konwlege 2016-04-16 21:55
Nice game, pretty hard puzzles!
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD35 → Shaze (Shape Maze)
By alphius
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coolness | 3 | 54 | ||
| Overall | 129 | 3.71 | ||
| Theme | 171 | 3.81 | ||
| Fun | 190 | 3.54 | ||
| Innovation | 251 | 3.48 |
Nice game, pretty hard puzzles!
lol, yes it's a shifter!!! :) Nice work on the puzzles. The first one was the hardest for me... for some reason! Also if you press the up arrow and the right arrow at the same time then your shapes shift... :) Nice job!
I got as far as the puzzle with 4 shapes and just could not get more than 3 together at the same time.
This is nice, I like your game a lot. The puzzles are well-crafted, and the progression is good. I'm apparently just a little inept ;)
I'm way to burnt out after jamming for 48 hours but this is a game I will definitely come back to when I have the mental capacity to tackle it!
Really like the narrative so far and am looking forward to finding out more. Great job!
I lied, I kept playing, really addictive and well made!
Nice puzzle game, have never encountered something like this!
Damn hard dude. :D But super fun! Simple, little game. I can imagine a nice, polished mobile app would get you nice download rates!
I got to the one after you introduce the "press shift" mechanic - it got reaaalllly hard, in a good way :D
well made puzzle, also quite hard
I love how simple this is visually and yet the story brings the inanimate shapes to life
First off, congrats on your first Ludum Dare. This isn't a bad entry. Simple enough mechanics that make sense and you've made some decent levels with them. Definitely enjoyed my time.
On the critical side of things:
The writing's a bit too pretentious for my taste. Doesn't add much to the game, doesn't really hold any consistent narrative arc. There's a bit of a buildup to the finale but it feels forced and coarse. The ending twist is unexpected, but not satisfying. I think I would've preferred a "Thanks for Playing!" with a drawing of a thumbs up. But that's just me.
That being said, the narrative does lend the game some cohesion and encourage the player to keep going, so I've got mixed feelings on the matter. I definitely think you should have spent more time on the writing, even at the cost of one or two of the levels, to make the experience more satisfying.
Regarding gameplay: the game's desperately missing an undo button. All mistakes are undoable but it can take a hell of a lot of effort to compensate for a single wrong buttonpress. Telling the player to press 'r' to restart should happen in the second or third level, not halfway through the game. I had to use that key several times before the game told me; stumbled on it by accident.
In terms of presentation, the graphics are fine, really. Not beautiful, but functional. Could benefit from a stronger minimalist ethic (solid colors instead of gradients, a cleaner white background with a very subtle grid overlay, either thicker borders or no borders on the shapes, and more visible end-points), but that's just aesthetic preference. I've seen worse :P
The cut between levels is a bit too abrupt imo. A fade out->fade in, or a 'good job! press any button to continue' would've given the player a second to savor the victory before throwing them back in the fray. Though I guess that doesn't fit the lore as much :P
Core mechanic was a known one but nice additions with gum and `Shift`. Puzzles were challenging. Enjoyed! Keep it up for the next LD's!
(You must put humour to votings. Tell me when you do to get a nice rating.)
really cool, makes my brain have to work :-D
I'm a big fan of puzzle games
This is a very cool puzzle game, with a nice set of mechanics. I had a lot of fun playing all the way to the end. The gameplay is responsive, and the puzzles are open-ended enough that you can get a sense of really exploring a level. Great work!
Really cool brain-teaser! ;)
So, is the name Bill Cipher? W.D. Gaster? I couldn't see it, because I accidentally keypressed once too much, and skipped the great reveal. ^^'
(Satan/Devil? Naaah, that would be too easy)
Either way, I probably enjoyed the shapeshifting mechanics more than multiple-shapes-at-once movement; then again, the latter may be caused by you using too many shapes at once (misapplied idea rather than one that's inherently bad). Bubble gum was somewhat interesting, but I don't quite see why it's a *bubble gum*. ^^'
The game makes for a decent puzzle, though nothing too original nor exceptional (I and many others came up with multiple-entities-at-once idea years ago). There is some story, but I didn't really enjoy the writing, and it kinda seemed like its main purpose was to justify the bad audiovisuals. >.<
Still, considering it's your first ever LD and you spent on it 7 hours, it's quite promising. Keep improving. ^^
Well made puzzles, difficulty scales well and it's really satisfying getting them down. Good Job.
I couldn't beat the (I think) last level, but a nice puzzle game.
very nice entry, good job man !