I am looking for feedback on if the level looks good enough. I am not really an artist but I have been trying to work within my limitations to create a visually appealing level.
I haven’t textured the character yet and the buttons are obviously temporary.
For those interested in gameplay, it is a simple you have to find the cube then have a set time to get back to the lift before it goes into lockdown. Touching any object or wall puts the place into lockdown and you lose. Obviously levels will be more challenging than this You just touch the screen in the direction you want to move the character and he moves.
As you must know …you’re the designer …its very simplified style. I dont see any problems with that, but when levels becomes more challenging, like you say, i suppose they are going to be more like maze, i think you should add more details which gives a player some glue where they are. And adding those details with thought …as a group or area kind of thing, not just randomly. What ever the logic is, its fine as far there is some logic. Thats how brain works
btw, i see jump button there, just curious what plans you have for that?
Yes I am going for simplified. I feel that it is something I can do well.
I plan to keep the levels very open. I don’t want navigating a maze to be a part of the game. It is about getting past the things in your way as quickly as possible to escape. Even with this simple shape I have (on paper) designed a fair few levels which will play differently.
The character already jumps, so implemented I initially was going to use tap the character to jump but found it blocked the screen. There are things like trip wires you have to jump over. There are also circular saws in the floor which go from left to right which you can jump over or run around. Not all levels will need the jump, but some will. The jump also makes the player go 30% slower while in air so you will have to make choices of if the way you need to jump is faster or if you should run around it instead (I am hoping to make the run around slower but easier to make jumping a skill worth using).
The line art serves the design well. The yellow/black stripes are also a good indication for the wall positions.
There are spots that irk me a bit like the connection point between the straight wall piece and the diagonal piece. You could make a wall piece that closes that gap.
Also regarding the player character, will it be a block or is that just a placeholder? If so, will the character also be line art?
Finally, the gameplay mechanic where you swipe to move the player seems counterproductive to the purpose of the game, which is not touching the walls accidentally, though I could be wrong as the feel of gameplay can only be understood by playing the game; waiting for the webplayer ;).
Yeah the yellow warning lines really help make things pop. I am glad I bit the bullet and moved away from a single palette a little bit.
I was hoping to use different colour palettes for each set of levels which is why I settled on one. I think there is some room to add a little grit in some places without losing the style.
I get how those corners annoy you. I guess I shouldn’t of taken that shortcut.
The character is become less placeholderish because I am not sure what else to do and I am limited in skills on the art/animation side.
Finally isn’t swipe to move. It is just touch to move. He just moves towards where you are touching and when you release he stops. The jump is the one which worries me in terms of mechanics, I can jump over a trip wire pretty easy but I wonder if takes away from the simple one finger control system. Maybe I should try to think of a different way to make you jump.
Hmm, you have warning tape all around the walls but not next to a spinning blade in the floor. Also you could maybe have a line to indicate the slot the blade sits in.
Please try a different colour for the crates, make it easy for people to work out what the floor, walls and objects are.
You might also add some shadows/lighting to make the game look a bit more 3d. Or a torch to make it more of an exploratory game, maybe.
I will put a slot and warning lines for the blade. It isn’t meant for that level I was just testing functionality with it and if it looked okay.
I am hoping it won’t be that mazey. I don’t really want it to be hard to navigate. I am hoping most levels with be less than 30 seconds. I want it to be a game you can drop or pick up anytime.
Shadows has been mentioned a lot so I decided to try. I am having trouble getting them to show, I don’t know if it is cause I am using the toon shader.
You just touch the screen in the direction you want to move the character and he moves.
