I like that the high score is kept. Gives me a motivator to continue playing. The game is frustrating in a good way; when I mess up I find myself immediately wanting to play again
The core mechanic of the game is intuitive and control felt responsive. Having the falling shapes be randomly rotated and colored adds an extra layer of needing to recognize patterns in your brain. I can easily see how this could be expanded with more shapes, juice, and new mechanics.
It demonstrated the core gameplay of the game well, which was to match the falling shape by switching over to the matching shape using space bar. It also had UI to let me know when I lose and my score.
The game did well with the theme of minimalism and had a fair difficulty curve as score increased. I was able to read the description and succeed in-game. It was a satisfying dexterity and reaction time test, especially when the speed ramped up.
I feel like the game was really fun and spamming the button was very satisfying. I also like how well it stuck to the minimalist prompt.
I thought this game looked and played very well and achieved the minimalism of the prompt. The way the shapes speed up and you have to keep pressing the button to switch the corresponding shape adds a good level of difficulty to it.
Having the falling shapes be oriented differently added a bit more thinking to the matching, even though the shapes are distinctly separate. Having the player switch between 3 shapes in a set rotation also added a neat element in remembering how many times to press space on the piece you are on compared to the shape you need.
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What could this game have done better?
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The game seems kind of bland in terms of looks. I understand this is a prototype, so in future iterations, it would be nice to see the aesthetics change.
It would be better if the shapes were oriented the same way as the catcher the first time they showed up, to ease the player into the mechanic- I can see someone being confused by that their first time playing. The player also feels very passive while playing. If the design space allowed for an additional input, there could be a 'push the shape down to the catcher' button. This would be similar to Tetris allowing the player to push their piece to the bottom of the screen instantly, getting extra points and making the player feel like they're mastering the game.
Asides from expanding on the prototype, there aren't any issues in the current game.
An issue I frequently encountered was being unsure on what shape comes next when hitting the space bar due to forgetting/lack of experience. There was one point where I was sitting on circle for 8 shapes in a row, and then a square came from up top but I couldn't remember if that was next or the one after on my shape matcher. Perhaps an indicator near the bottom signifying the rotation of shapes when hitting space could give new and experienced players better clarity without sacrificing difficulty.
I think that this game needed a little more spice, maybe some animations of more movement, or game feel effects.
I think adding a little more challenge or movement to it, with having the shapes fall in different locations on the screen, could also be a good addition to this entry.
The game could've used its basic to become more exciting, maybe with shapes randomly going really fast or a shape starting to fall before the last one is caught.
Comments
What did this game do well?
****************************
I like that the high score is kept. Gives me a motivator to continue playing. The game is frustrating in a good way; when I mess up I find myself immediately wanting to play again
The core mechanic of the game is intuitive and control felt responsive. Having the falling shapes be randomly rotated and colored adds an extra layer of needing to recognize patterns in your brain. I can easily see how this could be expanded with more shapes, juice, and new mechanics.
It demonstrated the core gameplay of the game well, which was to match the falling shape by switching over to the matching shape using space bar. It also had UI to let me know when I lose and my score.
The game did well with the theme of minimalism and had a fair difficulty curve as score increased. I was able to read the description and succeed in-game. It was a satisfying dexterity and reaction time test, especially when the speed ramped up.
I feel like the game was really fun and spamming the button was very satisfying. I also like how well it stuck to the minimalist prompt.
I thought this game looked and played very well and achieved the minimalism of the prompt. The way the shapes speed up and you have to keep pressing the button to switch the corresponding shape adds a good level of difficulty to it.
Having the falling shapes be oriented differently added a bit more thinking to the matching, even though the shapes are distinctly separate. Having the player switch between 3 shapes in a set rotation also added a neat element in remembering how many times to press space on the piece you are on compared to the shape you need.
========================================
What could this game have done better?
****************************
The game seems kind of bland in terms of looks. I understand this is a prototype, so in future iterations, it would be nice to see the aesthetics change.
It would be better if the shapes were oriented the same way as the catcher the first time they showed up, to ease the player into the mechanic- I can see someone being confused by that their first time playing. The player also feels very passive while playing. If the design space allowed for an additional input, there could be a 'push the shape down to the catcher' button. This would be similar to Tetris allowing the player to push their piece to the bottom of the screen instantly, getting extra points and making the player feel like they're mastering the game.
Asides from expanding on the prototype, there aren't any issues in the current game.
An issue I frequently encountered was being unsure on what shape comes next when hitting the space bar due to forgetting/lack of experience. There was one point where I was sitting on circle for 8 shapes in a row, and then a square came from up top but I couldn't remember if that was next or the one after on my shape matcher. Perhaps an indicator near the bottom signifying the rotation of shapes when hitting space could give new and experienced players better clarity without sacrificing difficulty.
I think that this game needed a little more spice, maybe some animations of more movement, or game feel effects.
I think adding a little more challenge or movement to it, with having the shapes fall in different locations on the screen, could also be a good addition to this entry.
The game could've used its basic to become more exciting, maybe with shapes randomly going really fast or a shape starting to fall before the last one is caught.