cameron-borthwick 2022-10-03 13:57
interesting idea, shame the meteors are a little buggy. some ambient music would have been really nice too. nice work and good job on submitting.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD51 → Nighttime
By greymouth
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 2.00 | 3 | ||
| Fun | 1.50 | 3 | ||
| Innovation | 3.00 | 3 | ||
| Theme | 1.00 | 3 | ||
| Graphics | 2.00 | 3 | ||
| Mood | 2.50 | 3 |
interesting idea, shame the meteors are a little buggy. some ambient music would have been really nice too. nice work and good job on submitting.
Cool concept, too bad it wasn't fleshed out more. A few sounds would really help. Also don't see how you used the theme
(I am now in a rush to test as many games as possible to help, so please do not mind the cursory reviewing style.)
[using a desktop version, as recommended]
1. "I’d love to continue this and build it into something where you can capture photos of more complex astrological events (i.e. planets, comets, nebulas)" -> reminds me of [*BigBangSurfer*](https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/bigbangsurfer)! 2. the interface is super clear and controls very intuitive 3. interesting original concept; it still reminds me of games such as safari *Afrika* (where you take photographs of wild animals) 4. nice, even a ‘stash’ feature! (reminds me of Git XD Had to use `git stash` once this time, actually) 5. photographing some comets: weird, there seems to be some latency, because the picture I am shown is from some seconds in the *past*! (I get the previous rightward comets instead of the newer leftward) 6. also like the smooth interface for accessing items from the stash :) 7. after stashing four photographs, trying to export; oh, the default filename ‘cool_photo’ gets rejected as ‘Invalid filename!’! :o Ah, got it: this is the default text for an *empty* field! XD Maybe replace it with ‘Type name of your cool photo here’? 8. how do you get rid of a photo from the stash? ‘Discard’ seems to let it in! 9. the "Done!" panel can stay even once the photograph panel has been closed 10. suggestion: showing the number of the current displayed photograph (for example, "3 / 4") 11. do the comets always go by pairs? Some randomisation could add variety 12. weird, sometimes, panning the camera, I get for a very brief instant something displayed as if getting through me 13. agreed with Luka Roli that sounds would be nice, to get the sweet contemplative nightly atmosphere (music as suggested by Cameron Borthwick could be an option, but this is debatable as no music could fit the real sensation; maybe make it… an option ;)) 14. the comets sometimes seem to disappear, although this may be intended, since they burst into the atmosphere at some speed (thus, I am wondering if this is really a bug as Cameron Borthwick thought)
**Takeaway:** still a prototype in my view (and since you intend to extend it, this is coherent!), but the concept is interesting and soothing; to add more to the game side, I guess some system that awards you points depending on the quality of your photographs could be considered. (*Afrika* or even the figurine quest from *The Wind Waker* work similarly.) I am not sure about the theme, like Luka Roli, but I suspect comets show up every ten seconds, although I did not count (and it seemed shorter?). (**Edit:** I would say the comets’ lifespan seems to be around 10 seconds, so I guess this is it!) A bit hard to judge the graphics, although the night ambience (with fitting darkness and variously contrasted stars) and interface (including font) are already well made. I particulary enjoy how clear and smooth the interface is, everything already feels intuitive, which is a good sign!
Thank you for the soft night. :) Here are three out of my four pictures (the first one was cometless)!
Up… … left… … and down. Feels like Johnny from 'The Wind Waker'!
[Do not forget to review and rate other games, if you have enough time; it will also help yours get noticed and have testers and feedback. :)]
PS: too bad you are forced (I think?) not to opt-out from ‘Audio’ in Compo format, it just does not make sense here when there is none! X) Unless I missed something (in which case, please tell me).