Microbe match maker

ramchops-games 2024-10-07 10:50

I like this game's art. These little blobby guys are pretty cute! I also like how they wiggle their little feet as they're being picked up.

As for the user experience, I found it a bit difficult to scroll through the entire help menu to find the relevant microbe for the level because there's a lot of entries there. Wish there was a way to filter only the result you want/need, or that the data is shown in a more compact way.

In conclusion this is a good concept and a quick, fun puzzle!

op-orange 2024-10-07 15:31

This game is quite unique! It was very different to others and its quite good fun. music was a bit loud but im not sure if that's just chrome being annoying

manabreak 2024-10-07 15:32

It's a nice concept! I think you could start out with a smaller set of microbes and grow it as you progress through the levels. Then again, it's a compo, so time's limited to do everything. Good job. :)

dingbat 2024-10-07 15:32

Overall I love the art and the music. The gameplay itself is somewhat tedious I honestly ended up just brute forcing the levels rather than looking up the correct matches lol I think with some tweaking and maybe finding a more interesting way to challenge the player would help keep the game more interesting. Maybe adding some cute sounds for the little guys or something would also help. Nice work!

nightmaresdev 2024-10-07 15:33

Love this idea! It reminds be just a bit of Wordle/ classic matching games :3

Pros: - Game Loop - Visuals - Cutscenes are cute

Cons - When level is completed it got confusing on how to continue - Placing down the microbes can be a bit difficult/finicky sometimes.

Overall love the concept!

2024-10-07 15:35

This was a nice little puzzle, although as others have said, scrolling through the side bar was definitely quite tedious, and didnt feel like I was solving a puzzle so much as looking up a word in a dictionary where things werent in the order I expected. Nice concept and art.

2024-10-07 15:35

This was a nice little puzzle, although as others have said, scrolling through the side bar was definitely quite tedious, and didnt feel like I was solving a puzzle so much as looking up a word in a dictionary where things werent in the order I expected. Nice concept and art.

meep 2024-10-07 17:03

Really nice concept---I feel if sets of microbes were introduced slower it'd make for a neat logic puzzle! Alternatively, it might be less overwhelming if the help guide only showed the pairings that are relevant for the current puzzle. I didn't have a chance to verify, but are the solutions unique?

skaaaza 2024-10-07 18:30

Great job, good gameplay and great graphics :D I had one problem at the beginning, because I should put the microbe on the line but I tried over the line and it didn't work - but it's probably just me :)

designernap 2024-10-07 20:17

I mean... I don't want to brag but.. it turns out I am THE BEST MICROBE MATCHER IN THE WORLD! :D Really enjoyed this one. Lovely mood and graphics, cool scenes a lot of love in this one. Only criticism is that I found it tricky to place them occasionally, but minor really. Great work

sviborg 2024-10-08 06:57

🦠 Great game! Unique and engaging gameplay that makes you think. The art style with the cute microbes is just amazing and their animations add fun to the game! 🎨 I really enjoyed figuring out which microbes match each other and the feeling of satisfaction when all the pairs match! 🎉 Although the hint menu can be a bit overwhelming at times, it doesn't detract from the overall positive experience. Great job! 👏

martonel 2024-10-08 13:37

Thank's to everyone, who played with my game! @meep the levels are not randomized, if you restart the level, there will be the same creatures in the plate.

the-floating-brain 2024-10-08 17:53

Cute

clare-chan1738 2024-10-09 18:19

I like the cute simplistic artstyle and the matching was a fun mechanic, though a little hard to use sometimes. Very overall fun experience!

thomas-bringer 2024-10-10 08:07

Interesting concept, and creative usage of the theme!

I noticed a few issues for me though: - The drag and drop mechanic feels a bit unresponsive: sometimes I dropped a microbe but it won't get in the slot (problem with the hitbox probably) - The help menu is overwhelmingly large. For a first level, should probably start with less information. + the menu is kind of hard to navigate (scroll is real slow, have to drag with mouse), would benefit to show more info at the same time. Also, who cares about who *doesn't* get along together? to win, you just need to find pairs that get along. You could simplify that UI so much. - Maybe linked to the previous issue, but I feel like it's a shame that there's no real link between the shape, color of the microbe and the fact that they get along--it's "just" because the designer decided some conventions in a help menu. Honestly I would suggest a redesign being: there's no help menu. Creatures have, say, 3 features: color, size, and shape. The more features they have in common, the more they get along (or maybe the opposite? could be actually more interesting maybe!) And you just have to organize them to maximize the "overall happiness". That would be a pretty dramatic change, but I think it could work really well! I feel like it would make the player think more about the creatures instead of just reading some rules in a help menu.

Don't get me wrong the game has potential that's why I'm writing all those ideas, I just feel like the game hasn't unleashed its true potential yet, from a game design point of view. Also haven't said it enough but the creatures look real cute. Good stuff there!

fnelix 2024-10-10 08:40

As for others, the drag and drop did not work for me most of the time. The concept could work well for a nice puzzle game.

sdcorpse 2024-10-10 14:20

At the beginning i thouhgt that the drag and drop mechanic was not working. But then i inderstood how to use it. Music is great but a little bit short. Artstyle is lovely.

martonel 2024-10-10 18:24

Thank you guys!

@thomas-bringer Thanks for the advice, I always like to read comments that give constructive criticism on my game

nazariglez 2024-10-10 18:41

The little microbes are super cute, and the concept is really fun! Drag-and-drop was a bit finicky at times. Still, a solid and unique puzzle game, gj!

f1krazy 2024-10-13 09:44

Very nice little game! I was able to complete it through sheer trial and error, without needing to consult the "Help" section at all, but I appreciate that you added one regardless. The animation is super cute, and I liked the music too. Good job!

strangeryann 2024-10-13 14:14

the mastermind-like gameplay is a good and pretty fresh idea --- the graphics and vibe are nice

I'd say maybe increase the hitbox where you can drop the critters --- gotta drag & drop'em a few times until they stick, it's a bit frustrating --- the the feedback you get from the expression of the creatures, I feel it's a slight missed opportunity to have put it above the critters and not on their faces directly, seen as they all have an animated face --- also it's unclear to me whether the critters react to their side-to-side neighbours only, or to their above neighbours also --- and finally I found the 1st level really difficult --- I'd suggest more levels but starting off with a really really basic easy one, and having a much more forgiving and encouraging difficulty curve --- so that I get further and by the time I'm kinda stuck, I'm at level 10 and I'm really hyped from the previous 9 I completed quite easily --- feeling good about myself --- all that

keep it up and happy testing man --- gg on your game again, thanks for the experience :-)

sebbernery 2024-10-14 21:03

That's a cute game, I finished my formation of best microbe matcher in the world. I like the little animations when you move a microbe. I didn't understood all the logic behind pairing, but it's really satisfying to get everyone fully happy ! Congratulations for your entry.

silkworm-sweatshop 2024-10-15 18:13

Really cute! At first I thougt there would be some logic depending on how they look but once I figured out it was more a kin to mastermind it made more sense. Was a bit frustrating to place the creatures in the box before I worked out you have to put them a bit lower than you think. Some cute sound effects would've been nice to have for some added feedback and polish.

crcdng 2024-10-16 18:30

Cute art style! I would love to see a next version addressing some technical issues (dropping could be improved) and add most importantly make it into a deduction game by adding hints about the placements (check out Mastermind for example).

vfqd 2024-10-21 07:01

I had fun figuring out the relationships between the microbes :) as others have said, it would have been cool to introduce the new microbes a little more slowly. The little animations of the scientist were also full of personality! Great entry