Sun Mar 30, 2014 11:39 pm
Positives:
-Beautiful looking game. Animations are perfect, and the enemy AI is just right for a game like this at such an early stage. I like how much it feels like that old Strider game. The character portrait at the beginning is very well done.
-Not sure how the items system is going to play into this yet, but I do like the subtle RPG inclusion of weapons changing, which I can see extending the life of this game well into later levels.
EDIT 1:
-Tucking and spinning while jumping is a nice touch (hold down while in air, for those who don't know what I'm talking about). Will we need it to access tight upper corridors someday?
EDIT 2:
-Parallax makes me jealous.
-Once you get inside the main area and the more dimensional design of the map kicks in, the game gets more interesting. I like the stairs, but I think they could be smarter when it comes to jumping on and from them. Having to board them at the bases only seems counterintuitive. I think pressing down should be the only way to fall through them.
-Love the save station. Nothing else to say, other than really cool.
-The first puzzle trigger (the water pipe) is neat. Simple, but neat.
-Enemies keep getting better the deeper you go. As of this edit, I've gotten up to the guys who throw their shields at you. I REALLY like that thorn spitter who goes nuts when you hit him.
Negatives:
-Cleaning up files after dying takes waaaaay too long. Not sure if it actually has to go through a process, or if it's supposed to simulate something that commercial PC games do, but it's not fun to watch. Also, the fact that it automatically assumes I don't want to play anymore, or try again, and immediately goes into file cleanup is kinda lame.
Note: It actually took way too long on the first game, but was considerably faster on the second. Might be a first-time gameplay issue.
-The character moves too quickly. I don't know yet if it bothers me that jump control is affected by this, but it definitely makes things harder that my jumps can get away from me if I keep holding forward. I think slowing the character down just a touch can help with most gameplay troubles.
-Maps, so far, seem underdeveloped. They are very nice to look at, but the first few sections are small and straightforward, and I don't get a sense that jumping is a major priority yet. I haven't gotten to the end, so maybe this gets more interesting once I pass the pom-pom tree women. But as of now I feel like the game is just about moving through corridors and cutting down trees and gaining items. I'd be cool with this for the first two or three maps, but by the fourth, some variety in map design would be nice. I think part of my argument has to do with the overhead ledge on the second map that I can't jump to. Maybe I'm expecting a double-jump, or a wall-jump, or a Mario-head-bouncing-jump, but as of now, I've just got a standard jump that's there to get me over single-ledge blocks. Really feels like a tech demo at this stage.
-I'm surprised that enemies don't have a little bit of knock-back when hit. I don't mind that they have none, but I think the game would be friendlier if they did, especially with most 2D scrollers these days having some kind of knock-back.
(I'm sure you have a lot more planned for the opening area since this is merely a playtest, but I'd like to confirm that some greater level complexity is needed soon.)
So far, it's a good start, but the ability to jump right back into the game after dying is probably your most needed addition.
EDIT 2:
Suggestions:
-Taking into account the things I didn't like or suggested in the original draft of this post, I think it would also be a smart idea to base enemy damage on how easy they are to attack or avoid. Those caterpillars, for example, look like tanks and are extremely easy to take out, but deal shockingly low damage. Easy to hit and easy to dodge enemies should hit harder than those that are elusive or annoying.
-I wish I could aim upward, but I understand that it may not be necessary.
EDIT 3:
-Not sure why you've got the first save station tucked away in a hole. I've spent the first few playthroughs thinking that first pit would kill me. After getting deeper into the level, I got suspicious of that hole and decided to jump in, just to find another, more complex section of the map, and a save station at a dead end. I don't really know why this is here so early in the game, or why it's basically hidden from anyone afraid to jump in holes. I'd rather see the section lead to another location in the game world--maybe a secret area rewarding players for their risky behavior. As of now, there isn't really any reward for exploring off the beaten path, even if I can save the game. Because I've done literally nothing other than crawl through two rooms prior to reaching it, it doesn't really feel like I've accomplished anything worthy of that reward, especially when I have to climb back up just to resume the game. (It's actually faster to start over at this stage.)
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