2017-08-06 12:18
Hello- I tried out your game to hopefully give you support on developing these ideas further. I liked your concept of a small robot (that in my opinion looks like a minion on a hoverboard) fighting off giant "Solar Cyborgs" utilizing glowing fidget spinners. The idea was funny and allowed you to make the robot need charge to fit into the Ludum Dare. The game-play although very repetitive can be fun for a short while, and above this the game ran smoothly, which is always a good thing no matter how low poly the game is.
Now for the bad and possible fixes.
The game was too easy and power acquisition was extremely easy, the original description makes it feel like a dash for power, however in practice it is little more than spamming the button to throw fidget spinners. To make the game more challenging I would advise you make the fidget spinners cost more per attack, and along this possibly make the enemies larger and have more health- So a spammed fidget spinner laying next to a un-moving player would not pose a threat to them. The graphics were also inconsistent, i'm not sure if they were just dummy models until you had a more finished design, but they really took away from some elements of the games graphical appeal. This being with the Solar Cyborgs and the Robot. Alongside this I can say that wheels don't allow omni-directional movement against the area they are facing, and unless you plan to animate the bottom half of the torso from the top I would either suggest a hovering robot (Meaning you can also logically put a higher power cost) or a robot that balances on a gyroscopic ball- This would allow your desired movement paths with minimal animations required to give the effect. As stated earlier with the fidget spinner spamming, charging has no notable usage and tends to make the game harder for no reason when there is a easier and just as cost effective alternative. I would personally change the charging function to charge quicker, meaning a player has more reasons to use this feature; alternatively I would add a cool down for spamming attacks, or a ammunition capacity, ect. This way a player needs to put more effort into each shot, meaning the games becomes more than a spam fest next to the base station. There are also glitches that can send a player through the bottom of the map when surrounded by Solar Cyborgs that are pushing from opposite directions, they can also push you on top of them where you can ride them to your hearts content. Finally I would like to say the "Polygon Art Style" works when you look at the outside rocks stopping the player from leaving (however they can be overcame) and the central base station, however due to the main characters and the enemies being seen the majority of the time I feel as if this was wasted due to how poor the moving assets are. Therefore better time dedication into these assets should have came before the massive central base station that could have literally been a small half sphere with another sphere in the middle that resembles a satellite dish.
Overall the game was entertaining for a short while- However I feel that poor dedication to some elements of the design of the game was the main downfall to this very interesting concept.
Hope you continue making games for the Ludum Dare and I can't wait to see what you make next! Best of luck, D.U.N.E.
I originally had a digital review and some art for this game- If you still want to see it, click the link below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNJOkYfwx8g (Once I saved it I noticed that is not a link...)