15 replies to this topic

[AOIEA]

Shape World is the first game by AOIEA to be released with Game Maker. I would like feedback on how it is. Thank You.

http://sandbox.yoyog...-shape-world-tm

[PetzI]

You should post screenshots and more information if you expect to get attention. People tend not to be attracted to posts like this,

I played it up to level 2-2. It's honestly very bland and gets boring fairly quickly. Mostly, the level design. It was basically just running in the same direction and jumping over things, without anything to really vary the gameplay. The player can't vary the height at which he jumps, and although that's not necessarily a bad thing (Blopper by Jesse Venbrux didn't have variable jumping and it really pretty nice), it IS a bad thing if you levels consist of jumping over things a lot. The items you could pick-up felt pretty pointless, though. I tried the "special" power two or three times and it never seemed to have any effect (maybe I was using it wrong?). Mind you, I only tried the blue character. I think what hurt the game the most above all the was the level design and the lack of interesting game mechanics. Here's some comments on the things the player finds:

- enemies, which were fun to kill but felt pointless because there was no reward for it (since the "special" attack was so useless) and you could usually ignore them much more easily than trying to kill them.
- ammo, which was useful but in return took away the challenge from killing the enemies.
- the high-jump item which was pretty much useless and wore out really quick.
- coins, lives and health which don't really have anything wrong. I did feel the game wasn't hard enough for me to actually need them, but this maybe it's different later in the game.
- some platforms which always seemed to form an upper route. It's good to have several routes in a level, but you have to understand that if you want the player to bother taking a harder route, you have to give him a palpable reward and try to make it actually fun to go through. I found these platforms really bothersome, probably because of, like I said before, no jump height variation. And again, the rewards at the end were usually items that didn't feel like they had any effect in game-play.
- the boss battle was way too easy. It was fun bouncing on him, but it was over very quickly since he's basically harmless unless you stand still in front of him.

Ok, that's pretty much all I can say about the game play. Sorry for being rough, but I'm just trying to be critical. The graphics, all in all weren't that bad EXCEPT for the player and the enemies. It's a terrible idea to have a main character that's a circle with some eyes. Same goes for red square enemies. Sure, your game is in "Shape World", but there's absolutely no excuse for having a main character that's just a circle with a whole 3 frames of animation (standing, ducking, dying). No one will appreciate a lazily made character like that, with no graphical personality. Some for the idiotic looking square boss of yours, which was just a double-sized enemy. The background in both levels was pretty, but I was confused by the lake in the first. You should add a reflection to it or something, because at first it looked like it made no sense. Also, consider making it a bit longer, since it loops too unshamefully. And having a green background with a green terrain texture might not be a good idea, but I'm not really an authority in terms o aesthetics.

As for the sounds, I found the "jump" sound a bit irritating. I'm probably just being picky, but consider lower the pitch a bit. The character's was amusing, I really liked it. Don't think there's anything else to point out about the sounds.

I think the game does have potential to be a good platformer, but right now it feels bland. Here are my recommendations:

- Have a better main character. If you can't draw it yourself, I'm sure you can find someone who's willingly to draw/animate you one. Same goes for the enemies and the boss.
- Add variable jumping height. This is really a important mechanic, you'll need it if you want this to ever be good. There's tutorials in this forum that explain how to do it.
- Add a reflection to the lake in the first level's background? This isn't essential.
- Add more interesting gameplay mechanics. You can have vertical segments, button pressing, box pushing, shooting things, back-tracking, item collecting, mini-bosses, burrowing enemies, flying enemies, water, anything. I know it can be really hard to come up with interesting things, so I recommend you take a look at what other platform games do and try to make something similar but (hopefully) unique. In short, have challenges different from jumping over pits and enemies. This of course has to go hand in hand with good level design. Try making your levels a bit less linear with plenty of different bits.
- Either replace the "special" abilities with something that actually contributes to the game or simply remove it. I know it stings to scratch something you worked hard on, but a lot of times it's for the best. If you've ever listened to Valve's developer commentary in their games, you'll hear them often talking about things they made which they didn't include in the game because it didn't work properly. You can probably find a different role for the abilities, though.
- Add good rewards. Like I said before, your enemies are very easy to ignore and challenging to defeat, so you should reward the player handsomely for choosing the second option. Same goes for the boring upper-path platforms.

Please note that this feedback isn't only applied to this game. If you're tired of developing this thing (which you probably are), there's nothing wrong with leaving it as-is and simply starting a new project, keeping in mind the feedback you received. Starting a new game is a lot more interesting than patching an old one, and remember that all I found here were DESIGN flaws, not technical bugs, so you could call this finished. In other words, if you were showing me a buggy game I would tell you to fix it, but since Shape World is apparently bugless, you can go ahead and move on to a new project.

I hope this all makes sense and helps put you on the right path. Sorry if I seem harsh (especially in the beginning), but I'm just trying to lend you a hand. And remember I tend to focus more on the bad things than on the good things. No one will notice that neat glass-cube breaking animation you made, but they sure as hell will notice a boss that's a red square with eyes. Good luck!

Btw, you should let the player jump with the Up Arrow as well as C, since you're not using it. Or if you're feeling adventurous, let the player reconfigure the controls. Also, sorry if I was unfair in my criticism for not playing the whole thing. It could be really good after level 2-2 for all I know. Still, the first levels should be enough to keep a player playing.

Edited by PetzI, 05 July 2011 - 09:29 PM.

[AOIEA]

You should post screenshots and more information if you expect to get attention. People tend not to be attracted to posts like this,

I played it up to level 2-2. It's honestly very bland and gets boring fairly quickly. Mostly, the level design. It was basically just running in the same direction and jumping over things, without anything to really vary the gameplay. The player can't vary the height at which he jumps, and although that's not necessarily a bad thing (Blopper by Jesse Venbrux didn't have variable jumping and it really pretty nice), it IS a bad thing if you levels consist of jumping over things a lot. The items you could pick-up felt pretty pointless, though. I tried the "special" power two or three times and it never seemed to have any effect (maybe I was using it wrong?). Mind you, I only tried the blue character. I think what hurt the game the most above all the was the level design and the lack of interesting game mechanics. Here's some comments on the things the player finds:

- enemies, which were fun to kill but felt pointless because there was no reward for it (since the "special" attack was so useless) and you could usually ignore them much more easily than trying to kill them.
- ammo, which was useful but in return took away the challenge from killing the enemies.
- the high-jump item which was pretty much useless and wore out really quick.
- coins, lives and health which don't really have anything wrong. I did feel the game wasn't hard enough for me to actually need them, but this maybe it's different later in the game.
- some platforms which always seemed to form an upper route. It's good to have several routes in a level, but you have to understand that if you want the player to bother taking a harder route, you have to give him a palpable reward and try to make it actually fun to go through. I found these platforms really bothersome, probably because of, like I said before, no jump height variation. And again, the rewards at the end were usually items that didn't feel like they had any effect in game-play.
- the boss battle was way too easy. It was fun bouncing on him, but it was over very quickly since he's basically harmless unless you stand still in front of him.

Ok, that's pretty much all I can say about the game play. Sorry for being rough, but I'm just trying to be critical. The graphics, all in all weren't that bad EXCEPT for the player and the enemies. It's a terrible idea to have a main character that's a circle with some eyes. Same goes for red square enemies. Sure, your game is in "Shape World", but there's absolutely no excuse for having a main character that's just a circle with a whole 3 frames of animation (standing, ducking, dying). No one will appreciate a lazily made character like that, with no graphical personality. Some for the idiotic looking square boss of yours, which was just a double-sized enemy. The background in both levels was pretty, but I was confused by the lake in the first. You should add a reflection to it or something, because at first it looked like it made no sense. Also, consider making it a bit longer, since it loops too unshamefully. And having a green background with a green terrain texture might not be a good idea, but I'm not really an authority in terms o aesthetics.

As for the sounds, I found the "jump" sound a bit irritating. I'm probably just being picky, but consider lower the pitch a bit. The character's was amusing, I really liked it. Don't think there's anything else to point out about the sounds.

I think the game does have potential to be a good platformer, but right now it feels bland. Here are my recommendations:

- Have a better main character. If you can't draw it yourself, I'm sure you can find someone who's willingly to draw/animate you one. Same goes for the enemies and the boss.
- Add variable jumping height. This is really a important mechanic, you'll need it if you want this to ever be good. There's tutorials in this forum that explain how to do it.
- Add a reflection to the lake in the first level's background? This isn't essential.
- Add more interesting gameplay mechanics. You can have vertical segments, button pressing, box pushing, shooting things, back-tracking, item collecting, mini-bosses, burrowing enemies, flying enemies, water, anything. I know it can be really hard to come up with interesting things, so I recommend you take a look at what other platform games do and try to make something similar but (hopefully) unique. In short, have challenges different from jumping over pits and enemies. This of course has to go hand in hand with good level design. Try making your levels a bit less linear with plenty of different bits.
- Either replace the "special" abilities with something that actually contributes to the game or simply remove it. I know it stings to scratch something you worked hard on, but a lot of times it's for the best. If you've ever listened to Valve's developer commentary in their games, you'll hear them often talking about things they made which they didn't include in the game because it didn't work properly. You can probably find a different role for the abilities, though.
- Add good rewards. Like I said before, your enemies are very easy to ignore and challenging to defeat, so you should reward the player handsomely for choosing the second option. Same goes for the boring upper-path platforms.

Please note that this feedback isn't only applied to this game. If you're tired of developing this thing (which you probably are), there's nothing wrong with leaving it as-is and simply starting a new project, keeping in mind the feedback you received. Starting a new game is a lot more interesting than patching an old one, and remember that all I found here were DESIGN flaws, not technical bugs, so you could call this finished. In other words, if you were showing me a buggy game I would tell you to fix it, but since Shape World is apparently bugless, you can go ahead and move on to a new project.

I hope this all makes sense and helps put you on the right path. Sorry if I seem harsh (especially in the beginning), but I'm just trying to lend you a hand. And remember I tend to focus more on the bad things than on the good things. No one will notice that neat glass-cube breaking animation you made, but they sure as hell will notice a boss that's a red square with eyes. Good luck!

Btw, you should let the player jump with the Up Arrow as well as C, since you're not using it. Or if you're feeling adventurous, let the player reconfigure the controls. Also, sorry if I was unfair in my criticism for not playing the whole thing. It could be really good after level 2-2 for all I know. Still, the first levels should be enough to keep a player playing.

Thanks for your opinions. I like critical reviews. It was my first game so I will make notes and improve upon it in the future.

I started it back in Novemeber, so I've learned alot since making this. I knew it was flawed in ways. My next game (can't tell title yet) will be a big step up. Lots of player customization, a story, and no repetition

Edited by AOIEA, 05 July 2011 - 09:37 PM.

[PetzI]

Thanks for your opinions. I like critical reviews. It was my first game so I will make notes and improve upon it in the future.

I started it back in Novemeber, so I've learned alot since making this. I knew it was flawed in ways. My next game (can't tell title yet) will be a big step up. Lots of player customization, a story, and no repetition

Good to hear. I'll be sure to play it when it comes out.

[AOIEA]

I didn't try really hard to make unique characters for the first one since I knew it would most likely have bugs and not be my best. All the characters I've come up with I wanted to save for when I know what I'm doing. I have animated sprites (with limbs ftw), inventory system, and variety of those things you already mentioned. It's not really a platformer though (although it will feature some platforming elements.) I'd say it's more of a hybrid of games. Anyway I aim it to be different. Anyway I wanted feedback for Shape World so I could get rid of the negative elements (though I already kinda have.) Yeah the ability thing was last minute and I wasn't going to put it in. I only did to make the characters seems different from each other, even though it didn't matter I guess. There is a water level at 4-1 through it's boss. But yeah my next one won't be platforming to the right, it will feature 9 "Worlds" which you can travel to in any order and each will have it's own style. I don't want to give to many away, but I will upload a demo when available. I would have uploaded screenies to Shape World, but was at work lol. I might later, but I'm more focused on my future games. I just joined the community today, was just on the "sandbox" community boards before. So what games have you made?

[TheUltimate]

Wow, those are such long posts!

Anyway, it's a neat game actually, especially for your first. Are the graphics yours? They're quite nice.

So... here's what I thought.
=== The coins' animations were pretty cool, as were the glass bonus boxes and how they break.
=== The little level intros were cute.
=== AN ACTUAL PAUSE SCREEN THAT'S NOT A SHOW_MESSAGE BOX OR A "PRESS F1"!!! OMG!!!
=== The stats, HUD, and ammo thing work perfectly.
=== You don't get hurt or stuck while touching the sides of spikes, and you have to hit the spring on top to get it to work. That's a good thing.
=== I like the animated scenery, although I kept trying to collect the oranges in level 1 lol.

=== Less gravity for your next game and/or variable jumping would be nice, I don't like waiting a full three seconds for my character to land every time I jump.
=== The game is WAY too easy. Really. I read everything in this thread while playing the game with my peripheral vision. I didn't die once.
=== Hate to say it, but like Petzl said, it is a tad boring. It's totally fine, though, since it's your first game, but next time, put different obstacles in, and make each level different some additional way other than "different scenery, music, and enemy movement." Like, take elements from your level's scenery and make them useful, like making a waterslide with the broken pipes in level 2. Oh, and make up names for your levels instead of just numbering them.

As for games that I've made, I've only got one so far called WHAT THE @#&% ?! (Seriously. That's the title.) and it's actually doing way better than I thought it would lol. It's in my signature if you wanna give it a go.

Overall, it's a pretty cute game. I like the music and the graphics, and the idea.
7/10 + 2/10 (first game bonus!) = 9/10

◊ TheUltimate ◊

[PetzI]

AN ACTUAL PAUSE SCREEN THAT'S NOT A SHOW_MESSAGE BOX OR A "PRESS F1"!!! OMG!!!

Woops, must've missed that.

The only game I've published so far is my Ludum Dare 20 entry. I've experimented with Game Maker, but have nothing worth publishing YET. Right now I'm working on a platformer-ish game which I hope to release and a modification of a game I absolutely adore.

[AOIEA]

Yeah they were my sprites. It was originally 8-bit and I don’t like 8 bit too much so I decided to change it. Some of it was a bit rushed and It was a off and on project since November (as in I didn’t work on it from feb to april lol) I’m used to drawing sprites because I did it for Zquest back in the day. I made my own jumping variable for the next game (I’ve gotten better at variables since I finished this game) The sequel (which is the project after next for me) will have fully animated sprites (along with better sprites might I add.) And yeah I hate pause screens that are just messages lol. I just did the other easy way for this one though by deactivating all the instances except the game controller (which had a pause variable in it.)
Glad you liked it somewhat. Yeah I know it can get bland at points but like I said I rushed through it. I was aiming for cute and funny. The new game I made, “Cat in a bubble” was just an experiment. I don’t expect it to get played to much. Made it in 3 hours lol, just to see if I could. Might go back and make a full puzzle game with it later on. So what’s your favorite Game Maker Platform games? Mine right now is Purple, but I haven’t played too many yet.

[YellowAfterlife]

Game is rather nice, and relatively bug-free. Extremely good for a first game.
Things that seem wrong to me:
* Coin count is reset at each level
* Enemies draw over the HUD actually
* Character sometimes bounces on the elevators instead of standing. Not really a problem, but makes it not possible to jump off the elevator.
* Character falls off slopes when walking down. Check the topic in my signature for several examples on creating slopes.
* Pressing P in first world of second act have sent game to title screen. Intended?
* I cant defeat the second boss. It just doesn't die:

[AOIEA]

perhaps a bug, ill check it out when I get home (about boss2) maybe accidentally destroyed the boss controller. And yes p was the quick. reset button. I also have a cheat code on the main menu, a level select. pm if u want it.

[AOIEA]

Game is rather nice, and relatively bug-free. Extremely good for a first game.
Things that seem wrong to me:
* Coin count is reset at each level
* Enemies draw over the HUD actually
* Character sometimes bounces on the elevators instead of standing. Not really a problem, but makes it not possible to jump off the elevator.
* Character falls off slopes when walking down. Check the topic in my signature for several examples on creating slopes.
* Pressing P in first world of second act have sent game to title screen. Intended?
* I cant defeat the second boss. It just doesn't die:

Ok, I know what the problem is with the second boss. It's unbeatable by any of the characters expect Blue. It's a mess up in the collision event. I've fixed the problem at home but won't be able to upload the patch until I can go somewhere to put my laptop online. Until V 4.0 is out it's recommended to play as the Blue Character.

[TheUltimate]

So... I made it to the volcano level and the game froze through no fault of yours, and I got thrown back to square one (no pun intended)... Would you consider implementing a save and/or level select feature if you ever update this?

◊ TheUltimate ◊

[AOIEA]

I probably won't add a save to this one, cause I'm heavily involved with my next project. I will update it this weekend though and fix the glitches. Funny pun lol (Square one haha). I am doing a save feature (for both settings and gameplay) in the next game which is much more advanced then this game. I do have a cheat code in this game where you can select your level if you want it.

[AOIEA]

Level 2 Boss bug fixed

[YellowAfterlife]

Played again, this time till level 5

* Found a secret passage in one of 3-* levels. That was cool.
* Player can defeat boss 4 by just jumping on one as it goes up.
* In level 3, player does not collide with vertical enemies, when not in the water.
* On level 5-2, you are playing as blue player, no matter what you have picked at start.
* Boss 5 is slightly bugged. If you jump on it, you are sent to sky (and that leads to death unless you duck). As well it isnt very good at dying (same as boss 2 was).

Maybe a save\load or password system could be implemented?
It's not as amusing to have to play through entire game to just find out that you cant defeat some boss.
You can send me a PM if you'd like some help with this.

[AOIEA]

Played again, this time till level 5

* Found a secret passage in one of 3-* levels. That was cool.
* Player can defeat boss 4 by just jumping on one as it goes up.
* In level 3, player does not collide with vertical enemies, when not in the water.
* On level 5-2, you are playing as blue player, no matter what you have picked at start.
* Boss 5 is slightly bugged. If you jump on it, you are sent to sky (and that leads to death unless you duck). As well it isnt very good at dying (same as boss 2 was).

Maybe a save\load or password system could be implemented?
It's not as amusing to have to play through entire game to just find out that you cant defeat some boss.
You can send me a PM if you'd like some help with this.

Glad you found the secret in level 3-* lol

I think most problems are I made seperate objects for each character instead of using a variable system and forgot to go back and fix all the collisions.
I might make a save/load system, but the only problem is time. Work full time now so my programming time has been shortened. I've been spending most of my time on my new project named "Comit".

Thanks for telling me about these bugs. Comit and Shape World 2 will be better tested before release lol