would make an easy win for AI, but instead it randomly decided to beat the top-left rook instead (even though usually it made its checkmate right). I think it'd work better if it was clearly stated, that if you don't check the enemy king, be prepared for the opponent making checkmate on you instead. <br/> <br/>Also, sometimes I couldn't quite see what move did the enemy make, nor could I tell how I've won or lost, because the final window completely covered the board. I think that requires fixing. <br/> <br/>But that aside, it was very fine and interesting puzzle (of course, not too much fun with only one level). Certainly one of this LD's highlights. |
| May 2 09:13:00 | 11h 47m | Mimic | Alright, the graphics aren't particularly great, but the gameplay is really cool. Sure, the idea of changing shapes to met creatures isn't really unique, but not yet overdone and here it was made rather well, with 3 enemy types and interesting puzzles revolving around them. I managed to beat the entire thing. ^^ <br/> <br/>Really cool entry, cheers~! |
| May 2 09:39:00 | 26m 00s | Soulmyst | Mood is strong in this game, but I think the gameplay could be polished; quite often I felt I was unfairly losing, especially when getting stuck on some obstacles (there was one I died on particularly often). If that was fixed, I think it could make a pretty successful game...? |
| May 2 09:58:00 | 19m 00s | Pathway | Really liked the mood, though the gameplay itself is rather tricky to understand and the mechanics aren't quite perfect - in particular, the collisions seemed to be more sprite-based rather than "position based", making some things work not like I'd expect. <br/> <br/>Still, I managed to complete the game in the end. Not bad, but quite confusing. ^^' |
| May 2 10:29:00 | 31m 00s | Gatling Defender | The gameplay was tricky at first, giving me a challenge to even defeat a single enemy, but then I was getting stronger and enemies weren't (no difficulty progression), so in the end (having 7x shotgun and 1x rifle) I defeated over 50 enemies with ease until bore-quitting. <br/> <br/>I think this game really needs some more variety when it comes to both enemies (different shooting patterns and behaviour etc.) and player upgrades (health, shield, overheat, different kinds of weapons; maybe player could just have a storage of weapons and pick them to customize the weapon for specific purpose). Alternately, you could turn the endless survival into a game with some sort of campaign, levels introducing new enemies etc. which would then feature endless survival, or something; it seems to be a good model. <br/> <br/>Oh, also, the cash collection sound was jarringly loud compared to the rest. <br/> <br/>Looks like a good start, but desperately needs more variety. |
| May 2 12:39:00 | 2h 10m | Crystal Mesh | Oooooh dear, the game was really sweet in terms of gameplay and audiovisuals, until Divine Temple appeared; it's pretty much an overkill, as it adds the challenge of actively avoiding shapes atop the aligning the shape just right and controlling its mad, mad spinning. I never got any reasonable shape on that one, and I did try. >.< <br/> <br/>If not for that level, the lasting impression would be quite favourable, but it kinda spoiled it. Be careful with the last minute additions the next time... ^^' <br/> <br/>I've got to admit, though, that shape-matching mechanic was quite smooth and smart. It's not really something so simple I'd come up with immediately, and it actually tells something. Really good job on the programming side, aside from the art. <br/> <br/>The story is there, though I didn't find it to be the highlight; maybe it has something to do how the god kinda encourages wiping out people and stuff, which makes me hard to sympathise with that god. I dunno, maybe I expect from the higher being more maturity than just smiting enemies and basking in glory...? <br/> <br/>Overall, quite a cool entry, heavily spoiled by the last level. |
| May 2 12:56:00 | 17m 00s | Disco Anthem Reloaded | Best score: 5584. That sure got pretty flashy. <br/> <br/>That was fun to play around for a bit, but if you had longer soundtrack, I'd probably stick around for more. Too bad the background didn't have some props flying around; I think it'd feel even more disco with that. <br/> <br/>Pretty decent entry overall, though I guess if I played it for longer, I'd really get some headaches or something... ^^' |
| May 2 14:25:00 | 1h 29m | Nyamo's Adventure | ...pfffthaha, you leave no chances, do you? <br/> <br/>Either way, I played and rated the compo version, then I played again the post-compo version and completed twice (once to collect all easter-eggs, second to do the same in the bonus mode; poor Nyamo, Fuzzball is still better at everything. ^^' I enjoyed it quite a lot, it's a pretty neat metroidvania, and rather outstanding for such a timeframe. I can't really find anything really wrong with the audiovisuals or gameplay, quite the opposite. <br/> <br/>If I really were to nitpick: I'd prefer if the balloon mode had some inflation button (either "up" or "4") so that I wouldn't need to needlessly switch to another shape just so that I could start with the inflated balloon again. Also, the spring world had a somewhat annoying tendency to have these invisible borders; i.e. I could go all the way to the level's border and find there's a wall inside, while I'd prefer if it was clear from the beginning that there was a wall there, and I shouldn't even bother trying to reach that place. Perhaps you could fix both of these issues in one of updates, if you plan any more...? The game is still great despite them, but it could be even a tiny bit greater. :3 <br/> <br/>On a side note, Claustrophobia gives me strong "Undying" vibes. ^^ <br/> <br/>(by the way, that's the first time I heard about 9-bit soundtrack; is it twice as good as 8-bit soundtrack?) <br/> <br/>Lots of 5s around here overall; even the compo version felt pretty much like a complete game. |
| May 2 15:20:00 | 55m 00s | Dovetail | Wow, that's some fast-paced game. Perhaps you could want to slow it down a little? <br/> <br/>I rather liked the general concept, though; there seem to be a few endless runners that use changing shape to go through variously shaped gates, but yours is the first that makes the mechanic more nuanced than "get the exact shape or die". As in, if you pass by a little margin, you get more points than if you gained by playing it safe, and you even lose points if you just go completely thin - I find that to be a pretty good idea to balance the gameplay. <br/> <br/>The game is still rather hectic and difficult, and I'm not sure if there aren't moments that make the game nigh impossible (e.g. going from the wide gap all the way to the left to the narrow gap all the way to the right), but it seems to be pretty fun while it plays. A bunch of different soundtracks the game randomly picks from is a nice touch as well, and the game gives the feeling of polish. <br/> <br/>Pretty cool job, overall. |
| May 2 17:11:00 | 1h 51m | Duality | Finished with 58 deaths, if I recall correctly. <br/> <br/>Wow, that's some pretty sweet mechanic you put in place here. Not only that, you make quite a great use of it, too (especially the lasers). The shifted world not staying in place unless I micromanage it is kinda annoying, but also understandable given the reality kinda tries to reassert itself, or something. <br/> <br/>The graphics are pretty neat, though the main character walking animation seemed kinda off; like it's stiff, or maybe it doesn't match the walking speed? Can't quite put my finger on it. The audio isn't particularly advanced, but it builds the mood alright. <br/> <br/>Yet another pretty impressive work I've seen this Jam (if rather difficult; it could use some saves to complete it in multiple goes, maybe?). <br/> <br/>Oh, by the way, I've seen multiple games with mouse-controlled menu and otherwise entirely keyboard-controlled gameplay, but yours has to be the first one to do it with such a flair, even including a special cursor graphic for that. I still think keyboard-controlled menu would work better, though. ;) |
| May 2 17:33:00 | 22m 00s | SteamPunkPuzzleGame | Uh, huh, that game was quite a pain to control. I got the hang of the first block modifying in the second level, but trying to change second block (u; also, wasn't it like the 1st block but from different perspective) or the third (i) was completely unsuccessful. Also, the perspective of the first block didn't stretch too far, so I couldn't make the long bridge I wanted. <br/> <br/>Also, the game didn't really gave much steampunk vibe to me. Too bad, because I'm rather fond of steampunk... <br/> <br/>It seems like it could have been a cool idea (with a few more features; mere blocks reshaping might get stale after a while), but sadly the execution falls rather short. |
| May 2 20:39:00 | 3h 06m | Shape Struggle | Got nearly 150k worth of score. That started really slow, and initially I thought first there is no gameplay at all, and then there are only line-like enemies and no variety. Then upgrades and triangles happened, and things were looking a bit more interesting, though the game still becomes rather boring after a while. There were shapes that move (shift) around, but I think it's a rather weak use of theme. ^^' <br/> <br/>Oh, also, I think some sort of crosshair or other mouse indicator would be really helpful. The mouse cursor didn't display for me, so I had a little trouble aiming. Plus, the arena borders could use different graphics than flashy rainbowy epileptic lines. ^^' <br/> <br/>It was fun to play around with my super-powered gatling gun for a bit, even if it's not really the greatest entry around (those are rather few and far between, anyway). ^^' |
| May 2 22:33:00 | 1h 54m | SPELLDOWN! | It seems like it could be an interesting entry if some more variety was added into it. The most obvious idea that comes to my mind (and I'm not the only one, it seems) is having the glyphs randomised each time, so that the player needs to react accordingly (each wizard could have own set of glyphs). If that was implemented, I think the gameplay would work rather well. <br/> <br/>I rather liked the artwork and animation in this game, though what I'd prefer is having one animation for each winning/losing wizard pair. So that, say, brown wizard would be polymorphing opponent, while the red wizard would zap them instead. Right now it seems each time you win, you get the same result depending on the level, and each time you lose, you get the same critter depending on your wizard; instead having spells for each winning/losing wizard pair could better establish wizards' "personality", in a way. <br/> <br/>Pretty solid and complete entry, overall. A bit of pity there's no lich battle, though I guess I'd prefer playing that in a more various setting (and I wouldn't really want to have the lich spam spellpieces even more than the 3rd level wizard currently does). |
| May 2 23:05:00 | 32m 00s | Flexible Story Teller | That was rather original entry. Kind of like visual novel, but simpler in story and a bit wackier when making choice. After lots of branching it becomes a bit tiring, though, especially the fox in Egypt arc. Maybe include a feature that allows just proceeding with the parts of story already discovered, or something? ^^' <br/>(after all, it takes only 8 pieces of story, each branching into 2 choices, to make some shapes being repeated over 100 times across all gameplays...) <br/> <br/>Still, the magician hat eaten by a pacman is the best! :3 Quite cool entry overall, but I think it needs some features to make repeated branching easier. |
| May 3 08:36:00 | 9h 31m | An Abnormality | Gotta agree with others, it sounds like an interesting story but a tad confusing. Right now my theory is that the shapeshifter's true nature is a word, or something similarly abstract (dunno, it seemed like the book was the home, or something). <br/> <br/>Not bad, especially for last-minute excuse for voting in LD. ;) |
| May 3 10:25:00 | 1h 49m | Zen and the Art of Transhumanism | Yay, I managed to complete the game without any game-crashing bugs whatsoever. <br/> <br/>Well, that was certainly a curious take on theme, in a way more than one. The story seems rather interesting, too, but I can see quite a lot of unused potential here. The thing is, with how this game tackles the subject, I feel that: <br/> - the game is somewhat "inflexible", it kinda handholds the player - each client has 2 "effective" items and the rest are "useless" items, there's a clear pattern determining which is which, and player gets instant feedback from management (rather than leaving the consequences to discover for the player later) <br/> - the game is one-sided - literally all clients crave for something they don't need and might in fact harm them, and it appears the best thing you can do to them and the humanity is to remove their needs altogether; which has somewhat unfortunate implication that to make people satisfied is to strip them of their dreams - is it really what we want? O.o' <br/> - the game is unconvincing - despite giving customer files feedback when the player is on the wrong track (or no track at all), I've seen no feedback when I do things right; I could imagine the clickbait writer becoming a proper journalist and finding her true call there, or the sex-craving doc advance the research for common benefit, or the singer giving an epic goodbye tour or something like that; I can't immediately think of something for gamedev, and while I'd like gang member to settle down and pursue calm life, I'm afraid that's not how Yakuza works...; the thing is, the game doesn't really explain how exactly my actions benefited the clients or the humanity <br/> <br/>How I'd rather do that instead: <br/> - come up with people who have some requests, which might or might not reflect what they actually need (I think that maybe not always, but sometimes people actually *might* know what's good for them) <br/> - have a bunch of enhancements, that might better or worse correspond to the needs/requests <br/> - for each client and enhancement, I'd consider what impact this enhancement would have on the client, even if it appears unmatched (it'd be rather curious, having wisdom enhancement on doc cause him to finish his research and realise all that sex stuff is unnecessary, anyway); some would more or less improve the clients' lives, some would cause smaller or larger harm, some would be indifferent <br/> - drop the opinion from management altogether, or make it just that - an opinion, which might or might not be accurate; and instead let the player discover the consequences through the client files feedback <br/> <br/>Excuse my essay, it's just I feel that theme has so much potential it feels wasteful to me to use only a fraction of that. ^^' <br/> <br/>All those points above aside, I still think it's a pretty great and well-executed entry (the crafting mechanics were rather cool, if maybe a bit clunky at times; I particularly disliked SUBMIT being so close to TOOLS). Definitely one of this Dare's better games. ;) |
| May 3 11:55:00 | 1h 30m | Infinite Vertices | Gaaah, what's up with you people, making depressing platformers about love. You could make it not depressing, not a platformer or not about love, and yet... >.< <br/> <br/>Eh, that aside, the game has rather interesting concept, and fits rather well with the theme of sacrifice and such, but I'd have really preferred, if, you know, I could actually reach the end with the rest of my strength. As it is now, it's all too futile, and I don't really like futility... that's just too bad. Especially since the soundtrack was pretty cool, too, and the rest of the game was solid, it's the needlessly depressing ending that spoils the thing for me. |
| May 3 12:09:00 | 14m 00s | Shape Soup | Well, that was fun to play around for a bit. The soup getting more and more variety was really cool. Also, I've somehow managed some sort of colourful disco mode or something, dunno if it's the secret ending or not...? <br/> <br/>Overall, nice little game. |
| May 3 12:52:00 | 43m 00s | Sunshift | When the theme said "Shapeshift", you actually meant environment changing all around, not the main character being "shifted" or "moved around" and being a shape, right? ^^' <br/> <br/>This entry was pretty fun to play around, some levels were easier, some harder, some left very little room for error (esp. the questionmark one) or required quite an endurance, but in the end all were passable and none felt particularly unfair. I just have no idea why sun is involved in particular. ^^' <br/> <br/>(also, it's a bit of pity you didn't use some opportunity for untold story; like, the environment getting more and more annoyed at that arrows controller flapping around; there seemed some episode with DIE level followed by some possibly sadistic (?) face, but wasn't eventually brought to conclusion) <br/> <br/>Really cool entry overall. ^^ |
| May 3 13:05:00 | 13m 00s | Shifting Paths | It's not particularly innovative gameplay, though I like the idea of using cellular automata to alter the maze (not sure if it would work for a more advanced game, though). However, at some playthrough I've found that the end game point was stuck between walls and it seemed to be fixed that way (as if it reached a stable structure or something), so it seems the game is not always possible to complete. Good call with making area around the player stabilised, though. <br/> <br/>Overall, pretty nice idea, though it's hard to tell if it'd lead to something greater. |
| May 3 13:19:00 | 14m 00s | Caged | Alright, I can't help but wonder... <br/>...why *snake*, of all forms, is the one that can switch levers? ^^' <br/> <br/>That aside, it's a nice little puzzle game. Most of the time it was pretty clear how things should behave, and you also made a proper distinction between safe holes and unsafe bottomless pits. The greatest issue I took with this game was how easy it was to fall by pushing a block into a pit; I often did it accidentally. I'd suggest using a grid-based movement instead, since the challenge based on movement precision doesn't really fit a game like this one. <br/> <br/>Overall, pretty decent entry, though not particularly outstanding. |
| May 3 13:32:00 | 13m 00s | Hexamorphosis | Ah, another game with shapeshift-to-cross-the-gates mechanics in place. At least this one has collectible orbs, too... <br/> <br/>Still, often I felt I couldn't quite place my hexagons right, and that the gate check occurred a bit earlier than when my structure was crossing it; it felt weird. In general I couldn't quite figure out how what I see relates to what the game actually registers, and that disconnection is nothing good; like the game has lacking or deformed feedback. <br/> <br/>I think having the shape aligned to a fixed grid (as someone else mentioned) would improve the gameplay; the challenge of meticulously placing the shape isn't really needed here (instead, reaction and shape-action coordination could be stressed). |
| May 3 13:42:00 | 10m 00s | Shieft | Oooooh, that's really sweet, I like the mechanics you've put in place here. Collecting maps to switch between them in parallel is quite a neat puzzle idea, though with more and more maps it could get old rather quickly, eventually; that is, unless you e.g. made different chambers with different sets of maps, or something? Still, the idea itself is pretty cool, and the execution doesn't fall short, either! <br/> <br/>If there's one suggestion I'd make, that'd be probably making the movement grid-aligned. There seems to be no additional worthwhile challenge by having the character move unsnapped. ^^' <br/> <br/>Really cool entry, in terms of idea, execution and audiovisuals. ;) |
| May 3 14:52:00 | 1h 10m | Maze of the Silver Elements | Alright, dunno if it's the game being horribly inefficient or you choosing the variables badly, but the main character was walking terribly slow to me, and after completing the 3rd level I gave up. Sorry, I'm not a fan of plain maze games in general, and this one has way, way, way too slow movement for my patience. >.< <br/> <br/>Maybe next time choose the movement speed better, or make the performance better (depending on what's actually the cause of the slow movement)...? |
| May 3 15:07:00 | 15m 00s | Shifting Temple | Gaaaah, sorry, can't complete that. The platforming movement here is so sloppy I can't really control my character properly, and the jumping is way out of proportion. Also, there seem to be some issue with death screen or something, like one time I got the game restarted without any message, the other time I got the message, pressed R, nothing would ever happen, third time I got neither message nor restart. What really broke it to me, however, was the moment when I tried to jump a little bit to the left, but instead ended up going all the way to the right and dying because of a fall. Sorry, can't complete that, not with these mechanics. >.< <br/> <br/>Audio was fine, backgrounds were alright, animation felt a bit off (maybe because the steps didn't really match the movement speed?), but it's the platforming mechanics that kill the game to me. Sorry. >.< |
| May 3 15:17:00 | 10m 00s | Public Opinion | Kinda fun to play for a bit, but it seems to lack any real challenge aside from "achieve the goal as quickly as possible"; no losing conditions or anything. I'd prefer if there was some way to lose the single-player game, e.g. by interacting with others your own opinion sways a little too, and takes some time to reinforce or something. Also, gotta agree with others that it's a bit too hectic. <br/> <br/>Also, I like what you did with shaping shift. It's a bit of a stepping around the core theme, but in a creative way, so in the end it's not really bad. |
| May 3 17:20:00 | 2h 03m | Shapeshifting Slime | Well, I seem to have completed the level. Kinda a shame you didn't follow through with that, because the concept looked kinda interesting. I wonder if the same base mechanic (i.e. moving slime parts) would work better in a grid-aligned rather than physics-based environment... <br/> <br/>Generally, cool idea, too bad you didn't follow with it (too little time...?). ^^' |
| May 3 17:53:00 | 33m 00s | SHAPE.SHIFT | Yay, I *beat* the supermassive discoball! <br/> <br/>One of the more enjoyable entries this dare, despite being quite difficult and unforgiving at times. Dunno if I wouldn't prefer this game being made for some other soundtrack, but complaining about it would be just picky. Very well done! ^^ |
| May 3 17:57:00 | 4m 00s | Mara the shaman | Well, hopefully you'll manage to make actual gameplay the next time. Maybe play around with Unity sometime between this and the next Dare so that you'll be able to make things quicker? ^^' |
| May 3 18:06:00 | 9m 00s | SHΔPE | 146. As in, one hundred fourty six. <br/> <br/>For some reason it looked like, as I was prepared to accept a circle, a diamond suddenly rushed at insane speed and ended the game. O.o' <br/> <br/>I quite enjoyed it. It's essentially a variation on the shape-gate endless runner, but it's one of the few games that does it right, not making player do some micromovements to fit into the slot or whatever; just changing the shape accordingly. Different sounds for crossing different shapes was a nice touch, too. Nice game to play for a little bit. |
| May 3 18:31:00 | 25m 00s | The Protean Organism | Yet another shapeshifting platformer... <br/> <br/>The gameplay had quite a share of flaws - restarting meant starting all over again, which is not really encouraging. For some reason, pressing "down" chooses the form named above the current one, and "up" the one below (rather than the opposite). Also, the mechanics don't feel particularly impressive, and music gets repetitive quickly. <br/> <br/>Generally, there's a very large room to improvement here (especially the restarting of the entire game upon a single mistake, this can get frustrating quickly). Hopefully you'll get better by the next Ludum Dare. ^^' |
| May 3 18:46:00 | 15m 00s | De Skogen | Well, the graphics seemed weirdly blurry, but then it turned out it's Unity giving fastest settings as default. Pffft! <br/> <br/>Overall, quite an atmospheric entry, particularly in terms of music; the graphics and special effects were good, too, but I'd really like to have some more variety in trees or obstacles or something (rocks, what happened to the poor rocks?! D:) so that the exploration isn't getting too monotonous. Oh, also, the step sounds were a bit too loud for my taste, and sometimes they sounded weird (more like some cracking than stepping, I dunno). <br/> <br/>Two things I still don't get: the ending, and how this game is related to shapesifting. ^^' |
| May 3 19:23:00 | 37m 00s | Evolution | Got 85 points in the end. <br/>In general, I found the frog form to be OP and didn't really consider the other forms, and the fact that later levels have more diamonds falling, thus reducing the risk of running out of time, doesn't help. So, while shapeshifting mechanic is there, I didn't really use it (it mostly happened around the endgame, when there were so many diamonds that the critter just kept changing forms randomly). I think this needs balancing. <br/> <br/>Audiovisuals wise, the game is good, though I've noticed the music after a while stops playing; I'd rather expect it looped instead. <br/> <br/>Solid game overall, but it doesn't stand out to me yet. ^^' |
| May 3 20:13:00 | 50m 00s | GOLD+SLIME | Completed the entire game without losing a life, ha! :3 <br/> <br/>It's not a particularly original or complicated entry, but it works, I guess? I didn't encounter any particular errors or anything. I'd like to have more audio, though. ^^' <br/> <br/>(also, the shapeshifting wasn't really present that much here; it could as well involve spooky scary skeletons instead of mutant slimes and their relevance to the gameplay would be pretty much the same (collide -> you lose a life and go back); except skeletons would come with better music. |
| May 3 20:50:00 | 37m 00s | Party at the Knightclub | Reached the DUNGEON: TODO, gonna assume that's the point where the game ends short. A bit of a shame, since it's a pretty cool game. The graphics and animation are varied, the music works with the mood (I think I might have heard the body-swap sound effect a bit too much, though...), the theme is used properly, and the mechanics seem to work correctly; overall it's quite a sweet adventure game. Great job, I'd like to see the post-Jam update. |
| May 3 22:16:00 | 1h 26m | Turnstone | A platformer with changing shapes. Nothing too special, but I kinda appreciate the different forms and their properties (especially the long one and round one). Graphics work, too, though I'd kinda prefer if the ground blocks weren't so "disconnected" sometimes, or that the goal was more fancy. Blocks, on the other hand, had some nice symbols on them. <br/> <br/>Overall, a solid, if maybe ordinary entry. |
| May 4 08:34:00 | 10h 18m | Green Knight | And another shapeshifting platformer. Granted, this one uses involuntary shapeshifting rather than player-controlled, which is a bit of a change. <br/> <br/>That aside, the gameplay was somewhat solid, though perhaps not quite smooth. The graphics and audiovisuals weren't great, but worked well enough. I'd have liked some indication about how much health I've got, though, sometimes it's hard to tell if the enemy chipped a bit away or not. <br/> <br/>Also, I completed the boss battle. Yay. |
| May 4 10:00:00 | 1h 26m | Shadow Morph | Somewhat fun concept, kinda remind me of Z-Rox. However, sometimes I felt there was more than one shadow fitting the shape. Also, I'd like the preparation phase to allow viewing the shape also from top and bottom, because sometimes it's not clear whether there's some hole or not. <br/> <br/>Overall, solid entry, fun to play around for a bit. Gotta add the point to audio for the losing sound effect. |
| May 4 10:17:00 | 17m 00s | Virus Killer | Wow, I got my score recorded 3 times. Now that's generous. O.o' <br/> <br/>Played around for a bit, but since I didn't seem to lose anyhow and the game wasn't becoming harder and harder, I just kinda died on purpose. And I didn't even knew about the antibody form, I just kinda blindly played around. >.< <br/> <br/>I think that game needs some rebalancing, and quite possibly larger enemies variety, difficulty progression etc. Ingame instructions wouldn't hurt, either, I usually don't feel like checking instructions on the game page. |
| May 4 11:35:00 | 1h 18m | Nimbleocity | Couldn't complete level 1 - the turn just before the second chain of shifting walls was just too unfair. Also, couldn't complete level 4 either because the ball at the end of its drop kept misaligning itself "horizontally", and was falling near the spot, even though the general skew of the floors was correct. <br/> <br/>Other things relating to the general gameplay: camera makes it kinda tricky to see how I'm supposed to aim; the blue/purple arrows placement sometimes made things turn in the other way than I expected (mostly the rotators and floors) and the movement is too slow, especially when playing the level for N-th time. There really could be some speed-up during the idle segments (not too rare here), maybe even a manual speed-up button, and the camera turns could be smoother so that it's easier to follow what exactly happens; also, maybe don't make the camera follow the ship exactly. <br/> <br/>Aside from that, the idea was okay, the music wasn't too shabby either (if maybe somewhat unstructured, like I'm hearing some generic composing attempts); the graphics generally worked, but weren't particularly impressive. If you could iron out the kinks in the gameplay, it could turn into really fun to play game. |
| May 4 11:57:00 | 22m 00s | NeonDX | That's pretty cool take on the theme. In principle, it's kind of like those shape-shift gate-crossing endless runner, but here the shapeshifting process itself is handled in an interesting way; especially when you get to play with the different switcher patterns. The later levels get too quick, though, as in, "I instantly know what pattern to make and still can't click my way to make it" way; perhaps at later levels set the minimum based on the keyboard-presses required to complete a segment? ^^' <br/> <br/>The audiovisual side doesn't fall short, either; the graphics are pleasing, the sounds appropriate, and the soundtrack is my favourite (it indeed has that Tetris feel), I'd like to see a double-looped version of it (which totally has nothing to do with me having a program that finds loops in tracks to then play them indefinitely, nope; and I definitely don't have DDRKirby's entry soundtrack on a playlist in that program). <br/> <br/>Overall, a really cool entry, one of the better endless-hiscore type of games I've seen this Jam. ^^ |
| May 7 22:32:00 | 82h 35m | Wizard Fight | Is it a fun concept? Maybe it's a fun concept. Hard to tell, because I don't have anyone to play the game with. ^^' <br/> <br/>The mechanics seem to work correctly, but I've found controlling to be somewhat unintuitive; it'd feel more natural to me if I could perform all actions with left mouse button (rather than having LMB for selection and RMB for action). It'd be nice to see which units have made their move already and which can still perform actions as well. <br/> <br/>I wonder if this game wouldn't work better as a board game, or maybe remote multiplayer rather than hot-seat. That could open up some opportunities related to players having secrets not know to each other, so e.g. an addition of "spellcards" (i.e. special one-time effects to turn the things around) could be feasible. Another alternative to make the things less predictable and more interesting could be having a random factor (though there's a risk of making the game too luck-based). As I see it now (though without really trying it out in action), this game lacks the element of unpredictability (i.e. players can account for each other's possible moves in advance, and none other), and isn't as complex as e.g. chess to compensate for that. <br/> <br/>Oh, also, the visuals were neat, but not mind-blowing. ^^' |
| May 8 09:21:00 | 10h 49m | Moonlight | The mechanics are rather solid here, but they don't make for a particularly interesting gameplay - I've found the fights to drag on and on (especially with more enemies); I'd rather have a bit higher damage, or at least some indication of how much opponent's health is remaining, to have some feeling of progress. <br/> <br/>The touch with standing in the moonlight to transform was nice, and it was good that human and wolf forms had different abilities; though in the end, in combats it was pretty much "be werewolf as much as possible", anyway. Also, maybe the transformation itself could have some indicator, e.g. the screen gradually becoming a bit brighter until it's complete? <br/> <br/>The graphics weren't great, but they set the mood alright, especially with those bloody-boney props. The narrative worked well, with the game, too. <br/> <br/>Overall, the game is solid, but kinda dull gameplay-wise at the moment. Maybe try to add a bit more variety there? ^^' |
| May 8 16:43:00 | 7h 22m | QWER | Got the score of 27. <br/> <br/>At first it seemed like merely a curious variation of the shape-switching gate-matching endless runner, with swapping shapes around. Then colours started getting misleading, and things got a little more fun. Then multiple shapes at once started appearing... I managed to successfully swap a few, but things get pretty intense at that point. <br/> <br/>Overall, it's really cool variation of that ever-so-present with this theme gate-matching endless runner. Maybe at later point even more shapes need to be matched, I dunno. Really neat, anyway. ^^ |
| May 8 20:46:00 | 4h 03m | Flow | Completed the whole thing. ^^ <br/> <br/>It wasn't particularly innovative idea (I've seen games with multiple pieces/characters moving at once already), but it was well designed and executed, nonetheless. Could be fun to have even more puzzles, maybe (though given I'm about to get some sleep, it's probably for the better there aren't too many levels)? <br/> <br/>Overall, I kinda liked what you did here. ^^ |
| May 8 21:19:00 | 33m 00s | Sparrow & Flitt | Took me a while to realise how to perform the commands (maybe there should be more detailed information that you need to start holding Space, play the song, and stop holding or something? Or maybe it's just me being dumb...?). But at least I got to play Undertale main theme in the meantime (1541334 etc.). <br/> <br/>Completed the whole thing. I usually don't consider platformers to be particularly creative, but this one seemed to have somewhat fun mechanics. The movement mechanics were acting kinda sloppy, though; I seemed to get a little stuck sometimes, and the platforming generally didn't feel particularly smooth. The audiovisuals were quite fancy. <br/> <br/>You seem to be planning to make more of that. I wonder what else you have in mind, because so far it wasn't really varied (just the base form and the phoenix so far)... |
| May 9 20:21:00 | 23h 02m | TRANSFORMATION ACTIVATED | I like what you did here; the first part is just mundane platforming stuff, first robot levels were a bit boring, but then things got a lot more fun, with different modes and whatnot. Also, the command selection was actually pretty easy to use for me, I didn't have much issue grasping it. Two annoying things, though: undoing and restarting level (with the program in place) was taking too long with longer programs, and I didn't seem to find a way in the gameplay mode to do a soft-restart (i.e. keep the program); that is, a way other than running into obstacle or something. ^^' <br/> <br/>I hope you can come up with a better algorithm to do undo/reset (in fact, for reset you could just keep the last simulation step in memory, not to re-calculate it again). <br/> <br/>Overall, pretty cool game, even if the graphics could use some polish (and consistency; the clouds didn't quite fit to the pixel-arts, I think) and there could be some audio. ^^' |
| May 9 22:53:00 | 2h 32m | <T.F.O.S> | Alright, um, the audiovisuals are really cool and set the mood alright... <br/> <br/>...but I have not a slightest idea how to play it. >.< <br/>I can do some Z-swings, I can increase gravity, and I don't know how I'm supposed to turn these skills into. <br/> <br/>Too bad, because the rest seems pretty solid. Maybe with clearer instructions/feedback I could figure it out... |