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Kodiqi

Feedback comments for LD39

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Timestamp	Since previous	Game		Kodiqi's comment
Aug 2 00:22:19		Peak Oil	♥ 1	I really liked you application of supply & demand in this, as well as the take on the theme (I did something a little similar). I made $1,558,641 million, which I think is pretty good - a high score table would suit this game (if you continue development). As others have said, there is a layering issue with some of the graphics once it gets crowded. Also, some kind of sound effect or UI pop-up when a well runs dry would help (though maybe make things too easy?). I think this was a good idea and you executed it fairly well given the time-frame. I think the events system is a good addition, so hopefully you continue with this and implement it.
Aug 2 00:44:08	21m 49s	Growing Pains	♥ 4	I played this twice and I still can't figure out if this simply a bunch of simple mini games with bad controls, or an inspired use of controls that lets the player experience a story through their interactions. I don't know what your intention was but I'm going to go with the latter. I love when games use their controls as part of the story and this game did just that (reminded me of Brothers, if you're familiar with that game). Struggling early on as a sperm to control where you were going, then later mirroring that in the drive to work was great; driving your car seemed much easier but the message seemed to be that even as an adult we are just a small thing following a predetermined path. Then the walking, both as a child and when you're elderly, as the controls became more and more frustrating, just like the frustration one would feel as their body beings to fail them. Graphics and music were great, the overall presentation here is very good for something made in such a short time. There was humor in there too with the peeing and yard defence sections. This could definitely be expanded upon, maybe including those awkward teenage years and some more use of "power" as an adult to tell a fuller story.
Aug 2 01:36:37	52m 29s	Flicker	♥ 1	Argh. This is a beautiful game, I like the background music too. I just didn't find it pleasant to play (I played the HTML5 version btw). The graphics really are great in the city section, I'd pay for a whole game that looked like that. Once you get into the puzzles though, without the instructions on the itch.io page you'd just be lost. With the instructions... well at least you know it's something to do with circuits. Just adding a visual indicator as to what the current shortest path(s) are, i.e. where the current will flow once the switches are flicked (or even up to the first un-flicked switch), would have made the puzzle-solving element of this much clearer and (therefore) engaging. Also, the display of the voltmeter is difficult to read in black & white, maybe remove the background digital lines (semi-transparent ones) to make it easier. Maybe this is a bug in the HTML5 version but when I finished all 5 puzzles, a dude floated down from the sky and then just hovered there, no text or interaction. You might want to change the 'escape puzzle' key for the HTML5 version too as it takes you out of full-screen when you press it.
Aug 2 02:04:22	27m 45s	Audio Hook (formerly Hook, Beat, & Keeper)	♥ 1	There were some cool ideas in this one. I like that you collected pieces of the music as you grabbed cubes. The controls were responsive, so you were able to take the timing of the hookshot into account. The hookshot makes for a more interesting weapon than just firing bullets, though if there were some power-ups or other things to grab that would be fun. There were only a few levels so it was a short game but the difficulty was balanced well for those levels. The graphics were just boxes, so not much to comment on there. Maybe add some music notes to them to give it more of a theme?
Aug 2 02:11:53	7m 31s	Batteries Sold Separately	♥ 2	This is a pretty solid shooter, I liked that the character had a nice weight to their movement. I'd prefer to be able to control the shooting myself but the fire rate and power worked well anyway. This was on the difficult side for me but I think that was intended. The enemies spawned often and moved quickly, which made for apretty constant onslaught. Sometimes I couldn't tell the debris from the live enemies, which again added to the difficulty but not in the most ideal way. Nice use of the theme for the visuals, though not much beyond that. The graphics were very nice though, good touches with the lighting and effects. The music was pretty catchy too and fit the gameplay. If you continue development, it would be nice to just see more content; more gun types, power-ups, etc. It probably does need an extra gimmick though to help it stand out more from other shooters.
Aug 2 02:37:11	25m 18s	Zombies and RVs	♥ 1	This game looks fantastic, it deserves the praise everyone is giving it for the graphics. I think the physics are a great addition too. This was a lot of fun to play and it felt great jumping between RVs. It would be good though if there was more of a reason to jump between the RVs. The best strategy, for me, seemed to be standing still and just mowing down zombies. Perhaps if keeping multiple RVs safe was a bigger part of the game, or you could recharge health by jumping to another RV, it would encourage jumping around more. Music was rocking too. Not the most extensive use of the theme.
Aug 2 06:02:43	3h 25m	AI Overlord Runaway	♥ 2	I appreciate the amount of work that would have gone into this in 48 hours. The Bullet Hell mechanics, which I gather is your main focus with this, all work as they should. I did find the collision detection with the purple triangles to be very forgiving (for lack of a better word), as many times I was sure I was hit but didn't take any damage. Though, as has been said above, there isn't much in the way of feedback to know when you've been hit or not. There is a lot of great content here, especially all of the different abilities you have. The delivery of said content is a bit overwhelming though. You have so many different abilities but deploying them accurately is difficult because you're so focused on avoiding the bullets (I found the game difficult which didn't help). This meant that I just traded most of them for shields when I was trying to reach the end because I knew I wouldn't utilise them all. Perhaps drip-feeding the abilities to the player over a series of levels, then letting them equip 2 or 3 at once only, would make them more manageable for the player. Also, I'm still not sure what the focus key did, it didn't seem to restore my power, it just made me move slower; whatever it does, it could be made more obvious. This does feel more like a tech demo than a focused game experience, though it does succeed as a tech demo; I'd like to see the content you have repackaged as a game. Nice music too.
Aug 2 06:23:01	20m 18s	ROOP (Running Out Of Power)	♥ 1	I like the enemies dropping power cells when they died, which you might then destroy if you're not careful. It's somewhat like the Kill Confirmed system you see in COD games. I played the HTML5 version and the thrust was definitely too much but I see you're aware of that issue. Still, being able to backward thrust as well would help with making the ship more maneuverable. Enemy spawns also led to a lot of unfair damage for me, which you've also noted as an issue already. If you're adding more to this, I would suggest a shield of some sort, as well as a weapon upgrade with a wider spread of fire (like a space shotgun). If you're going to keep the energy mechanic, you might want to give a visual indicator of its status on the ship, as that is where the player's eye is usually focused. Just an energy bar above the ship would achieve this.
Aug 2 07:18:01	55m 00s	The Political Juggle	♥ 1	Yeah, this game is hilarious. I love the sound effects. I also love taking bribes and getting out of here! The graphics were simple but done with humor, so they worked with the game. The controls were all responsive, no bugs that I could see. The mini games themselves were pretty clear, aside from maybe the Get Out Of Here one the first time it came up. I'm sure you could add more to this if you wanted, or put it online as is for a fun little web game, as it definitely is fun.
Aug 2 07:46:44	28m 43s	Tycoon	♥ 1	Oh baby. I like this kind of game, a bit of a puzzle but a bit of randomness as well. You could definitely add more block types and levels to it, I think it would make a great mobile/tablet game. The use of political figures might be a bit divisive though. I actually found the first level the most difficult as I ran out of energy and that was it, at least in the opponent levels they still made moves to keep the game going. So yeah, the hearts didn't do anything for me. Should they have?
Aug 2 08:15:56	29m 12s	Toast Up!	♥ 1	Really well presented game, lovely graphics and catchy sounds to go with it. Great work for 48 hours. The gameplay is fun and it controls very well. OK use of the theme but nothing unique. Going forward, I think you could add to the replay value with some tweaks, as it felt a bit of an upgrade grind to me after a few plays (I love a good upgrade system, don't get me wrong). The altitude limit was particularly annoying because I was being punished for doing well. Also, I feel that if the enemies dropped batteries (ammo) so that I could keep a streak going, I would be more likely to play again to best my previous effort. Some randomisation in the enemies would also help keep it fresh. P.S. One of your stars, when it's spinning...looks a little bit like something it shouldn't.
Aug 2 08:37:26	21m 30s	Li'l Icarus	♥ 1	The controls do feel good, you could re-skin this as a skydiving game. I like that you slow down as you gain feathers and that there is a visual representation of your progress on Icarus, as well as in how he handles in the air. The graphics could be 2D (sprites instead of the model used here) instead and possibly look better, that might not be your preference though. You could emphasize that you're plummeting to the ground more. I'm not sure how exactly, maybe just make the altitude meter more prominent, then turn it red the closer you get. Just to dial up the tension and desperation in the gameplay (you could up the music tempo too). Icarus, in the myth, is a child too, so even just a couple of sentences to start the game, from the myth, would give some context to the character and make you care about them a bit more.
Aug 3 01:43:17	17h 05m	Recoil - Mike Said No Short Titles	♥ 1	I saw this on ZedKraze's stream and wanted to give it a go. It's a fun puzzler, definitely makes you think and plan out your moves. As ZedKraze said, this would make for a good mobile game; it's easy to pick-up and play for a short burst and it would really suit touch controls. The graphics are good for a jam but could do with some polishing up before a full release, particularly just making the UI more obvious. A level select option would be good too, so that you don't have to work your way up every time you play. If you are adding features, maybe include a node that isn't necessary to make your path through but if you do, you get bonus moves the next level. Also, a restart level option, as has already been mentioned above. I played the web version and I did feel like the mouse buttons should have been switched around, left button for counter-clockwise, right for clockwise, so I intuitively made the wrong move sometimes.
Aug 3 06:03:44	4h 20m	I Once Had Power	♥ 1	This is an excellent take on the theme. The graphics are simple but it's well presented nonetheless. I really enjoyed the combat due to having to time the attack. It was very satisfying killing an enemy while they were still falling from the air at the start of each level. I tried reducing health over and over but you limited this which was a good idea (I was wondering what would happen if I tried to halve 1 HP). Definitely an interesting way to tell the story using this theme. I wonder if it might work better if the things you lose weren't your choice though? It probably wouldn't be as good for gameplay but it would reflect the again process a little better. Perhaps it could be determined by how you handle each round; for example, if you rely on jumping around a lot, it takes a toll on your legs, so your movement is reduced. There isn't a ton of content in this but it's a good idea executed well. Going forward, you could add more content in the form of other weapons, shields, bosses, etc. It may dilute the idea of the game though. Anyway, this was really good.
Aug 4 08:01:26	25h 57m	Are You Sure You Want To Send That?	♥ 1	Neat idea and well executed too. As was said, very polished for a jam game. Consistent graphics, fun sounds and a good challenge (though I suppose that comes down to the player's typing skills). Glad you included the cheat to advance so I could check out all the game. Sometimes the tweets didn't make much sense at all (even more than the tweets they are satirising) due to their random generation. Still, quite a bit of humour in this game, with Clippy and the newspaper headlines (the weather predicting baby was my favourite). I enjoyed playing this one. A fairly tenuous use of the theme though.
Aug 7 00:39:42	64h 38m	How I Met Your Great Great Grandmother	♥ 1	This is a pretty polished game, as you would expect from a team-made entry. I really like the idea of splitting the puzzle up into 4 sections, it really captures the idea of having to balance the different areas of one's life. There is maybe a bit of a disconnect between the pixel art portraits (which are great) and the playable area; they are both good but clash a little in style, a minor nitpick. The music and transition jingles are lovely and charming. The levels are paced well and nicely designed, I could see you adding some story to this and expanding it into a full game. I enjoyed playing this, one of my favourite games so far really. I scored this well in everything aside from theme, as it was just swapped in place of time as a resource (which I assume you would swap back if releasing this outside of LD).
Aug 7 00:44:43	5m 01s	Lost Connection	♥ 0	I really liked the idea for this and unfolding the story as you work your way through the maze. I played a couple of times though but couldn't find any exit or ending. Is there one? The music was very fitting too, I think this game nailed the mood it was going for. There were some messages that didn't load any text for me, I don't know if that's a glitch or intentional. Also, sometimes the text conflicted with the graphics and I couldn't read them clearly, you might want to have the messages appear within a box for clarity's sake.
Aug 7 01:30:31	45m 48s	BATTERYMAN RECHARGES THE WORLD!	♥ 4	Pretty solid entry here. The prologue section felt odd to me with the lack of leg animation, getting caught on the text board, then floating into the battery... I guess this was for the story but it wasn't really clear to me. Maybe you could do comic style panels to tell the story instead? I think it would fit well with the theme of the game. Anyway, once starting the game proper the graphics, as well as the character floating (instead of leg animations), worked much better from the top-down POV. Charging up the batteries while stunning/killing/avoiding enemies works (it's a tried and tested mechanic), while having to balance your energy keeps you thinking. It led to me kiting enemies around mostly then zapping them in big bunches, often as I simultaneously spun around to activate the generators (having to spin around with the mouse was a fun touch). Sound really was fantastic, great music loop and the voice-overs added some humor (lol @ exploding Galaxy Notes). Having to repeat levels isn't ideal, I get that it was to extend play time but I think just having more levels would be the better option going forward (it was fine and made sense for the jam release though). Hiding the generator behind the house on the third level was awkward though, mainly because getting to it was hit & miss and enemies just got stuck on the other side of it. A lot of people have gone with the use of batteries as an interpretation of the theme this jam but I like that you fully committed to doing so, extending it to your character, visuals, story, etc. Yeah, this one was a lot of fun.