Definately a nice platformer with well thought out mechanics. Great work
Play game
Plif's Speed-Platformer's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Mechanics | #12 | 4.067 | 4.067 |
| Fun | #14 | 4.200 | 4.200 |
| Music | #14 | 4.067 | 4.067 |
| Overall | #18 | 4.167 | 4.167 |
| Sound | #21 | 3.933 | 3.933 |
| Aesthetics | #168 | 3.800 | 3.800 |
| Theme | #301 | 3.300 | 3.300 |
| Story | #457 | 1.967 | 1.967 |
Ranked from 30 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How many people worked on this game in total?
1
Did you use any existing assets? If so, list them below.
Just the Pixel Font is from Kenney(.nl). Everything else is made by myself.
Comments
179 days ago(+1)
Awesome. I think, no one else tried the controller with my game. :) Thanks so much, also for following me. I follow back.
My salutations back!
181 days ago(+1)
Thank you for your feedback! And I’m happy you like it.
Could you tell me the resolution of your monitor? Mine is not that big, so maybe I should scale it differenlty for bigger screens.
I wish you a good overall rating!
Snappy controls, nice music. (Though like a certain dinosaur themed game it could stand to be looped for those of us who take a long time to complete level 1.)
It would be nice to be able to review stats of each stage on the main screen, so I could show off my zero deaths on Level 2 instead of the one above.
I had trouble coming to grips with the wall jumping, which is not the game's fault. However, it led me to discover that most sections like that could be passed by climbing up one specific wall rather than hopping back and forth between several. Perhaps it's a slower strategy, though.
181 days ago(+1)
Thanks for the lines!
Just some thoughts on your points:
- The music is looped already but it only works in the binary downloads and not in the HTML5.
- The stats are for each level. Play the downloaded version. I’ll try if it’s also a limit of the HTML5 export.
- And with the climb “cheating” I wanted each player to reach the goals. But as you already mentioned: It needs more time.
So, if you want, just play the downloadable binary to enjoy everything!
Thanks for your feedback!
And it would be awesome if it’ll become a “hit”. :D
Could you explain what you mean by traction? You would set more friction on the floor to stop him earlier? I like it as it is, but I would like to check that in detail. And if you want, I’m also open for your thoughts about the polishing you’d do to get it a hit. :)
Yeah, by traction, I was referring to the friction between the player and the floor. It currently feels a little slippery to me, but if you like it, keep it. Maybe it’s just something I need to get used to.
- I would try playing some platformers while thinking about things they do that you like, and make a short list of what mechanics you would like to recreate or learn from if you want to expand further. Some ones I like: 10 Second Ninja X (Multiple platforms, but PC often goes on sale and consists of small 10 second levels with a variety of core mechanics mostly centered around combat and typical platformer movement), Windswept (Indie game with a free demo that is similar to Donkey Kong Country with a dual-character platformer system), Celeste (high mechanical skill and has an open-source player controller to check out), and Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch) for mechanic ideas and level design experience, etc.
- So the other main thing you need to decide early on is if you want to focus solely on movement or try to add combat. Opting for movement-based platformers mean you limit your design space a bit, but can focus solely on great movement. Check out Dustforce, N++, Super Meat Boy, Entropoly, etc. Combat ones are among those already mentioned, but it comes down to what sort of game you want to make, so just
- Watch design videos about the various tricks the average platformer uses to feel “great,” like coyote time, buffering inputs, and how to design the optimal jump heights based on your intended jump arc (Game Maker’s Tool Kit has a project about this topic to check out)
- Make a bunch of test levels and keep posting updates to gather feedback. Don’t use final art until later, even if the art is fairly minimal, it can waste time if you need to redo it - block it out with basic shapes until you’re happy with the layouts and design.
- I think the music is charming, so you could lean into the beatboxing and mouth SFX design by doing things like playing SFX on beat or other rhythmic influences. Some people may not like mouth noises, though, so maybe have an optional toggle for an alternate, more typical soundtrack.
- Platformers are a crowded market, so doing something to stand out with 1-2 core hooks that people rarely see. Easier said than done, given how many platformers there are, but definitely spend some time thinking about how to pitch and market your game. Good luck!
179 days ago(+1)
Thank you very much for your time. Are you a professional game developer or long time in the gamedev?
Most of the things I heard before but I forgot some or didn’t have time for it during the game jam. But the examples are a big help because I’m playing less than I code and comparing with the successful games for the aspects you named is a really good approach.
Thanks again. And I’ll copy the list in a file to watch it while coding!
I have been an indie dev for the past ~10 years, but only started taking things seriously a few years ago. I’m currently working on a few bigger projects and hope to launch a demo and a full free game on Steam soon (like maybe a few weeks for the full game and a little less than a week for the demo if my musician/composer gets back to me soon).
Platformers are near and dear to my heart, and I would love to get back to my pie-in-the-sky project, but that requires a significant art budget that I don’t have the money for, so I am making some small and polished experiences in other less expensive genres before I go back to the dream project someday.
Itch has a couple of my more recent projects (mostly prototypes from game jams), and the rest are/were on Steam: https://linktr.ee/spiregg
I update social media infrequently and mainly use it to announce releases, but I plan to post more screenshots and other content soon since some games are now nearly done.
Yeah, I saw your devlog update. I will try to check the new version out when it’s ready.
I don’t have an XMPP account, but I do have a Discord account that you can add. Add @spiregg on Discord if you want. What XMPP service do you use/recommend? I hadn’t heard of that before.
158 days ago (+1)
Thanks. I’ll check your links. For xmpp there are many good services. To find the best one for you I’d look here: https://providers.xmpp.net/ (pay attention on being able to register just with username/password and no personal data). xmpp is the most secure chat imho. I hope to chat with you there.
181 days ago (+1)
Thanks, and I am always happy if you’d fun with it.
I don’t know your mentioned game but I’ll search for it! Thanks.
Update: Found it. The art is different but I see the similarity you mentioned.
181 days ago(+1)
Thank you! The tiny size was planned and the art is created for this size. Also, the ‘cheating’ was included to make sure everyone can reach each level. It’s about getting the level faster than the last time. And climbing walls is sloooow. :)
181 days ago(+1)
Thanks a lot. It’s great you like it. That’s such a motivation to continue with the game.
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