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Feedback comments for LD45

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Oct 8 13:49:36 You Lose. Good Day, Sir. ♥ 1 Overall: Splendid. Creative gameplay with excellent graphics and music. A really satisfying game to play through. Fun: I enjoy scrabble and cryptic crosswords so this was right up my alley. I enjoyed just figuring out what I had to do. And then once I got the hang of it, it was very satisfying figuring out how to proceed. I appreciate the hints that you occasionally give for some words. I nearly quit on the "Fin" screen - it would be a shame if players did, because the game keeps getting better as it goes on. Innovation: Yep! There are games about making words, but I've not seen this gameplay combined with a story like this. Theme: Great interpretation. Graphics: Beautiful graphics and animations - must have been a tremendous amount of work. Audio: Superb music - during the tense parts it really adds to the creepy feeling. Humor: Sure. I laughed at some of the responses to my words. Mood: Really good, especially thanks to the music.
Oct 8 14:25:32 35m 56s Drop Defense ♥ 2 Overall: Nice tower defence game with a twist of travelling around collecting loot. Fun: Once I knew what I was doing, this game became quite fun! I like how you've made tower defence into an action game. But there are a few little details holding this game back from its full potential. There's not much time to get used to the game before the first wave, which meant that I had to restart the game a few times before I finally figured out what I was doing, and beat a few waves. The game could do with some sound effects - different ones for when you pick up / drop / use a pad. That would give the player some more feedback about what they've done. Sometimes, I'd wonder why I can't do the action I want, and realise that I had something picked up that was stopping me. I also find the choice of keyboard keys a bit strange. And lastly, how about a health bar? Innovation: It's tower defence - but then there are a few things that make it quite unique - like the "loot" system. Theme: Yep! Graphics: Good. I really like the 3d models, especially the player's drone. Audio: The music is good, but like I said above, I wish there were sound effects, for gameplay reasons. Humor: N/A, unless I missed something? Mood: Good thanks to the nice graphics.
Oct 8 15:03:55 38m 23s Protoplanet ♥ 1 Overall: A nice single player "io" style game with a creative control system. Fun: I had fun, and played for quite a few goes. On one attempt, I got so big I could see the whole background. (It seems like, after getting very big, and losing, when you start the next game, the rocks around you are way bigger than normal.) Innovation: I suppose that this is an "io" game. I haven't played much of those, but this seems pretty unique due to being single player and the unusual controls. Theme: Well, you start small, but do you start with nothing? (I'm being pedantic.) Graphics: Nice. The visual "health" feedback is very well done. Audio: Nice music! How about some sound effects? Mood: A nice, "vastness of space" feeling thanks to the music and graphics.
Oct 9 13:26:00 22h 22m Alone ♥ 1 Overall: Nice but short. Fun: A sidescroller that's mostly fine, but the excessively large hitboxes make the game feel unfair, detracting from the fun. Also, the game is very short. Innovation: Not a lot - standard gameplay but I guess it's original level design. Theme: Sure - I see it! Mood: Good mood, thanks to the choice of music.
Oct 9 14:17:43 51m 43s Slay the Dungeon ♥ 1 Overall: Wonderful, a truly fun action game and well presented. Fun: This is really enjoyable! I played through to the end and legitly forgot I was playing an LD game. Great job. I only have two tiny criticisms: (i) it's a little on the easy side (or maybe I just got good cards); (ii) it would help to indicate how far through the game we are - for a while I thought it was endless, and that I'd seen everything, and that it was nearly time to quit. Innovation: The idea to combine a card game with an action game has been done before... but there are lots of possibilities and you came up with a really nice one. Theme: Hmm, well, you give us a bunch of stuff in the first room but TECHNICALLY we start with nothing, so I'll pay it. Graphics: Gorgeous. I love the monsters. Audio: Great. I laughed at the sounds. Humor: See audio. Mood: Good, it's a dungeon game but a light hearted one and the visuals and sounds present that nicely.
Oct 10 11:37:02 21h 19m Nothing to Lose! (except your deposit) ♥ 0 Overall: Great gameplay but too short! Fun: This gameplay is really fun. Why does it end so soon? You totally could have made another 10 levels and it wouldn't have gotten boring. Innovation: Good; having to manage both position and rotation makes the the gameplay unique. Theme: I really like this interpretation! Humor: Good - I laughed at the ending... excellent commentary on society, etc. Mood: Would be improved with music & sound effects.
Oct 10 12:33:54 56m 52s To The Depths ♥ 1 Overall: Great concept & visuals but needs balance. Fun: Well, after a few attempts, I managed to get everything upgraded, then made it to the black layer before dying. And that was enough for me. It's a fun concept but could do with some careful balancing. I think each individual dive takes too long. And, as the speed increases, my fish gets closer to the bottom of the screen, so it's harder to react. I have to choose between making it into a game of luck, or making the game too slow and tedious. (Unless... I have failed to figure out the right strategy?) Innovation: Sure! I think I've played games before where you have to dive to a certain depth, but the mechanics were all different. Theme: You start at 0m depth? OK, fine. Graphics: Looks nice! Mood: Thanks to the ambient sounds + the wide range of sizes from tiny up to enormous fish, this game gives me a real sense of a vast underwater environment.
Oct 10 13:15:32 41m 38s SpaceDrifter 4500 ♥ 1 Overall: Fun and well presented! Fun: Very good. I particularly like this game because every time I made an attempt, I felt myself getting a little bit better at it, until I finally won. I think it is well balanced. I found myself keeping the minimap on - which made the screen a bit cluttered - but that's not a complaint, it's the price I have to pay. I was expecting floaty space controls but was pleasantly surprised at the level of control I had. Innovation: Good, I haven't seen a game like this before. Theme: A very good interpretation. Graphics: Good! I like how the graphics feel retro, even though it's all 3d models. Audio: Good sound effects. Humor: N/A unless I missed something? Mood: Good! Normally I expect to hear some music but in this game it is appropriate to have none.
Oct 12 13:04:12 47h 48m Sugarship ♥ 1 Overall: A game that's too short to do justice to its very clever gameplay mechanic! Fun: The pattern matching is a fantastic game mechanic. I think it is really wonderful. The shortcoming is that by the time I had competely figured out the mechanic, I was nearly at the end of the game! (Then I played the game a second time through, to confirm that I understood the mechanic precisely.) That's really two problems: (i) The game doesn't explain what's going on quickly. A sort of "tutorial" mode that runs for the first minute or two - telling the player what to do and drawing attention to how the patterns get filled - would really help with that. (ii) The whole thing is too short. I think the only thing to do is add more content. And it should get more difficult by the end. More stages, more upgrades. Weapon upgrades! Movement upgrades! Health upgrades! How about upgrades that you don't really want (or only want in specific situations) to add a reason to try to discard? Innovation: Yes!! I haven't seen this mechanic before and I think it took some real insight to come up with. Theme: Yes! Graphics: I like the graphics! Humor: It's a pretty funny/quirky game and it turns out that there are some gags in the upgrade descriptions but I didn't notice them on my first playthrough because I was focusing on the action! (What's the solution to this? A little bullet time every time a new upgrade appears??) Mood: OK, but it's a shame about the lack of audio which would really help to make the game feel more exciting.
Oct 12 13:49:15 45m 03s Naked Guy ♥ 1 Overall: Funny game and great graphics, but I wish the platforming was a lot tighter. Fun: The idea is a good one, but the platforming feels frustrating and unfair, because of the floaty movement (acceleration/deceleration are too low) and the way the player sticks to the side of platforms. (Like others, I noticed that I can still finish the level after being spotted!) Innovation: Stealth games have been done before, but the innovative thing here is the setting! Theme: Excellent interpretation Graphics: Really good!! Audio: The music is really harsh. I turned my sound off pretty much straight away. Humor: It's a funny setting - and I laughed hard at the ending. Mood: The situation and the graphics start to set a jovial mood, but it's detracted from by the music and the frustrating platforming.
Oct 13 05:20:17 15h 31m The Drainpipe Market ♥ 0 Overall: Enjoyable art and quirky characters and objects make this a pleasing experience. I was expecting some kind of "puzzle" but there wasn't one. Fun: "You also begin to understand the latent value system lurking behind the veil of seemingly-useless washed-up sewer junk." Based on this sentence from the game description, I went into the game expecting to have to figure out some clever trick that determines the value of items. Maybe the colour? Or the first letter of the object name? Well, if there was anything like that, I didn't find it, and it didn't matter, because the following simple strategy seems to always work: accept only those trades that increase the number of items I have. If there _were_ a puzzle like that, then it would be very hard to discover the solution, because at no point are we told the value of the items we have. Or have I missed the point of this game completely?? Innovation: Sure, I haven't seen a game that plays like this before. Theme: Yep! Graphics: I adore the art style. It's really pleasing and suitable for the game, and you made a lot of little pieces of art! If I _had_ to make a suggestion, it'd be to centre the game in the web page. Humor: Yes, thanks to all the quirky descriptions. Mood: The funny characters and nice art makes this a cheerful game but how about some sounds/music?
Oct 13 06:15:10 54m 53s MiteLing ♥ 1 Overall: A fun and creative form of combat! Fun: I think this is a very fun concept. I enjoyed pushing my clones around and using them to defeat the enemies. I wish there was either an end goal, or at least a score (maybe just how long you survived?), so that I have some measurement of success. I sometimes found that the clones would end up all migrating to the right edge - after that they are kind of tricky to make use of. Innovation: Good! I haven't seen this method of combat in a game. Theme: Yes. Graphics: Simple but suitable. I might have shaded the clones and enemies different colours, so the player can more quickly tell enemies from friends without looking directly at them. Humor: Sure, it's a funny concept, pushing my clones to their death.
Oct 13 08:11:46 1h 56m I Don't Think That's Math ♥ 0 [I played the updated version, with the bug fix, and first levels reordered.] Overall: Great puzzle! Fun: What a great puzzle. It is a very clever concept and makes for some nice levels. I felt myself getting better as I played. I played this game for a very long time until I got completely stuck on "0 = 14" and rage quit. How far does the game go? Will you provide hints/solutions? BTW, if I split 9 into -4, I can get a minus sign that's not leading... this leads to a weird situation where there are few valid moves, and I think it should be impossible. Innovation: Yep! Very creative. Theme: Sure. Graphics: It's very bare-bones, but somehow that's suitable. The rotations are nice. Humor: Yeah, it's a funny version of arithmetic. Mood: There isn't a lot of "mood" - I guess it has the "mood" of using a weird calculator.
Oct 13 09:06:17 54m 31s Reutemeteut (web) ♥ 2 Overall: Nice platformer! Where's the theme? Fun: Good - I like how this game gets to the point, with difficult levels, right from the beginning. I definitely see the SMB similarities. I'm actually glad that this game is fairly short - due to the difficulty, if it were much longer, it would be pretty soul-destroying. BTW, I like how effective the blood splatter effect is. Innovation: The gameplay is completely standard; of course, the levels are original. Theme: Not relevant to the theme, unless I missed something?
Oct 13 13:06:45 4h 00m Magic Escape ♥ 1 Overall: Wow! Beautiful art! Nice little escape the room game (maybe a little simple). Fun: I'm not huge into escape games, significantly because the ones I've played don't seem to have a lot of logic to them - I just click at everything until I make progress. This game is pleasing in that regard: it doesn't take long before we have enough information to know what we need to do. On the other hand, I guess I didn't feel very challenged. The game is also quite short. (BTW, is there anything I can do with the mouse?) Innovation: For an escape game, the innovation question is about whether the puzzles are original and creative. I'd say so - I haven't seen these puzzles (not that I've played many escape games). Theme: Sure. Graphics: Can't fault it. One of the best looking Ludum Dare games I've ever seen. And this is a compo game! Extraordinary. Audio: The music is perfect for this. I think it would be nice to have some sound effects for successful actions. Humor: The instructions are pretty funny, but this is no time to be laughing! Mood: A wonderful spooky feeling thanks to the art and the music.
Oct 14 09:38:27 20h 31m HEARTSCAPE ♥ 1 Overall: Clever, enjoyable gameplay, and exceptionally polished. Fun: Great. I wish it was longer. The rules of this game lead to an interesting (but not too hard) puzzly challenge. (In my opinion, if you call the game roguelite, players might expect random maps?) Innovation: Yeah! A very creative new ruleset for the game. Theme: Sure. Graphics: Beautiful graphics. Everything is so polished - things like the spell effects, and moving the cards around. Really impressive. Audio: Very nice! Humor: N/A? OK, there's cutesy faces, but they don't crack any jokes. Mood: Nice! The graphics, sound and gameplay work really well together.
Oct 14 10:31:14 52m 47s HUNTER HUNGER ♥ 1 [I tried both versions.] Overall: Fun, grim platformer about eating all the life-forms and growing. Fun: I had fun playing this game, but could do with being a little harder. The platforming aspect seems to be well-implemented. I'm pleased by the "destructible terrain"! [Post jam version: this is set to a much better difficulty.] Innovation: I suppose it could be considered a sidescrolling Katamari Damacy clone? But without the size constraints? [Post jam version: OK! Now it's something quite different - hunting the animals - thanks to the better AI. And the size constraints do apply - I just didn't realise.] Theme: You start small, but do you start with nothing? Graphics: OK, but there's a mix of different pixel-sizes in the different art objects, which makes the game look visually inconsistent. Audio: Nice, well suited to the game. Humor: I liked reading what all the animals say! (Sometimes these are hard to read.) Mood: A grim mood, thanks to the nature of the game, and accentuated by the music.
Oct 14 13:22:18 2h 51m A Merchant's Adventure ♥ 1 Overall: A complex and difficult card game. One of those nice games where you can feel yourself learning a bit more of the strategy every time you play. Fun: It seems good, but very hard! I enjoyed formulating a strategy, playing to see how it fares, and then refining it. But even on my best attempt, I didn't get very far - city 4 with 22 trades, after choosing the option with the most starting money. Every time I tried, everything would be going OK until the situation suddenly collapsed. Are we supposed to be able to get to the end? I'd love to see a strategy guide, or a video of you beating it!! Innovation: I think it's very creative and original. Theme: Yes. Graphics: OK, but there's a mix of styles (pixel and non-pixel graphics) that makes it look inconsistent. Audio: OK to begin with, but this is a long-play game and the high-pitched sounds started to get tiring after a while. Humor: I laughed at my options in the opening screen. (Saw no jokes after that though.) Mood: Music, and a more consistent graphical style, would help.
Oct 15 14:03:25 24h 41m ΛLIENGUIST ♥ 3 Overall: This game put a smile on my face and it shows off some strange gameplay in a strange world. Thanks for making it! Fun: Good! It's a really unique experience and fun to go through. The silly sounds add to the fun. I cheesed it a bit by just going X?? X??? X???? etc. with a lot of words, which is a straightforward but slow way to find all the letters of a word. After filling all the words, I got stuck for ages not knowing what to say to get the fuel - but after finally figuring it out, I have to admit that it is a fair puzzle and I was just a bit slow-witted about it. Innovation: High. I'm sure I've had to figure out a language in games before, but it's always some code to decypher - the gameplay here is really something new. Theme: Yeah, I think this is a very creative interpretation! Graphics: Good! The unusual bright colours are suitable for this weird world. Audio: Wonderful. Humor: Yes, I laughed at the human trying to reproduce all the alien sounds. Mood: The bright colours, the music and the sounds put me in a cheerful mood.
Oct 16 12:31:01 22h 27m VoidTech ♥ 2 Overall: An interesting story told in a neat interactive way. An enjoyable and memorable experience. Fun: The fun in this game comes from discovering the story. And I think it's a really great story. Short, of course, but I really like the idea. Well done. (Have I really seen everything - I watched the VHS but I don't know if I can do anything with the username found on the sticky note? And there's a line along the lines of "don't go to the cryo chambers" - that strongly suggests that I can and should go to the cryo chambers - but I found no way.) Innovation: Yeah - innovative storytelling! Theme: Sure, it's there quite nicely in the plot reveal. Graphics: Nice! All the graphics look good and consistent. I like the way Dave looks. (And of course they would make him look that way!) Animating Dave putting on his spacesuit - that really goes above and beyond expectations. Audio: Nice! Humor: Yeah, I enjoyed exploring all the terminals and reading the quirky messages. Mood: Good, thanks to the memorable story and accentuated by appropriate graphics and music.
Oct 16 14:07:28 1h 36m Upward! ♥ 0 Overall: A really interesting puzzle/strategy sort of thing. I think the difficulty is just nice. Unfortunately, the ambiguous rules for operation order takes the sheen off. Fun: On my first attempt, I had no idea what I was doing (the rules you posted here do explain it - but obtusely...!) After playing around until I thought I understood it, I restarted the game, and made a serious attempt... and made it to level 20. It was an excellent challenge. Now, here is the problem: the rules are ambiguous. I'm talking about the rule determining the order for applying arithmetical operators. At first I thought it was BIMDAS. Then I thought it that the vertical operations apply first, followed by the horizontal. Then I thought it was based on the order of my move. Now, I still don't know, but I managed to beat the game, basically by playing it safe whenever it mattered (i.e., making numbers by using only multiplies, or only additions - not mixing them). To feel truly fair and fun, this game would have to get rid of that ambiguity. That means making sure that whatever the rule is, it is simple, doesn't feel arbitrary, and is clearly explained early on. Also, I wish the rules for the game were explained in-game in an interactive tutorial. Innovation: Yes, highly innovative! Theme: Maybe - because you start with all blank cells? The theme isn't front-and-centre, but that's not a big deal. Graphics: They do the job! Mood: Relaxing, thanks to the ambient sounds.
Oct 17 12:50:30 22h 43m Sorrow Quest ♥ 2 Overall: A nice turn-based stealth puzzle - the spooky atmosphere is done well. Fun: Nice! I made some blunders early on, and was left with only one life. But this put me on the edge of my seat as I crept my way through to the end! It's a puzzle game, really, but one that lets players off the hook a little bit, with the life system. I like it. If I had to make a suggestion, it'd be to have the camera out a bit further, so we can see more. (And make it longer!) Innovation: Yeah, it's something a bit different. Theme: OK, because you start with no inventory. Graphics: Good! Audio: Good! Humor: While the spooky setting isn't outright funny, it did put a smile on my face. Mood: The music sets the mood well! :)
Oct 17 13:27:15 36m 45s 14 billion years ♥ 1 Overall: An enjoyably strange experience. Fun: Strange gameplay but cool! The only thing I can think to suggest is to give more clear feedback as to whether I'm getting the right or wrong colours. Innovation: I think "innovation" means "weirdness" so yeah pretty good. Theme: Yes. Graphics: Good, I think the graphical effects look cool. Audio: Really good! Humor: It's a quirky setting but mostly I feel that humor is N/A...? Mood: Good, thanks to the eerie sounds.
Oct 17 14:04:26 37m 11s Fall of RS-17 Icarus - an Akaban Tale ♥ 2 Overall: Great story, tense atmosphere. Fun: This is a really good piece of storytelling. I like the creepy story, and all the sounds work well to add to the creepiness. I enjoyed finding the messages left behind by the other crew. I find it a bit strange that I got the best ending by stuffing up (I wired things the one way that does nothing, and then just wandered around not knowing what to do until the game ended). Several of the endings require waiting - I would make the wait shorter. Innovation: Good. Theme: Amnesia - yep, I'll pay it. Graphics: Mostly good. However, I had trouble understanding that the bone things were wires, which slowed me down a bit. Humor: N/A? I just found the whole thing tense. Mood: The excellent choice of sounds gives this game a really tense feeling.