[Feedback Friday #54] - May 12, 2017

FF #54 was excellent. Next one opens on Friday, June 9th!

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Want design feedback for your new game? Then you've found the right thread! Post here to get precious player feedback. Discuss until we lock the 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 #53 is here]

 

Just prototyping a game which is going to be a puzzle platform... moving blocks and releasing mechanisms. Had some fun creating the sound track in garage band.

Entitled blocky. It's really tricky to get the mechanics just right. Looking for feedback when it is done mainly on gameplay.

Tools used:
-blender
-garage band
-unity

 

Grats on early prototype. For this kind of game, I'm reminded of articles about Mario. Nintendo spent thousands of hours working to get the jump/walk mechanic to be absolutely as fun as possible. Their belief was that once they nailed that every single moment of the game should be interesting - meaning, it's not about the puzzles, it's about that 1/20th of a second interaction that you are making with the computer.

You've gotten a good start, which means you can now spend lots of time iterating on the basic movement! Spend the next 40 hours working to make that movement more fun - enticing, engaging, and fun such that 5 seconds is all a player needs to be having fun. Here's some suggestions:

• make the movement curve go UP fast, with a slight slowdown in the top arc
• Consider your mid-flight control.
• Consider how you want the movement acceleration to work - how fast from start to stop, what about when turning around. These milliseconds are where the player spends their time
• Make it fast, snappy, and alive.
• Then, make the sound match that feeling

Gigi

 

A simple puzzle game with a twist - you can test it here.

• I just slapped on the Intro + Music without much thought, when I decided to post it here
• Game was intended for my son's IPAD only, inspired by something he played online (blocking my computer)
• Extra keys that should work in webgl: arrow keys instead of swipe, C - change camera, = / - change level, M - menu
• I only put the first 12 levels --- 1-2 of them have dead ends, to restart go to menu and click on the same level (will restart it) -- if you click anywhere on the side, it will just go back to the level without reset

Could this be fun also for others?


Edit: it might take 1-2 minutes to load (there is no progress bar) + for some reason the music stops without reason (not that you can listen to it much longer anyway) - this seems to be a unity webgl bug or limitation

 

Thanks dude you're absolutely right. I started faffing about with the animation and even the game menu and was thinking WHY? I haven't even got the cube jumping on the platform working smoothly.

The how to scope video was spot on... So back to the beginning again.

@sngdan will test later today.

 

@sngdan, I just tested it and it was awesome. Kinda reminded me of flash block roll.

Some critiques

Things I liked
1. Love the animation introduction... how the block rolling uncovers the text.
2. Mechanics were smooth, at first I was trying to move left but realised you can only do so when the cube stops.
3. Loved the simple art style, the square trail it leaves, the animation and how the game shakes when you hit the walls.
4. Some of the puzzles have a lot of empty space but it is quite ingenious.

Things I didn't like

I know this is just a prototype but the typography looked like a total mismatch for the game's simple aesthetic art style. The game menu UI could be improved to look better as well, it looked a bit pixelated although that could just be the webgl version.

Other than that, pretty good job.

 

@iamthwee

Thank you for your feedback - appreciated.

• I have to google flash block roll after posting this
• Your points are spot on and I have to address those if I want to release it
  • Typography looks better on IPAD (it scales wrongly on WebGL) but it requires an overhaul in any case
  • Game menu - I have to look into the pixelation issue as I generate meshes for the mini maps at run time and they should not pixelate. But again, this needs an overhaul as well
• I might also expand this to multi player / procedural level generation / morphing blocks & levels just for learning purposes

If you don't mind, I would be interested to understand in addition to the given feedback

• How did you find the difficulty level?
• Would something like 100 levels be enough for a release?
• What kind of background music do you feel goes with the game? (i.e. style, pace, loudness, etc.)

 

@iamthwee

Some points with regards to your game

• Sound track sounds nice for the type of game
• FX too loud in comparison to Sound track for my taste
• Control does not look snappy as @Gigiwoo already pointed out (possibly better to even test with only a cube, as I think syncing up the animation is a separate issue)
• Jumping on the platform - you could on collision just parent the platform to the player this way they move in sync + on collision exit release the player
• Would be good if you could share a bit more with regards to the actual puzzles and what will be the challenge for the player

 

@sngdan Yes the typography and game menu is the only thing IMO that lets your game down. See Monument valley, they've picked a nice font. You can go onto google fonts and download the ones that a free for public use.

Again, I'm not sure why this is, perhaps it is webgl, or are you using something like text mesh pro?

Definitely consider different size blocks, triggers that you can roll over to move barriers as the levels progress.

In terms of difficulty it seemed OK, it took ages to complete the last level. I think some of your levels have a bit too much of a gap between the blocks, you could perhaps bring them closer together.

Music was good, did you make it yourself? Perhaps a little repetitive but then it is difficult / time consuming to make a track for each level.

100 levels would be nice but if they are all procedural it could get boring, the ingenuity of a game is what the programmer injects, and that is rarely something a random generator algo can produce.

You definitely have the minimum viable product going, for sure.

 

What's the best way to get a playable demo, I really hate webgl for anything but 2D as it knackers 1. gamepad control, locking cursor to screen, lag, weird bugs, and different user experiences depending on browser and OS.

If I throw my game up on a file sharing site would you need a windows and mac build?

 

OK guys went back to minimum viable product, a cube a jump, a turbo boost, kill enemies and a reset...

Couldn't help adding a custom particle effect though What do you think has the mechanics improved?

Still need to work on the mechanics of moving objects (probably parent them and set up a basic enemy AI moving left to right), then need to work on moving platforms probably with the Lerp function.

 

Hi there, pretty late here so I ll be brief.
- I like the cube based player much better
- For my taste the cartoon explosion with particles is already too much (maybe some miniature cube particles?)
- I think if you get the controls right, it has all it needs for a little nice game
- if you want to spice it up visually, I would do a deformable mesh (cube squeezes on land and stretches on jump) - but that can be at the end as not really required
- level design will be a big task, do you plan to make it one long level? (Could be a maze and once you jump on something it changes color, this way you would know if you have been there already, i.e. No map)

I plan to work on my game on Friday, basically just touch up the menu and font, not more than 2 hours and then decide if I put it on an App Store or not.

 

Hi @sngdan thank you for your feedback, I think that's a great idea to animate the cube something like (see below) I was playing around with. I kinda like the cartoon styled explosions, so cutting that would be hard to do but shall see.



I think you're right, if I stick with a cube I won't scope too big and lose sight of the end goal.

In terms of level design, I wanted it to be a cross between a fast paced platformer and puzzle game, something akin to inside, but perhaps that might be pushing the boat for feedback Friday We'll see. I want to get a ladder mechanism working, switches and movable objects and scaleable walls. I think this is at least doable.

Looking forward to your improvements on the menu with your game.

 

Hey, Feedback Friday,

I am in the midst of something, could you imagine playing a game like that:

Teaser GIFS:

 

Definitely, it reminds me of a game I wanted to buy, can't remember the name? How far have you gotten with it. Do you have a playable demo?

 

Hmm i am not up to the quality of those games but do you maybe mean one of them:
Crawl, Hyper Light Drifter, Angry Arrows, Crawlers and Brawlers, Dungeon Souls, Spaceship Looter, Dungeon of the Endless, bit Dungeon II, Enter the Gungeon or Hammerwatch?
Don't tell me you talk about a Platformer

I have a build, but i don't want to share it right now, it is too much of a developer/debug-built and i don't want full feedback until i streamlined it, my artwork guy will soon send me the first characters and backgrounds so i can finally replace the mock up art.



I am working on it full time right now and did mostly gameplay-refinements in the last months. It will be a Couch-PvP game, with the option of Couch-Coop if the Artwork Budget allows for PvE content. The programming is mostly done, i got procedural dungeons with event spawns, sidetracks and stuff. But i want to overhaul the AI and Map-Skinning processes at least once and only after it is clear that we go PvE too.

Gameplay mostly consists out of fast paced dashing and slashing, you can cast projectile-spells or charge up power to release greater attacks of all archetypes. Spells can collide with each other, projectiles can be reflected with slashes, slashes can clang with each other. Reflected projectiles breach through normal projectiles... and lots of knockdown, fine-tuned screen shakes, conditions like daze and burning and attack variety.

 

I managed to work on this before Friday, but feel a little guilty for the little effort put in...

Changes:
- changed Font (it looks much crisper on IPAD than on WEBGL)
- updated Menu (also crisper on IPAD, I could not really be bothered to redo it, so just minor visual enhancements)
- added score per level (now display the stars achieved per level in the menu)

Updated version is HERE

 

@sngdan, the fonts are a lot better, still not quite perfect but I guess that's just personal preference. I like the menu transitions and the reduction of empty space. Some icons are still pixelated like the turn sound off circle, (again not sure if that's just webgl) It's hard to judge anything on webgl as it sucks so much.

The only thing I would add is it skips the first level, and I noticed a slight bug, when you switch camera then go to the menu it doesn't display properly. Also you got 001, 002 for the levels, I'm assuming you're going to change that to level 1, 2 etc.

 

@iamthwee

Thx for the feedback.
- I think the first bug is a feature, it remembers the last level and starts there (to go back to an earlier one you would use the menu, as they are unlocked now) - or is it something else?

- will check the camera, to be honest, I forgot about it, I am likely not resetting it properly - thx --- by the way which camera do you prefer?

- yes the leading zeros are also a leftover, will remove

Edit: or did you mean get rid of the first level?

 

I'm not sure, I didn't think you could save that information on web - unless it stores it as a cookie or something, but not too sure to be honest.

... In the mean time, my game is getting teleportals, jet powered boxes, and swinging ropes. To be frank, I think I might be stepping over the 'scope small target' again, so may have to cut that.

 

You can in playerprefs (not good practise but I only store 4 values)

 

OK, implemented moving boxes by holding down button and dragging, implemented teleportals which take you to a different part of the level, implemented delayed box thrusters which propel you upwards after a set period of time.

Implemented a simple message notification system when you're near an intractable object.

Pretty happy with progress so far, will implement switches and movable platforms/objects tomorrow using the lerp function.

Then I'll have to consider a proper level design.

 

Nice! I like the overall look & feel so far. Nice Colors, Font, controls seem to be much more punchy...going in the right direction. It's time to think about a twist that makes the game stand out a bit + level design.

Some ideas:
- Maybe you introduce magnetism or something that affects how the cube jumps / moves + how other objects react to it
- Maybe you introduce light switches and have parts of the level dark (only sound as a hint)
- Just plain level design of course can also create something interesting
- Ability system for puzzles (i.e. temp strength to move heavier objects, temp power to jump higher, etc...)
- A slowly turning world (where the cube's gravity pulls him always down), i.e. it would start sliding on the ground....and the world would at one point be upside down...


What platform do you intend to develop for + what kind of controller is used?

 

Wow those ideas are really great, and yes you're right your game should be unique and stand out amongst the rest.

However, my purpose is simply to figure out how to do engaging gameplay, it can mean copying most other platformers - and I don't have a problem with that. You see, I know I can do graphics well, I know I can do sounds, lighting, texturing well. But I've not yet nailed gameplay, so this was the purpose of Feedback Friday.

Gameplay, one level, that's all folks.

Probably windows or mac, it works with my xbox controller on my mac mini, but I'm guessing the input controls are slightly different for windows. I also works with keyboard input as well.

Hope to get something playable by closing end date, with the props and mechanics I already have.

 

OK I finally figured out how to do that last phase of my game, moving objects from one position to another in a set period of time.

Code (CSharp):

1. //move object from one position to another in a fixed period of seconds
2.  
3. using UnityEngine;
4. using System.Collections;
5.  
6. public class main : MonoBehaviour {
7.  
8.     private float ElapsedTime;
9.     public float FinishTime;
10.     private Vector3 StartPosition;
11.     private Vector3 TargetPosition;
12.  
13.  
14.     //this will be the start andend position
15.     public Transform start;
16.     public Transform end;
17.  
18.     void Start ()
19.     {
20.         StartPosition = start.position;
21.         TargetPosition = end.position;
22.         ElapsedTime = 0;
23.  
24.     }
25.  
26.     void Update ()
27.     {
28.      
29.         positionChanging();
30.      
31.     }
32.  
33.     void positionChanging()
34.     {
35.         ElapsedTime += Time.deltaTime;
36.         transform.position = Vector3.Lerp (StartPosition, TargetPosition, ElapsedTime / FinishTime);
37.     }
38.  
39. }
40.  

So now I'm all set to do the level design!

Scrap the above found a much more concise and smoother lerp function which pings pongs back and forth, perfect for a moving platform.

Code (CSharp):

1.  //use lerp to ping pong back and forth for set period of time
2.  
3. using UnityEngine;
4. using System.Collections;
5. public class main : MonoBehaviour
6. {
7.      public Transform farEnd;
8.      private Vector3 start;
9.      private Vector3 end;
10.      private float secondsForOneLength = 5;
11.    
12.      void Start()
13.      {
14.          start = transform.position;
15.          end = farEnd.position;
16.      }
17.    
18.      void Update()
19.      {
20.          transform.position = Vector3.Lerp(start, end,
21.            Mathf.SmoothStep(0f,1f,
22.            Mathf.PingPong(Time.time/secondsForOneLength, 1f)
23.            ) );
24.      }
25. }

 

Well done! So much improved! Even just watching it the smoothness, speed, and soft interactions feel wonderfully fun. Kudos!!!

Gigi

 

Thx again for the feedback. I will leave the 12 level demo online in case anyone wants to give it a try..

The Tumbling Cube

 

Thanks Gigi, your advice and sngdan's was spot on, any chance on leaving this thread open for a few more days to get a working downloadable prototype up? I just found out I've become a first time uncle yesterday , so time is not on my side anymore!!

 

What a great FF! Kudos to the game submitters and reviewers alike. Feels like a collaborative game community in here.

See you next time,
Gigi

PS - @iamthwee - Now you have 2 weeks to sharpen up the game play into a sharable prototype!