Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD38 → Feedback comment stats → Evan Minto

Evan Minto

Feedback comments for LD38

Evan Minto's games and stats for all events →

Timestamp	Since previous	Game		Evan Minto's comment
May 2 07:54:37		Hops and Fever Dreams	♥ 2	I love the concept (it's funny, I made a platformer about a rabbit eating carrots for this LD too)! Using your momentum to launch yourself between different gravitational center-points is clever. I like the simple art style, and the animations are a really nice touch (love the weird nervous energy the rabbit has). Unfortunately, the controls are a little tough to figure out. It took me a while to understand that I could time my jumps to go higher than the first level of jumping, but even when I DID figure it out I usually wasn't able to time it right. I guess it requires too much precision, but a lot of times it just felt like my input wasn't even registering. On top of that, the side-to-side hopping is way too inconsistent to allow for much accurate platforming, and it's too slow to let me quickly reset and try again when I miss a jump. Difficulty is fine as long as there's minimal friction between failing and trying again.
May 2 08:13:59	19m 22s	Fatigue	♥ 1	The movement speed is definitely a little tedious, as is the lack of any feedback about how close I am to actually finishing clearing out the shed. As a result, I didn't actually finish it, though I tried it a few times. What I'm most impressed by is the atmosphere, especially considering the sparse visuals and gameplay. I felt a genuine sense of dread and desperation playing this, wondering whether the next thing I pulled out of the shed would be the trap that I need. I think it's a combination of the dual timers (DOUBLE the stress!) and the tight spaces to maneuver in. It's a pretty claustrophobic game, especially as I fill up the area with more pieces of wood (it's wood, right?) This just needs a bit of polish, but I think the core concept is great.
May 3 06:27:43	22h 13m	Micro Warriors	♥ 0	It's simple enough to quickly pick up and play, though there's not a lot of strategy to it. Once I realized my bullets moved relatively slowly and I could jam on space to fire quickly, it was trivial to shower each wave with bullets before their bullets got remotely close to me and then run away. Plus a lot of the time the enemies just come bunched up one after another, so there isn't much in the way of complex maneuvering or a difficulty curve between waves. The bug war concept's not bad, though it would have been nice to get some more vibrant colors in there. It's a little too gray right now.
May 3 06:38:39	10m 56s	BEAT drifter	♥ 1	Oof, this is pretty tough! I really like the simple but challenging mechanics. The different notes for each color and the feedback when I get one wrong is a great way to understand how I'm doing entirely via sound. The simple bright colors help a lot there too. I played this a couple times to try to find the groove, so you definitely had me hooked! My one big issue is that W isn't an intuitive key for switching colors. I'd expect spacebar. Having it be a directional key throws me off, since my brain wants it to move me UP, not change my color but leave me stationary. It took me a couple tries to get used to those controls.
May 3 06:51:35	12m 56s	Armageddance	♥ 2	Great music choice (though I think you're supposed to opt out of Audio if you didn't make it) and it really fits with that awesome bright, geometric visual style. Love the exuberant planet with the dumb smile. It took me a little bit to understand how to play, in part because I... still don't really understand what it's about. Am I saving the planet from asteroids or not? I understand the mechanics, but it's hard to map them to some sort of concrete metaphor within the game world, if that makes sense. That said, it's really smart to have the directions come in from specific regions and with specific colors. It helps me to kind of get into a groove and stop thinking consciously about each action. The sequences get a little repetitive after a while, but like most good rhythm games, after a while I sort of turned my brain off and acted on instinct.
May 4 04:18:30	21h 26m	Crumble	♥ 1	Surprisingly polished UI and general visuals for a Compo game! I was only able to play it single-player, so I can't really judge the multiplayer. The navigation got a little tedious after a while since the platforms dropping is random and doesn't really change as the game goes on. I ended up just running toward the time powerups the whole time.
May 4 04:33:22	14m 52s	For I, The Moon	♥ 0	I love the simplicity and atmosphere of it, especially the type work and minimal (but nicely animated) UI. I think I see what you're going for in terms of the metaphor of an intervention for someone with depression, but it kind of runs in circles a lot without any real rising action to the conversation. I don't particularly feel like the characters moved from their starting positions by the end of it. I'm also not clear who's singing at the end, though I assume it's the moon.
May 4 04:45:31	12m 09s	Smell World	♥ 1	Wow, that's some really impressive art! I appreciate the use of a more painterly style (so many indie game artists go for a more cartoony look). The simple squash-and-stretch on the mouse as it moves is a great touch. The little splash screen after you finish a maze is super cute. Unfortunately the mazes are very, very easy, primarily because the arrow provides constant feedback about where to go. After a couple I pretty much just operated on autopilot and it ceased to require any thinking. Is there supposed to be an end, or are they procedurally generated? I eventually got bored and stopped playing.
May 4 04:58:12	12m 41s	Grillmeister	♥ 1	Oof, this was fun and genuinely kind of difficult and stressful! It took me a bit to figure out the rules despite all of the explanations, but once I did it really opened up. There's a lot of strategy in there with the different kinds of meat and the ability to cook a lot of things in parallel. It reminds me a LOT of Overcooked. I did notice that sometimes it was hard to get the order to "stick" to the plate on the right, but mostly the controls are pretty tight. Great job!
May 5 06:13:15	25h 15m	Space^3	♥ 0	Great concept. I love the idea of moving between 2-D planes on a 3-D shape, but there are a few issues. Mainly it takes too long to transition and each plane resets whenever you switch. This makes them feel more like rooms and less like a single contiguous shape. The game is also sort of difficult, largely because it takes a few hits to kill enemies and unless I pick the first option my gun doesn't shoot nearly fast enough. I had some fun with this and played it a few times, but it could definitely use some more polish in the transitions and balance to really let the concept shine.
May 10 06:28:54	120h 15m	Signal?	♥ 1	Excellent marriage of visual style and mechanics. You use the rewind mechanic in interesting ways, especially considering how simple it is (there's no state that sticks around when you rewind). The glitchy environment and the video effects when pausing/rewinding are great as well, really driving home the idea that you're in a VCR. My only issue is that it was sometimes hard to figure out what I was supposed to do. Maybe a more gradual introduction to the mechanics would work well here. Overall though, this is a really brilliant concept that is well worth fleshing out further. Good job!
May 12 07:05:46	48h 36m	Small World: Green Valley	♥ 0	This was pretty confusing. Once I got two coins and bought the land, I couldn't figure out what to do next (tried interacting with basically the entire UI). It's a little hard to judge based on how little of it I was able to play, sorry!
May 12 07:14:05	8m 19s	A Small World (how original)	♥ 0	Nice and simple. The world scope and list of abilities is just small enough to be manageable but a little stressful when there are a few too many enemies (good stress!). The three abilities are a nice mix, and I definitely found myself switching back and forth based on the situation. I would have liked some better indicators of when my towers are under attack so I could shift strategies, but that's something that you can get with some post-jam polish if you're so inclined.
May 16 07:52:59	96h 38m	Solar Smash	♥ 2	The idea is super cool, and I got the hang of it pretty quickly. There's a lot of nuance to it because it's all based on whether you can set off the right chain reaction. Unfortunately the controls are a little unresponsive, which made it difficult at first. Still, this is a cool, simple concept with a deceptive amount of depth to it.
May 16 08:04:37	11m 38s	Worlds Project	♥ 1	A little confusing at first, but once I got the hang of it it was pretty interesting. The simple pixel art style is a nice contrast with the amount of options and interactions available. I'd echo the comments of others in that I wanted more of a goal. Trying out different combinations of elements is interesting for a little bit, but eventually it gets a little boring. Plus it looks like I have unlimited resources. Some sort of resource limit, ideally with ways of increasing or managing it, would give me motivation to keep coming back to do better next time.
May 17 03:20:48	19h 16m	Journeys of the Blowfish	♥ 1	I like the concept, but the gravity is a bit hard to figure out, especially with the weird rotation. At any given moment I can't consistently predict what will happen when I jump, so it's hard to come up with a good strategy other than spamming jump to get through the level. The pixel art's not bad, but a lot of the sprites are different resolutions (the character isn't even pixel art at all) which makes it feel a bit disjointed. And props for the level design, which is surprisingly intricate for how simple the game appears at first glance (I like the tree level).
May 17 03:39:15	18m 27s	Space Balls	♥ 1	I unfortunately didn't finish the game, but you're onto something here. The sparse visuals convey the emptiness of subatomic space really nicely, and for some reason I feel like the sort of '80s power pop song really fits the neon TV theme. Like others, I found the game fairly relaxing, but I do wish there was more of a sense of progression and/or more to do. I ended up just mindlessly avoiding the blue arrows. It might be interesting if there's a risk/reward gamble to the atoms, like if getting close to them can help speed me up. A progress bar or other indicator would have made me less likely to give up on this. As it is I have no idea how close I was to winning.
May 17 03:51:34	12m 19s	Momma ZILLA	♥ 1	This is great! Fairly simple mechanics, but there's a lot to learn in there. I like the smaller monsters you can pick up and the mix of obstacles and missiles. The art style and music is also really fun! I did have some trouble, however, with some areas. The blink move is hard to get the hang of because it requires both the X key and a direction. Also, the hitbox on the main character is sort of weird, since the bullets come out of the top half of it. All in all, though, this is a really solid effort. Good job!
May 17 04:02:53	11m 19s	s-mol	♥ 0	I like this a lot. It fits the theme really well but in a unique, abstract way. I appreciate how minimalist it is, especially the way I'm encouraged to learn by simply playing with the elements until I figure it out. That said, it's a bit confusing, probably because it's possible to complete levels 1-3 by dumb luck and then not have any context for how to complete level 4. Despite that, this was a really cool, relaxing game to play. Good job!
May 17 04:22:18	19m 25s	Deja Vu	♥ 0	This is definitely pretty challenging. I feel like every time I win it's just by a hair, which is a really good sign for how the game is balanced (though sometimes I feel like the levels are actually impossible). The art's got a nice retro feel to it, and I like the little touch of the witches having a variety of colors. It definitely gets a little repetitive, but for the first couple level I really enjoyed it.
May 17 04:39:29	17m 11s	MiniAnna Jones!	♥ 1	Really nicely polished on all fronts. The levels introduce new concepts at a consistent pace so I feel like I constantly discovering new ways of solving problems without feeling lost. By the end the combination of jumping, falling, changing perspective, and digging made it so I had to really think over my options when sizing up each puzzle. The simple shader and models and the excellent, sparse background noise really make it all come together too. This might be my favorite game of this LD! If I had any complaint it would be that rotation feels too sensitive. Great job!
May 17 04:58:03	18m 34s	Fossil Blastr	♥ 0	Thanks to the explanation in the post I figured this out pretty quickly, but I agree that it's a little grindy, though the concept itself isn't bad at all. The fossils are too spaced out, so I spent most of my time jamming on the Z key and getting nothing. Additionally, I think I killed one or two slimes in one playthrough, but then when I tried again it didn't seem to work. But man oh man those visuals. Great job on the character design, animation (the smoke effect when you destroy a block is great!), and color design. There's tons of personality in it.
May 17 05:10:15	12m 12s	Taco Giant	♥ 1	I love the delightfully silly concept you've got here, and the gameplay should be simple enough, but I found that I would continually bump into non-taco-desiring people, even when I wasn't touching them. It seems like the hitbox is a little too large for the giant? It also took me a little bit to figure out that it wasn't going to be possible to avoid hitting those people. I like the basic idea, and I think it could be really great with a little more polish. The character designs are pretty cute all around. Some nice details on the giant, with the protruding gut and everything.
May 17 05:36:44	26m 29s	Trees	♥ 3	I really like the progression of items and automation. I quickly figured out a strategy for increasing my wood output and it was really satisfying to optimize the pipeline. Adding workers to chop trees for me was definitely a highlight, though they chop a little too slowly to be super useful. The art could use some work (the line widths aren't consistent, the UI font doesn't have any personality), but I'm sure you already know that. More importantly, I got a lot of lag as more objects were added to the world. Also, eventually once I got my really streamlined production process up and running, the trees stopped growing! Not sure if that's a bug or some really dark commentary on the real world...