Endless Duel

naemis 2022-10-03 05:31

So... I want to give this game my honest criticism. In terms of theme, you did a very good job on the theme as it basically met the requirements of it.

The gameplay could've been very fun if there was a lot more content in the game itself... as it felt very bare bones. In terms of design, there are a lot of things you can do to make the game itself more engaging.

1. Adding some sort of power-up system or progression system or SOME sort of goal to achieve. Having a shooter with no end in sight CAN be fun if there was content in it to justify continuing through (ie. having some sort of stakes involved. Something to lose) 2. Graphics were very pretty, but I feel like with an understanding of balance, theme, aesthetics, design--you could really make these graphics shine. 3. Using your level-space appropriately. There is a lot of extra room you could use to fill the game up with content. I understand you want the character to feel like they're in an endless duel, but other then just being stuck in a platform in the middle of space, there's not much else.

Don't treat this as me saying your game is bad, the movement and shooting fluidity is very nice. I just want you to improve and make the best game you can :D

Good work on the jam!

thx4nothing 2022-10-03 05:41

As the other comment said, some more goals would have been nice. The first few rounds I killed the enemy in one second and just waited for the rest of the 10 seconds.

Shooting felt pretty good though!

sky 2022-10-03 05:45

Solid artwork, I like the little reticle mouse cursor, it really helps the experience. The shooting was very smooth and satisfying as well. I think there's a bit too much bloom/glow effect on everything, and a little more variety of mechanics would help the gameplay. Nice work overall!

aryaman 2022-10-03 12:09

U've got a nice game... However honestly, I do feel that the graphics can updated... Rest, great game

davidbradbury 2022-10-03 17:38

Congrats on the entry! Overall, very smooth, and fits what is on the tin. I think some basic sound would do quite a bit to expand on the feel of the entry. Also, a small change I might make is when spawning an enemy, checking the distance to the main character and making sure it is at least a certain distance away. Solid loop and the neon glow wasn't overbearing like some entries. Good work.

fastandblast 2022-10-04 04:22

Overall I think the game could very well do with some content, but you could say that for all game jam games, and especially compo. In general the game felt fairly dry in terms of gameplay after the first run as the subsequent runs felt way too slow early on and not very fun in terms of the INSTANT death if you go off the edge. Perhaps make it deal a bit of damage to be outside the ellipse but its really punishing and feels really bad to lose to walking off the small ellipse. The graphics suited each other fairly well however I do think the ground could use some work I actually quite liked the playre and enemy sprites they were very congruent with the aesthetic. Good entry!

alb3rt-w 2022-10-04 13:20

**Another post here which absolutely enjoyed the fluidity** and intuitiveness of both the UI and the gameplay. This game benefits from a mixture of solid core gameplay and polished functionality. However, like many games it falls short in terms of content, which is not that big of a problem considering its in Compo. I want to give some feedback according to what I felt in the 15 minutes of gameplay from the game.

- The notion of the area in which the player engages in endless duels is very well thought out. However, the narrowness and lack of area the battleground supports limits the "fun"ness of the core gameplay. It sucks out what could have been an amazing core gameplay component. Maybe considering altering the area? Also, dying if you touch only the very edge is extremely frustrating for any player. Maybe considering draining the health instead?

- The graphics were eye-candy for anyone honestly! That was one of the main strong suits of the game! If this was expanded further, the game would have won me over completely with the graphics department. Great graphics dont depend on ray-tracing and exaggerated shadows.

- The enemies AI was kinda clunky which made fighting them less enjoyable. They are already quite solid, but its just some room for improvement that would've up your game to another level.

**Overall, one of the best compo games I've encountered in terms of striking a balance between all the elements of the game. Exceptional.**

wizcas 2022-10-04 14:12

Love the artwork and the bloom effect. The design of restoring health is nice and makes the game more playable. The design of platform boundary makes the game challenging, otherwise I could've just running around enemies hardly being damage. The concept looks good to me, but it would be better if there are more elements such as items or changing the platform. Anyways, I love this one. Congrats!

2022-10-04 18:19

I love the modern look of the game and the feel of controlling the character moving across the screen. I liked that when you progressed your shot speed increased making it feel more fun to kill enemies. Overall the look and feel of the game is great, but you need more story line.

eugenik 2022-10-04 23:34

Excellent. Beautiful

birdy-games 2022-10-06 03:08

Simple but good. Maybe enemies start attacking you too fast, but good work!

pixelydian 2022-10-07 19:09

Simple but effective! I like the concept and application of the theme. Couple of visual suggestions for post jam - I'd draw one version of your player with his back facing the camera (or "up") so he doesn't look like he's almost upside down before his x-scale flips. The funny thing is, that you can basically just remove the eyes and he'll look like he's turned around. Also, some squash and stretch, color flashes, or screenshake to indicate you or the enemy has been hit by a bullet. The simple art is great, it just could be taken to the next level with a few tricks to give it juice. Anyway I say all this because you have a great game here and it would be worth putting in a little extra polish! I like the HP recovery mechanic, and the difficulty curve works well. Good job!

hawkin 2022-10-08 01:52

The graphics were very smooth! You had a clear style, and it worked.

I wished the enemies had a little slower introduction into the arena, as they abruptly appeared and started firing. That was hard to anticipate, and felt a little too punishing.

As with other entries, the use of the theme as a "stage reset" didn't feel very strong to me, as it's not connected to the player's action. It's not really a reward or a punishment. I'm not one to say "you have to implement the theme!!", but toward the beginning of the game, most of the 10 seconds was empty space waiting for the clock to run out. For that reason, maybe a different way to implement the theme would have better maintained momentum.

That said, the game you built around the theme was fun to play!

bea 2022-10-08 03:56

This was neat and solid and simple. Would have loved a little sound, but otherwise didn't really feel like anything was missing, just a tight little game that I feel completes it's premise.

dreamerflow 2022-10-09 07:29

Simple and funny! Good mechanics and art, I think needs some sound effects and a exit button but I enjoy it, managed to get to level 12, the increase of difficulty is very good, nice job!

tuile 2022-10-11 13:48

I enjoyed the different ways you visually told the player what was happening. HP Regen? Bar right above the player and you can see it refill without being told. The timer stood out well. So in terms of UI/X, you did great.

While, I did want the extra time after killing a wave to mean something, the amount of time I had between waves got pretty short anyways. If there had been some SFX, it could have been even more immersive. Doesn't really feel like an endless duel but more a matter of time for now, as you can't really avoid all the enemies, and have a limited HP regen. If there were items on the floor, and rather increasing the strength than the number of enemies, I could see this become potentially endless!

Good work though, enjoyed the game!