Search Unity

  1. Megacity Metro Demo now available. Download now.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Unity support for visionOS is now available. Learn more in our blog post.
    Dismiss Notice

[Feedback Friday #15] - Feb 27, 2015

Discussion in 'Game Design' started by Gigiwoo, Feb 27, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Gigiwoo

    Gigiwoo

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2011
    Posts:
    2,981
    Want design feedback for your new game? Then you've found the right thread! Post it here to see 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? Less is more.
    • Read This - More great guidance in superpig's post.
    How To Give Good Feedback?
    • Be Positive - Finding a few redeeming qualities in the worst of games, is in itself a game.
    • Be Respectful - Whichever side you're on, play nice or don't play.
    • Focus On The Design - Not the designer.
    • Be Specific - "Your game sucks!" is for nubs.
    Good luck!
    Gigi

    [PS - Feedback Friday #14 is here]
     
  2. LaneFox

    LaneFox

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2011
    Posts:
    7,462
    AndrewGrayGames likes this.
  3. FlyingRobot

    FlyingRobot

    Joined:
    May 5, 2012
    Posts:
    456
    A little cross post from my WIP thread to gather more feedback. Actually this is the thread where I'm getting most of the ideas from, so had to be little shameless. :p

    The first playable is now live. It consists of only the training section of the game. But the gameplay should be well explained there.

    Title Screen


    Playtest Link

    http://www.warfrontdefenders.com/Webplayer/Playtest.html

    Please play and let me know your feedback. There's a small feedback form below the player. Would really appreciate if you take 2 mins to fill that. Or you can reply here in details.

    Waiting for your feedback guys. The game level coming up on next build.
     
    AndrewGrayGames likes this.
  4. Gigiwoo

    Gigiwoo

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2011
    Posts:
    2,981
    How about 'Goldilox approved'? My wife said it's not too hard, not too easy.

    Most of you know I've suffered a loss. To distract myself, I built Block 64. The web version keeps crashing on startup, so I put it on Google Play. It's a variant inspired by 1010 & Tetris. My variants include an 8x8 grid for a faster game, more piece types, and bonus points for clearing 2, 3, or 4 rows/cols at a time.

    Title: Block 64!
    Android Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goodgamesbydesign.block64
    Web Link: Still Crashing.

    Shot1_Screenshot_2015-03-02-22-22-20_SMALL.png

    PS - As it's already Wednesday, expect to see this next week. :)
     
    GarBenjamin and AndrewGrayGames like this.
  5. GarBenjamin

    GarBenjamin

    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2013
    Posts:
    7,441
    @Gigiwoo Excellent game! I bought an 8" inch tablet this past weekend (birthday gift for myself lol) hoping it would make mobile gaming more appealing to me, Not much luck with that yet but I have a few games that are truly great games. And your latest Block 64 is in that tiny list!

    The minimalism of the presentation is a brilliant design choice because there are no distractions, it's just me, the board and a bunch of little blocks or rather blockular shapes. The game is quite addicting!

    I like Block 64 much better than Christmas Crush. There is a real game here requiring some thought. The interaction is meaningful and strategic. Another genius stroke was your choice to NOT include those annoying way overdone ads. If I create a mobile game it will be completely free with no ads because my purpose would be to use the game as a marketing tool. Gaining maximum exposure to brand myself or company. Not sure what your reasons were for no ads but I think it will prove to be a very wise decision for the same reason. Well done!
     
    Gigiwoo and AndrewGrayGames like this.
  6. Gigiwoo

    Gigiwoo

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2011
    Posts:
    2,981
    @GarBenjamin - OMG! Thank you for those kind words. I'm truly grateful.

    Though I'd like to take credit for being altruistic, not seeing ads is actually a bug. My intention for ads was one interstitial at the end of a game, after a minimum of 6 minutes. Minimal and also viable.

    PS - Block 64! was inspired by watching my son play 1010 in the hospital. About a month after my daughter passed, I realized I needed a distraction to keep depression at bay. I needed a short MVP that without a deep emotional investment, so I revisited my earlier thoughts. I felt I could make a better game that was faster and more fun by using a smaller board (8x8), enabling more piece types, and rewarding players for succeeding with multiple rows/cols. I'm so glad you like it.

    Thank you,
    Gigi
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2015
    GarBenjamin and AndrewGrayGames like this.
  7. AndrewGrayGames

    AndrewGrayGames

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2009
    Posts:
    3,821
    Hi Gigi! I downloaded Block 64! and gave it a whirl.

    What Works
    First things first: thank you for paying attention to your app manifest and not spamming me with a bunch of permission requirements no game should actually need. That's one of the first things I look at in an Android app, that people keep getting wrong. It's a technical detail, but it's worth mentioning. It shows you paid attention when building the game.

    The game is mechanically simple in a good Tetris-way. It (mostly) makes immediate sense. Your tutorial is simple, but helpful, and doesn't last too long - it helps me figure out how you've intended me to interact with the game.

    As @GarBenjamin said, no ads. This "bug" you've noted is actually much appreciated, but I think that the ad would be OK on the final score page.

    What Doesn't Work
    Your presentation is overly simple. I feel there's a lot of room for visual polish, given the simplicity of the game. Specifically, creating a bitmap font that suits the feel of your game that is stylized to the aesthetic of your vision for Block 64! would beat the holy heck out of that awful Comic Sans font. The individual blocks and the background could work really well with some subtle details. Your first screen has a good aesthetic that with some slight, subtle detail, makes an excellent model for the rest of your game. You've got a strong mechanical base and a strong first screen, so go ahead and put a little time into ornamentation on the whole project!

    Speaking of the mechanics there were some unexpected row-clears I got. I'm not entirely sure if it was a row that I finished without realizing it along an axis I wasn't paying attention to, or if the colors on the blocks actually mean something. This is one thing your tutorial doesn't help with, because the tutorial blocks are all the same color; if colors matter, that's a detail you'll want to build into your tutorial. If colors don't, you should also build that into your tutorial!

    The background soundtrack is OK; it seems almost like clip music (e.g. not a great thing.) Some way to control the music and sound settings would be very welcome, because different players have very different aural tastes, but if possible try to add more variation to your game's soundtrack. The music is very a cosmetic option, so a little more choice wouldn't hurt - other players will certainly appreciate it!

    The TL;DR
    You've got a really strong base game. A little bit more polish will help raise this simple, fun time-waster to the next level. Great work, Gigi!
     
    Gigiwoo likes this.
  8. Gigiwoo

    Gigiwoo

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2011
    Posts:
    2,981
    @Asvarduil - Thank you for the wonderful feedback, including the positives and the things that could be improved. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and specificity.
    • Font - My son hates comic sans too. I'm trying some new ones. Thanks!
    • Aesthetic - Making some mods and will keep my eye open for more.
    • Tutorial - Fantastic. Changed it to use random color types, to be clearer that colors are irrelevant.
    • Music - I'll take another look at the music. There are three music tracks (~11 minutes of unique music) that rotate. There's small buttons to turn off music and audio separately. Does it need more? Music files are large.
    • Polish - working it!
    Thanks!
    Gigi
     
  9. AndrewGrayGames

    AndrewGrayGames

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2009
    Posts:
    3,821
    On sound, a separate screen or a modal to configure BGM selection and volume, sound effect volume, and master volume would help. Optionally a checkbox to blanket-enable/disable sound would be of use in certain real-world cases.
     
  10. Gigiwoo

    Gigiwoo

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2011
    Posts:
    2,981
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.