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DWaM

Feedback comments for LD43

Timestamp	Since previous	Game		DWaM's comment
Dec 3 21:23:57		The Sacrificial Trail	♥ 1	The calamity is clearly a metaphor for the economic downfall of wherever we're supposed to live. I mean, in what world can you walk into a store, clean out all their gasoline, and pay less than you would for a single cup of coffee? Joking aside, it was fun enough. I beat it on my second try, and it never really overstayed its welcome. Not too hard to beat, either. I would've liked seeing more random events, though. Maybe some random lore sprinkled in while buying at convenience stores? Either way, neat little game.
Dec 3 21:35:21	11m 24s	The Treachery	♥ 2	Just like another person mentioned, I had some trouble figuring out what to do on the Violence boss. The only visual cue I noticed was the fists going red, but that seemed to just be an attack indicator. In addition, before that, on Fraud, my character got stuck in the upper left platform and was unable to move, causing me to simply fire at the boss from the corner. I'm not sure what was the cause, but it appeared to fix itself by the end. Still, an impressive effort. I liked the idea that instead of descending into hell, you're ascending from the bottom. I also like the idea of starting with a powerful character that eventually becomes weaker and weaker.
Dec 3 21:49:48	14m 27s	Mortal Decisions	♥ 0	It's an interesting little game. While the concept is interesting, there are some things that could use refining. * There are long periods in which the player is forced to sit back and wait without any interactor or any visual indicator as to how long a task will take. The first time I selected a job, I genuinely believed the game had frozen. I would suggest shortening the amount of time needed for the next "turn" to take place. * The game's concept of sacrifice could be framed a bit better. It sort of gives the impression that you're picking up freelance jobs that are available. Therefore, your choice feels less like "Pick 1 option, at the cost of another" and more like "here's two jobs, pick one, the other one will just have to wait for someone to take it at some other point maybe". There's also the fact that the monetary value between the two jobs, along with the risk of pirates, is generally the same. * A potential way to avoid this issue could have been by making the two options somewhat related. For example, have one option be supplying a group of rebels that feel like they've been opressed by a cruel dictator with guns at a low payoff, OR delivering something to that same dictator for a higher reward. * This is a minor complaint, but it would've been interesting to have a still image of stars be placed between the two sidebars, just to help give off that space-feel. I'd also suggest expanding the box around the ship, just so that it doesn't look so cramped in it. Either way, a neat little effort that I feel like a story-based game could be built from.
Dec 3 22:13:25	23m 37s	Spacefight	♥ 2	This was fun! I really like the simple visuals and the gameplay. Pretty relaxing, too. At first, I was confused as to why include regenerating health given the theme, but it was absolutely necessary from a gameplay perspective, due to the absurd barrage of bullets that eventually happens. That said, as a result, you lost a bit on the theme. I never found myself in trouble or even really noticed my health going down as my ship fired off. Between the theme and gameplay, though, I'd pick the latter too, so you made the right decision, in my mind. I'd add a note that players should play this in full-screen. I initially just placed it in the window on the itch page and as a result had a hard time differentiating between the small blue ships and the blue projectiles. Also: hiscore.png (Oh and, you have two misspellings on your itch page at the time of writing this. "Fortunatly" -> fortunately and "Controlls" -> controls.)
Dec 3 22:29:27	16m 02s	Making Ends Meet	♥ 1	While the concept is interesting, I'm not entirely sure it's entirely possible to win it...? Upon finishing a few playthroughs, events seem to happen randomly and in ways I'm not entirely sure is necessarily tied to the player's decisions (although, I could be wrong). The idea to show how the family deteriorates as time goes on was an interesting one, but the text quickly becomes repetitive. Sometimes it's not present for long enough to read it. I'm also fairly certain that the message about how the baby is crying will always show twice in succession (at least, that was my experience with it). (Also, was the fact that there's blood on the walls during those interludes intentional? It does, if nothing else, make one think that the family is one of serial killers.)
Dec 3 22:47:29	18m 02s	The Cold Remains of Warmer Days	♥ 1	A question -- is the bottle-smashing segment meant to go on for so long? Just making sure it's not a bug or anything, I've been at it for a while now... (Enjoying the game so far, for the record. Quite interesting.)
Dec 4 01:09:20	2h 21m	There Will Come Soft Rains	♥ 1	I enjoyed this quite a bit. In particular, I liked that the decisions were more complex than the typical "obviously moral good thing vs thing you need to do to keep the meters high enough and not lose". You were always trying to do the right thing, but had to make an actual difficult choice on how to do it. Well done!
Dec 4 01:18:01	8m 41s	Not Today Satan	♥ 2	Unless I've missed something, there doesn't seem to be a link to the game on the site.
Dec 4 01:27:08	9m 07s	Watching	♥ 1	Well, that was neat. Admittedly, we don't learn much about what's going on or why, unless I missed some options that give hints to what's going on. Even so, I liked the visual details and the chapter-like structure. There is, however, a rather odd bug. The aformentioned text that's difficult read does exist -- but only if you try and have the game be full-screen. Keeping it within the window on itch seems to avoid the issue.
Dec 4 03:27:11	2h 00m	11043	♥ 0	I'm admittedly a bit uncertain as to the mechanics of the game. The description suggests we're transferring energy onto the turrets, but there doesn't seem to be any indicator as to how much energy the ship has or how it influences the gameplay. As such, it's a bit hard to really determine theme relevance. (Note: I played the web version. I don't know if the downloadable version is any different in these regards.) It's solid, otherwise. In particular, I liked how you could be killed by your own bouncing projectiles.
Dec 4 03:33:57	6m 46s	For You	♥ 1	I liked this quite a bit. Even though expressed through simple text, it was quite atmospheric. Appropriate for the time period. As mentioned earlier, though, it didn't seem like the choices that led to sacrifices meant that much, but I can respect the creative decision that was made with it, instead.
Dec 4 03:43:49	9m 52s	Sorcerer's Gambit	♥ 1	Neat game. I like the visuals. That said, I don't know if the bosses are randomized, but most of my bosses ended up looking Cthulu-like, so their design got a bit stale. I'd also seen what I suspect were most of the movesets after the 3rd or 4th one, with all of them preferring to strike with lightning, almost never hitting me if I got too close. As a result, as mentioned by someone else, the game isn't really all that difficult. Losing health also never really seemed like too much of an issue, simply because of how slowly it seemed to drain. Still, it's a neat idea and overall a well-made package. Well done!
Dec 4 03:57:21	13m 32s	The Mist	♥ 1	I think I've encountered a bit of an issue. If you happen to send everyone on tasks in such a way that on the next day they're all busy, the game will lock itself, as you will be unable to make any decisions. That said, I love the art-styles and the aesthetics in general. Besides this one bug, it seems time was taken to get it as polished as possible, and I think it definitely paid off.
Dec 4 11:50:27	7h 53m	To Die	♥ 3	Choosing to do a visual novel, in an engine that's not really ideal for it, while adding extra 3d effects (namely the horse carriage), all in such a short amount of time is pretty commendable. And I think you did a good job! The writing is a bit rough around the edges, admittedly. Lots of typos that increase in severity the closer one gets to the end. Still, it didn't stop me from enjoying the art and the overall atmosphere. I also appreciated the more interesting approaches the story in general took. (Most notably the player being pointed out as selfish for trying to play the hero, and the hidden ending.) It's just short enough to where replaying and trying different option combinations to get the hidden ending wasn't too tedious. The graphics were nice, as well. I would've appreciated a bit more variety in music, but even some music is better than none at all. Overall, I liked it.
Dec 4 13:14:43	1h 24m	Silvercliff Killings	♥ 2	This was fun. I loved the art. Sometimes some of my deductions felt like taking a lucky guess, but I feel like that was almost by design. Having to make choices you're not comfortable with, giving weight to the sacrifice. Good job!
Dec 5 03:46:54	14h 32m	De-Railed	♥ 3	I really liked this. * The game looks fantastic. Music and sound design set the mood pretty well. Gameplay loop is simple to understand and effective. The only odd thing that comes to mind was the player character wearing a seeveless shirt while walking around a seemingly freezing cold. (But it's barely a complaint.) * It took me a bit to realize what the purpose of being able to explore this massive train with no seeming way to interact with anything besides the decoupling. Revealing that purpose through gameplay alone and with no warning at the start was a really good decision. * The game could benefit from some control instructions. I don't know if it was just me, but it took me a bit to realize "up" was used for interacting. Or that one could descend from an upper platform on the train by jumping downwards (I genuinely thought I was stuck for a moment). Beyond that, the game is self-explanitory enough. * It would have been good to be able to control the rotation of the gun. I found myself having to deal with the issue of enemies spawning on slopes, making it impossible to get a shot in. * The camera does pose a bit of an issue during platforming outside. Because the main character jumps so high up, and the camera follows, it's generally really hard properly land on the adjacent platform -- simply because it's completely out of view until the moment you land. Overall, through, what complains I have feel pretty minor. Really great work!
Dec 5 04:12:06	25m 12s	Dark Roads	♥ 1	* The art and the overall design seem to be really well-done. Great job there. The music also helped bring out the kind of mood one would have while driving through darkness in he middle of nowhere. * The idea of experiencing the same exchange after a tragedy, but with disembowled voices was a pretty interesting idea. Gave it the feel of a folklore from the midwest. * The idea for the controls for was pretty great, although finding four people to play locally is easier said than done. Finding four controllers casually lying around even tougher. I ultimately played alone, but I'll still acknowledge the innovative aspect of the idea. * The deaths themselves were gruseome in the perfect kind of way, I felt. The game does suffer from a issues, admittedly. * I don't know if it's just my PC, but it took ages to load after pressing any key on the menu. 30 seconds to a minute, if I had to estimate. * The characters could've used some more interactions, if only for the sake of making the sacrifices feel more meaningful. Speaking of additional text, it would've been, in my mind, somewhat better to expand on the endings. As it is, there's not much reason to replay, as it basically comes down to "we made it". * There's actually, I'm pretty sure at least, a bug while picking who decides on where the car drives. Players 3 and 4 are switched around, I believe. * I am assuming the events that happen upon choosing the road are randomized to an extent? Assuming they are, I would add some kind of check to make sure a player can't experience the same scenario twice. (I got the car getting stuck one two times in a row.) Overall, a solid entry. A pretty good idea that could've done with having a bit more meat. For the time it was made in, it's understandable, even if it unfortunately affects the overall experience.
Dec 5 04:28:19	16m 13s	Kinoko no kagi	♥ 0	Most of my thoughts echo what was said by others. * The camera is too zoomed in while the areas are vast and generally empty. It causes long stretches of monotony, in my mind. The very first level, a simple garden, is so massive that I tried my best to first explore it only to find... nothing interesting. * The sign that should say "Quests" next to the old man is misspelled. * The art style is neat. * I like the premise and the mechanic of "sacrificing" items, even though I can see how it would get tedious for a lot of people, to be basically locked into a position of not progressing and having to restart all over (and, again, the massive areas with that level of zoom make that restart more tedious than fun). Overall, I'd say a solid idea that could've used more polish.
Dec 5 04:35:38	7m 19s	Hunger Sings	♥ 1	I really enjoyed this. The graphics work great, I liked the bits and pieces of story, the control player's thoughts showing in the upper corner, the strange surreal feel behind it all... Everything gelled very well. And given the short amount it took to make, I think it achieved everything it set out to do. Good job!
Dec 5 07:51:33	3h 15m	Blasé	♥ 3	A solid submission. I enjoyed it. A few notes: * Upon downloading the game, I was unable to run it. The issue being that the game's .exe is named 'Blas・exe' and the data file is named 'Blas・Data'. Making the former 'Blas.exe' and the latter 'Blas_Data' fixes it. * The game still doesn't seem to work properly if ran in windowed mode under a smaller resolution. The buttons and text are out of the frame. * The use of sound was creative and well-done. * The story itself worked. The theme of sacrifice isn't too apparent until the end, but it was definitely there. * One thing I would suggest is getting someone to proof-read the text, as there were quite a few typos. There was also the fact that, in some stages of the game, you refer to your partner as "girlfriend" but in some others "wife". Overall, solid. As I said, I enjoyed it.
Dec 8 03:44:56	67h 53m	Cook	♥ 3	The police always seem to go after me even after I choose not to slice the tomatoes. The cucumber was kind of annoying at times, too. Wonder why we had to wait until the last level to kill him. Still, the graphics were neat. You really got into the atmosphere of it all. The way the instructions were given was pretty neat, too. Overall, solid.
Dec 8 04:21:30	36m 34s	The Exchange	♥ 0	This was pretty neat! I do think that, as you yourself have said, the story kind of gets cut off before it really gets a chance to begin, but what's there was pretty solid writing-wise and managed to show off the central mechanics. Even if, unfortunately, we never really saw something resembling a more major sacrifice. For 48-hours, I am, for putting it all together -- especially writing-wise -- it's good work!
Dec 8 04:37:22	15m 52s	Glow It Alone	♥ 2	I liked this! The game was pretty short, but what's there was pretty fun and unique. I didn't experience any performance issues, either. There was maybe an occasion where a foreground object made it a bit harder to angle my landing, but it's a negligable issue in the long run. Overall, good job!