Brackeys Jam 2020.2

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Brackeys Jam 2020.2 community

Playtesters wanted! Mac users only

A topic by Dostee Hemin created Aug 04, 2020 Views: 198 Replies: 15

Viewing posts 1 to 4

Dostee HeminSubmitted3 years ago

Ok, so the game I've made is a puzzle platformer and so far I only have a few levels in place. I have some placeholder music and some rough art (both of which were assets I found online). Before I go further, I would like to see how the game feels right now so I need YOU to try out the game for me. :)

Here is the link to my Github page where the game is stored: https://github.com/dostee-hemin/Music-Rewind

Please read the instructions on the Github page on how to successfully install and run the game.

I made it using Processing, which I know most of this community have not heard of, so running the application just needs a few extra steps. For now, I could only export the game to macOS, and you do need java 8 installed on your computer to run it. It would mean a lot to me if you get to playtest it so please if you have time, check it out, it won't take long, and let me know what you think.

Here are some questions I have for people after they've tried the game:

- How was the movement? Should I make it more snappy or just a bit faster?

- How was the level design? too short? too simple? too hard to see?

- What would you like added to the game?

- Would you like the art style to be simplistic, pixel art, or very detailed?

- If something made you feel weird or it was a little bit off, what was it and what would you recommend as an alternative?

That's all for now, so if you do play my game, thank you so much and any feedback from you is highly appreciated!

Dewybone3 years ago

i used the link but it didn't work. it sounds good though

Dostee HeminSubmitted3 years ago

Oh damn sorry about that. Ok I think I've fixed it: https://github.com/dostee-hemin/Music-Rewind

It's the same link but I made it public. Please let me know if it works.

Dewybone3 years ago

ok will do!

Dewybone3 years ago

It tells me 'unable to open java runtime enviroment'.

Dostee HeminSubmitted3 years ago

Ok that means that you need to install java 8.

Here is the link to their website: https://www.java.com/en/download/mac_download.jsp

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, that's totally fine it's up to you. Sorry for making you go through all this.

Dewybone3 years ago

thank you anyways, from your description it sounds amazing!

Nitai99Submitted3 years ago

Oh, cool, I am also using processing and have made a puzzle game!

If I am not mistaken though, you can export through processing both to macos and windows, and when exporting to mac you can bundle java with it to make it easier to mac users.

Dostee HeminSubmitted3 years ago

YESSS my man finally someone using Processing. Yes you're totally right, you can export to both mac and windows. However, when I tried to run my windows application on my windows machine, it didn't work. I'm still looking into that. And yes you can bundle java with it, but this makes the application so much larger. So large that I can't upload it to Github. I mean this is good for now and it's just so people can playtest it.

And since I also use processing, I would love to try out your game and review it for you if you want. Happy to help a fellow Processer :)

Nitai99Submitted3 years ago (1 edit)

Did you check if the assets you used are in the folder of the exe you exported? I know that always gets me when exporting, though I don't think it would be different in mac...

EDIT: Well, in the mac version you didn't forget to add the assets, so I assume you also didn't in the windows one. So idk what the problem might be...

I am actually having many problems when exporting to mac, but none when exporting to windows.

I agree about bundling it with java, I will probably have 2 mac versions, one with java and one without. But I am afraid it will be a bit confusing.

I would really appreciate it if you could playtest my game, and I will also check out yours!

Here is the game right now: https://nitai99.itch.io/aispionage, password is AIspionage. (the goal each level is supposed to look like a table with some files, but right now it's just a black rectangle)

Dostee HeminSubmitted3 years ago

Wow why didn't I just upload my game to itch, that makes so much sense.

Ok so I've tried out the game and here are some thoughts:

- I really like the idea in general and the rewind mechanic makes a lot of sense, but in future levels, it would be more interesting to use the rewind tool multiple times. Because right now the game is: press space until you reach a spot, press r and move in the right direction, and then press space until you reach the end. There isn't much more to do there, so a few more options would be more interesting. Especially if you make something like multiple possible routes with one being more dangerous or long, which will reward the player or something. This might be too big for a game in a week but for now, ignore the multiple routes, add more rewinds.

- I love the UI text and buttons, they look great and fit well with the theme of your game, but one thing I did not enjoy was the pulsating text. The colors shifted in a way that made it hurt my eyes a little bit when reading, and it quickly become uncomfortable reading some text that constantly changes color. Maybe keep the pulsating size, but stick with one color.

- Pressing rewind and then choosing a direction doesn't show anything in the game. Like the first time I suddenly moved back one spot and did not know why, even though I knew I pressed rewind. So give some visual hints and effects when a user presses anything, it would add more visuals to the game as well.

- The mechanic is great and I can see that there is a lot of potential here. Add some unique and tricky levels and you got yourself a great puzzle game, good luck and I hope your game turns out wonderful.

P.S. Running the application directly in the folder I downloaded it in didn't work, it froze, but putting all of the mp3 files and images and code and application into one folder did the trick. Maybe zip all the files together into one when you release your game.

Nitai99Submitted3 years ago (2 edits)

Thank you so much for the detailed feedback!

About having a couple rewinds - when I first thought about the game I had in mind that you can only rewind once, and didn't think about it anymore. It is a great idea! It will add more complexity to the game, and will make it harder to brute force it since there will be many more options. I did, however, have a couple routes and possibilities in levels 5 and 6 (the others are mainly for introducing the concept). Right now I am working on making the game a bit clearer and replacing the rectangles, but after I finish I will try to add some more levels.

I really agree about the text thing, right after uploading the game I played through it and it is really annoying.

I also agree about the juice thing, it feels a bit strange to press a button and not know that you did.

About the exporting thing, did you play it on Mac? Maybe that's the problem I had with exporting to Mac ever since I started using processing...

Anyways, thank you so much!

Dostee HeminSubmitted3 years ago

You're welcome I am happy to help!

And yes I did use Mac, and it worked fine in the end. Usually the problem arises when code loads files directly from the folder the code is stored in, which means if the application is in a separate folder, it will crash since none of the files are there. Again, a quick fix would be just to put all of the sounds and images and code into one folder like this:

So maybe once you export it, reorganize the items like this.

Also, while I have you here, how do you go about exporting to windows? When I tried it, I ran the application on 32x and it froze, I ran the application on 64x and nothing happened. Nothing even opened. If you have any tips, please let me know.

Nitai99Submitted3 years ago (2 edits) (+1)

Hi, sorry for the late reply, did not see the notification last night.

Thanks, I will try putting it in the same folder!

Right now I am having problems myself exporting to windows but I didn't do anything special, just exported and put the art outside.

Also, I now see that I accidentally had the reply with the feedback for your game answer my own comment. But its here in this thread somewhere, sorry.

Nitai99Submitted3 years ago

I had an error, something with java runtime, but I just opened it in processing and ran it from there :).

First, I just want to say that it is really really cool! I really want to see what you do with this concept, but I got stuck at level 3.

There were four main reasons, I think:

The controls: why not add wasd controls? Or even just add the ability to jump by pressing the up arrow? It takes seconds and opens up your game to many more people.

The friction: please, please, add more friction. It feels like I am moving on ice. It makes it frustraiting to do the most basic jumps onto moving platforms.

The explanation on ghost blocks: it was partially blocked by the plank on the top, and I couldn't understand how the music affects them. Which brings me to the fourth thing you should change, I think - every time I wanted to experiment with them and died I had to go through the tape part again, which was even more frustraiting because of the low friction, and I eventually gave up. I suggest you put a platform underneath it to allow the player to experiment with it safely, and get the hang of it.

So please think about those things, and if you do chnage it let me know, I would be happy to try it again. But I couldn't get through level 3.

lddSubmitted3 years ago (1 edit)

For me it also tells me 'unable to open java runtime enviroment'.

I checked and have java 11 installed and trying to install a different version seems like a hassle. I hope your final release is web-accessible.

Good Luck!