Geta Game Jam 9

THE REVOLUTION AGAINST THE BOSS jam comments

2019-08-27T00:31:46Z

Pros Great game concept where you have to gather up coworkers as allies, would like to see this expanded in more ways through the combat and level design. Good difficulty progression with how the number of enemies you face gradually escalated over the course of the game, before finally maximising at the boss fight. Excellent pixel artwork that was very consistent and used colours and contrast very well. Great use of shadows to make objects stand out from the surface tiles. The animations were also really well done! Was impressed by the story of the game and how well it fit alongside the gameplay concept. It was also really innovative and the fact that you teased the boss fight at the start made the game a lot more tense, as you knew what you were gathering up people in preparation for. Cons Camera movement that floats towards the mouse position is needed so that the player is more aware of the enemies in front of them. It was quite common for enemies to quickly run towards me out of nowhere, making the game occasionally feel unfair. This can also be solved by zooming out the camera so that more on all directions can be seen. Lack of visual feedback results in combat that doesn't really feel very satisfying. Consider adding things like screenshake, screen freeze, flashing the screen red when an ally gets damaged, flashing an enemy red when they get damaged, etc. These will all make combat far more satisfactory to the player for it provides them with stronger feedback for their inputs. Audible feedback, like visual feedback, can be used to enhance the combat experience for the player. Stronger, louder and more base-y sounds are needed for when hitting an enemy to emphasise the attacks power. This goes for all sounds and actions in the game. Human characters who you are allying with, once you have saved them, should act a bit more naturally. An example of this is to make them move randomly around the player circle at different time intervals, so they aren't constantly being locked in the exact same place. How you've got it now makes them look really robotic. Little to no expansion on the main mechanic. It's an interesting and unique idea to have to gather up a team to fight against an opponent, however I don't think it was explored as well as it could have been. What if different allies gave different benefits, like some would attack and some would heal? What if you could command your allies to do certain things for your advantage, like getting them to move out of the circle and attack a specific enemy, or getting them to wait? And the enemies - the opposition of the game - should act in relation to this core mechanic; an example being an enemy that would try to kidnap your allies and put them on their side? Collisions were really buggy, I could walk on top of desks and other objects; allies could move through walls and would be displayed on top of objects that are taller than them. Titlescreen is visually dull and contrasts a lot with the actual tone of the game. It doesn't give the player a very good first impression on the game they are about to play. Perhaps add a background featuring the game world? Well done, I thought that this was a really fun entry with a great concept and story. It could do with a lot more polish in relation to game feel and feedback, alongside a greater exploration of the core game mechanic. Your game needs screenshots and a thumbnail as well! It may seem unimportant, but whether you have those things is largely what determines whether a person clicks on your game or not. Anyways, I really liked this game! Optimistic to see your future game projects!