68 replies to this topic

[TheUltimate]

Thanks for the feedback Oracizan!
 
“- I have to agree with MonkeyMaw that the word writing scheme is a little convoluted. I had to use three different buttons to operate it, and it got confusing at times. I also agree with you that it wouldn't have the same feel if you didn't have to actually type out the word, but I feel like it is a little undermined by the auto-complete.”
I’ve been playing this game for so long that I’ve actually stopped noticing the autocomplete lol. It is a bit of a cop-out now that I think of it. If I remember correctly, it was a bug that was intentionally left in.
You just gave me an awesome idea: Get rid of the autocomplete, implement the slow-mo that I’ve been meaning to do for ages, and use the length of the words themselves for difficulty, along with the ink cost. So, for example, if you’re in a tight spot, you could choose to type Gust to temporarily blow everything away and run for it, or take longer to type Fireball, burn everything, and keep going.

“- I was annoyed with the control scheme of A,S,W,D,J,K,L until I realized that my hands were lined up in typing position, then I mentally tipped my hat to you.”


“- The graphics are very nice, and consistent. Sometimes I see a row of tiles that do not have the darker border on the bottom, however, when all of the others do.”
That’s totally not because I’m too lazy to make tiles for one-block-thick platforms. Yep. Totally not lazy. :D

“- I really liked the variety of enemies, but I wish that they attacked more ferociously. I didn't even realize that the lizard (dragon?) creatures breathed fire until I had slayed 5 or so of them. There was a really good moment where I had to outrun a fireball down a tight canyon, and I'd love to see more moments like that emerge.”
I’m working on that sort of stuff right now. The birds now dive if you get too close, and there’s a plant that sprays toxic pollen at you. You have to disperse the pollen with Gust (or jump over it), then hit it with a Fireball. If you use the sword, it explodes and hurts you. There’s also a difficulty curve instead of things just being thrown at you: The first one you encounter is on flat ground and easy to defeat, then the second one is surrounded by a couple enemies or in a narrow space, etc. It’s in the FAQ, although I’m not sure if anyone reads it... I’m starting to wonder if I’m too long-winded or if people are just lazy.

“- The game paused on a blank screen after loading, for about 30 seconds. Perhaps because the music was loading?”
Uh-oh, that’s not supposed to happen. Was that at the start of the game?

“- The pirate boss was pretty fun, and a nice increase in difficulty.”
That was Wakeskater’s work. I realized after the update that his cannon doesn’t point at you during the fight anymore; it’s supposed to fire at you occasionally and give you something else to dodge. I should really fix that.

“- The Playwright is an amusing character. I also the little detail of how his name is capitalized (like that certain other creator).”
Lol! It’s actually just the naming convention for everything in the game: The Pen, Ink, the Playwright, etc.

“I really like the game mechanic of writing things into the world (I really enjoyed Scribblenauts, for example), and I think that this game has a lot of potential. I can't wait to see where it goes.”
Thanks. Version 0.11.0 has the second level and is already ready to go. Just gotta find a way to compile it...

[shadow gamer]

This is a masterpiece! I would never realize this was a GM game! Just by the logo in the beginning I could tell this was amazing! This is an awesome plot twist, too!

 

 

Unfortunately, after the first cut-seen, I got this:

ERROR in
action number 1
of Alarm Event for alarm 1
for object storyOneControl:

Failed to save game to file Test

 

Edit:
OK, I unzipped it and got everything to work. The game seemed very good in graphics, Physics,animation and storyline however I think that the gameplay was very raw, and mainly focused on the platforming aspect. Honestly, I'm just not that type of guy, so please ignore my distaste of  platforming based RPG's/Shooters. I just think when it comes to these types of games, most creators either take out most of the fun of the 'shooting' experience by adding to much platforming, or the 'shooting/fighting' just ends up as a distraction.

But anyway, 100% for effort, I can certainly see that. You could honestly make this a commercial project once it it finished, it has the potential. +3

 

Keep going,

-Shadow

Edited by shadow gamer, 12 May 2013 - 11:03 PM.

[Oracizan]

You just gave me an awesome idea: Get rid of the autocomplete, implement the slow-mo that I’ve been meaning to do for ages, and use the length of the words themselves for difficulty, along with the ink cost. So, for example, if you’re in a tight spot, you could choose to type Gust to temporarily blow everything away and run for it, or take longer to type Fireball, burn everything, and keep going.

That sounds pretty neat! I think removing auto-complete would improve the experience - that may be the randomest bug I've ever heard of.

“- The game paused on a blank screen after loading, for about 30 seconds. Perhaps because the music was loading?”
Uh-oh, that’s not supposed to happen. Was that at the start of the game?

Yes, at the very beginning of the game.

[TheUltimate]

Reply to shadow gamer:

Spoiler

Thanks for the review man. Tbh, I wasn't sure until the edit whether you were being sarcastic or not, but now I see you're not.

 

Anyway. The game is an adventure platformer with some RPG stuff thrown in. I know it isn't really as well done as it could be right now. But, the first area (Mountain Pass) is so you can get used to the controls and the style of the game. That's why it's got a lot of platforming. It gets a LOT better starting in Act II. The gameplay won't be as "raw" as more not-rushed things get put in during future updates - the fighting is actually an integral part of the game that won't involve mindless button mashing. So yeah, thanks for playing!

 

Reply to Oracizan:

Spoiler

Haha it sure is strange. I have no idea how it happened. Now the real challenge is to fix that bug!

 

That's odd. Does it happen every time you start the game? Or, actually, does it happen with the new version too?

 

Version 0.11 update! See the first post for the download link.

 

What's new:
• Scene II: Mountain Pass West has been updated

• Journey Stones now act as checkpoints
• Some enemies will attack you
• You can now pause the game with P
• Escape quits to the menu instead of quitting the game
• Better level transitions
• Enemies explode with colour corresponding to the type of ink dropped

• There's a temporary secret access point to the original Inferno Caverns level (the level is a huge maze, enter if you dare...)

• Minor bug fixes

 

What will be in V.0.12:

• V.0.12 is out! Go to post #69.

 

The main change in this version is Level 2. Since it's starting to take a while to get to the new content, I'll add a debug word in the next version that will teleport you to the newest level and give you all the words you'd have at that point.

 

Enjoy!

Edited by TheUltimate, 04 June 2013 - 04:09 AM.

[TheUltimate]

Alright, seems like everyone's too busy to play games, so here's a progress update. I've gotten part of Act III done. It follows the original level pretty closely: It starts out pretty innocently, but partway through, you come across a burnt-out bridge. Why is this bridge burnt out? Well, you'll have to play the game. In order to cross it, you have to travel down to the base of the canyon and find Double Jump. The level's going to be longer than the original. You have more words at this point so it's a lot harder and (hopefully) more interesting.

Edited by TheUltimate, 18 May 2013 - 03:24 AM.

[shadow gamer]

BIIIGG bug. I started a new game, I tried to hit the vines (expirimentation) the when to the healing orb thingy, and BAM! I was the the bridge. What the heck?

 

Edit:

And.... it happened again.

Edited by shadow gamer, 18 May 2013 - 11:51 PM.

[IceMetalPunk]

I'm loving the updates :D . Especially the system you added to queue words up for use later--that definitely helps with strategy I see this going places, Ult Nice job keeping it going!

[TheUltimate]

"BIIIGG bug. I started a new game, I tried to hit the vines (expirimentation) the when to the healing orb thingy, and BAM! I was the the bridge. What the heck?"

That's totally not because I accidentally left the debug objects in the game. Totally not it.

 

"I'm loving the updates :D . Especially the system you added to queue words up for use later--that definitely helps with strategy I see this going places, Ult Nice job keeping it going!"

Thanks! The word queue was Wake's doing. A few people are finding it confusing, though, so I'm going to try removing all the spaces from the words and use Space to activate words instead of Enter and Space.

 

Anyway, through a ridiculous miscalculation/misunderstanding/whatever, I didn't manage to get the last update out for the Review Jam, which is kind of unfortunate, because I've only finished the intro levels. I was supposed to have all of Scene III, more of the story, and better level design (it's the first non-introductory level of the game). Oh well, stuff happens. I'll try to update sometime as well as finish my review.

Edited by TheUltimate, 01 June 2013 - 05:27 AM.

[TheUltimate]

Version 0.12 update!

 

< DOWNLOAD IT HERE! >

 

What's new:

• Scene III: Torna Outskirts has been updated, but is still incomplete

• Debug thing that teleports you to the newest level with all the words you need
• More content
• All enemies now have an attack pattern instead of just walking back and forth
• Objects and enemies are now more or less vulnerable to certain attacks (e.g. doors can be burnt down by a lizard man's errant fireball, and stone throwers are invulnerable to fire)
• Splashscreen music no longer breaks your eardrums
• Minor bug fixes

 

I'm going to add to Scene III and II in the next update, be sure to check out the first post for more update info!

 

Enjoy!