Falling ground by Mr. Chelnoque 2017-05-15T22:17:08Z
It was not bad, i like the atmosphere and overall feels. Kind of wish the gameplay was not that simple and that it was closer to the theme.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → Kwisarts
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 41 | Combine 2 Incompatible Genres | Skaart And The Cursed Woods | compo | 407 | 3.29 | 2.64 | 3.38 | 3.51 | 4.59 | 3.13 | 2.60 | 3.44 | |
| 2017 | 38 | A Small World | A tiny explorer in a tiny world | jam | 367 | 3.40 | 3.40 | 3.30 | 3.85 | 4.42 | 4.05 | 4.09 | 3.60 |
It was not bad, i like the atmosphere and overall feels. Kind of wish the gameplay was not that simple and that it was closer to the theme.
Pretty nice! You always make great games :) A lot of feedback has already been given, but I wanna still congratulate you for the mood and feel of the game. Also, I love that you went for a Tsuro style (I discovered the board game a week prior to playing your entry)! I follow other people's opinion on the edge: there really should be something happening there cause at first I didn't get why I was stuck (I was assuming that if it meant a game over, the rabbit would fall or something like this, but nothing happens)
Pretty solid entry!
Nice looking game! I find the graphics really charming :) However, my issues: * The fights feel really awkward: no health bar (I know you lacked time, no worries), no feedback (we can't know when we hit or get hit) and no clue how the enemy attacks. I fought the first two ninjas and then I just avoided all the others, running to find the keys and door. * I wish there was a way to know where you are , as I was not sure which door I was supposed to go to next (simply making different doors would fix it (though you wouldn't have time to make it I assume) * It didn't feel like a "small world" to me; It might seem strange to say that but it felt too big and I felt I could be lost. Not sure it needed to be so big. I think the gameplay itself should have been "different" although I get that lack of time wouldn't help to make a more "solid content". (not saying it should be small; just that it didn't feel so close to the theme in my opinion
Pretty good work nonetheless :)
I think that's my favourite entry. Well polished, very, very nice atmosphere (the kind of things I dig a loottt) I really love how there is a story and how this story goes incresingly creepy as the days go. A bit confusing at the end but pretty, pretty neat. Nice take on the theme, nice style, nice music.
A few things I had troubles with though: Sometimes (especially at the beginning since you don't get the controls) it's a bit too... "hard" to figure out what to do. Probably has already been told but the controls were not very obvious from the start. I did read the controls before playing but... yeah it lacks intuitivity. I had to get back on the page to check the controls. Also, I would have prefered if you were able to move a bit more freely as it doesn't feel... well... free.
Really liked the game! As an artist it was fun to browse and I would definitely like to use it later on! However I don't really get the link with the theme...?
Ouuh, creepy! I don't know what you changed in the post-jam version (played the jam version), but here are the things I suggest to improve: * The rooms are too dark; it's hard to see anything and platforms may be too difficult to notice at times. I get that you went for a creepy atmosphere but it made it a bit too tedious to move. * You move incredibly fast in the outside world. Not such a bad thing cause it's not the part in which you need precision but it felt strange * I like dropkicks but it felt weird to attack this way. Also, jumping is slow so it's not easy to time your attacks right. * you die pretty easily. Zombies tend to be unforgiving and sometimes they are too hard to see; collision doesn't seem so accurate (or weird) so it can make it harder.
Overall though we can feel you put lots of efforts in the game! The atmosphere overall is great and the game doesn't look bad at all :)
That was a pretty cool game! Although I'm not a fun of such graphics, it was quite charming! You can feel the threads moving :) Interesting to explore these planets. I like how their colors are different and how they vary in size.
However, it was a bit too simple, and some patterns were repeating 3 times sometimes (the "blades" moving back and forth in the exact same spots)
I love the atmosphere and it was really immersive! I like how we have "tasks" other than answering to the phone, making us feel more involved. :) I like the subtlety of the alternate ending! Just as subtle as the way you can reach it!
Not bad, kind of wished the pace was a bit faster though (gnomes sometimes take to long to be in a sweetspot)
Like the idea, although fights were unfair (as previously stated; being hit as you enter a room is... not cool)!
Too bad it's missing music, it feels lacking! However, the idea is interesting. It was fun discovering the messages and actually have a goal. :) The aiming is really difficult to handle though but I like your ideas!
Really polished!
Loved the graphics and sounds! :)
However, I wish the gameplay was less simple (lacked challenge and felt a tad repetitive; fortunately, there are several different segments that helped diversify the gameplay). I love how there is an "antagonist" :)
I was able to plant only 28 trees though :o
Also, a nitpick: I really wish the sound when building a tree wasn't always the same. All the sounds of this game are beautiful and pleasing to hear, but this one lacked diversity (just changing the pitch each time would have helped)
Yeah, reminds me of rampage too :p Feels a bit too difficult to avoid people and it felt a bit slow but otherwise, not bad :)
It is pretty cute and I like the sounds, made me feel like I was playing a gameboy game. The music is nice but... I don't know, it feels a bit... stressful? Kind of expected something a bit more joyful; right there it makes me feel like I'm in a cave or something. I wish the bunnies would move way faster though, they got on my nerves at some point... Otherwise, pretty cute :)
Probably one of my ffavourite entries! Pretty nice looking and very satisfying due to all the gold piling up! Very, VERY sweet! I like that type of games :) What I think could be improved (**warning: I will be nitpicking a lot, your game is good regardless**): * A better way to understand how all is flowing. I had a very hard time starting the game and restarted a few times whenever I felt I didn't understand correctly how you play. But one thing I never understand is how a port "efficiency" works. Like, I didn't know how many passengers would be there, so it was not always easy to figure out what path to follow etc... Like, sometimes I had ports that almost didn't make travel any passengers and lost because of it.
* Although the coins are pretty cool and that it's nice to see them pile up, I feel they lack weight. Mostly because they jiggle like hell. (though maybe it's because of my settings...?)
* Although the atmospheric sounds are pretty nice, I still think it lacks some kind of music. Something calm and peaceful but present.
* Something to do when things get to easy. At some point, I bought shirt loads of boats and it didn't seem to stop my wealth grow. It lacks some challenge but... yeah, in 72 hours it's hard to come up with something especially when the game is that polished! Not blaming you
This was very fun to play! I have a few things to say about the gameplay though. Sorry if someone else said it, I see there is already a lot of feedback. * the ball was a bit too difficult to predict. Couldn't tell how exactly it moved sometimes. It feels... weird. I like that you play in a dome but the way it bounces feels very strange. * the movements are way too quick. Like, you almost hit the ground immediately after releasing the jump button and the bat animation is slow. As a result, I felt like the timing was... sketchy? Like, I just felt like bashing the bat button. Longer animations would have been great in my opinion. Gravity could be a bit less strong to allow the player to fall down slower (although I assume it causes issues as you might find a way to jump to the other side but you can place some kind of walls I guess)
I like the art! Cute little game. A bit empty (you just need to reach the cheese) and as people said, too easy.
Since you smell and stuff, it would have been fun if instead of an arrow, you had the puff of smoke/cloud indicate you how close you are to find the cheese instead of an arrow!
This was pretty **fun** to play!
Sadly, I did not get to play with more than 1 opponent; but it was pretty fun nonetheless! Found myself using techniques (tackling my enemy as he goes to take the shoes!) and it was very satisfying to win more than half of the time :) I kinda wish there were a few more powerups to spice the battle up but it's very nice for something made in 72 hours and I still had lots of fun! :)
To be honest, this is typically the kind of game you could keep working on! The game is very polished and it would be fun to play with friends!
My sole issue would be the lag but I completely understand that it's there.
Looks pretty nice! I like how charming the colors are and the hook/push mechanic :D Not a fan of the controls though :o
Well, that was very, very fun! Probably one of my favourite entries. I love how you used the theme. It feels tiny yet you have stuff to do. That's a very good thing! Graphics are cute too! However, the difficulty curve is... weird. I assume it's procedurally generated right? That's a good thing but for a loooong moment the game was too easy (there is a lack of challenge since you always have the option to attack from behind) and then all of a sudden, I am surrounded by 2 spikes and 2 enemies (making it impossible to evade). Tried to kill an enemy but he got me in 3-4 shots while I was unable to kill it so... I lost while I started that life with full life. Should have went for the spikes I guess....
@zantamar Thanks! I figured the disco mode was the only thing I could make to "save" the game :D
@Zelos Thank you! Since I couldn't offer much content, I just went with what I am used to do... dumb talk :D
@citsua Merci! I wouldn't say "gorgeous" as it lacked so much to it. I even have a tree sprite that I did not use because I was unable to work well with the depth. And since I didn't offer much content... well... disco mode :D
@aurel300 Unfortunately, I didn't play test the game enough (had to rush the end so I couldn't recheck some sentences) and didn't notice that the font I used had no accents... so it makes some french sentences look super weird (one was supposed to say "Parle-moi en baguette et je te répondrais en câlins." but... accented words disappeared...) and I just noticed now that I left an ugly typo to "Petite dédicace" I keep forgetting to edit it though so it looks like my french is horrible but I'm actually native! Leçon du jour: relire en se concentrant mieux et s'assurer que la police d'écriture contienne toutes les lettres nécessaire...
@jupiter-hadley Thanks, lovely :)
@juju-adams _I know right_
@pcmaster Thank you for calling it a masterpiece! And I agree that _every game should have a disco mode_
@feltip Thanks! Kept the scope very low and threw in the disco mode cause the scope was _way too low_. It's my style of programming so if you see me doing more games, you'll see that kind of stuff from me!
@binaryferret Well the game is finished, it's just that I didn't get that much hours to make it (initially) so I kept my scope way lower than I could. Thanks, those sounds were fun to make! Though I think they sound weird...
And thank you for the compliment of art! I probably will make more games like these and even make them better! Though not sure it would be realistic to have a disco mode in every game but hey...
If you dig my stuff, I also made another game (in a game jam) with that type of graphics (although darker), except it's a kinda deeper story: https://gm48.net/game/581/the-ascension (although i'm working on a way better version, this one has several gameplay issues)
@aaranos Thanks =)
@apostate-games Thank you!
@thatsnillet Sure will! And thank you :)
@sgadrat ma typographie n'a pas d'accent... le mot était censé être câlins mais du coup ça fait clin... >.>
@velaros Yep, sorry for the lack of content!
@gurkenlabs It was my intent :D Can't make a good game? Keep the viewer busy to make it look like a real game!
@feips Woops, didn't notice your comment!
**_NOW DANCE LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW!_**
@thrillo I agree that this isn't really a game! As for the music, it actually used to suck cause it didn't look like disco at all but I fixed it and didn't change the text afterwards. Still the music could be a lot improved
@fetterkeks Yep, it is supposed to! It initially is a button just in case the character gets stuck (it used to with the way I first handled the disco mode but I got it fixed) I left it cause it's kind of amusing to float in the air. (some kind of jump button I guess...)
Interesting entry! I love the atmosphere. Nice vibe! I like how there are several types of games, but I agree 100% with Local Minimum. Also, although the art is nice, the animation kind of feels... lacky.
Pretty nice! I liked how the island moved around and it was really immersive, to the point of wanting to make the best score possible. :) Nice difficulty progression too!
Well done!
Not an uninteresting concept, but I find the pace to be so slow. It also gets weird when you shoot several letters at once. I like how as the game progresses, more letters are added (I mean, I know they're zombies, but their design doesn't reflect on that too much, so I just call them letters)
Moving with the mouse is so strange. Why not arrow keys/wasd?
Also, sometimes, the zoom doesn't let you see much letters on the edges because they are in that motion blur thing
I don't find the game itself hard. Honestly it's even kinda easy since you respawn automatically.
What makes it "hard" is solely that dying/respawning bug. For me, it ruined the whole game. :(
I was having fun, then on my first death, it went downhill. I kept dying whenever I touched a building, making it difficult to upgrade. I kept respawning/dying at random. The respawn counter does weird things. Etc.
In that matter, I would have liked more communication on this page. Please let us know that there is a game breaking bug so that we don't feel as confused/surprised when it happens. It felt more frustrating than it already was (i mean, it's already super frustrating on its own) because your page doesn't acknowledge it. A bit of transparency on this regard would have been great. (it also shows you're aware of the issues, potentially avoiding comments being only about that)
Really though, without the bug, aside from the lack of general sound (and more defined graphics), it would have been super great. I was enjoying myself before the bug happened!
Pretty enjoyable game! Very well polished and fun! My complain would be that the pace is rather slow and that the slot machine becomes useless once you lay down enough coin towers. Especially since the game is so easy that you barely need to use it for hearts. There is a button to make the wave end early but how does it work? It seems like the towers shoot at regular speed while the enemies go twice as fast. Not sure if intended.
Also, it started to lag at some point; I don't know if it's just me though but from the comment it doesn't seem so
As I mentionned in gm48.net, sound would have helped for immersion! Dying out of nowhere feels a bit harsh, especially considering we may get cursed items ^^ (seems like the html5 version, as opposed to the gm48 one, has cooldwon on hits, is it intentional?)
That's a pretty nice game! What's amazing is that theme-wise, they are indeed incompatible genres yeeeet it spawns an interesting game anyway!
Pretty nice! Looks very cute. And pretty good entry overall.
The "uh, seems like science got too far" caught me off guard, ahah.
But then, it was just a matter of destroying science houses. Science is overrated!
I like that you had killing sprees and non-killing sprees, but maybe I would have liked "rebels" or "criminals" to make up some shooting gameplay aside the cavemen and robots?
Cool to see the game was made in game maker! (You're not in the (reddit) game maker discord by any chance? if not, you should, it's a solid entry you got there)
I'm also surprised, considering that it's a compo, that you didn't also publish it for the gm48 game jam that happened at the same time, since I think the theme wasn't so far off. (the theme was "helfpul but harmful"; since your weapon is helpful but may also kill, I think it's appropriate. same for scientists. There were several "double entries" and most of them barely even made the theme fit for gm48; but I think this your game felt alright in that matter)
I like typing games but I'm pretty bad at it. That great goblin lord of the swamp though, feels like it got there maybe a bit too soon.
I'll be honest, I'm not exactly sure how i'm supposed to play. Should I just add in cards to the pool from the left? Or should I focus on the cards already in the middle? Either way, typing forces me to focus on a part of the screen and made me, most of the time, unaware of my life and the state of the battle.
I like how it uses creativity to make it harder with super fancy and humourous names!
The reason I didn't push further than my limits was the music; I'm not sure it fits the game and it became more distracting than anything else. I mean, it's probably just me, but it seemed to be "out of place". I kinda had troubles to stay focused on the typing. (probably cause I suck at it though?)
PS: Did... did you opt out the humour? :< why? It was probably what I would have rated the highest
I agree with the previous feedback.
The game is kinda fun and has some strategy!
Damn, that's hard. Mostly because you need luck from my experience. (a bit hard to be able to do anything when there are only monster cards and that there are wands around)
I like the idea and found it interesting, although I feel a bit disappointed that I couldn't finish it.
Pretty nice! The music feels pretty right and we can feel the beat! My only complain would be that it feels almot solely like a rythm game (the rythm part being way more prominent)
Pretty cool concept that I think would be nice to further dig!
I was pretty confused at first because I couldn't figure out how the level generation worked (and I still don't know what's going on with the other screens) and it's only after trying many spots that I got a bit more grasp of it. Perhaps it would have helped to make it more clear than what you see in the tablet is 100% made depending on what you see in game. Also you _need_ a ! to have your character. I didn't get that at first.
Despite that, I managed to get all the coins! The one in the ceiling was the hardest to get to imo.
Nice game! I love how you take advantage of the dice here. :) It has a nice challenge while it makes you anticipate your moves! Well done!
"I don't have anyother" This typo makes the sentence sound kinda cute. Since bugs and the like have been addressed, I'm going to give my opinion on several things regarding the content:
(Note that it's mostly nitpicking. being able to squeeze all that in 48 hours must have been pretty hard and that's already impressive on its own)
* Feels weird that the player is called "me" considering he already has a back story and that in most cases the chances to identify to him might be low. I mean, I get that it's because it's the character we play and that it's the most simple to recognize, but i still found it odd. Might be just me though. I see the character being called "me" so I assume it's a fairly neutral being that I should be able to identify with. But then the character is awkward (since it's still a teenager/kid) and has a backstory. So it makes it harder to identify as such. Most of the times in dating sims, the player being "me" would just choose answers (that correspond to their actual personality - limited by choices of course) and that's what kinda makes their backstory. Here, I feel like "me" should have a name (so that we can "roleplay" as them)
* Some conversations feel a bit too awkward/unnatural, but that's probably because the game was made in such few days. Building a story in 48 hours while making it feel natural is a challenge; though most of it was pretty nice!
* From what I experienced, the game ends after we managed to pass time with Florencia. Which makes me wonder what was the point of the end of the day's mini game? I mean, I get that it's your character reaching maturity and stuff but... it feels like it had 0 impact on the game or any part of it. Not to mention that it becomes a nuisance to wait everytime for the counter to deplete once we got everything to the max.
* Every day it's the first day of school apparently. Oh well.
* Several different branches lead to the same place, which is a bit redundant. (all the bits that bring you to the running part with the girl I forgot the name of)
That said, as I said, it's impressive that you had so much text made in 48 hours while the Florencia part felt like it was a nice reward for unlocking "the end". This part was better written than the rest and was kind of interesting. It felt also nice to see new backgrounds.
The game is interesting and the story isn't bad. Too bad the "gameplay" relies on a mechanic that doesn't seem to be related to the story itself.
Is it normal that the last updates versions are from 4 days ago? :o (would like to play the base version that came out at the end of the compo)
I'll be honest. This game frustrates me.
I love the idea. I like doing everything. It feels fun to me.
But it's... _**sooooo**_... _**slooooooooooow**_...
It takes 5 turns to do an active action (woods/construction). That wouldn't be a bother if turns were quick. The big issue of the game imo is that the other player's turn take foreeeeever, especially when it's advancing. But the worst is it happens pretty soon because for some reasons, they are always ahead of you, already constructing houses on turn 1. Meanwhile, you gotta gather wood to make houses, which takes 5 turns. When you finish these 5 turns, they get their house and start breeding... while you just start building houses yourself. (not mentioning farms since they're needed). As a result, they are ahead of you, and since it's exponential (making a child allows to make children faster), they very quickly manage to have 30 inhabitants while you barely got 5.
And that's where the nightmare begins. Since there are 3 other villages, you gotta wait for each of their actions to end. Scattered around 30+ inhabitants _per village_. The wait is almost painful as you gotta skip some turns while you wait for the breeding/wood chopping/farming to happen. It would have been so nice to be able to skip the other players turn entirely. The worst is that you can't even let the game window aside while waiting, cause the game apparently only runs when you're making it active.
I'm really enjoying the idea and concept, but waiting to play ruins the fun. :(
If you ever make a version where the wait is no longer an issue, please let me know, i'd gladly play it.
Pretty nice concept. As you mentioned, it lacks polish and that kind of stuff.
However, it's pretty playable and despite the many possible improvments, it's still enjoyable to play.
What I think could be improved:
* Seeing the pieces move. It would be so fun to see the pieces move from a tile to another instead of just warping. Especially since it's often hard to understand how you lost a piece and where.
* Feedback as pieces die. Obviously, sound but I'm pretty sure you know. But visual effects would have been cool
* Being able to see enemies' range. We all know how chess pieces work, but it would have been nice to quickly tell which enemy piece was a threat to where.
* Additionally, it would have been nice to have a "danger" notice, if, say, an enemy queen can take our king. (especially in the beggining cause you only have one king at first)
* Exponential difficulty. I see it gets progressively harder, but once you get enough kings, you have so many moves per turn that it's pretty easy to take out every enemy pieces. It would have been nice to have some kind of challenge when you reach that point.
That said, it was pretty fun! I won so hard that I even managed to draw my logo with kings:
logo in jam game.png
@el-pepi Thank you for your feedback! Yeah, I didn't realize how loud they were, but now that you mention it... Also, about the bombs, they have as much chance as any other items to appear and I agree that they appear too often... but you know slot machines :D If I ever explore this game more in the future, i'll definitely change the frequence of bad items!
@riordan Yes, as stated, I ran out of time. :) The health item would have been the first I would have added! About the slot spin, it's actually because it's the easy mode. I intended to increase difficulty as you get more items, but yeah, i guess the slot wasn't the only thing that was slow :p
@silkworm-sweatshop Thank you for your feedback! Yes i was told about the health and slowliness of the game; these were intentional as I wanted the player to focus on the slot machine more than in his movement; so design wise it seems that I should have dealt with it differently. Although the reason there is a delay for shooting is due to a bug i didn't manage to fix otherwise.
And I should have definitely made the bomb rarer, especially since I didn't manage to add an healing item.
I will try to fix those in a ppst-jam version, but if i ever take this idea again for an actual game, i might simply have the slot machine always displayed somewhere and shooting wouldn't require to load (i'll be honest, i made that in solely because it was cool; but didn't think it would make the gameplay that worse)
Also thanks for the compliments!
@Slashee-the-cow Yeah, the eternal game jam frustration :p Thank you for your feedback!
Rather, due to bombs being equal to any other items in population :p I think that's the most problematic one, there should have been a swarm of bullets.
@joror
* _"Whatever you roll, you get 4 shots with (so you don’t have to roll every time)"_
In this specific game, if you get a bomb, that's basically like dying (4 bombs...),_**but**_ ...
I intend to make a full game (with a different gimmick however, sadly for the tree design that I liked) out of this mechanic, where the slot machine is constantly on. One of the issues it raised was fast shooting. I was thinking about holding fire to shoot whenever possible AND some bullets would have a "machine gun effect" where you can shoot them constantly as you hold fire. "locking" a bullet might however be an interesting alternative. Maybe instead of shooting, you actually lock into a bullet? And once that slot ammo "runs out", you have to roll the slot again. Or maybe more simple, it only locks specific bullets (like, regular bullets allows 4 shots and bombs only one). That's actually what I might need to make the game a top down instead of a side scroller (as there is no "rapid fire" option, it is less enjoyable in a top down. Side scrollers allow more these "slow shooting" mechanics).
* _"Less bombs"_
This one is fairly obvious! :p
* _"Coins cancel a bomb?"_
Since the patterns are new everytime you shoot, it can't work in that game. But again, the full game version won't have such randomness. (you pick new slots that are directly added into your stack of slots, in that order. further items would allow to change the order, etc) So maybe some items could destroy some others. (for example, a water type of shot would get rid of all fire shot)
_"But you know all that probably ;)"_
To be honest, these suggestions are new, and although I might not take them as they are, they are indeed interesting directions to look into. I think it might even be _**the**_ suggestions I needed to figure out how to balance the fun out of the future of this mechanic, that I sometimes think would be pretty bad in an actual game. But these ideas actually makes me feel like it could work!
...if I manage to make it work, of course.
@gamecarpenter
* Gotta point out that if the art part is better than the rest, it's mostly because I overestimate my capacity to code. Since I code terribly, it takes a way longer time for me to make something functional than to make sprites. The slot machine mechanic on its own took a big chunk of time. So I'm not keen on blaming my art time use there, cause if I was a good coder, I would have had the time to implement everything I wanted. :p Since I enjoy doing art more, (and it's also one of your point) I tend to do it to make it look(/sound?) good enough to at least distract from my terrible coding.
Though it's not an excuse, it feels strange for me as an artist to have a functional game while not putting in front my speciality. Especially cause I make visuals faster than mechanics; It also stems from improvable organization. Perhaps a bad scope too; I should adapt my scope to my coding skills. But each game jam, I try to push myself out of my comfort zone (by coding something I've never coded before), so I don't regret it.
* About the parallax, that's mostly because I'm not very good with backgrounds ^^'
* About the health bar, not sure if you noticed, but the red heart gets empty as well when you're low on health
* About the bullet, It's just that the bullet is pretty thin while most items are rounder. To make it clearer what item you were the closest too, I tried to make it rounder. An easy fix would have been to add in a border
* Oh, you're right, the bomb isn't clear in that regard. Perhaps I should add a skull or something to make it clearer.
* _"The way the game over screen sounded like sort of a detuned variation of the main music loop was a cool effect too."_
I... didn't know it sounded like a detuned variation of the main loop. Which would it be though? There are three different main loops (I only intended one but since I made th other tracks and didn't manage to place them where they were supposed to be, I added them as alternative tracks; which, although it offers variety, is bad for making the game consistent)
* Interesting thing about the music. I should perhaps simply include control over those, as it's hard to know what a prefer likes.
* Oh! Glad you liked the appropriate speed and knockback of the enemies. I wanted the pace to be slow, so for the player to be able to focus on the shooting, I needed the enemies not to be too fast. About the bug, it has to do with the position of the bullet on the tree hitbox. This would have shown more obvious to me through more testing, but with my playstyle, it isn't always easy to know how to test things out since each player plays differently. I'll try to be more careful about that
* _"you had to learn the pattern of each new wheel as it came up which took way too long to fight "_
I agree! Didn't think about it, but there should be 1 pattern for 1 run. In my full version planned, this is already addressed as each run will start with a pattern that won't change until you die.
_I'm sorry for the gigantic wall of text, I can't help it_
@peachtreeoath
If we disregard the random pattern each time (sorry), it's _**exactly**_ what I planned to do. You have a basic pack loaded with bullets and through your run (rogue-like) you get packs with new items. often it's "several good items, one bad item", "a midly good item and a mildldy bad one" or "a very good item, but a very bad one" and you'd stack them in your current pattern. Some items would mess the order etc. That way, there is a feeling of progression and no game is like the previous one. (well, à la rogue-like)
The difference would be the pace: since Skaart is too slow (imo), there would be, instead of a popping slot machine, a slot machine constantly rolling. (maybe a key could make the slot machine pop above your head too when you aim for a specific effect)
Now one of the obstacles would be my coding skills, as I know it will require me to learn some stuff to be able to make it work!
@pur3
Thank you! Yes, it's a bit too floaty :<
@solrun
Thanks!
For the slot, I simply need to make coins and bombs less frequent :p Although adding items would also improve it (but changing frequency is an easier fix)
Yes, one of the game's issue is its pace. I thought the delay would help the player to better focus and aim, but it proved more frustrating than helping. (the bug is kinda unrelated)
@gamecarpenter
I think it's probably preference; in my case, even though I'm not into typewriting, i tend to place my fingers on the asdf jklé configuration (replace "é" with the key you have next to l), so the middle finger would be of use there. Of course, I made the game based on personal preferences, but knowing what controls feels best would require a poll or something. I'm basically treating ijkl as an alternate of wasd because I dislike the arrows (also mines are broken). I'd only use Q and E if they were linked to a stationary mechanic, as they're to close to the movement keys; I chose K cause it's "down" and J cause it's "left" to cancel (go backward on my decision). So in my case I decided to have "ready fire then fire" as the same key and "cancel" another key (you don't often want to cancel). Considering you'd be preparing and shooting more often, requiring the player to use two different key for one action felt redundant to me.
Take out/away is the same function, but i'd find it weird for something as simple as shooting to use two keys. That's why I only made it one key. (there was no cancel at first)
Pretty cool game!
Though I would have liked an "easy mode". Not because the game is hard (I won by a mile despite performing horribly) but because I'm bad at typing fast, I feel the time it takes to change letter decreases way too fast as you get more speed, and it made it less fun cause I kept missing the letter, trying to match its speed. So a "slow typer" mode would have been nice for people like me who still use 2 fingers to type in 2018.
I didn't take it into account for the ratings, but I also tried the post-jam version and this one showcases an issue that probably exists in the base version but that I only noticed on the post-jam: It's not "all types of keyboards" friendly. :T I have a swiss keyboard, meaning all keys like ; : ! and things like these (although I only saw ; ) aren't at all at the same place and most even require to press shift; on top of that, y and z are reversed. So when I see z, I actually need to press y to match the base keyboard layout. ... And unlike most games that use that layout, it's pretty much a problem cause changing the keyboard layout with my computer (since I don't have an english keyboard laying around) doesn't help since I don't know where things like ; are placed. Also, O and 0 are confusing, you might need to add a / to your 0, so that we can distinguish it from O. (from what I experienced, I typed O while it was 0, don't know if there actually is an O in the patterns)
* The game just throws you into the race. Like wow, i barely have time to see that every other cars went ahead of me! A countdown is really needed for the game to feel fair * The upgrade icons aren't clear; either use more understandable pictures, either write down what they do, cause we can't guess. * It doesn't feel more satisfying to win than it is to lose. I think upgrades should be done depending on your performance to encourage the player to place as good as possible. * I think the enemy cars should have a bit more health. It feels like the best way to win is to kill them, but I think it should be slightly harder to do so. I just used a few upgrades and I was already capable of winning by just kicking their butt. It's nice to be able to, but I think it shouldn't be as easy. * the "rpg" part is actually just an upgrade mechanic, so I'm not sure it should be called rpg. (if you managed to squeeze in text boxes with some kind of story though, it would have sold it immensly)
That said, what I think feels right:
* upgrades are always a plus! * getting overpowered. * The grass slows you down enough to force you to stay on track. * ... but getting overpowered breaks that. It's nice!
PS: You might wanna give likes to feedback (or at least the feedback you appreciated) as it helps people getting karma/helping out their own games to receive ratings
@gamecarpenter (well not sure I need to mention you since it's your page)
I don't think you necessarily need tooltips. To be more specific, if the picture is clear enough, you might not need to add anything else. Like in many things, less is more. The less you need to write down things, the faster and clearer it is for the player. But the icons should make you say "oh, so this is acceleration", and it's usually not easy to do. (so yeah, in that case, tooltips are definitely a plus. Also they allow to put your writing skills in place! i mean, in your case, an RPG racer, it would probably be good to have more text anyway. but it might not be the case of other games)
Note that feedback during the making is a good way to figure out what feels wrong or right. Be it actual gameplay or gifs/pictures (since those are easier to share). To facilitate that, you should (if that's not already the case of course) join a community to share your work (and see other people's work!). It is, imo, one of the best ways to get sweet, crunchy feedback and even improve as a whole.
I see you used game maker. Are you part of the (reddit) game maker discord? (we're friendly) (I think)
@gamecarpenter
Well, if you decide to come, here's the invite: https://discord.gg/By6u9pC
(PS: don't worry, you might tend to find people you'll end up knowing well at some point, we're like a big family)
Funny game! I like how the tetrominos move and stack up, it feels different enough from actual tetris to feel more unique. It's also fun to see the character bounce around!
* Sometimes, the player gets too close from a ledge to jump above it, so he's stuck. * The tetrominos feel way too floaty; they glide in the air and you feel like you can't properly control them. So stacking up might be a pain
Not a bad game, but the controls and design feel rather awkward. * When you get hit, you bounce in a very weird way * No invincibility frames while enemies have a very high rate of fire * Enemies shouldn't be able to shoot at you when you can't see them. I kept being frustrated by the fak tree that, not only shoots at me before I can see him, but on top of that, he shoots pretty fast, making his shots pretty hard to dodge. * it seems like the next message is triggered by your position or something? Sometimes it feels rather odd that you're asked something but can't reply until you've move enough.
I gave up on one of the last levels because it was getting too annoying to restart; it's nice to shoot fast but with eveerything being so fast, it feels... well awkward.
That said, I love how you incorporated the message mechanic and the duality good/bad.
PS: Good thing I saw about the memory leak in the messages, I just saw it applied to me too since I played the broswer version, remember to delete anything that needs to be deleted when you restart/the game closes!
I really, really like how it looks! The way the pieces shine is pretty cool! However, I'm not exactly sure on the synergy between tetrominos and jewels. It feels rather strange to need to click on it, but it's cool to be able to have the biggest zone of colored jewels possible! At the end of the day though, it just feels like an action puzzle game. My issue might be that it mixes two compatible action puzzle games rather than 2 _different_ genres. so it works okay as a game (not that it shouldn't), although I'm not sure if the game is actually fun. I think another issue is that you can't hold a key to keep the piece moving in that direction. For example, I need to press left as many times as I want it to move left, but would have liked to hold it to let it move itself to that direction more times. Similarily, holding down should accelerate it, but it doesn't seem to increase speed much. Too bad cause it's that speeding process that keeps me from being instantly bored from tetris/bejeweled games.
Already said but... yeah, the blocks don't always fall the way you expect them, and it's weird.
Aside that though, it feels pretty good! Nice!
PS: Gotta disagree a bit on the statement about the theme. If yes, some incompatible games mixed together give a result that doesn't really make them "incompatible", it appears sometimes that 2 games really feel incompatible but are still playable and nice... while still feeling weird together. And I think that's difficult to achieve. But not impossible! I've played a few of those. They're okay mostly because it's a game jam. :p Still though, not sure the theme should be named "incompatible"
Confused at first on how the beat was taken, read the instruction afterward. Although in game, it's hard to tell if the effect is really applied. It is way easier to get the blue cone, so I went with this one to get used to. It might glide too much; I think just a speed boost would have been enough. I also managed to trigger a grey boost that I didn't manage to get what they did.
Aside that though, it's fun moving around, I'd expect pressing enter all the time would be annoying, but it isn't.
Took me a bit to understand how it works at first because your castle is not on sight. Not bad, but it feels a bit dull at some point. Your objective is often to just build tanks as they're... tanks and allow you to siege. Too bad her dialogue doesn't have more diversity (just 3 different dialogues), it's mostly just a "click here from time to time" thing cause at some point you don't even care what she says, you just click the right answer cause you know which it is.
Super cool and amazing! Really love the idea and it feels very nice! Sometimes I feel like I lost a ball without knowing why. At some other point, I killed every enemy present but wasn't claimed victorious.
Pretty well done, especially since it's a compo!
The game becomes crazy when you spam the cards.
* hitboxes seem way too big; you usually want an hitbox a bit smaller than your objects (the player would forgive not taking hits too easily) * The text needs space to breathe. Avoid them to be sticked together (each lines should have a blank space between them) * Not sure you should make a mac port if you are unable to test the game in it * There are cactuses, but they don't serve as obstacles. A shame, I think it wouldn't have been bad! * It has already been stated, but since you aim with the mouse, it's strange that you shoot with space. Usually, you want "space" to be assigned to an action that is not frequent (like jumping in an fps). since you aim with the mouse, shoot with the mouse as well. * Items need to be more visible. I didn't notice them at first.
You should also put the controls in here! I, like many imo, like to click on the external page link, download the game then remove that window to rely solely on this page.
Very cool and interesting idea, too bad it lacks polish and content! I'm sure it would have been super cool. Has potential!
Oh I gotta say I didn't expect the game and watch thing! Although, like it was stated, I don't think it counts as a game genre neither.
But really, I think the game and watch mechanic, although archaic, feels fresh to play with someetimes. It gave nice vibes and the game felt a bit funny because of it! I wish there was more to it though. As it is, it lacks a bit of content.
I liked the mixing, but not a fan of the execution, although it remains kinda fun.
* The sounds, funny at first, got annoying after a bit. I guess I'm annoyed by too obvious human noise sounds. * Getting to aim the right ship is a bit of a pain sometimes. Especially since your bullets aren't so fast. * It seems like you don't have much invicibility frames, it can be easy to be dealt with in an instant. Considering it's a bullet hell, getting hit is very easy so I don't think it should be the case. Invincibility frames are important here. * A bit too difficult. Or the the difficulty increases pretty quickly. * The bullets aren't the easiest to see. They don't contrast much with the background (green isn't the color we see with the most ease, unlike red) and seem a bit too small. Or it might be that the background has a bit too much contrast (black with white dots!)
A bit confused by the game. At first, I didn't get that you shot potatoes; then however, once i got how it works, i keep losing tenacoins when i shoot space ships. Why? They attack me, so it makes sense that I attack back, right?
I must probably do something wrong though, since I saw no one in the comments make a remark about it.
The game itself isn't bad! I like that you have to shoot your potato carefully. Too bad you kinda need to alternate cheapest/most expensive to sell/buy, it doesn't seem to offer much variety.
(A la base je comptais éviter le français pour que le feedback soit "pour tout le monde", mais je pense pas que j'ai tant que ça de neuf à apporter par rapport aux autres commentaires)
Très difficile à comprendre comment le jeu fonctionne au début, surtout si on oublie qu'on peut pousser. Aussi, je suis pas sûr de comprendre où est la patate? C'est le bonhomme qui ressemble à du tofu? Et le "popcorn" est je suppose le maïs? (corn) Dans tous les cas, je sais pas si y a plusieurs niveaux mais celui-ci est déjà bien difficile! Notamment parce que y a pas tant de ça de temps et on doit souvent faire preuve d'astuce pour placer les ennemis correctement (style continuer de bouger en se bloquant)
Dommage, un peu frustrant! Comme dit dans les commentaires, ça aurait aidé d'avoir une progression dans la difficulté.
(PS: J'appelerais ça un "puzzle cooking game" plutôt qu'un tactical)
It was pretty fun to play! The inclusion of the theme was nice! Too bad the phone waves so much and barely lets you get the time to read. The conversations are almost interesting and I initially wanted to take the time to read and answer. So it only feels like you have to reply at random just to avoid taking damage, which I think is not necessary. (i mean, the damage is okay, but you can't "enjoy" the conversation)