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A jam submission

Frostbite MountainView game page

How fast can you climb the frostbite peaks?
Submitted by DiamondCore — 7 hours, 33 minutes before the deadline
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Frostbite Mountain's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Fun#2862.6252.625
Presentation (graphics, audio)#3292.6252.625
Theme#3832.3752.375
Originality#4561.8131.813

Ranked from 16 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does your game represent Mode?
Throughout the mountain, there are various statues. going near them emits an "aura" and each aura is a different mode in the sense that it changes your movement physics everytime! One moment, you could be at a normal jump and speed distance, but the next... you're suddenly as fast as The Flash, zooming across a section of the map.

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Comments

Developer (1 edit)

Welp.

Submitted(+1)

Very cute little platformer, has some potential! Found it quite fun and i digged the little character, though i haven't completed it yet :(

My feedback is add more polish. Some jump particles, death particles and such would be nice. Some sounds would be nice too as i only heard one song and nothing else. text indicating about what has changed when reaching a statue would be nice too.  Gameplay wise it was pretty perfect and everything looked like it did what it needed to do!


Very fun and cute!

Developer

Hey, im really late to replying, sorry about that

The lack of proper polish and communication to the player are definitely this games' 2 biggest weaknesses, I will see if I can fix that in some sort of V2 update


Thank you for the feedback!

Submitted(+1)

I don't know if the game bugged out for me but the first statue didn't do anything? It made a noise but I couldn't figure out if it changed anything. Cute design and good controls though. Maybe if there was a bit more clarity on what changes when I hit the statues I could've used it to my advantage but I was stuck at the first statue not knowing what else to do.

Developer

Hey, im really late to replying, but thanks for the feedback!

The first statue made you a bit floatier, so you could then reach the platforms above you

I do think this game suffered from a major lack of communication, so my apoligies for that!

Submitted(+1)

I've played this game to what I presume is the end, because the game froze. I am a bit torn about this game because as many comments point out, the movement feels pretty good! Especially the last section feels good to perform. However the thing I am lacking the most here is clarity. Because the sprite of the player doesn't change, there are no particle effects and no sound effects it is pretty hard to tell what is going on often. I think getting feedback like sound/particles for when something important is going to- or is already happening is crucial! If you want to continue with this project please focus on making it clear when you jumped/the hitboxes on objects are/what powerup you acquired. 
I think there is a good amount of things you did right but I there's also a lot that you can improve!

Developer

Hey, im really late to replying, but thanks for the feedback!

I do agree on the lack of clarity, I should've added significantly better communication to the game, but I sadly didn't.

Submitted(+1)

This game is a very good basic platformer, it could use some fine tuning in the controls and some bug fixes. (i.e. sometimes the wall jump wont trigger, the character flips randomly occasionally, the jumps can be inconsistent or floaty)  Although I couldn't beat it, it was still enjoyable. Well done!

Developer

Hey, im really late to replying, but thanks for the feedback!

The controls are a bit fidgety, i agree. I'll make sure to make them more fun to use in the future!

Submitted (2 edits) (+1)

I can certainly see the inspiration of Celeste sprinkled in this game. You got the base, but here's some points I will point out to return the favor on your constructive comment in our game! Mainly from art because I'm an artist:

-You got a decent looking title page in itch.io, so maybe put some use of that title logo and make a short title splash. Maybe not a title screen if it's too much work, but you can put it for like 5 seconds then fade out into the game.

-The game start with no tutorial, a simple tutorial in game would be nice even if it's just the button prompt and no explanation like what most Nintendo game does. Having to scroll to your description breaks immersion.

-The default audio is too loud and there's no way to tune it lower other than adjusting directly from my computer. Would be a nice little QoL to have, since I was in VC when I'm checking out games to rate one by one and the sudden blast gave me a shock.

-That being said, I don't think I find any pause button?

-The title of the game is Frostbite Mountain, but I don't even see any shape indication to that. It could be helped a little with the character wearing some parka or earmuffs, since he had to be a superhuman to survive in a harsh climate.

-Try to look for more references for sprites and animations; it's a bit weird why the character suddenly open his mouth and doing a split when he's jumping. Try to translate what the character is doing into the movements too: for example when he's holding into a wall, he should LOOK like he's holding into the wall. Try to take a look into "squash and stretch" and what it means. You can try making his face/body partially gone into the wall than having the entire body stay in shape, it won't look weird I promise! On the topic of walljump too: the character is facing the opposite direction of the wall, and it gave the wrong idea to the brain of player on what the player is about to do(it's called "anticipation"). When I saw the sprite, I expected he character to get a boosted jump into the opposite side rather than going upwards. If the player is supposed to go upwards, try making the sprite facing up instead.

-There was no clear indication on where to go first, and a good level design should allow player to tell exactly where they're supposed to go and plan ahead for their movements. Try to look at what Celeste did, they keep most of their levels to be visible in one screen and when it's not they gave you a viewer of what the section looks like so player can plan ahead before executing their jumps. I'm aware the right side is a troll when I found the ":)" but it's still not a good excuse. It might be good if there was a clear objective in first place, but the game was just booted up and there was nothing to gain and nothing to lose. Don't discourage player from playing your game, encourage them to keep going for more. This is especially important in platformers since some player who can't get into the movements and level design will drop it after a bit of frustration.

-Once again on the no tutorial, there's no way for player to find out there's a double jump unless they try. Try implementing some energy icon or color. I know some games implement double jump without notice and some people who have played many many games going to try if there's a double jump regardless, but sometimes some people won't know about it existing at all when not told. Accessibility is a strong important point and shouldn't be underestimated. See reference: In Celeste they introduce the double jump through a cutscene. It's also okay to introduce a feature slowly even though it's been accessible from the start 

-No indication that the player just died. It can be an animation, a single different looking frame, or even just a straight out screen shake or transision like quick fade to black. I tried jumping down in the beginning of the game because I'm curious if it's a pit or if there's something under metroidvania style, and it was unclear if I died until I just immediately respawn. Also, I appreciate the quick respawn button even though I don't really see what's the use of it, and it's weird without any death animation.

-Might want to tweak that control a little, the character feels too fast that it's a bit hard to be precise. It's especially important in platformers that controls feels nice so player will blame themselves when they're dead instead of blaming the game. That being said, reduce spike hitbox a little. It gives player a  triumphant feel even though it's fake and encourage them by making them think "I'm doing good!"

-Level design should take controls into consideration, for example there are many narrow small paths with tiny tiny jumps and it's a bit annoying to bonk my head on that section since player initially jump high.

-Tilesets should be clear on what is a background object and what is supposed to be interactable. Give more highlight to interactable stuffs and less into what's supposed to be decorative. In this case it happened to me with the light thing? I thought it was some kind of button and I tried to reach into it to find out it was nothing. Some blocks also confused me since I anticipated to pass right through it. Try to highlight the edge to indicate you can step on it.

-Give sfx on button/opening door. This one is especially important since a key item/object press need to gives the indication to player that it actually does something.

I got confused on the statue thing that makes noise, and I also can't see where the "mode" idea plays in the game. But you got the base idea of the game and I think it would be great if you want to improve more on it. Keep up the good work! :)

Submitted

I came back to this thread to read my own comment, only to find this entire 14-15 paragraph long essay about the game.

You really got to respect the effort though.

Developer(+1)

Hey, im really late to replying, but thanks for the feedback!


The title screen was something I was gonna add, but I got sick halfway through the development part of the Jam, so I had to focus my priorities elsewhere, though a V2 might add that.

As for the tutorial, I didn't really wanna include it here and wanted to do something like SMB1, where the tutorial is hidden in the start section itself with what you have to do to get upwards, but that was poorly done, my apologies! I'll likely add some button prompts in a later version too!

The audio being loud is a bit weird, since that wasn't a problem for me, but i'll look into audio adjustment settings.

Looking back on the character, it definitely should've had noticeable gloves, a beanie, or something else other than a scarf, i agree. He does look like a superhuman :P


I think you're reading some of the animations wrong though, since when the character jumps, he isn't opening his mouth, his scarf is just moving upwards as a way to convey motion.

Though I do admit the extension of arms and legs for the jump and the wallsliding animation look a bit iffy

Squash and Stretch was something i forgot to add though :P

The biggest problem I see with this game is the lack of communication, which I agree with. I do think i should've conveyed the direction of where to go better by blocking off the right path at the start and things like that.

The death animation was something I was also gonna add just like the title screen, but was cut for similar reasons. I agree it looks weird though as it currently is

The controls are a bit too fidgety/frantic, i agree with you there.

And the level design was made after the controls, but I do agree that the tight spaces could've been fixed too.

I also probably should've added a SFX to the button like you said :P

The mode idea is that each statue alters your movement, thus making you enter a different mode, thats where it fits in


Overall, thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it :)

Submitted(+1)

SMB "tutorial" through gameplay worked because it has simple buttons (hardware wise) meanwhile your game in the other hand is made for computer where buttons are more complex since keyboard have a lot of it. Movement wise, mario's simple buttons are also tied with it's movements: there's no double jump in original SMB and people naturally shoot fireball when they try pressing the other button. It comes naturally and people don't have to find out any "hidden" mechanic behind those buttons (like finding out if pressing the button again in mid air might do something or not)

I'd say to take a different level design and control approach if you want to apply the simplistic no tutorial style since it definitely don't match the "open world" level model you're going for right now.

Best on luck on your craft and continuing it!

Developer

Yeah, that’s true.

Submitted(+1)

Decent platforming game but I have quite a few problems with it. 

To be upfront, I didn't beat this I got stuck in this section

(itch won't let me post an image so I will describe it. It is after the wall jumping section where there are three icicles and a switching block with spikes on the right bottom corner. I don't know how to progress because the only thing I can think of is jumping over the first icicle with a double jump and then wall bursting but that doesn't go high enough)

I tried this for a good while and I am not sure if I am missing something like a statue effect that hasn't been communicated, or if this is the wrong way to go or if it's just really precise. But after the previous section I didn't really want to continue anymore.

So here is my feedback:

Movement:

  • it overall feels a bit too frantic in my opinion. it's difficult to tell what is happening by just looking at the movement. Nothing has any weight to it. It feels floaty and not precise (despite it being precise).
  • wall clinging and wall bursting feels bad. It is hard to tell if you are in a wall clinging state because the animation is just the character turned around and the difference in fall speed while on a wall and in the air is very small. You also have to press into the wall to wall burst and there is no push away from the wall which makes it feel a bit unpolished. This also makes jumps where you have to chain a wall jump into holding right really painful because when you hold right too early, the wall burst won't come out but if you do it too late the way too fast vertical speed gives you no time to course correct and you end up just bouncing your head. 
  • normal jump has a good amount of coyote time and I appreciate that, however there is no input buffering (not a big deal just wanted to mention it). As I said. I think jumping feels too fast and it leaves very little room for correcting mistakes. 
  • the double jump feels ok for the most part but I have an issue with the interaction between wall jumping and double jumping. You loosing the ability to double jump after wall jumping is not very intuitive and I think you knew that because the page clears this up. Without this hint I probably wouldn't have figured this out. There are ways to convey this information with sound effects, particles or UI. May be worth taking a look at. 
  • The statue effects are communicated very poorly. The first time it happened I thought the game was bugged because I lost my double jump but sometimes there would still be a little air hop instead. I thought it had to do with the spinning things offsetting the collision or something but then again you put it in the info section that statues do something.
    Most of these effects I did not mind but the only wall jumping one was just painful. 

Level Design:

  • Level design was decent for the most part but the movement hinders it a lot.
  • The main problem there is the lack of frequent checkpoints. They are very rare and the game is not afraid to throw new mechanics at the player without introducing them first so you are forced to do a decent amount of trial and error. 
  • Despite that most mechanics are explored in interesting ways, like the thwomps looking guys which have some really interesting setups. I just wish they would have been introduced in a save environment first before diving deeper into their mechanical depth. The only mechanic I encountered that I thought wasn't that great was the rotating platforms because they felt reallllly janky. 

Some other thoughts:

I think the music was a bit grading after a while. It is nice in the beginning but either the game should have been shorter and easier or there should have been some new music every now and again. 

There is pretty much no context given for anything. In the beginning I was just collecting or activating things that I had no idea of what they were doing. Explain yourself. 

Despite all my feedback I think this is still well made and I appreciate the exploration of the different mechanics. Don't let this discourage you, it's just as jam after all.


Also if you could tell me how to beat the section I got stuck on I would gladly continue and see this one trough. 

Thanks for making this game :D

Submitted

another one, that makes two essay sized reviews.

Developer(+1)

Hey, im really late to replying, but thanks for the feedback!

For the part you got stuck in, that's definitely an unbalanced-unfair part that I hope to fix in a V2 update, sorry about that!

You pretty much gotta max out your jump height and jump on top of the icicle on the wall, then hop onto the blinking block for a moment before hopping to the next platform quickly if I recall correctly


The movement definitely is quite frantic, that's something I know I should tone down in the next game I make, as for the walljumping/burst, I think calling them bad is a bit overdramatic, but they're definitely not great either and feel unsatisfying

The game has a clear issue of communication, I think all these comments have thankfully made that aware to me. For an update, i hope to be able to communicate the statue gimmick and the controls/mechanics better.

I agree with pretty much everything you said about my level design (though checkpoints are less frequent on purpose as to invoke some level of endurance), the safe environments when introducing a new mechanic was something i should've added, and the lack of them can really be felt when the ability to jump is revoked.

The level design was somewhat rushed (and some other parts of this game too) and I probably should've fine-tuned it a bit.


But yeah, thanks so much for the feedback, i really appreciate it!

Submitted(+1)

The movement and camera felt really nice! I liked some of the tighter platforming challenges. I got a bit lost and couldn't figure out where to go, or what the button I pressed did. If some of the traversal for the level involves going back down the mountain, it would be helpful to have some sort of visual indication of when you're going too far down and will die, for example. A little more clarity about the goal and I would've enjoyed trying to get to the end but unfortunately, I got stuck and couldn't figure out how to progress. Overall, a nice platformer!

Developer

Thanks for the feedback!

I definitely should've done a bit more in terms of communicating what to do, as that seems to be a theme among all these reviews, i'll see if i can fix the communication issue in a V2 patch after the jam

The goal is really just "climb the mountain" which is self-explanatory, so there's not much I can do to make it more clear, but I see what you mean.

Once again, thank you for the detailed feedback!

Submitted(+1)
  • The art and environments are very cool
  • Found myself ranging a bit (not very good at these kinda games rip)
  • The level design provided some tedious but good challenges
  • (I couldn't make it to the top I suck)
  • It took me reading the description to figure out what touching the statues do. Maybe some particles to indicate how long it last for would be cool.

Awesome job over all pulling together something as cool as this!

Developer(+1)

Thank you for the feedback!

I probably should've added something to indicate what they do, i agree.

Submitted(+1)

Great little platformer! Movement felt really solid, I couldn't get through the first section, wasn't exactly clear where to go, but what I played was pretty fun!

Developer

Thanks for the feedback!


I don't exactly know how you'd get lost in the first section, as the platforming kind of leads you in the right direction, the barrier makes you go left to press the button, where you'd then go right because you'd think that did something, but perhaps I could make it more clear in a V2 patch

Submitted(+1)

everything feels really solid, especially the movement. I wish the game communicated better what you were capable of, such as wall jumping, double jumps, etc.

Developer

Thanks for the feedback!

I probably should've provided some communication outside of the description for the controls, yeah

Submitted(+1)

I was going through the entire array of emotions between I suck, I don't know what I'm doing, OHSHIT I'M THE BEST.

Developer(+1)

Ayyyy, another way it fits the theme!

Submitted(+1)

A pretty solid platformer. The best part was the music.

Developer

Thank you!


You can also thank Pixelboy2007SkittlesRKewl for playing a huge part in making the music too!

Submitted(+1)

Hello there! We just played your game and it was pretty good! The visuals are great and the movement is VERY fluid, which is quite important to have when it comes to platformers. You guys also did a great job with the music! :D

What you have here is a solid base game that can really be improved upon. The current mechanics are already great. All that it needs are the other formalities like a main menu, settings & credits tab, basic tutorials to teach the game to new players, more sound effect while moving and animations while transitioning or restarting etc.

Great job! Looking forward to seeing more games from you! :D

Developer

Thank you for the comment and feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed the game!

I probably would've added a main menu, but I had to focus on other parts of the game to finish it on-time, because I got sick with the flu halfway through the Game Jam , but hey, it's not all too important for the game so in the end, it would've been nice but didn't really matter

I definitely needed to add more SFX though, i agree on that