[Feedback Friday #33] - Sep 11, 2015 (The One Month Edition!)

Feedback Friday #33 is CLOSED - until Friday, Oct 9

Want design feedback for your new game? Then you've found the right thread! Post here to get precious player feedback. Discuss until 9/25, when we'll lock this thread to start the two week break.

How To Ask For Feedback?

• Show - Pics, videos, or best of all, a playable game!
• Be Concise - Who's got time for Wall 'O Text? Less is more

How To Give Feedback?

• Be Positive - Finding redeeming qualities in the worst of games, is in itself a game
• Focus On The Design - Not the designer
• Be Specific - "Your game sucks!" is for nubs

What To Show?

• Minimally Viable Product (MVP) - Core game play >>> everything else
• How To Scope Small (Unity tutorial)

Gigi

[PS - Feedback Friday #32 is here]

[Feedback Friday (FF) has changed. TL;DR; Open for 2 weeks, closed for 2 weeks]

 

I got such great feedback last month on King Zombie that I decided to try again with another unreleased game, Vertigo Ball. This build has the level locks off so that you can start from any level in the game (though the tutorial is in world 1 level 1).

Vertigo Ball: Web player version

ANY FEEDBACK GREATLY APPRECIATED!
I’m interested in anything from general impressions and opinions to specific criticism.

Vertigo Ball was my first attempt at making a game with unity and I ran out of steam during level creation. Instead of the promised 30 levels it has 20. It was designed with mobile platforms in mind and the leaderboards and achievements are currently only available on the Android version.

Also, the physics changes in 5.0 caused a bit of general havoc with some of the original levels so this is a Unity 4.x build, which is a shame since the 5.0 version is smoother and prettier. Most of the problems are centered on the second world where both the physics changes and the “no concave” colliders screwed up the fans and wreaking balls. All of those things can be solved, but it will take time. The question is: is it worth it.

Thanks for your time

 

Hey guys

I recently released a playable alpha version of Hexborne, a combat puzzle where you draw gestures to cast spells. Choose the right spells for each level and find the best solution.

The alpha starts like the regular game and ends with the so-called Alpha Level which skips a few levels in between to show what the core of the game will be really about. Saving/Loading not possible in the Alpha version, but you can use the cheat buttons to advance in case some error occurs.

I'd like all sorts of feedback. Please spread the message and enjoy

 

I played a few levels of the game and found it pretty fun. I thought it had some good and interesting level design.

 

Thank you sir

 

It is (somewhat unexpectedly!) fun. It can be a bit hard to tell what's going on on the vertical axis from that top down view. maybe a chase cam view would help, although I did like the sense of height it gave you to look down at the city.

Also the rewards (I think?) could be a bit more obvious. Those red squares that go green when you roll over them, and the green things on the fan blades, don't make all that much sense to me.

I didn't play all that much, and I'm not really sure I know what to expect from this type of game, so I can't give much more feedback.

 

Okay I a prototype game im working on. Clear all the monsters in a room then step on the teleporter at the end of the room. You get random perks when you level up. 20 "floors".

WASD to move.

Left mouse button to shoot.

F - to fulton the enemies, fullton 3 enemies to unlock crates

Tab to use ult - time stop if full mana.

Destroy the crates to unlock weapon.

Plan: I plan to add the fulltoned monster on the next run (though I didnt implement that yet).

http://aiursrage2k.itch.io/actionjacksonriseoffullton

 

Not bad, had some fun, but there's some pretty simple things that would go a long way.

• The player really needs to be able to shoot while moving backward.
• Don't like how the enemies can shoot at angles while the player can't. Maybe shoot along a vector from the player to the mouse cursor.
• Background/wall textures are meh. It is hard to tell whether they are walls or the ground. And the colors are distracting and out of place IMO.
• Gameplay only takes place on half the screen. That seems like a waste;
  
• A bit more atmosphere. Sounds especially, such as background music.

I really liked the hit effects on enemies, and I think the game has potential to be pretty fun.

 

Okay good call on the shooting backwards, the player now points at the mouse location and runs the way you want. that seems to speed up the gameplay

Some of the floors are open areas and some are hallways I was just prototyping the environment to see what worked best with the gameplay (ill use something nicer looking later on).

I added some music (just throwaway something for now from the asset store).

Added some art from the asset store.

 

@Billy4184 - Thanks for the feedback!
There is a first person camera available from the menus as well as a "jump cam" that gives you a third person view when you leave the ground.
For the switches I was hoping for a bit of a puzzle effect, but it seems all I achieved was confusion.
I will have to see if maybe I can make what happens when a switch is activated more obvious. Maybe if I move the camera to where the change is happening when the switch is hit so that the player can see the change.

 

@Aiursrage2k
I think you really have something there. I think you have a good mix of simple to start playing and game play depth. I was drawn to keep playing it and to see what the next level held.
I would defiantly make the player projectiles more clear and make it easier to tell when the player is taking damage with visual and audio clues. Also, if it is necessary to kill everything before leaving the level have the teleporter only appear when that is done. I like the leveling perk system which adds a bit of randomness to the game.
Nice start sir, good luck with your game!

 

I have to admit I just clicked through the menus until the game started. But I think that's a very important thing to take on board, especially if making a mobile game. You have to grab the player's attention and interest quickly, and nobody has time to set difficulty levels, select camera views, do tutorials or any other thing except play. They might do that if they're still interested after the first 30 seconds.

About the switches, I still have no idea what they do, but I think that the switch needs to look like a switch, and that there should be an obvious indicator (such as a light or something) beside the place where the effect happens, so that the player goes (ah, that light probably lit up when I hit that switch).

Overall I think that the game just didn't grab my attention. I think more movement and activity would help as well as focusing the camera on where the action is taking place. Maybe giving the background a lighter palette or a bit of depth of field blur would help the player to focus on the task at hand.

 

I agree completely, I was just not sure what features to have on by default. Now I have a better idea what it looks like to someone trying the game for the first time and can adjust.
Thanks again for the valuable insite!

 

Hi Everyone,

I recently launched my first game, using @Gigiwoo's advice, a simple MVP. It's on the appstore here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ten-second-game/id1033677910?mt=8

I've also asked for advice here http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/improvement-to-my-current-design-attached.355373/#post-2299773 and had some great feedback already from @TonyLi

So I'm wondering if it'd be possible to have a bit more feedback, as I have a few questions; for example:

1. Is the game intuitive? (can you pick up the game and instantly play)
2. Is the game addictive enough?
3. Would you come back and play it?
4. What do you think of future features:
- Global highscores (code already written, will be in next update)
- Jackpot style winnings. If someone gets exactly 10s, they win all the points (1 point added to pot everytime someone plays)
- Integration of Cashplay in an "arcade" app
5. Do you think friends would tell friends to play. If no, how could I? Maybe play with friends as Tony suggested?

Thank you,
Michael
PS, play nice lol, it's my first app paha

 

Just had another thought -- could you make an Android version for non-Apple folks? A web version might be nice to get make it easier to get feedback on, too.

 

@Asvarduil -

Congrats on the new prototype! The graphics are cute, the apps seems smooth, and the concept is functional! The music, art style, and theme seem to tie well together. Here's some thoughts on how it might be even stronger:

• Shooting - At first, I assumed the left-click fire was broken. The 'target with mouse' violated my expectations. Consider changing this so the shots go in the direction I'm pointing, vs to a specific location. Also, I like the option of firing continuously, vs click,click,click,click, especially with base weapons like a pistol. Plus, it will enable joystick play, vs mouse/keyboard.
• Shot Visuals - I couldn't tell I was shooting at first, cause there's no visuals. So, provide visuals! It's feedback, without which, there's no game. Plus, it's hard to get into flow.
• Crates - As I can walk through them, I didn't realize I had to shoot them. Again, I assumed the game was broken.
• Fulton's (sp) - Why do I need to hit 'F'? Seems easier to have monsters sometimes drop something, that I can then go and pick up.
• Difficulty - I can't tell yet - without seeing feedback on my weapons fire, though my initial impression is the difficulty will be too easy, once you get some of this interface stuff improved.
• Pathing to Red Teleporter - Consider showing it red/faded out, until you kill everything, and then making it turn to GREEN. This makes it more clear - again, providing feedback. To get really juicy, you could even have stuff fly from the mobs to the portal, showing it making a slow change (like a meter or something).
• "Index: 3" - ???
• Ult - I never used the ult, nor was it clear how I would even do so. I pressed tab a few times. There's some sort of disconnect here. If killing things accumulates mana, than have mana bubbles fly out, toward the mana bar. Then, when it's full, have it pulse brightly, with text, "Press Tab to use Use Ult".
• UI - You can get away with less stuff on the bottom. For example, "5 / 5 x 5" ??? and "Time: 1:35". And "Fulltons: 0". These things could probably be simplified away, removed, or incorporated more clearly into the game play.
• Speed - I wanted to move faster. This is a twitchy genre, and I wanted to play it that way.
• Color - consider using brighter colors or higher contrast to distinguish between the background and the interactibles.

Congrats on your new concept. Good luck.
Gigi

 

@deLord - Hexbourne gave me some sort of web player error, 'Bad File Length'.

Sorry,
Gigi

 

Umm...you must be talking about @Aiursrage2k - my new concept is still being built, and it's not a shooter. Specifically, it's based on RTSes, but without being quite that level of complex. I think you were referring to someone else.

However, since you've given me an iron-clad chance to plug, with little chance of repercussions, you all should totally check out the Game Mechanics Pokedex, because it's awesome and useful, and maybe even a little bit more awesome.

 

Actually, my plan is to produce an Android version once Ive perfected the Android one. Otherwise I'll be constantly adding code to both which would be a hassle Thanks Tony

 

Vertigo Ball
- I tried turning the volume down but every time I hit exit the music volume just increases. I tried just clicking at various points on the bar then exit & eventually it jumped up to a value then took me back to the options screen (I'm using firefox to play it in)
- some of the areas look like the are sloping down yet the ball slows down if I'm not accelerating which just felt wrong. Some of the areas needed a 'touch' to get the thrust right & having to use it when the only way the map could be the shape it is is if there were up & down slopes yet the physics seemed off.
- those holes got me. From the viewpoint I had they looked like different coloured squares so I rolled over them to see if they had powerups etc.
- the accelerator thrust pads only seem to work if you accelerate. I carefully rolled onto one then stopped the mouse click so I could see where it took me but it was essentially ineffective & I had to try to roll around it to hit it again with speed.

Overall I can see what you were trying to do but it isn't my type of game, though I do know people that have a collection of these to fill in time when they want something light.

 

- As everyone else has said, it's hard to see where you are shooting.
- visually, I agree with previous comments
- Level 2 I seemed to be able to walk through the missiles
- Also I could walk through the turrets & spawn points but couldn't shoot them
- turrets & spawn points appear to be floating, which I think is caused by the shadows on the ground not being quite right.
- I don't know what the red & black VCR cassettes are, is it some sort of save point if you walk through them?
- reminds me of some of the old arcade games that were around in the 80's & 90's. I can see it being co-op as well to further that impression, & it would fit right in on one of the modern versions of the old arcade tabletop systems.

 

- visually I agree with previous comments
- the red start/stop button has 1/3 covered by the ad on the bottom of the screen so you may need to adjust the layout so it is uncovered, or make it one of the buttons on the stop watch.
- no idea what i did but it kept loading the app store for other games even though i never had my hand near the bottom of the screen. Others said I had received a new game & I couldn't get out of them without it loading into the app store, exiting the app store, then going back to your game. FYI, I just updated to iOS 9 an hour before downloading your game so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it.
- i found 10 seconds a bit long to wait, to the point that it isn't something i'd play. This is because for a quick game it took to long for me to get to do anything.
- intuitive? i had issues starting. No matter where i pressed nothing happened until i pressed the back arrow. To me that is counter-intuitive from when I first loaded the game.
- future features? For gameplay i can't think of any. The game is very simple & any other features may add complexity that it doesn't need. Socially, as others have said, I can see friends wanting to compare scores in a friends list but I'm against being spammed by facebook messages. Just viewing friends when I log on is fine though.

- non-gameplay: I don't appreciate any game loading into a full screen video add on start up. I tested this a couple of times. To me games like this are for kids yet the ads have been for slot machines so I will actually be deleting it from our account so my kids don't see the ads. I don't think I'm the only parent that doesn't allow games that advertise video gambling games, even if there is a very small skip video option on the screen. Sorry, because I can see you have given thought to the game.

 

Sorry, I tried a few times but the web player crashes saying it failed to download the data file. I will repost if I can get it to work.

 

Hexborne I tried to play the game as well, it didnt crash for me. I just dont think the gesture system works well enough or I wasnt able to do it well enough most of the time it was giving me an "X". Maybe it will be better if you just show the shapes on screen (I just cant draw that circle without it).

 

@tedthebug and @Gigiwoo
what Browser and -plugins are you using? What OS? Do you have 100 MB of free space?

@Aiursrage2k
I am showing the gestures, just atm there is a bug in Alpha Version 1 since it will continue to show a circle although you need the fire or water gesture. Check the chain on the bottom center. Draw the triangle first, then the circle. I kinda fixed that in Alpha version 2

 

@tedthebug
Thank you sir, I will put all of those on my to do list.

My guess is the thruster code will need a complete re-write for Unity 5 anyway. I was really new to unity and the triggers/physics system (for that matter even the way the spacal coordinate system is accessed/altered) when I put those together. I seem to recall doing some fairly sloppy solutions to get those to work. I will focus on making them smoother and more consistent.

Clearly from what you and others have said there needs to be more contrast between the background and the level to make it easier to differentiate. To me that's what makes this feedback so important, to me it looks fine, but that is because I know exactly what I'm looking at. So great to get other's impressions.

Edit: I see what happened on the audio control, the slider's space is overlapping the exit button. The new v5 UI is so much better!!

Thanks again for the feedback!!

 

Google chrome failed as usual so I used Firefox. I'm running Windows 10 & the latest version of Firefox. I haven't added anything to Firefox it's just the latest that I downloaded. The unity screen comes up but it fails at about 2/3 through. The error message is meaningless, just saying it failed to load. I did try the new IE, called edge I think, but it wouldn't even start to do the unity screen.

 

This FF became quite active in the last few days! Kudos to the developers for braving the wild's of the internet to test out their new ideas (@MJNuchia, @deLord, @Aiursrage2k, @Dynamikeyz)! And, double kudos to the community for taking the time to provide feedback (@Aiursrage2k, @Billy4184, @TonyLi, @tedthebug). For now, we'll shut 'er down. Look forward to the next month - it'll be October, Holloween time!

NEXT FF OPENS ON October 9!

Gigi

PS - FF #34 is here.