ghostgoatsgames 2018-04-23 05:16
Awesome looking water. Very interesting tide mechanics. Pretty hard game, but maybe you were going for that. Either way, impressive for 48 hours. Keep it up!
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD41 → Tidal
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 268 | 3.50 | 24 | |
| Fun | 402 | 3.18 | 24 | |
| Innovation | 394 | 3.28 | 23 | |
| Theme | 494 | 3.26 | 23 | |
| Graphics | 56 | 4.09 | 23 | |
| Audio | 261 | 3.09 | 23 | |
| Mood | 225 | 3.30 | 22 |
Awesome looking water. Very interesting tide mechanics. Pretty hard game, but maybe you were going for that. Either way, impressive for 48 hours. Keep it up!
This game was very challenging. I'm not sure how the second genre was combining with puzzle platformer, but the top-down camera angle did add some potentially interesting new way to build puzzles.
Sadly I couldn't master the barrel jump, so I didn't get to see much of the game.
One suggestion I'd like to make is to make sure you are prototyping out your levels or sections of challenges before, during and after creation. The more you run through your game, the more you'll find tricky spots where players might get stuck. In a production game, you can watch playtesters to see where they get stuck, but for a jam, you have to become the tester. The longer the weekend and more tired you grow, your exhaustion becomes a tool to help you emphasize with players.
Doing lots of tests of your levels would let you know where to add helpful UI like an indication of how to use shadows to time jumps or how to use barrels. It would also help you identify whether the control schema is easy to use. I found using a and d confusing and wanted to use w or up to move forward. If the camera were rotated 90 degrees it would have been fine, but my brain is mapped to think of the top of the monitor as up not right, so it added extra difficulty to the levels that didn't need to be there.
Overall the game as a lot of potentials. I wish I was better at the mechanics so I could have seen more of the level.
Of course I pushed the barrel off the dock before I read that you shouldn't push the barrel off the rock. The puzzles were nice, even though the controls felt a bit clunky sometimes. The concept of a 1D view for a 2D puzzle is very creative and the graphics look really good. Do you have plans for polishing it up for a post-LD release?
This is overall a super great puzzle game. The only small complain I have, is that for me to use W and S for waking up and down, would have made the game easier to play.
Challeging, good Idea and great Artstyle. Great work you guys.
@GhostGoatsGames Thanks man, the tide mechanic was inspired by another LD game I played a year a game where they involved time in their platformer.
@saoi-games Thanks for the suggestions. If I were to work it up again, I'd add UI displays explaining how to accomplish more simple puzzles. Sort of like a tutorial, and add a check point at the end so you don't have to go through it all again. I went with A and D so that it was suppose to begin as a side view, and then change to an up and down view. But I couldn't get the camera transition down so the whole game became top down.
@RadioactiveRambo This has been my favorite game made so far. If I think of more clever games, I may release a more polished version later, but I'm in the middle of so many other projects in the middle. LD games are great to keep your skills fresh. Thanks for the compliments.. helps boost my self esteem.
@jk5000 Look at my comment to Saoi. I thought I was going to be clever, but it ended to be my biggest complaint. I'll probs switch it later. Thanks for the review :)
@Fabian Pohl Thanks, it was a compo challenge, so it was just me. Thanks for the review
I've updated the game to be a bit easier, and added another checkpoint. Barrels are larger and collisions are changed to make more sense in the top down view. hopefully people will enjoy all of it, and not just the first few jumps.
Keep the reviews coming!
I couldn't get past the tall platform stack, couldn't figure it out. I tried for a while, but I just couldn't figure it out. Ping me and say if I was dumb or if there's a way. I really liked what I saw and I'd like to finish it.
Dude, hard game, some moments in the game are not so clear. NIce graphics and sounds
Oh the graphics are so beautyful. I was first confused about the controls (because I missed the start) but then it was all clear. Nice idea. Good Job!
Where is this man going? Nice looking game, but I noticed the shadows became very unclear if you jumped, or they were far away from the player. Also some small tips, if your game can be played with one hand, then dont make a replay button you need to press with you mouse, and maybe also make a restart button, cause I once pushed a barrel the wrong way and it fell into the water, and I would need to suicide! And when you character is under some planks would it be nice if the planks became see through, tough that could be done alot of ways, and that might be a bit difficult depending on your coding lvl! But, good fun looking game mate!
Nice concept! I like the idea of the tide going up and down to help you! And the 1d mechanics although a bit non-practical it sure is an interesting concept!
Still, I have not been able pass after the second barrel, If I push it forward, it does not help me reach the next rock, and I can't push it backwards to jump onto the higher level (it just won't move). Tried a few times with the same result...
In any case, good work! It looks like a nice concept! Let me know if that issue gets fixed (or if it was me just not knowing what to do :P)
Keep up the good work people!
The mix between the two dimensions is really well controlled, having the sun as an help was a nice idea !
But the game definitely suffer from a crazy difficulty ... You should have made the jump sections easier and focus on the puzzles more, you were on to something !
the control is weird. i always press w to jump but it end up expedite time. other than that solid game.
**Updated Game**
Hey thanks for all the feed back. I've taken it all into consideration and with some the quick fixes, I went ahead did. I also made puzzles easier. I just want people to be able to do all of it and enjoy everything I worked on :)
**Please download the original version if you have not scored the game, the updates were done after the alotted time**
-Keep barrel floating above tide (seems to only work in downloaded version, still issues in web)
-Made the high tiered puzzles easier -- I hope
-Uploaded an explainer video @nardandas, @mAnimal
**-CHANGED THE CONTROLS!** @saoi-games, @radioactiverambo, @jk5000, @royur **THERE, YOU HAPPY?! :) **
-Added R to respawn when dead @Bentekiller
-Removed some planks of docks that are on high tiers to better see through
-Tried to fix weird collisions on the docks that prevented barrels from sliding. If the problem persists, please comment to let me know @multiplexor
-Made night cycle shorter by about 1/2 and day cycle when shadows are good about 20% longer
-Added another checkpoint, and change the font color
**MORE UPDATES TO COME**
@gamedevbynight Hey, thanks alot. I'm still trying to find an art style. I only do 3d games so I'm pretty limited I feel :)
@Bentekiller I didn't think about that feature, about making it see through. I really wanted the shadows to play a more active role in the gameplay, but it's difficult with the day/night cycle. I think I will implement a see-through dock when I do another update. Thanks!
@olivier-millochau Hopefully it's not too hard anymore :| thanks for the feedback :)
I like the simplicity of the game and its mechanics making it easy to get going. The ambiance sound is pleasant to the ears and this style of art-style is one of my favorites. Moving and jumping is fluid but I struggled with the pushing mechanic as I often fell into the water along with the water - lol. Also, landing on the barrels was a challenge that may be a side effect of the camera angle. Perhaps an improvement there is to anticipate the player is trying to land on the barrel and move the model so that it makes a safe landing (assuming they are not making drastic movement inputs ;D). Pretty solid entry!
I like the idea of the sun raising and falling and the water going up and down: it makes the game more interesting! Very cool game and graphics!
good experiment, not bad game play and not bad level too! but i think need more check points and do something with this thing: when i move barrel in 50% i fall in water(
Cool game and very nice graphic (especially water)! I only lacked a character falling animation ;).
Love the ambient atmosphere! Using the shadows to help understand the level worked pretty well without being annoying. It would be nice to have checkpoints following some jumps to help with the difficulty. After dying multiple times on the two rocks after the elevated section I had to call it. The tide is an interesting mechanic and making the day and night cycle have a functional purpose is extra cool. Lighting fell a little flat during the night section, but overall looked really nice!
A little hard game and sometimes I had problems with seeing what is on each level, but overall great job :)