Hello, I’ve been working on this game off and on for about a year and I am finally to the point where I can show off some of what I have.
Dream Trip is a first person platformer that makes use of three different kinds of balls. The player has to decide what ball to use and when as each ball has a different property.
Regarding the story of the game, a nightmarish creature steals parts from a machine and the whole game revolves around the player getting the parts back. In order to get to the far off places where the parts were taken, the player has to venture through various indoor levels and then conquer dreamlike outdoor levels to get the parts back.
As encouragement to others who are just starting out a project, this is a video of what started this whole game. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K6nHhMLDUg I was just trying to see how fun something was, and since it was fun, I decided to turn it into a prototype. Just keep working at it and eventually you will have something you can be proud of. The hardest part of making a game is finishing it in my opinion.
The concept is very intruiging. Like others have said, it reminds me a lot of Portal.
However, if you want this to be anything resembling fun, you have GOT to tighten up the controls. I feel like I’m barely in control of my character, especially in the air. The blue balls either send me rocketing out of control or a couple of feet into the air. I’m just as likely to randomly slide off of a red ball as walk on it. I’m about ready to give up on the third room (the tall one) because of the floaty controls.
Like I said, I really like the concept, but at this point the game is really frustrating.
Thanks for the feedback! And I agree, the controls do need to be tightened up. I had to go ahead and submit the game to meet the contest deadline, but I’m working on a fix for the slippery red balls and the unpredictable blue balls. You aren’t the only one with those issues. Thanks for giving it a go!
This was amazingly addictive but a firmer grip on level design and art direction is in order beside the other things mentioned by others.
Also when the player passes a checkpoint, I think it would be wise to perge all balls in the previous area. That you can still see your web of balls in the previous are while building more in the new area is wasteful of resources, I think.
This game is TRULY awesome, and i had a great time playing it, aside from the level design, it wouldnt make a huge difference in game play, but its an amazing concept, however, i think its impossible to finish that level when ur surrounded by acid, and when u push the lever the acid goes down, when it goes all the way down, theres no way to get to the very bottom door, i tried using the green floater but it doesnt work :S Maybe im doing something wrong?
Yeah, I can definitely do that. You can actually have a surprising amount of balls active at once before you get a performance hit, but I should probably go ahead and get rid of them to save resources. And yeah, I think some of the levels definitely need a revamp.
Hmmm. A lot of people seem to be having trouble with that room with the acid. I suppose I need to make it a bit easier. Personally, I usually use a green ball and when I get close, jump from the ball into the room. But I’ll make a new version and upload it. But I’m glad you like it and think it’s a good game! I was actually wondering whether or not I should finish the game because some of the feedback on other sites has been pretty meh.
So far from feedback this is what I’ve come up with as things that need to be worked on:
-Tightening player controls
-Working on level design (not my strong suit, not going to lie )
-Ability to delete balls
If you have anything else to add, questions, or comments, please let me know! Feedback, whether good or bad, is always welcome.
Its too bad that other sites werent giving the greatest feed back. Well dont have that lower ur motivation, this is definetly an original idea which needs to be further taken. Tightening player control is a really good way to make your game better, i found that a bit difficult as well, especially being in the air Ability to delete balls is good, but id say a better idea would be making a checkpoint each time you reach a new level, that way you can restart with all the balls gone, instead of deleting them one by one.
Im looking forward to the next build, ive faved this thread
Thanks Artimese! I’ll experiment with the more frequent checkpoints and destroying the balls that way. It’s a very good idea. And thanks for the kind words, it means a lot.
Oh really? To be honest, the only unreal tournament game I’ve played was the classic, and I don’t think that gun was in there. But I do recall someone mentioning that they thought they could make bigger balls by holding down the button. Perhaps I could incorporate that somehow? I’m always up for suggestions. Perhaps changing the behaviour of one of the balls to something that can expand? [/quote]
Feedback, whether good or bad, is always welcome.
Ability to delete balls is good, but id say a better idea would be making a checkpoint each time you reach a new level, that way you can restart with all the balls gone, instead of deleting them one by one.