Shadow Cards

2018-04-23 01:23

hey, Matt! very nice work (:

i love the unexpected combo of stealth action and cards, but since both are very familiar it was super easy to pickup immediately, so brilliant way to combine! it was fun to do the sneaking around and the attack from behind and it was fun to rifle through my cards to find a good option. also i was able to win, so that felt nice. also i liked how you managed to set a decent stealth action mood with a little tension through music and opponent behavior. the minimalist visuals worked in your favor as i imagined what kind of place i was in and what kind of people i was up against. very effective!

i do feel like it was too easy, but that's hardly a major complaint since it allowed me to experience the entire game concept. if i had to pick one main thing to complain about, i'd say i wanted more visceral feedback with each card played. possibly more audio visuals to tell me if i was making progress and doing what i thought i was doing. that said it felt good whenever my opponent disappeared, so the minimal feedback was still communicating just enough, i think.

great job! glad you did this, and if i'm not mistaken, congrats on your first game jam! (: you actually kinda killed it just by finishing and having a solid complete game loop experience. you even had music! bonus points for bothering with that.

excy 2018-04-23 17:31

I actually think you've got a pretty good base for a game. There's elements missing such as hit feedback when using cards, I didn't know if I'd accidentally canceled an action or something. The left/right indicators when viewing cards says W for left (but I think most of us can figure out you meant A) and you can be seen through walls. It's also hard to tell if you're defending or attacking, I presume it's based on whether you're caught or you start a fight.

However, I was initially drawn in. I think if the combat was extended upon and there were more cards introduced (more defend options) then this would be a pretty enjoyable game. Nice job, man.

colin-misbach 2018-04-23 17:34

Sweet game. The minimalist art style fits well with the genres you chose. I wish I could have played more! (I know how hard level creation is)

If I were to be nit-picky, I would say that the difficulty level should increase a bit. I found it far too easy to avoid enemies, and found no reason to fight them. That being said I do realize that if you were to make one area different it could affect other aspects of the genres you chose.

The game feels very smooth. I enjoyed moving around and looking at my deck of cards. I think it was very important to my user experience.

Nice work!

tom-cumpsty 2018-04-23 17:39

I felt like it was way too easy, but a really good concept and if further developed I can see myself getting into this. Really good mood.

joekinglake 2018-04-23 20:41

Great game Matt, loved the way you've blended classic stealth mechanics with the CCG genre.

As @Colin Misbach mentioned, i also found it a little too easy to avoid enemies at times. I think giving the player some extra rewards for initiating & completing the combat phase could counter this.

It could be that giving a secondary purpose to the cards outside of combat & rewards from combat may fix this, giving the player the option to balance their resources in combat vs non-combat activities.

Absolutely loved the atmosphere & mood created by the minimalist style & non-interfering background music, only minor point if i were picking issues would be that the card changing noise is a lot louder than the other sfx & music and feels a little jarring.

Overall fantastic game, great work! I can't wait to see if you do more and take the project further :-)

tangybananas 2018-04-24 20:47

Loved this game, the music was great and the controls were clear, I really liked how you can complete the game without killing any enemies, that added a nice bit of challenge. The game looked fantastic aswell, there was a clear art style happening and everything in the game sticks to it so well. Great Job!

n00b 2018-04-25 03:13

This game is a good stealth game. My main complaint is just how useless the card mechanic is. I got through the entire level without ever having to use a card.

pixelproductions 2018-04-25 03:13

Wow, simple but awesome, the music turns the game really immersive. Catch my five stars ! :D

arthur-amorim 2018-04-25 03:19

Great music, i loved it, the concept is a really good one. I just feel that it could have been more difficult, because you can just walk to the end without any combat, but it still a great game. Good job!

homoludens 2018-04-25 04:31

Great idea. I enjoyed seeing the concept. As other have said, my main feedback would be regarding the difficulty and making choices.

I think the TCG base allows for a lot of expansion in the choices department but as it currently stands it was a bit lackluster. I could finish the levels without using a card and when I did, it was mostly a simple choice.

I would like to see this idea go forward but it needs some polish in the implementation, as is, it doesnt have the umph that the idea really promises.

Solid idea, good job

yubs 2018-04-26 00:51

With the music and the stark lighting differences, the game doesn't have a lot of flash but gives a really good effect and mood. The game is pretty easy, but the concept is great. I wish there was more game, and levels but I know that takes a lot of time. Good stuff!

groverthegrovekeeper 2018-04-26 01:32

I found this game really fun and the music was really good! I wish the combat system was more fleshed out, but otherwise it was a great game with great music and great graphics.

candlesan 2018-04-26 04:39

Wicked premise for a game. Loved the art and the general aesthetic. Good use of a minimalist art style. The music was appropriate. Sorta foreboding while having energy.

Really good execution on the tutorial. I love seeing tutorials integrated directly into the game world I always think that's a good way to do it.

Wish there were more missions! Felt like I was just getting warmed up and excited and then the game ended.

olivier-millochau 2018-04-26 10:58

This game was great ! The concept is very innovative with sleek design ! The fact that you can finish the game without having to use the card mechanic (by avoiding the enemies) is a bit sad... Maybe a bigger area of view would have been a bit better ?

lukbebalduke 2018-04-26 16:05

Great game!

The core mechanic is kind of simple, which made the learning curve really short, although it worked pretty well, the only thing I would change in the game is the difficulty, I finished the game in less than 3 minutes ( and got a "Stealth Master", I do not know if that makes any difference haha) and I am under the impression that the game could be much harder, with more tiny levels, more enemies, maybe some cameras or stuff like that.

Overall it is a solid and nice entry! Keep up the good work!

maytch 2018-04-27 18:44

I like the concept, I think you could take it really far! Like others have said, it needs a bit more feedback when the player performs an action. I think incorporating more difficulty through bigger AI sight cones, bigger body, less room to get past enemies, and perhaps speed/noise being a factor too would be great.

nyanmatt 2018-04-29 20:16

Hey Matt,

I liked the concept of the idea of using what cards the player has in their deck but unfortunatly I was able to get around the AI very easily. Possibly by co-ordinating the AI path to force the player to take more action (Stun them) making more use out of the card mechanic. I did have an issue where the vision cone was able to hit the player through the wall.

f1krazy 2018-05-14 20:37

This is a neat concept! The simplistic graphics work very well. I feel like it was a bit short, though, and a bit too easy - I killed one enemy, stunned another, and just danced my way round all the rest. More varied enemy types, and a greater necessity to battle sometimes, would really help bring the whole thing together. I think the music got a bit repetitive as well.

All in all, a very good concept, it just needs expanding a little. Well done though!

2018-05-14 21:37

Neat game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 41 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI6TXc0bclc