15 replies to this topic

[SonicYM2612]

This is a neat puzzle game in progress that combines action, adventure, and problem-solving in one package. Try it out!

DOWNLOAD

SCREENSHOTS
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Currently, the only main objective is to activate the exit switch and head for the exit,
but that won't be very easy when there are obstacles!

It still needs a name, and I'm still developing ideas for it. I'm thinking about adding weapons and bosses. Tell me what you think! Feedback is important to me beacuse I want to make something that people would like to play.

Have fun!
> Awesomesicular Games <

For your convenience, the latest upload date will be shown below.
Last updated: 08/16/2012

Edited by SonicYM2612, 16 August 2012 - 06:42 PM.

[SonicYM2612]

Edited by SonicYM2612, 27 July 2012 - 09:10 PM.

[Koaske]

Okay, I tried your game! Here are some comments on it:

The graphics are simple but polished. The animations of blocks disappearing and flashing blocks help giving the polished feelings. The sound effects also support the graphical style well, so good job on that.

The gameplay itself isn't very interesting to me, though. You categorize this as a puzzle game, but so far, I didn't find that many puzzle aspects (I played the first 4-5 levels). Instead, the goal in the levels is just to move from point A to point B. This is sometimes a bit frustrating to do, since you have to be very precise to make the block fit through passageways. Most of the time this requires you to be pixel-perfect. The fact that the controls aren't always as precise as you'd want them to be doesn't really help here.

You might want to consider making the game so that it doesn't require as much accuracy. I'm not totally against parts requiring accuracy though. After all, forcing the player to be precise bring challenge to the game, which I like. The accuracy requirement wouldn't also be as bad if you made the control system so that you can press two keys at once. For example, if there's a "T" section and I want to go down on it, I could hold down both "right" and "down" to make the character move right at first and then down when there's enough space to go down.

I also felt that many levels were kinda long in a sense. In many parts "nothing was happening", since you were just, well, moving with no hazards or anything nearby. You also had to back-track long distances in the levels. For example, the first level was very long, considering the only thing you have the player do is simply moving to different directions. I think even a much shorter level would be enough to teach the player the basics of movement.

On the other hand, 2nd level was nice because you actually got some action. The last part was a bit unfair because of the pixel-perfect precision it requires (which is hard to do with the current controls). I didn't like the fact that you had to go back to the beginning in this level though. To the player, it feels like you've beaten the level already, but then you have to go through all the obstacles you already cleared.

[SonicYM2612]

Ok, thanks for the feedback. Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress and not a full game yet. I'm still working out some aspects of the game, which is why right now it's not very interesting in terms of gamplay. In the future though, there will be weapons and bosses, you will be able to blast though some enemies while other will still require dodging and moving around. Also, I do realize the controls aren't easy but the movement is absolutely pixel perfect, if you tap very lightly, you can get aligned exactly where you want to. As for multi-directional movement, you can already do that, but some keyboards just don't allow a certain combination of keys (so sometimes you just can't press two arrow keys at a time ) I know some levels are a bit long, but they are mostly "test" rooms, so these aren't "real" levels yet.

[Koaske]

Yeah, it's always a bit hard to tell which direction the developer wants to take the game to when the game is just a work in progress. I decided to write all the stuff I had in mind, and apparently I also listed things that you had already considered

Well, the collisions are pixel-perfect, but doing the light tap you're talking about isn't always very easy... especially if there are enemies dashing at you and you have a split second to do the light tap. Also, if I were you, I'd consider giving the player a little bit extra space at times.

Think about this: Is it absolutely necessary to have most gaps be 1 block wide/high? Would it hurt the gameplay if some of them were 2 (or 1.5) blocks in width/height?

Ahh, you're right about the keyboard thing. Maybe you could let the player use WASD or let him use any keys he'd like to?

[SonicYM2612]

Yeah, you're right about maybe having some extra space. And yes moving and aligning when enemies are going for you is hard sometimes, and that's why I added a health system. Maybe I should make the enemies damege less.

[Koaske]

It's not really a matter of damage, since you offer plenty of check points and health anyway. It's just that the player should be able to complete games like these without taking any damage provided that his skill level is good enough. Luck shouldn't be a factor, like it might sometimes be when you try to make the light tap and pray the square doesn't move too far or too less.

[SonicYM2612]

Ok, I'll see what I can do.

[gamemakerfun300]

You should make the enemies a little smaller to make the game easier

[SonicYM2612]

Did you get my original music?

[SonicYM2612]

I've been working on the game. If you hold Ctrl you should get a bit of extra precision when lightly tapping. There's also a working prototype of the training room, and the 1st training level shows messages and a pop up when you complete it, and tells you the time you took in the training level.

[SonicYM2612]

OOPS IGNORE THIS

Edited by SonicYM2612, 15 August 2012 - 11:50 PM.

[Koaske]

I can't get past the first room in the new version because the diagonal gap is too small?

[SonicYM2612]

You should be able to, you probably got stuck though when you rotated (I got to fix that), but you can get unstuck by rotating until no part is though a wall, then you can continue.

[Koaske]

Rotated? How can you rotate? Was the first level just some test level? I'm not really sure.

The controls are a bit "hidden" in the help text because you have to scroll it down since the logo takes so much room.

I didn't get the precise movement (ctrl) to work.

I also found a bug that I triggered by going to to the very last level and then repeatedly pressing Z key. This caused a sound effect to loop constantly and it wouldn't stop at all.

I think the game's main issue is still that too much precision is required.
One way to fix this would be to use grid movement, but that might not be suitable for this game and all its situations.

Besides critique, I'll leave some good comments here: The graphical style is quite nice (albeit simple), and the sound effects support the feeling of virtual reality well :

Some suggestions for this topic:
*Include the controls in your original post
*Post some of the screenshots as pictures (not links)

[SonicYM2612]

Yes it's a test level for the Spy Cam. When you get the Spy Cam, press shift, which will deploy it. You can move it around using the arrow keys (rotate, move forward, brake) and strafe the Spy Cam with I, K, J, and L. You need to use the Spy Cam to get though where the player can't.