gavin5564 2011-12-19 23:53
Hi, I use XNA aswell..
Instead of making people install the game to play just build the game as release instead of debug then distribute the release folder, it has all the required stuff in it to play..
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD22 → Mine Shaft of Doom
By miloguy
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fun | 269 | 2.55 | ||
| Theme | 345 | 2.64 | ||
| Overall | 422 | 2.55 | ||
| Innovation | 437 | 2.18 | ||
| Mood | 438 | 2.00 | ||
| Graphics | 478 | 2.25 | ||
| Humor | 513 | 1.43 | ||
| Audio | 531 | 1.20 | ||
| Community | 649 | 1.67 | ||
| Coolness | 685 |
Hi, I use XNA aswell..
Instead of making people install the game to play just build the game as release instead of debug then distribute the release folder, it has all the required stuff in it to play..
Doesn't that require them to have Visual C# though?
I started to like this game a lot until I died after collecting a lot of ore for my magic rifle.
Then I just didn't want to continue because I had to start over from scratch again.
I realize that we now live in the era of non-death games where we expect to have either unlimited lives or a very powerful recharging shield. We are no longer used to having just 3 lives (or 1 in this game) and then prepared to start all over again.
Because of this new spoiled environment for hard-working game makers like us, I suggest that you change this to approach the more suitable non-death variant. Or, just keep it as it is and make spoiled players (like me) remember the old, harsh but fantastic time when you could actually die in a game :)
Thanks, but yeah, I see what you mean
Installers are bad for your health!
As for the game itself, it has potential, but also few serious problems - chief among them is that you save state of the enemies in the level... If a monster train is hunting me, I move to previous level to rearm and regenerate health etc... I can't go back anyway, because they'll eat me alive as soon as I go through the door.
I've played it several times, quickly found that I have to shoot and shoot in the first room with monsters to get enough for best weapons, then with enough ore run through the shaft...
So: Good idea, not very good execution.
Installers are evil, and I would suggest a nicer host than Mediafire, preferably simply a webhost, or possibly a project management site like Github or something.
But to the actual game. There are two major concerns I have with the gameplay of fighting off the monsters. Firstly, your bullets shoot from your gun, however, you don't aim based on that. Which means you have to aim to the left of enemies to hit them.
The spawning of the monsters is sporadic, and is unfair when they spawn right next to you- either it should be fairer in placement, or you should have warning when they are coming next.
The other difficulty is their persistence. When you leave the room, if they are following you, you will later enter and they will be right at the door.
The intro scene is an interesting touch. I wish the rest of the game had that sort of novelty, though.
In the end, the period of gaining enough ore to upgrade feels pointless, since it's essentially required in order to have any hope of winning of getting the best gun in only the first room, and then later attempting to go through as quickly as possible. It felt like a lot of time wasting after I got four or five rooms down and then realize that this gun was equivalent to the first gun in the first room.
I really wish this game had more polish. The enemy spawning needs more indications and the map, for example, should be done so that it's stylized if it's intentionally supposed to look hand drawn, so that it doesn't look drawn in MS Paint.
I'm sure you're sick of hearing it by now, but: Please don't use installers!
Like others have said, I didn't like that the bullets shoot to the side of the mouse pointer, or that you get no warning that a monster is about to spawn on top of you, or that a stack of monsters will just wait right behind the door.
It was annoying to have dodged back and fourth between the crafting room and the first combat room several times and then when I first tried the next door just to avoid a swarm of monsters found it locked and needed ore to proceed!! That should have had a padlock icon on it or something to let me know I wouldn't be able to keep myself alive by diving through there like I had done with the previous (identical-looking) door.
I think a few sound effects would have gone a long way too.
Overall I can see good potential in your work but sadly I found this particular game had too many annoyances for me to be able to enjoy it.
Well done none the less :)
I acctually really liked this game, it is one of the few entries i've played that felt fun all the way through. Good job on that! The fact that there is no audio and that the graphics are a bit sub-par is really not that big of a deal as it is a 48h production. Still, it would have given a higher over all score. Solid entry.