quetzakol 2014-08-25 10:25
Rather nice graphics, but it's too difficult to control the ball. I also found a bug : I was once stuck on the corner of a block and had to restart the game...
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD30 → PitBall
By dcampos
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coolness | 3 | 53 | ||
| Humor | 641 | 2.20 | ||
| Audio | 863 | 2.06 | ||
| Graphics | 971 | 2.42 | ||
| Mood | 996 | 2.39 | ||
| Overall | 1023 | 2.68 | ||
| Fun | 1042 | 2.42 | ||
| Innovation | 1112 | 2.21 | ||
| Theme | 1151 | 1.97 |
Rather nice graphics, but it's too difficult to control the ball. I also found a bug : I was once stuck on the corner of a block and had to restart the game...
Yes, that bug is quite annoying. The physics engine I made in some 3 to 4 hours isn't very mature, I should learn something like Box2D for the next entry. Anyway, thanks for reporting it and commenting about the graphics!
I was very happy to reach the top after going the wrong way. Has Bubble Bobble-style puzzle potential. Great work!
Not bad! As Quetzakol said, an improvement on the ball movement would have made it seem more polished. You wouldn't need anything as complex as box2d or other physics engine, just something which doesn't jerk you when you hit a key but smoothly moves you, increasing the velocity to the full speed instead of starting out full speed. Good work though!
Nice little game. Took me awhile to figure out I could press up to jump higher >.< After that I got the hang of it and finished it fairly easily.
I liked how challenging it was! good luck to you :)
Great graphics and innovation. Good job!
The levels are cool, but the controls and physics are a bit frustrating. By the way, I've released a Linux version of my game.
Thanks for your comments, people! It seems the controls are the main thing to improve in this game, really.
@Dietrich Epp: Thanks for providing it! I'm going to try it as soon as possible.
There's potential for this to be something really cool! As is, though, obviously it could have used a few more levels & varied challenges, and it's a shame its "connected world" mechanic didn't really get utilized. But I would love to see what more you could do with this idea, as it can definitely lead to some delicious world-navigation puzzles.
As for the rest of the game: the graphics get the job done, and the little ball guy is so cute! The bouncing sound is appropriate, but gets too loud if you bounce a lot. Controls are a bit wonky; the height gained by pressing "up" feels almost like a double-jump, but not quite, so it's a bit jarring at first. The left/right movement is also a bit weird since you keep moving after letting go of a key, but pressing either key puts you at max speed in that direction right away. If you accelerated to a max speed instead I think it would have felt more consistent & appropriate for the kind of platforming involved in the game.
Solid offering. Everything seems to work the way it should. Took me a bit to realize I could "double-jump" with the up arrow. Nice entry!
Not sure it really has much to do with the theme, though... at least, any more than Super Mario does.
@mrjonhson: Thanks for your comments!
@micahcowan: Thanks! The relation with the theme is not outright obvious, you're right, but the way you can go back and forth between the levels just by jumping through the edges of the screen is something unusual for platform games, I think. Also, the ball is "connected" to its friends in the final level/world.
It played quite well and it was fun for a while.
This was pretty fun. I enjoyed the controls, although it took me a while to figure out how to jump higher. I think horizontal movement was too quick though. Good job!
I didn't realize you could press UP when you're ascending your jump to get a boost in the air. While that helped me continue on, it's rather awkward to use.
I wish I wasn't so bouncy when touching the walls; that bothers me. :( There's great potential in this game as long as you address the issues mentioned here. Nice work overall!
Honestly, it was kind of frustrating. I couldn't get past the second world and I played for like 20 minutes.
The controls were a bit off, for example: Double jumping only works sometimes? Or it works when you're next to something, but not moving horizontally? And the janky physics caused me to hit the water about 15 times (Thats no fun).
Overall I see a hell of a lot of potential here. At the moment however, I disliked it ):
Thank you all for the comments! It's always good to receive some sensible feedback.
@popcorn897: I'm sorry. Double jumping should work always, but it works only once after you touch the ground, and only if the ball isn't falling. I agree with you with respect to hitting the water happening when it shouldn't.
Pretty basic and control of course a bit goofy - plus theme connection strange??? but still fun slick and pretty polished.