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RandomSpell
RandomSpell
By animanegra
View on Wayback Machine
| Category | Rank | Score | Count |
|
|---|
| Coolness | 2 | 76 | | |
| Theme | 452 | 3.44 | | |
| Innovation | 459 | 3.18 | | |
| Humor | 515 | 2.86 | | |
| Fun | 631 | 2.88 | | |
| Graphics | 719 | 2.88 | | |
| Overall | 777 | 2.90 | | |
| Mood | 829 | 2.59 | | |
Comments
The Good:
- this was a pretty fun little game (even though I was horrible at it)
- I liked the idea of getting a random spell when you hit the attack button
- the platform physics were not too bad
The Bad:
- the idea of having a random spell was good, but the fact that I could see the next spell made it so that if I didn't have the spell I wanted I could just shoot spells until I got something I wanted, maybe removing that would make it feel truly random, but I'm not totally sure how fun that would be either
- I liked the 5 ton spell, but HATED that it spawned close enough to me to kill me unless I immediately ran backwards. It made it impossible for me to use.
- the menu was really hard to navigate because it was picking up my key-down event on every update, instead of just catching the initial key-down event, so I had to very quickly click and release the arrow keys to actually get to the menu option I wanted, also, it was hard to tell which option was selected
The Ugly:
- the game started in probably it's lowest resolution so it was just a tiny box in the top left corner of my screen, about the size of a postage stamp. Thankfully you had a resolution option, but see "The Bad" for comments on that.
Good job! GO LD32!
Good game! I liked it quite a bit, and furthermore I am going to rip off the above commenter's format for my comments.
The Good:
-Very cute graphics! I love the Game Boy lookin' style
-I definitely laughed the first time I got crushed by the weight
-If I'm not mistaken, in order to beat the second level (aka level 1) you have to like, jump on your own brooms?? very cool
-I love the game over text
The Bad:
-I think the 5-ton spell should spawn DIRECTLY over the player. ironically spawning a bit ahead of the player makes it harder to use because you're not sure exactly where it goes. if it spawned directly above the player could still move out of the way and would never wonder where it was gonna be.
-I couldn't beat the second level (level 1). I like that it's difficult but I think the difficulty curve is too steep. I was only on the second level and I was already having to use weird edge-cases of the main mechanics! Again, it's a good idea, but there should be some mid-difficulty levels before the hard one.
-The hit detection needs some work. The bad guys kill me at times when I don't think they should.
The Ugly:
Finally, THE CONTROL SCHEME. I know it's not fair to requrie your game to be like every other game, but space to jump is such an incredibly common thing that I could NOT get used to pressing shift instead, and I often shot spells instead of jumping. Of course a control scheme is a subjective thing, so it's up to you, but I would strongly suggest changing it. I would probably go with z and x. Which one is jumping doesn't really matter, but if a game has a spacebar for controls, people's natural instinct is to use it to jump.
Overall, though, I enjoyed playing your game and might play it more later! Good job :)
Gameplay issues:
-The camera could be improved.
If you walk right, the player should be at the left of the screen, so you can look ahead of yourself.
- Jumping makes more sense on UP imho
Interface issues:
-why can't I move the window?
It being stuck to the corner of my screen was quite annoying.
- The Menu as bitdecaygames pointed out already
I liked the concept though, I could see this being a full game :)
I also liked the retro graphics.
Thanks a lot for the comments. Please, if you are ratting this game and you see something wrong, do not hesitate in comment.
Also, OS dependent issues, like sticky keys on windows (there are things that I do not think and are very important in gameplay. A friend told me that issue after the compo deadline ^^).
aaranos
2015-04-21 16:57
A little hard to control but I like the idea of it.
rinat-kh
2015-04-21 19:50
Good idea! I have never seen such games, but I could not understand what does rabbit do
junber
2015-04-21 20:05
Good idea but the key repeat in the menu was a bit to high to reliably select somthing and seeing want you have selected was quite hard too. Also i found it very hard to see enemies cause the camera isnt far ahead of you. Also the controls should be noted somewere (took me awhile to figure out you can jump with shift)
jungle
2015-04-21 20:36
Good game but the have many interface issues. Cannot move the window, the screen is too small, cannot use mouse on menu. I think if you fix this you will have a very good game! Go for it!
blob
2015-04-22 05:54
I like the game boy style graphics. Random weapon is interesting though I would have liked more strategy based on that and maybe more puzzle actioney levels ?
Camera did look far enough and collision box with ennemy was very unforgiving!
Cute styling, fun gameplay.
Would love to see this expanded and polished further.
I like the gameplay here, and the art was simple but enjoyable too. I too had input issues, and the menu was difficult to use. The game is also very hard, damn the 5-ton spell! But overall, good job!
againey
2015-04-22 20:59
I was so confused by this game. For one, the menu was hardly navigable because I couldn't tell which item I had selected. I eventually discovered what the letter 'a' looked like when selected versus not, and managed to get the 3x zoom and start the game, finally. I don't know if that was by design or just a graphical glitch on my machine.
Then I kept getting hit by the falling weight, wondering where it was coming from until I saw in comment that it was actually my own magic. I don't know if sound effects would have helped clue me in to the fact that it spawns at the exact moment that I press the key. Or perhaps if it spawned more on screen, with a little animation; I just thought it had always been there and was falling from above.
augustvc
2015-04-22 21:07
When I try to press start new game nothing happens, the other things in the menu work for me but once I press spacebar on Start New Game the game freezes for me...
Are you on linux?? You should use the ".sh" launcher. No by clicking directly on the ".jar".
6x13
2015-04-22 23:48
I really liked the style. The gameplay seemed really confusing at first. I had to play it three times to start understanding what is really happening. It would be great if you write the keys in uppercase to make them more visible in game description because they are unconventional. Nothing wrong with binding different keys but they require emphasis in game description.
Liked the concept, but man, I always get killed by that 5-ton spell. Art style is nice and reminds me of the old Spectrum days.
knivel
2015-04-24 20:29
I like the random spell concept. Especially the weight that crushes you if you're not careful. I wish there were some more diverse things to use the spells for though. The controls felt a little wonky to be, and the procedurally generated levels got a bit repetitive after multiple play-throughs. The sparse graphics were cute and the concept is interesting. Great job!
This is a really frustrating experience.
I didn't enjoyed the game experience at all.
The player's hitbox is way oversized, making walks on stairs weird and enemies killing you even if not on the same floor.
1 of 3 spells works on enemies but 2 of 3 can kill you (I've been pushed out of the floor by the broom so many times...).
But I enjoyed the graphics :)
camlang
2015-04-27 18:51
Good style!!!!