"Tower Defense" by Dmurph 2011-05-12T00:35:00
I've been holding off this comment for a while, so I'll make it a long one.
The basic game-play is much more similar to a SHMUP than a tower defense, in the fact that it contains almost no strategy & almost all interaction. The most successful tower defense games find the balance between interaction & strategy. For example, "Plants vs. Zombies" requires one to strategically place the plants as the level progresses, yet keeps the player busy through collecting sun-power, manually bombing zombies, & placing new towers. Also, the player is given almost no choices; they simply press the buttons when enemies appear & click the spikes when the spikes have been destroyed. This can be a tad fun, but ends up being tedious in the long run.
Another issue is in the progression/variety. The way you have it set up, the game game progresses through limiting the player's abilities. An ideal game progresses by presenting the player with new challenges, and letting the player learn along the way. What if Mario was simply the same level, except his jump was shorter every time it was played? Also, the lack in variety makes the player lose interest more easily.
As for the graphics, they are way too varied. Good graphics usually include only one main style. You have a popping red theme for the buttons & title screen, simplistic cube-like background, vector-like enemies, dark & menacing towers, & photographed nails all going on at the same time. Try to make all of the graphics wrap in one neat theme, and it will look 50 times better. Also, I enjoyed the music, it sounded very polished.
Overall, this was an interesting & fun game. Some of the things I mentioned probably have been improved upon in the new version, but still keep them in mind. In the end, I hope you have fun continuing this project & that you can end with something truly awesome :)
LD22 — Alone (2)
Chromboid by pekuja 2011-12-22T13:14:00
"Hm... can't jump over this. I'll go a different way."
"Woah you can double jump? That would've been nice to know."
"THE HECK YOU CAN TRIPLE JUMP!?"
CANDY WORLD DREAM REALM by Maple 2011-12-22T01:24:00
Awesome game, but I don't like being penalized for eating poop. I mean she seems to like it