All of the enemy and player sprites would blink in and out of existence for me. Is this an intended feature, or is it just a bug on my end? Either way, it was pretty annoying to look at.
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PHASE's itch.io pageResults
Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
Theme | #30 | 3.569 | 3.727 |
2 Colors | #36 | 4.352 | 4.545 |
Gameplay | #48 | 2.437 | 2.545 |
Arts | #51 | 2.611 | 2.727 |
Mood | #61 | 2.002 | 2.091 |
Audio | #68 | 1.044 | 1.091 |
Ranked from 11 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Comments
Some concepts I liked from most important to least important:
*Your game is at least trying to be innovative. This game featured features like curved bullets and limited recycled ammo. These features are uncommon compared to the other space shooter games that I have played/heard of.
* The usage of the mouse was effectively used. I liked how the mouse can command what direction the bullets should go. This is a feature that would be hard to do by using a keyboard key. It is good that you used a mouse to implement this feature. This is because the mouse can point at precise locations, which can allow the player to aim their weapon more precisely.
Some concepts I do not like from most important to least important:
* The screen looks way too hectic. There are so many objects in the game with the same color and it is very hard to distinguish which object is which, especially with how the player and enemies fade in and fade out in the screen. Sometimes, I do not even know where the player is. The screen is way too hectic, but it is probably even more hectic for people who have eye problems.
*These days, I do not really like endless runner like games in where the player can not actually win and finish the game. This is because the gameplay can get boring real fast as the gameplay can be pretty repetitive. In this game, there is no variety of enemies. Therefore, the gameplay can easily become really repetitive. There is also not a very strong incentive in this game that motivates me to try my best. I do not really feel happy when I reach a good score because my work in this game is never finished. I never feel a final sense of accomplishment.
*There is a lack of audio in the game. First of all, having a soundtrack would really give the game a mood, have the players feel something, and care about the gameplay experience. In addition, listening to a soundtrack that is good is nice and can make a player happier with the game. Having some sound effects would also be a nice touch of polish and help the player be more immersed with the gameplay experience. In addition, sound effects can also help the player with the game. For example, many of the times, I did not know if I got hit by an enemy. Many of the times, I did not know if I hit an enemy. This is largely due to the hectic screen. By using sound effects, you could give the user audio cues of what is happening during the gameplay experience. For example, if a sound effect that is played when the player gets hurt is played during gameplay, the player knows that the player got hit by an enemy.
* There is not much UI screens in the game. It would be nice if there was a main menu and a screen telling the player how to play. If you added more UI screens, the game would seem more polished and professional and could make the gameplay experience more immersive and memorable for the player. Also, adding a screen that tells the player how to play will also be beneficial to the player. Though I read the instructions on the game page, I forgot some of the instructions. The game would be better if the instructions were told in the game, so that the player can refer to them if the player forgot about them. It would also seem more professional and polished for the developer to give the instructions in the game. This is because most games teach the player how to play in the game, rather than forcing them to read instructions outside of the game. Teaching the players how to play inside the game will be a great service to the players and will help them to actually get to the fun portions of the gameplay faster.
*In addition, you forgot to tell the player what happens when the player exits out of a side of the screen. You forgot to tell the player that when the player exits out of a side of the screen, the player comes out of the side parallel to the side the player exited. By not telling this to the player, the player could not use this gameplay feature to make decisions. A player that does not know what happens when the player exits out of the side of a screen may first of all not know where the player's character is when the player comes out. This is because the screen is way too hectic and the player does not know where to look for the player's character. When I exited out of a side of the screen, I thought I exited the screen and I was "trying to get my character back to the screen". I did not know I was already in the screen area. Even if the player was quick to find the player's character, the player may be unfairly ambushed and attacked by an enemy. If the player knew about this exiting out of the screen rule, the player may have been more cautious to exit out of the screen. Also, if the player does not know this rule, the player may not be able to take advantage of it. For example, the player may try to avoid an enemy that is close to the player by exiting the screen so the player can come out from the side parallel to the side the player exited from and be far away from that enemy.
Thank you for taking your time to play my game and thank you for you very detailed comment. I completely agree with you the gameplay is bland.
After the game jam I might(if I have time):
- Add some different obstacles and maybe even a boss fight.
- Add a tutorial
-Slow down the animations
-Make the player Sprite static
-Make a title screen
-Add some audio
This booted to a black screen for me (Windows 10, AMD video card). Looks neat though!
EDIT: Hitting Alt-Enter to go to windowed mode works.
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