Eyes on the Prize

crispypear 2018-04-24 14:42

Hey there! Rating incomming. Please return the favor.

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/stealth-farmer

Rating: Crafting didnt work. You didnt see what you were able to craft. Additionally, you didnt have time to see what different powerups did. This game should have had some kind of tutorial.

The game was a bit ugly. You didnt pick a style, and there where pixelart mixed with digitalart. You should pick a style, dont start mixing.

Still, this was a good game. I played several rounds of this too find the bads in it.

And its great that you made it singleplayer playable. Otherwise you wouldnt have gotten this rating

darkphnx 2018-04-25 01:24

Hey @Crispypear!

Thanks for your candid review! We appreciate the feedback, and will do our best polish out the inconsistencies you pointed out in our future work. I'll be sure to review your entry for the jam as well!

Thanks again!

matt-pattabhi 2018-04-25 02:31

This was dope dude you should continue working on this.

Your game gives me gauntlet nostalgia LOL.

darkphnx 2018-04-25 04:50

Thanks @matt-pattabhi

Gauntlet was definitely a major source of inspiration for this game! Glad you liked it, we are planning on taking this and trying to create something on a larger scale at a later date. Also, I reviewed your compo submission. Good work on your rhythm/racing game!

deadlymidnight 2018-04-25 05:18

Didnt make it past the initial screen sadly. Said to press start.. clicked, mashed keyboard never found a way to start or do anything. Alt-F4 was the only thing that seemed to work.

darkphnx 2018-04-25 05:23

Sorry about that @DeadlyMidnight

We focused on getting this game to feel smooth with an X-Box controller and didn't have time to code mouse and keyboard controls. Thanks for looking into our game though!

shohs 2018-04-25 05:30

Nice game! I wasn't able to try out the local co-op, but I bet it would be a blast! As a solo player, though, I feel like I wasn't able to explore much of the crafting because the difficulty ramped up too fast. It would also be nice if I was able to pause the game when crafting - otherwise it's a bit overwhelming

darkphnx 2018-04-25 06:06

Thanks for the feedback @shohs!

I agree that the difficulty is very steep if you are trying to play solo. Also, I think that providing the player more time to explore the crafting feature would be a great addition that wouldn't be too difficult to implement. How would you feel about a time slow mechanic when crafting instead pausing the game all together?

Thank again!

shohs 2018-04-25 06:09

Yeah, a time slow would be great too - just something so you don't get completely overwhelmed when you're figuring out what to craft :)

sleepygrin 2018-04-25 11:47

Yeah everything has been said before, but more crafting indication, and you should develop it to make a full game in my opinion !

darkphnx 2018-04-26 02:05

Thank checking out our game @sleepyGrin! We had enough fun with this project that we might try to scale this into a larger game in the future! Also, I'll be sure to check out your submission as well. Thanks for the review!

eriku 2018-04-26 03:15

Had to go digging for my Xbox controller to get this to work, but I'm glad I did. One of the more fun games I've played this time around. Agree with the others though - the crafting was the weakest area where I wasn't sure what I'd get and it took me multiple tries before I had a clue what I was doing. I wanted to always have the triple rockets, but I'd spam the buttons that I thought might do it and often it didn't end up how I'd expect. Very hard to keep track of resources while also running in circles and shooting, and I never did get a sense for when I had enough to get what I want. Also switching to the secondary menu was almost a no-go with the increased complexity that added. I think there's definitely a solid core here that could be worked around if that crafting part was improved. Overall well done team!

darby-costello 2018-04-26 11:06

Great vibe and aesthetic in this game. It plays really well in multiplayer. Sure the crafting didn't quite work how I expected, but this was a highly ambitious game in any respect and how much can anyone do in 72 hours? Really good stuff.

macdoom 2018-04-27 03:14

Could't play it as I don't own an Xbox controller. There is an alternative way?

darkphnx 2018-04-27 04:08

Thanks so much for the your feedback @eriku!

darkphnx 2018-04-27 04:13

Hey @Darby thanks for your review! I'm glad to hear you were able to experience the multiplayer aspect of the game! We definitely didn't have time to get the crafting system dialed in, but thanks for cutting us some slack!

darkphnx 2018-04-27 04:37

Sorry about that @MacDoom.

Unfortunately, our team did not have time to get any other inputs aside from an Xbox controller working correctly.

robowarrior1982 2018-04-27 07:26

I like this type of game it reminds me SMASH TV! I like play with gamepad at this type of game, but I think a maneuverability to the binding od issac would be better instead of using the right stick. For a single player it is really too difficult, it would be necessary to put a mode 1 and 2 player and adjust the spawn of the enemies in function. The function of craft would be more interesting between two waves in a kind of lobby so as to prepare his avatar for the next (the real time is hard to do better in the state). Level graphics and sounds it works very well in the retro style of the time! Good job continue and finish that game !

darkphnx 2018-04-28 01:53

@ROBOWARRIOR1982 We actually watched some SMASH TV before we started working on this haha!

Would you be willing to go into more detail on what you mean by Binding of Issac maneuverability? Also, thanks on the tip! I agree that there should be separate modes of difficulty depending on how many players are in the game. Also, I'll be sure to leave your submission a rating, thanks for checking ours out!

axe 2018-04-28 04:32

its a cool concept but i don't think these genres are particularly incompatible. like i wouldn't peg crafting as a genre either.

outside of that its a solid little shot at topdown shooting but the art is very unfocused. a singular style would really help out the feel.

a bit more work on audio and this could be a fun little party game. good job!

robowarrior1982 2018-04-28 07:00

@Darkphnx No problem, that's what I meant for maneuverability !

move.png

pond-loach 2018-04-28 07:58

not bad games except for the graphics didnt feel it homogeneous but gj ^^ Hope you rate me too :D

vilix64 2018-04-28 09:06

Too much action for me, but a solid entry. :slight_smile:

piller-yann 2018-04-28 12:49

Haha! It's a nice game. The idea of mixing crafting with a Bullet Hell is original. I could only play alone and I think playing cooperatively would be great. It's a shame that the monsters appear much too quickly and we don't have too much time to craft.

darkphnx 2018-04-28 17:11

@ROBOWARRIOR1982 Interesting concept, thanks for going into more detail on that!

darkphnx 2018-04-28 17:12

@pond-loach You're right! We actually hand crafted the characters and the eye monster's but ran out of time and had to plug in something for the skull spawners! Thanks for the review, and you'll have some ratings coming from us soon as well!

darkphnx 2018-04-28 17:13

Thanks for the review @vilix64 I'll be sure to look into your entry as well!

darkphnx 2018-04-28 17:16

@piller-yann I agree, there needs to be more time to look over the crafting menu. If we decide to build this game out further, a feature for that will absolutely be implemented. Thanks for the review!

superpokeunicorn 2018-04-28 22:30

This game is pretty cool. I didn't get a chance to try the co-op, but the game felt nice to play overall. Adding crafting elements to a twin stick shooter is a neat idea, though the crafting menu was a bit fiddly. The game is very fast paced, yet the crafting menu is small, in the corner, and dense with information, making it difficult to stop and read in the middle of a fight. Simplifying your UI and crafting system to make it readable from a glance would go a long way to make the game flow better. That said, the visuals and audio were very nice, contributing to a good overall mood. All in all, this is a very solid entry, Nice work!

remi-gourrierec 2018-04-29 19:03

Wanted to be able to play more but crafting system is pretty confusing at the moment and monsters spawn far too quickly for one player.

darkphnx 2018-04-30 06:15

Hey @deadlymidnight & @macdoom we just uploaded an online web version with mouse and keyboard inputs working correctly! If you want to check it out and let us know what you think, we would love your feedback!

invader 2018-04-30 20:14

They ate me alive!!!

fashionbatman 2018-04-30 21:07

I was able to play with a friend and had a lot of fun! My only issue was the crafting system, but that has already been talked about. Good job!

spacemonkey 2018-04-30 21:51

I always try to jump right in the games without reading description or comments, because I think a game should explain itself. It's late and everything but I honestly did not understand there was a crafting system. There is no time to think or look a the tiny UI because the monsters rush at you immediately.

Difficulty is obviously too high for single player.

I see now that you have gamepad support, this is of course really nice ! I would have liked to try it with friends but everybody here is asleep ^^'

The graphics however are very good and consistent. I had the impression of playing a top-down doom ! Which was honestly pleasant. The music fit that mood too ! Good job.

This is a solid first entry, continue making games ! You'll be proud of every step ! I hope my remarks aren't too harsh, I honestly tred to give you the feedback to improve, with love :)

darkphnx 2018-04-30 21:57

@SpaceMonkey Thanks a ton for your feedback and suggestions! The issues you described were a result of the time limitations for the event, but I agree that the game should be able to explain itself without external assistance.

I appreciate that you took the time to write out such a well thought out review! Thank you again!

ryzy27 2018-04-30 22:00

First things first. Congrats on your first game entry! It is lovely! Not being able to finish everything you have in plans is totally normal, that's why it's important to start small, finish it and then think how you can expand on that.

Game seems very ambitious. There's lots of art, no bugs that I have seen and the gameplay is well thought. Where the game is lacking is some sort of balance. I played by myself and couldn't keep up with all those skulls spawning. They are very tanky for one person to kill. After one death I was just swarmed by wormeyes and couldn't do much. Maybe adding some limit to maximum enemies or adjusting spawning rate depending on how many players are on would work and not require much additional time and effort?

Also... after a few deaths I realized that your game supports and probably should be played with a gamepad. It would be nice if you included some information in description or the game about that ;)

Overall it's a very solid first entry and I hope to see you next time around! Cheers!

paul-avallone 2018-04-30 22:20

This game is really hard to play. That being said, I really like the art and the crafting system seems cool. I think if you reduce the amount of enemies that spawn the game would be more enjoyable. I like that enemies spawn from where you died but maybe make it just one or two and not another spawner. Nice work.

phearbot 2018-04-30 22:59

@ryzy27, thanks for the feedback! The balance is definitely a pain point. We wished we'd got to a point where we could scale the spawns based on the # of players, but we ran out of time. Consequently you're absolutely right, it is a rough experience single player. We also thought that doing something like clearing the eyes when you die would be in order, because just pausing the spawns definitely isn't enough. If you're at all far (even with multiple players) it's pretty much over when you die the first time. Definitely needs balancing.

On the note of the gamepad, definitely a better experience there! We initially only coded it for the gamepad, but a lot of people weren't able to play the game so we made a WebGL build that had rudimentary keyboard/mouse support. The UI could definitely use some love for the keyboard/mouse players out there.

Thanks again for the awesome feedback.

phearbot 2018-04-30 23:01

@paul-avallone, thanks for the comment! We agree, the balancing definitely needs some work!

masterkrepta 2018-05-01 00:18

I played with a keyboard and mouse, and found it fairly straightforward. My biggest wish would be for the game to pause when you open the crafting menu. not having the pressure of upgrading while being attacked would definitely help

kroltan 2018-05-01 00:19

For a first time player, the balancing is absolutely overwhelming, having to juggle a lot of enemies, not falling in a ditch and upgrading the weapon.

Also, some feedback for when the player does hit things would be good. I had no idea the spawns were damageable until you told me, and thought eyes had tiny hitboxes when in fact they had health.

Anyways, congrats on such a complex entry! Really quite a bit of systems going on there.

phearbot 2018-05-01 00:41

@masterkrepta, thanks for the feedback! You're definitely not alone in that sentiment. Something like a pause, time slow, or time between waves giving the player room to breathe would help with that.

dyoni 2018-05-01 01:53

Nice! I found the game difficult to press tab and craft something at the same time as shooting enemies. It's nonstop fight! It could be easier if the game paused during crafting so I could actually know what I was doing. Anyway, good job guys!

cpage 2018-05-01 03:33

@Dyoni Thanks for playing! Pausing or some sort of time between waves is something we have heard quite a bit of and we totally agree. Thanks for the feedback!

yashpal 2018-05-01 12:30

Game is fast for me(I never played game bullet-hell games ). But it's very fun. it's good concept and execution. After I got every shortcut to upgrade. than it's fun for me

yetman 2018-05-01 13:50

Nice but too hard. I went on crafting randomly since I didn't have time to see what I have to do in the crafting menu. The enemy count become overwhelming after the first respawn. Otherwise, I really like the idea. I didn't try it in multiplayer mode but I think it would be better since the player can cover each other during crafting. The visual and audio aspect of the game is nicely done too. Good job.

macdoom 2018-05-02 00:09

Thanks for adding mouse and keyboard support to the game! I liked very much the graphics and the horror theme. The movement of the character needs tightening, it feels like he slips constantly. Excellent work!

phearbot 2018-05-02 01:09

@MacDoom, thanks for coming back and giving it a try! This was our first LD Jam and we didn't realize how limiting it would be if we didn't have a WebGL version, as well as keyboard/mouse support. We got your feedback along with a few other people and decided to make it right. Thanks for the feedback as well!

phearbot 2018-05-02 01:19

@Yashpal, thanks for playing! Enjoyed your game as well.

phearbot 2018-05-02 01:25

@Yetman, thanks for the feedback! It really is better in multiplayer mode! I think we all agree the first thing we'd improve if we put more time into it is the balancing for single player.

strega 2018-05-03 08:12

Nice smash tv style game! The crafting was a bit hard to do. I totally got overwhelmed by the monsters >_<

cristiano-m-garcia 2018-05-03 15:10

Good job! Cool game!

I left my rating of your game, if you can leave your feedback in our game, Witch's Escape.

I hope you continue with the project.

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/witchs-escape

annie-owl 2018-05-03 20:12

Really fun game. But you really should give player some time to understand what's going on and how the crafting system works. Because when i just launched the game, I almost ragequited because of not understanding how crafting works and getting overwhelmed by hordes of monsters.

jaime-paz-lopes 2018-05-05 12:36

cool game, but for me is too hard. when crafting I think that the game needs to stop so I can have a good look at what I can craft and how to craft, at least for the first or second craft. After death the eye enemies should despawn, because when I respawn the map is filled with eyes and it is impossible to move and kill then all.

phearbot 2018-05-05 20:39

@jaime-paz-lopes, I completely agree. On death all the enemies should despawn, because it's basically impossible to get back in the game once you die. Thanks for the feedback!

phearbot 2018-05-05 21:01

@annie-owl, thanks for the feedback! You're absolutely right the game needs to be slower at the start and have more of a tutorial. I felt like your game did very well at letting me know what I needed to be doing.

phearbot 2018-05-05 21:12

@Strega, thanks for playing! The game definitely has some balancing work to do. Also, to really be able to stay on top of things you have to combine the power ups, which isn't expressed at all. A tutorial in the game to teach you what is going on when you start would probably go a long way.

pond-loach 2018-05-06 15:06

liked the way the things move but leave a web version

rob-white 2018-05-06 19:38

Certainly very unforgiving! A good shot at a topdown shooter though. I feel like it may have been balanced slightly in the favour of multiple players though.

darkphnx 2018-05-07 05:43

@Pond-Loach Thanks for checking out our game! There is a web version of the game available online at https://planeteightgames.itch.io/eyes-on-the-prize

It should be right at the top of the page, if you missed it!

darkphnx 2018-05-07 05:46

Hi @rob-white, thanks for playing our game! It definitely got balanced in favor of multiple players, and in the spirit of Ludum Dare, we didn't re-balance anything after our the time-frame expired. I'll be sure to review your game as well!

rodrigo-denubila 2018-05-07 13:36

I had a lot difficult playing in mouse/keyboard, maybe that is not the right way to play. the game seems interesting just need some polishment and balancing. Good job!

cpage 2018-05-17 06:14

@Rodrigo-Denúbila Sorry for the slow reply, we have all been taking some time away. Thank you for your kind words. It is extremely difficult to play with mouse and keys. We designed it with gamepads in mind and added in the mouse and keyboard as an after thought.

The balancing needs a lot of work and it absolutely could use a lot of polish. We hope to take it further in the future.

Thanks again for the review. You Rock!