This is really cool, but playing in co-op we found it to be really easy, even though the controls are definitely too slippery, and so we kept winning without even being sure why the game was ending the first two times. 😄 Wish there was a level system with increasing goals, or at least some form of high-score chasing endless mode so we could play for longer. The graphics and audio are great though!
Play game
Starship Olympics - Falling Block Jam Edition's itch.io pageTeam members
M. Abrate and S. Bellomo
Comments
Yes, controls are getting very negative feedback :D We think they are super fiddly ourselves, and thought about improving them in the current edition of the Improve My Game Jam.
Scoring is totally awkward too, since we did not test the game ever so we didn't came up with a good target score. Providing an endless mode could also be an interesting avenue to explore.
Thanks for the review!
Really cool little idea! Even though I played with a controller, I agree with LinsCd on controls and time limit. Very smooth movement of the ship with the very rigid, tile-based movement of the blocks is a bit hard to get used to, and it often took me multiple tries to actually select the falling block. Despite that, it’s a really interesting take on the jam! Also having to leave the board and rotate the blocks in designated areas is a fun idea. Overall looks and feels really polished.
Submitted
TETRAWAREYou are totally right, the tractor beam fiddlyness is the main problem we want to address after the jam (we are thinking about joining the Improve My Game Jam tomorrow to continue this project). Maybe the smooth movement of the ship will never blend nicely with grid snapping, but we want to at least help the player in grabbing the falling blocks.
The time limit is indeed too short for this game. 120 seconds are a lot only if we think as this as one of many minigames of a larger game (as it would be the case when this project will be integrated in our main game). Also, I find it a bit forced to have a time limit and target scores in a genre that's more inclined to endless modes.
The block rotation areas came as an alternative to having the ship movement directly determine the rotation of the block. This idea was put on hold to avoid further complexity in the player's handling of the tractor beam, favoring dedicated areas to rotate blocks. It also opened up an (unused) desing space about having zones for other uses, for example destroying or changing color to a block, or equipping the ship with a different type of gear. It could be interesting as a way of exploring more mechanics about coop play.
Thanks for the useful reviews!
Woaw it looks very good. The controls was a bit tight with a keyboard - catching a falling block was a bit akwardat first, , and the time limit felt a bit short, but it's a good idea with great implementation. I tried it by myself but I guess it must be fun in coop. Congrats on implementing both coop and gamepad controls. The game looks good!
Submitted
Tetrist
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