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Feedback comments for LD37
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| Timestamp | Since previous | Game | HuvaaKoodia's comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 12 21:34:00 | Damage Control | The graphics are neato, kind of reminds me of some old titles from the early days of 3D. Not at all in a bad way mind you. The minimap is also well done. <br/> <br/>Unfortunately the controls are a bit clunky. I reckon "click and hold to continually move into a direction" would work better than the current "click and pathfind" system. <br/> <br/>Another problem is the lack of challenge. It doesn't seem to get much harder at all, in fact. I gathered 10000 points and then I gave up due to boredom. Without challenge there is no fun, it is as simple as that. | |
| Dec 12 22:03:00 | 29m 00s | DMG CTRL | Little Timmy has a whole lot of toys, or at least he used to. <br/> <br/>Now, when I read the description and saw the intro I expected to be acting as the toy Roman Emperor, giving orders to my toy legions to hold off the toy barbarian invasion while my toy slaves rebuild the toy walls. I mean... What happened? <br/> <br/>Where are the massive toy armies clashing against each other? What's up with all the clicking! And most importantly, the bear from the intro? I wanted to fight him, that backstabbing snake of a bear! <br/> <br/>In all seriousness. The graphics are neat; the audio, while fitting, get old faster than you can say retro; and the clicking.... so much clicking! <br/> <br/>The interactivity needs to be a whole lot more compelling than this. Some kind of a balancing act between attacking and rebuilding while the enemy gets stronger and stronger would have been sufficient, but the rebuild speed is too slow, the challenge doesn't ramp up much at all and, you guessed it, the amount of clicking is excessive! <br/> <br/>The graphics are indeed nice though. |
| Dec 13 11:26:00 | 13h 23m | Cardinal Cell | This is quite splendid! The graphics are more than enough for a title like this. The backstory is funny and it gives a reasonable explanation for this crazy place to exist <br/> <br/>Got 70 kills and 54 gold in the end. It would have been nice to see the amount of perished drinking buddies as well, as I did lose of few of them along the way, much to my dismay. <br/> <br/>There is the issue of challenge and randomization. For most of the time not taking any hits is quite easy, albeit pleasant. Yet quite frequently it is borderline impossible to keep everyone alive when a host of new enemies spawns in. <br/> <br/>Of course winning only requires the main character to survive, but this is a trivial task through out the day as there is ample room to manouver around enemies in the beginning while there's always a large posse of drinkards around him in the end. <br/> <br/>I challenged myself by personally vouching for the wellbeing of each member of the party and as such I was quite annoyed by the RNG. <br/> <br/>There are a few solutions I can think of: <br/>- Keeping the party size smaller (reduces the amount of impossible spawns) and making individual members tougher (makes the HP potions more useful as well). <br/>- Another possibility is to spawn in less enemies at a time or to spawn enemies at specific locations so that the player can move their comrades out of harm's way even before the harm gets there. <br/> <br/>Of course this issue applies only if you wish everyone to survive, but as I said that is the only way to make the experience challenging in the long run, i.e fun. <br/> <br/>Found one bug as well. The archers can see through walls, which locks them in place for quite a while at times. <br/> <br/>Overall a well made entry, I'm nitpicking. |
| Dec 13 12:22:00 | 56m 00s | Aperta Corporata | A neat simulation, but sure enough this doesn't work as a game as there's no way to win or lose! <br/> <br/>On the technical side the graphic are simple yet competent. The performance isn't great though. Fullscreen is pretty much out of the question on my computer. <br/> <br/>Turning a profit takes a while, but of course it doesn't really matter in this case. The real-time profit per hour counter is great. Someone goes for a drink of water, the profits plummet! <br/> <br/>Lastly, I would like to be able to hire and sack staff as I see fit. At the moment there's a lot of empty tables at Torture & Cookies ltd and Jennifer is getting on my nerves! |
| Dec 13 12:49:00 | 27m 00s | Room One | This looks stunning and sounds quite interesting to boot! <br/> <br/>Unfortunately it is unplayable on the computer I'm using atm. There's terrible lag even on the lowest resolution. It sure doesn't help that the only graphics option is Fantastic! <br/> <br/>I'd suggest adding in a few less intensive graphics options. I'll give it another go on a different computer later. |
| Dec 13 13:26:00 | 37m 00s | Loop of Eternity | Using ready made art and sound assets for the compo (royalty free music included) is indeed cheating. I'd suggest you turn off the audio rating category. The auto generated sound effects are nothing to write home about, so you won't really lose anything. <br/> <br/>I do like the design quite a bit. It helps that it is challenging, unlike some other entries I've played so far. <br/> <br/>The only issue I have with it is the controls. "Enter" is used to select menu items and "Esc" is used to open the menu. To use these keys you need to move your hands away from the main keys, that is not optimal. I'd add "Space" as an alternative key for menu selection and "S" as a new hotkey for opening the shop directly. <br/> <br/>The shop GUI is also a bit weird. Pressing left and right scrolls between upgrades, but the upgrades are not on a horizontal line, but rather in a grid. I would keep the grid, but allow the arrow keys to select up and down as well. In this new scheme, "Space" purchases an item and "S" closes the shop. <br/> <br/>Overall a good job, with minor UI issues. They don't break the experience, but do make it slightly annoying. |
| Dec 13 19:14:00 | 5h 48m | Nexus Qoph | I gotta be honest with you, I couldn't get past the second level, but then again I never was any good at puzzles. <br/> <br/>The big problem for me is the controls. Even once I figured the puzzle mechanic and the first level solution, it still took my many tries to execute it successfully. Touch screen precision is nothing compared to the all mighty force of the standard PC mouse. <br/> <br/>So there's my suggestion. A PC version with some hints on what to do. The audiovisuals are already mighty fine. |
| Dec 13 21:22:00 | 2h 08m | INFINIROOM | This is brilliant! Great work. <br/> <br/>I do of course have a problem to point out, as usual, and maybe this time it is just my brain playing tricks on me. <br/> <br/>For some reason when I use the super jump I expect the robot to keep running in the same anti-clockwise direction that he starts with, but it flips. Every single time you super jump the direction flips... <br/> <br/>This means that the hazard in front of the robot, I was trying to get away from, is still in from of the robot just seen from the other side. That's not helpful, at least to me. <br/> <br/>Any chance you could add an alternative jump button where the direction stays consistent after the super jump? Not a fan of the flip, no sir. |
| Dec 14 07:50:00 | 10h 28m | eCubed³ | @GameGrape Gaming -Cut the spam please. <br/> <br/>Right, the entry then. This is a technically impressive first person puzzle. The platforming sections were short which is good. The shader usage requires special mention as the portal effect is quite wonderful. <br/> <br/>Now, as a puzzle I do find the solutions way too easy. Simply put, trying every portal in a given level is all you need to do. You could have added timers, triggers, environmental hazards and such to test the observation and logical deduction skills (and maybe even reactions) of the player. <br/> <br/>Other than that, good job. |
| Dec 14 19:26:00 | 11h 36m | Arm's Reach | Technically and visually an extremely well put together entry. The dynamic tentacle mesh system is quite an impressive feat on its own. <br/> <br/>The negatives then. There is no challenge. Blocking the corridors with your tentacles is way too easy and the enemies have no way of attacking you afterwards. As such picking them off one by one is a rote exercise, rather than an exciting time. <br/> <br/>You should concentrate more on game design next time. Games are about decision making and overcoming challenges (fun). A trivial victory is a hollow one. |
| Dec 14 19:59:00 | 33m 00s | Little Lab of Horrors | Great graphics. The musical choice, not so great. <br/> <br/>As with many other entries I've tried so far, here too we have a chronic lack of challenge. Choosing what to do is already decided for you by the rules. Only certain plants can be used in each season (no choice there), each successive plant is outright better than the last (still no choices to be had) and there isn't even any major consequences for planting too late (the one, silly, choice you can take). All you lose is a little bit of real-life time. <br/> <br/>Interactive media thrives when interactivity is utilized in interesting ways. For games decision making (overcoming challenges) is the way to go, for puzzles deductive problem solving is the key and for interactive fiction exploring a non-linear story is the meat of the experience. <br/> <br/>Without interesting interactivity you are left with something boring and that is the biggest crime of them all (apart from real crime, of course). |
| Dec 14 21:20:00 | 1h 21m | Looking For Heals | I've never played an old-school MMO, so for me this was a new experience (supporting a bunch of dumb tanks). <br/> <br/>At first I thought the party members weren't that stupid as they seemed to do a good enough job at hacking away, but in the end they sure showed their true colours. Standing around not dodging clearly telegraphed attacks! Bloody 'ell, do I have to do all the work here! Surely real people aren't that dense? <br/> <br/>Enjoyed the exercise. Took me two party wipes, third time's the charm it seems and there's an infinite amount of dwarves just waiting to try their axe at the boss monster around the corner, so nothing of value lost there. <br/> <br/>One little suggestion: Using right mouse click to move could work better than the current control scheme as now you need to reposition your left hand from the spell hotkeys to the movement keys in those few instances where movement is required. Not a big problem this, though. <br/> <br/>Challenging and funny to boot. Good work! |
| Dec 17 15:49:00 | 66h 29m | Party Co. Inc. | I find this quite a problematic entry. You see, it doesn't work as an simulation, because it is so simple and transparent, and it doesn't work as an game as there is no decision making. <br/> <br/>I'll stick to game design from now on, and not simulation design, as that is what most people taking part in LD care about and it is also simpler. <br/> <br/>Games need decision making. Decision making requires multiple balanced actions, which change the state of the game, for the player to choose from and challenge, i.e winning cannot be trivial. <br/> <br/>The problem here is that some of the actions are objectively good (more food, more drink, boost happiness gained from dancing, etc) and the rest of the actions are not that useful (change music, change music volume.) These are called neutral actions from now on. <br/> <br/>Objectively good actions are of course always a good choice, so there's no decision making there, and the neutral actions simply alter the state of the game in a way which doesn't affect your chances of winning. For instance changing the music track doesn't help, because at any point in time the musical tastes of all the partygoers are pretty much evenly numbered. <br/> <br/>The deck mechanic is another problem. The good cards get used immediately so after a while all your five hand cards are neutral. The only way to get more good cards is to get rid of the neutral ones. It becomes nothing but a spam fest. <br/> <br/>The effects of all the actions are also very indirect and as such feel impactless, even when they do have an effect in the end. <br/> <br/>The last problem is the real-time nature of the game and the GUI. To gather data about the partygoers you need to click on each and every one of them and memorize their stats. Do this for 15+ people and the party has already moved on with new people in the mix. In other words it is impossible to get up to date data about the overall state of the party to base your choices on. <br/> <br/>I wouldn't be a very good sport without giving a few pointers so here they are: <br/> <br/>- You need an economy attached to the action usage. In simple terms using an action should cost something like money, time or happiness. This reduces spam and makes each choice more meaningful. <br/>- All actions should have clear positive and negative sides to them. Food and drink cost money, certain music tracks increase dancing while reducing conversations, etc. <br/>- The deck mechanic needs to be revamped or removed altogether. One solution is to reshuffle the hand every X seconds so that the player only has to use those cards that they want/need to. <br/>- Show averages of all the stats (food, drink, social, music, dance) in the GUI so that the player doesn't need to calculate them. <br/>- Slower pace. It is impossible to make decisions if everything is happening too fast. The speed can increase over time or it can be tied to a difficulty mode of course, but it should start at a manageable level. <br/> <br/>Hope this helps, keep at it. |
| Dec 17 16:04:00 | 15m 00s | Portal Hotel | The atmosphere is deliciously ominous and the main mechanics are robust, even if quite simple. <br/> <br/>The weapon is a bit weird though. It looks like a gun, but seems to work as a close range weapon. It also clips through objects in the world, which can be fixed by drawing it on a separate camera. <br/> <br/>Good work. |
| Dec 18 08:54:00 | 16h 50m | Ukhu Pacha | The audiovisuals are great, really feels like a blast from the past. <br/> <br/>The hitbox could indeed be a tad smaller, but the biggest issue when it comes to damage is the fireballs. They sap your health in an instant. Dying to one of those and going right back to the beginning is frustrating to say the least. <br/> <br/>Patience is the key. I did manage to catch all the treasure and find the throne room in the end. Only 266 hp in the last room, quite nerve-wracking in a good way. <br/> <br/>Well done! |
| Dec 18 10:47:00 | 1h 53m | Perfidious Albion | The theme and writing are great. It starts subtle enough, for me at least. <br/> <br/>The conversation mechanic isn't very interesting due to the excessive randomness. A system where my choice of topic guided their choice in some way could work. Learning about the world through the conversations would be more compelling than just reading the messages as well. |
| Dec 21 08:04:00 | 69h 17m | Furni-Chore | A pleasant puzzle. The graphics are competent and I love the music, it fits like a glove. The theme doesn't fit that well, but I'm in no position to judge that! <br/> <br/>The placement rules are well thought-out. Unfortunately only one of the levels (level 14) requires some out of the box thinking. The others, especially the last one, can be completed easily by simply slapping down furniture based on their placement rules. <br/> <br/>More challenging puzzles and this one will be a keeper. |
| Dec 21 08:44:00 | 40m 00s | Alter Void | There are enough mechanics here for a solid puzzle, but the limitations of the very first ability are not explained well enough, which is why some people, me included, had trouble figuring it out initially. <br/> <br/>Here's how I would change the UI to overcome this issue: <br/> <br/>- Add each GUI element one by one when the correspoding ability is introduced. So in the first level you have no visible GUI elements, in the second level the rewind and the translate elements are added, etc. <br/> <br/>- When an ability, like the translate, is used without sufficient energy (or whatever you'd call it) the energy number needs to be highlighted and a special error sound played. This way it becomes extremely obvious that there's a limited amount of uses per ability per level. <br/> <br/>Other than that you did a good job. There's plenty of levels as well, which is impressive. |
| Dec 21 09:03:00 | 19m 00s | TILT Service | Funny interactive short movie I'd say. The graphics are also neato for the most part. I think you'd be better off using traditional 3D modeling for certain, box-like, objects, but for natural, curvy stuff Tilt Brush seems to do the trick. <br/> <br/>You could/should work on the interactivity some more next time. Non-linear storytelling is where the money is at when it comes to interactive movies and stories. |
| Dec 21 12:20:00 | 3h 17m | Alone | 'Alone' is a short, barely, interactive story; That's more like it. I've got nothing against interactive fiction as long as it is interesting and, indeed, interactive. You've probably guessed where this is going already. <br/> <br/>The story here got quite atmospheric in the end and I do like the transition from the cabin to the cave. It would have been even more poignant if it started from a room in a city with an Xbox and other niceties and then transitioned to the cabin and lastly to the cave. <br/> <br/>All is good, except for the lack interactivity. This would have worked as an animation just as well, I'm sorry but it is true. If the level of interactivity is that of turning the page then quite frankly something is amiss. <br/> <br/>So what could you add then? Well here are a few ideas: <br/> <br/>- Preparation for the trip. Starting in the city apartment you could pack a certain amount of items with you. Some of which you would have to leave behind on the way to the cabin (useless and heavy) and others might even come in handy later (flashlight, pocket knife, etc). This kind of interactivity doesn't have to change the outcome of the story, but it adds a layer of personality to the story for the player. For instance, if you choose to take the XBox with you, your friend will find you a bit weird. <br/> <br/>- Choices on the trip. Once again, in the end you will make it to the cabin, but the way there might contain some excitement like fishing down at the lake, a confrontation with a bear or nothing much at all. Variety like this adds to the uniqueness of the story, which is one of those things only interactive media can achieve. <br/> <br/>- What happens in the cave? You could write multiple scenarios for the two protagonists to split up. Cave in, broken leg, wolves? There are a lot of possibilities and the choices taken so far can lead to different endings. <br/> <br/>Now, of course, these kind of additions require a lot of work and there isn't necessary enough time in a jam to implement them, but I would say that they are necessary for doing something novel and interesting with interactive media. Linearity is done much better by non-interactive media to begin with. <br/> <br/>Another issue might be programming. I've never heard of Adventure Creator, but if using it requires no coding skill whatsoever then I cannot say if features like these are doable or not. <br/> <br/>Don't take this the wrong way, for what you ended up with is well made. It just could have been much, much more. |