| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Potential playability | #4 | 3.778 | 3.778 |
| Clarity | #6 | 3.556 | 3.556 |
| Overall | #11 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Theme Relevance | #13 | 1.667 | 1.667 |
Ranked from 9 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
While the theme is not anything new or relevant to this game jam, I would play this game in a heartbeat. Can easily tell the Hat in Time and Sonic inspirations and organization for the core gameplay elements.
The only thing I can really say for feedback is that it could use some more depth and clarity in certain sections but I am sure you already know this as you labeled a few of them as incomplete. Would have loved seeing it in full detail to dig into.
This GDD was a pleasant read through and a mini-adventure in my head as I read it.
Harkening back to things like Sonic Unleashed and referencing A Hat In Time helped me paint a mental picture of how the level design might happen and seeing the personalities of the characters in their actions throughout the game.
You have a great deal of developed ideas here and that will help people understand exactly what they're getting into with this game project. With a little visual reference and maybe a sample "slideshow" of level progression it could come together as an awesome anchor for the project!
As others may have mentioned, this genre isn't necessarily something new, but regardless of that you have something great cooking here! I look forward to seeing where your work and the project go!
I liked this a lot and thought it was well written, but couldn't find the new genre (which may just mean it wasn't as well defined as I thought).
The premise sounds fun though and you put a lot of detail into the GDD. I want to see this game and play this game.
Thank you, I'm glad to hear it! Once the GDD template was out, I hit the ground running prepping for the jam. Although, the theme reveal was a huge setback.
I knew my entry wasn't going to shake things up like Vampire Survivors, so I didn't explicitly outline "create a new genre" as my game's goal. The game I want to make aims to spark a resurgence in games from an older generation with a modern flair. My outlook was along the lines of "Undertale caused a splash with "indie RPGs." FNAF gave rise to "indie horror" games. Journey popularized the walking simulator..." While these games are unique, I still think they can easily be categorized under their respective genres. I don't think a new genre was outright born because these games, just that it started a trend of more of those games being made. That's how I treated my idea. If someday I ever have the opportunity to make my game a reality, I would hope that it sparks the creation of more retro-inspired, experimental games.
There are a bunch of submissions and I wanted to give feedback to everyone, so I'm going to list some strengths and weaknesses that I perceive from the GDD's in this challenge (take with a grain of salt, I recognize the challenge this jam theme + time limitations, especially during a holiday weekend).
Strengths: This GDD reads to me quite clearly, it's very thorough. You've included a lot of content to go through. Easily, I would say the narrative section is probably the best part. You've put a lot of thought into the story of this game, especially surrounding this MC. I applaud your use of the Kisōtenketsu structure, bless. I also really love the overall design/aesthetic of this game. I have very clear imagery from the descriptions in the Look & Feel, but I will say some visuals would help to ensure I'm not assuming incorrectly based on what I'm reading.
Weaknesses: Though your GDD is thorough, as I've said about other submissions using Diagrams would help to break up some of the text and give great visual explanations to cut down on the blocks of text. Secondary to that, I grappled with the technical aspects of the game a lot. I would restructure the Gameplay section to include the mechanics + core loop, because those were the first things I was looking for when trying to figure out how the game would be played.
As a personal question, I would like to know more about why the MC can both fly and rollerblade...not that it's an issue, but it sounds cool and I want to hear more about that! It may be that I'm simply not familiar with the game genre you referenced, so it's hard for me to consider what a level would look like in this game.
Overall: this game seems so cool and I would 10000% play it.
Thank you, thank you for your feedback! It's given me some reassurance that I'm doing a good job 🙂! I guess long responses can't be avoided 😖.
With that being said, I totally agree you that visuals would take a load off the doc and make understanding some sections much easier. That was the plan for the game loop, and especially for the Look & Feel section since the visuals and audio are the most notable parts of the game's presentation. All I could do was throw the words in without eliminating the major sections so I could get my point across. 48 hours was a massive crunch on top of work. I only had a fraction of time compared to what was actually given. Thankfully, I had a headstart working on the GDD in preparation for the jam. It wasn't going to match the theme but my hard work wasn't going to waste!
Writing is my strong suit, so trying to convey how gameplay would function was the biggest challenge. Once it was put to paper, I even started questioning how some things would work, which just gave me an even bigger headache 😞. It was really just a matter of making sure everything made sense.
I'd be happy to answer your question about Aiko! As for why she can fly and rollerblade... For starters, it is mentioned in the doc as one of the abilities she gains when she ascended. Gameplay-wise, it's used as a means to reach platforms or areas that are out of range just by jumping alone. Or she could cover more ground faster than on foot in a stage, once you get the right ability. You could even say there's a thematic purpose for Aiko's flight, that being soaring to new heights.
Finally, the rollerblades let Aiko move swiftly if she's moving on foot in a stage so player can complete it quickly. The choice to give Aiko rollerblades was moreso done for artistic reasons so it'd be in line with the game's aesthetic. You could easily compare her to Shadow The Hedgehog 😆. As for the in-universe reason why Aiko wears rollerblades in the first place: I never thought that much about it, but I'll just assume she got them when she ascended since she already has them on when she reaches Earth.
You definitely did a great job on clarity--I read this and can immediately envision what this game would play like. It's long, but not excessively long because the information was clearly presented and useful. This is clearly a project you are passionate about and that shows through, especially in the characters. I like Blue Streaks and the rollerblade mechanic specifically. It definitely evokes the feeling of an old-school game from the early 2000s, so spot-on there.
This game doesn't really have anything to do with the theme of the jam since it's not a new genre. But of course it's perfectly fine to make a GDD not for the theme--the theme is only one category, anyway.
Thank you, Gwen 😆! I'm happy to hear that the love for my passion project is shining through. Story plays a big part in the game, so of course I wanted to make a fun cast of characters! I could go on about them, but I'm just glad I was able to spark some interest right off the bat.
In the end, I basically said "screw the theme!" lol. At least there's still originality.
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