Want design feedback for your new game? Then you’ve found the right thread! Post it here to find out what others think. Discuss to your heart’s content, until next Friday, when we’ll lock the old and start anew.
How To Get Folks To Checkout Your Game?
Show - Be Interesting! Pics, videos, or best of all, a playable game!
Be Concise - Who’s got time for Wall 'O Text? Be concise and interesting.
Controls:
A/D - Move
Space - Jump
X - Interact
LMB - Cast Spells (Right now, still just Summon Block)
Objectives:
Get the treasure and get back to the entrance of the level.
What do I want feedback on?
First - per last week, I realize this prototype is no longer sufficient to talk about the larger context of my game. I’m working on a new prototype that provides combat as well as puzzle-platformer segments, but first, I want to clean up the Hall of Spikes.
That being said. I’ve made some slight tweaks to the level balance the difficulty. Hall of Spikes is intended to be an early-game minidungeon. Does this level fit that level of challenge?
I’ve also added a fire obstacle that gets turned on when you get the chest, so you can’t just backtrack along the bottom route. If you intentionally throw yourself on it, does it feel like it’s an adequate hazard?
I was two weeks into my latest title, when I realized how much Tap Happy had drained me. My wife suggested something short and sweet, so I scrapped what I was working on and started with a simple idea. And now, 2 Sundays later, it’s live!
Yes. It has a single, simple, clear mechanic, which gave me time to learn the ropes without being overwhelmed with balancing multiple activities. And it felt like a reward to be able to blast through the top route faster by casting two blocks instead of one. I also like the position of the spell icon in the upper right much, much better.
Yes. It gives the player guidance without throwing up a hard wall.
The level feels a little quiet. Could you add in some ambient activity to help it feel more like a place rather than just a puzzle? Things like ambient sounds, animation, critters, etc.
To be honest neither your nor GiGi’s games are really the genres I usually play, but I can still give you feedback. Just thought I’d mention it.
I’m a fan of conjuring and puzzle gameplay(conjuring is really lacking in games lol), so I really like that your game is about conjuring a block to solve level puzzles.
What I’d recommend is, when you click to create a block, to show a ghost image of the block, either red or green, depending whether you can place it or not, instead of the cursor. It would allow faster placing, 'cause we can tell easier how much and where do we need to move the cursor to place it. Might not sound like much but it would definitely feel more comfortable and increase the speed.
I like it, maybe the menu could be more Christmas-y. Some snow(or snow ornaments) around the edges? Also not sure if intended but an ad popped up in the middle of the game, I didn’t mind it but maybe someone else would. If you didn’t intend it like that, then its probably just a delayed menu ad.
I really tried to touch on everything you guys mentioned… Please tell me anything i might have missed!
Also note that this is still the Non-Final version ^^
@AndrewGrayGames Mostly what i have to say/said is what @TonyLi is saying right now…
The world does feel really static, you should add something moving, to bring the level to life but i do
understand that right now gameplay is whats important but it is something worth taking note of for the future
@Gigiwoo I just lost my phone… Sorry I can’t give you feedback
Lots of great improvements! The new tutorial was simple, short and helpful. That plus a lot of little improvements throughout make the game tons better. One thing that could make it even stronger is to use LESS text. For example:
Current: “Let’s Start with the Basics! That above is a Clicker, To Destroy a Clicker you simply click on it…”
LESS: “Clicker’s need to be clicked. Try it!”
*Current:" Great! Let’s Try Some more!"
*LESS: “More!”
*Current: “Nice! Next is a Slasher, to Destroy a Slasher Click and Hold the Mouse Button and Drag Across the Slasher’s Blocks…”
*LESS: “Slashers should be slashed. Simply click and drag!”
*Current: “You may aso click on the Individual blocks to Destroy them…”
*LESS: “Click or slash. Fast as you can.”
*Current: “Good Job! Next lets try a combo! Click on the clicker and while holding the mouse button drag across the slasher…”
*LESS: “Can you combo? Click and slash, from one to the other!”
*Current: “Hey Now You’re Getting the Hang of this! This time try and combo these blocks … remember just continuously hold the mouse button after destroying a block!”
*LESS: “Click and slash in one swipe for a mega-combo!”
Current: “Well done … blah blah blah blah … heal blah blah … larger …”
*LESS: “To heal, get a combo with 5 or more!”
Current: “Well done! Lastly introducing the Mash and Spinner”
*LESS: “Masher’s need lots of hits!”
(Break into 2 screens, since the spinner is confusing.)
And rather than ‘Clicker’, consider something more exciting like Glick or Blop, as in Click the Glick, Stop the blop. Something fun. You’re making great progress.
Nice, I played the previous version and it was fun. Here’s my score from the previous version:
I really liked how it takes only a couple seconds to figure out how to use the main menu, and that’s a tutorial in itself.
But I didn’t know how combo works so the new tut was a pleasant surprise.
I don’t know if you changed this in the new version, I only played a bit now, but the difficulty increases a bit slow. Takes too long to die.
@Gigiwoo I just knew someone was gonna say this…The whole too much text was in the back of my head and frankly i didn’t want to use that much text but at the same time i really wanted it to be really straightforward for everyone but you just gave me the conformation i needed! thanks!
@ChrisSch Okay the difficulty system works based off what your current score is, now that coupled with the randomized block spawn systems creates the situation you’re talking about… If you don’t get the “right” blocks that allow you to combo,bump your score quickly and progress then you end up in this sluggish sort of pace that even i dislike and i know 100% where you’re coming from as it has happened to me a few times…At times I breeze through the difficulties well other times its okay and then sometimes it’s just abit too slow…Now i did try a time based difficulty system before the current one but i ended up scraping it for being too inconsistent… I have taken note of your problem and i’m now thinking of maybe a hybrid sort of difficulty system sighmore scripting incoming lol >.>
Yeah a hybrid sounds good. Maybe you can just make it increase based on time a little bit but way more based on score.
I’ll try playing again and combo-ing more.
Looking forward to the android version. I played it using my bamboo drawing pad instead of the mouse. Feels better. xD
To be honest I was having trouble scaling down everything down to fit onto mobile screens and tablet screens in a way that doesn’t downgrade the visual effects… Its been hard and at the moment it looks like only certain screen sizes will be able to support this game (bummer)… Anyway to sort of compensate the android version will be a bit different! i will add other game modes (maybe even a Co-op mode… Maybe!) and of course more variety of blocks!
The key gameplay will still remain the same though… Click and drag
I’ll bite. Looking for some specific feedback on difficulty.
I’ve done a few specific changes to the last build I posted in my WIP thread. Instead of a count down, the orcs count up and you go until you are defeated.
I’m hoping for somewhere in a good balance between frustrating and rewarding. A good benchmark is killing 100 orcs in a single game.
Your game is off to a great start. The cutesy graphics and simple, clear interface work well to create a nice playable prototype. The graphics are fun, and the animations were surprisingly good. You’re off to a nice start and with some iterations, could have a great product. Below are some things you might consider:
100 Orcs is incredibly difficult. My high score was 13, before I set it aside.
Difficult games need to be EXTREMELY responsive (imagine Super Hexagon with MINOR timing glitches).
For such a hard game, I want perfect control over timing, which means attack, jump, and left/right should ALWAYS be available, at any time, regardless of what I’m doing. (Ex attack, press left, jump, press right while still in air, sword swaps side) (Note the animations CAN be less than perfect)
The feedback on hit boxes is too subtle. Sometimes, the mobs hit me, sometimes I run through them - maybe it’s only their weapons? Not sure.
Visual feedback on getting hit and only having 3 hearts was not clear. Maybe make them bigger and add some juice when I get hit. BOOM! YOU ARE HIT! (Look at Jean Mareno’s Cartoon FX particles)
Increasing difficulty over time. Maybe start with the grunts initially from the right. Then, add an archer (RANGED ATTACKS NEED TO BE 100% COMPLETELY OBVIOUS! LIKE THIS BOLD TEXT). Later, build up to the mini-boss mobs. And then have grunts come from other side. This might only take 15-20 seconds, as long as it builds.
Build a tension release - In Christmas Crush (pic above), I broke it into waves/levels, so the player has a brief pause to build tension, release, build, release. That’s the interest curve.
Consider making the attack always happen, with or without input. (this enables mobile)
This could easily be ported to Mobile with buttons for Left/Right and then a jump button. Maybe an attack button also.
More Juice. LOTS more. Every hit - BAM! Every kill, BADING. Sounds, particles, camera shake, juice, juice, juice.
Other than that, I recommend watching people play your game. ‘Hey, would you play my game? Please don’t ask me any questions, I just want to observe.’ Such a difficult game will suffer from ‘Curse of Knowledge’ which makes it extremely difficult to balance and make fun for others. Test frequently and often.
I messed up my left arm, so I can’t use it for anything without pain, but I played a bit, and I pretty much agree with GiGi. Also I would like it more if I could aim in different directions while in air, with bow. And not sure if its intended but you can pretty much run back and forth through enemies without them touching you.
@Kellyrayj Love it! It’s light-hearted graphics and simple controls got me drawn in instantly… I’m a HUGE fan of the more mechanical games like this! I’ll generally describe what i experienced:
Firstly it was difficult when i played it with the classic Hack N’ Slash strategy (AKA You’re Rambo kill everything strategy ) and failed really quickly then after 2 or 3 more tries of getting like only 20 kills, i decided to actually take the game seriously and tried to play it with a real strategy and after observing the different orcs and their behaviors and how to adequately deal with them, I arrived at the fact that this game is all about mob control, how effectively can you manage the orcs, while killing them and not getting cornered by them
Honestly after i discovered that it got really fun and intense! suddenly this game which i thought was a no-brainer actually took strategy to beat or get good at and that is what made it come to life to me! but alas there is a problem with that…A game that takes strategy and a bit of mechanic prowess like this one will not appeal to casual/non-gamer players…For example I don’t see my girlfriend playing a game like this similar to what Gigi said, she would probably say that “it’s too hard” for me it’s different because originally i liked hard games and challenges soo people like me (hardcore players) would see the appeal of this…
Question of difficulty comes down to what is your target audience? right now its more angled at hardcore players and if you want casual players to get on board too then again, like Gigi said you would want a curve of some sort… A cycle of tension-release! buuut if by some chance you do want this angled at mostly hardcore players then what i recommend is give us more tools to handle the mobs… Make your game a playground and let the player do whatever he/she wants to do with the tools you have given them… I can guarantee you, people will eat that up! (I know i will)
Lastly the actual gameplay, great animations, controls didn’t bothered me but please more feedback! on one play through i was concentrating so hard on the mobs, killed 60 of them, thinking i haven’t been touched once, just to look up and find i have one life left … A flash, something red across the screen,a bigger camera shake? really though you need to add something! also at times whenever i lost sight of the archer, the archer’s arrows suddenly became invisible missiles, i want a bigger indicator on them or more prominent one! and the background is so argggggh especially with a game with as good looking sprites as this! I think you should do something about that…
Its almost there! I really do love this and all it needs is tiny bit of work and tweaking! Don’t mind my essay here, I’m looking forward to it’s release!
I try to avoid double-posting in a weekly topic, like I’m about to do…but, I have another very low-level prototype I could use some more immediate feedback on.
Controls:
A/D - Move
Space - Jump
X - Attack
LMB - Cast Spells (still just Summon Block)
Objective:
Defeat the Doomsday Cultist.
What I could really use feedback on
Long made short: Sara’s melee attack.
…So, this prototype isn’t ‘hard.’ You can’t lose, because I haven’t really done a lot with the doomsday cultist enemy just yet. The way it works, is I decided to go with a cue from Gigiwoo: she projects shield magic to a short distance in front of her, which repels and damages an enemy. One thing I know that I need to add, is an ‘on impact’ effect to ‘sell’ that this effect actually slightly hurts an opponent.
What’s more, the default button is ‘X’. I personally don’t like that placement (it’s too close to the default navigation). What would a better button for melee attacks be? Bear in mind, the focus of this game is the puzzle-platforming, not combat - combat is there to complicate things and potentially expedite the ‘Try, Fail, Improve’ loop that stimulates the player.
