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Backdoor Shifts's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Graphics | #70 | 3.765 | 3.765 |
| Overall | #76 | 3.471 | 3.471 |
| Audio | #82 | 3.235 | 3.235 |
| Gameplay | #86 | 3.294 | 3.294 |
| Theme | #140 | 2.765 | 2.765 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Our opinion of Backdoor Shift, by the Three
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Before I rate your game, the Three, wanted to say thank you for playing "Pumpkin Spice."
It was an honor to have someone play any of our games. Unfortunately, the audio wasn't present as we couldn't contact anyone who was available to make the music, but we wanted to to no include it anyway for the fact that you can blast some music while shooting zombies. Like you said in your stream, we wanted to recreate those nostalgic games that you would play on some shady website(the good old days). As a matter of fact, it's called pumpkin spice as a reminder when shit games where the best games and you would have to play on your laptop at midnight even though there was school tomorrow. If you want to learn something cool, we built all our games on one shit laptop, but we plan to buy better laptops and some more flashdrives to improve our work condition. For now, three minds on one laptop is the most we can do. We have and still take notes on our game improvement and plan to do more once we get funds to do so.
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We played the game, "Backdoor Shift," and we came up with the result. Go to the bottom for a quick summary.
(S1nner)
The mechanics of the game is a "click and read" system, but it's better that way as you don't need such crazy coding(less is more). The spawning critters from the hat reminded me of a sinister magician and you are the assistance. The audio was far better than ours, took notes from your experience and usage. Although, I struggle to find a way to exit the game, I say you did a good job on the script and coding. Sometimes you have to cut some slack on coding and let the game do it's job. Good on you.
(DeadGhoul)
I personally a fan of horror and I want say that you done a good job to not fall into the wrong rails. First, the critters are pixel and retro like style, giving you that early 90's Halloween theme. The blood on the dangerous critters are great and hard to spot the difference when you are panicking from not clicking the wrong button. The game over jump scare is quite cool that I wished you did more variety instead of just the bunny. Don't need to be Picasso to make a game enjoyable to play. Yu did great on the art.
(Buss)
The game has a simple task, collect candy from the correct critter and avoid the bad critters. Otherwise, you will lose candy or die in the process. The fact that you use candy as a money system is a great touch as it is Halloween. I don't get the hat part as you could have used the doors for the job. It would fit in with the trick or treat theme. Still, you work as some kind of employee to ensure that the critters get their candy and risk yourself to do overwork shift. Nice. The cursive writing may be easy for me to read, but Deadghoul and S1nner couldn't read. Some of the reading included the audio, but it was confusing to understand the objective of the game, when to click the button, and when to scroll down at first. However, I could overlook those plot holes.
The game was quite fun and challenging for anyone brave enough to play on loud volume. DeadGhoul is a fan of horror and this showed what every horror game lacks, suspense. The "Critters" were confusing at first, but we learned not to touch the bloody bunny. lol. It is fun and enjoyable. I hope you make more games in the future and we met at some point.
[Nitro Here]
Since you are 3 I'll say it in 3 languages: MulΘumesc! (Romanian, my native one) Dhanyawaad! (Hindi, Raj's native one) CΠΏΠ°ΡΠΈΠ±ΠΎ! (Russian, a random generated one)
I can't thank you enough for how helpful your opinions are for us! Thank you for the in-depth critics and for the fact that you took your time to understand the story behind the game!
Here's my response for all 3 of you:
(S1nner)
You're right. The simple way of approaching the game gave us much more time to focus on other things such as the sound, which was very important. As for the exit button, this was intended π Raj was the one behind the masterpiece. "If you don't see the exit button you're less likely to exit the game." This is why it is kinda "hidden" in the settings.
(Well, that if you don't know about Alt + F4, then we're done for)
(DeadGhoul)
You got it on the art side. We tried giving that old-fashioned look to both the game and the hats. As for the death menu, the reason why we only have a death menu just for the bunny is because this is related to the game story itself. The Twins Will Never Kill You. Never. The Bunny, However, Can Only Be Controlled By Food. (or candies, in our case) We might create a sequel for it... That would explain more π
(Buss)
Yeah... The "Reading" has been mentioned a couple of times about this game (actually, it's the main suggested thing). As for the goal understanding, the game is designed to be a little bit vague, not to guide the player in every part of it. To give an example, in the second shift you must push both the bad and good twins down, while not touching the bad bunny at all. In the third shift, you must not touch any of the bad twins, while having to push ALL rabbits down. The only missing thing is that that mechanic is not written on the stage 3 paper (that you don't need to push the bad twins back anymore). That confuses the player and makes him lose at least 20 candies in that shift, preventing him from getting the perfect score from the very first try.
The game can be completed with max candies from the second try (for the new player)
Again, thank you for everything. You guys are very good at giving feedback and I think you will do very well in the game dev industry. We might meet once, yeah, but that's far away from now. Who knows what the future has for us?
As for the laptop issue, I'll give you my personal experience. (you have the twist below that line) π
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I had my very first laptop at the age of 9 (actually I was using mother's laptop, which was already 10 years old by then). Now I am 15, and I can say that laptop lasted me 2 more years, like until I was 11 (it did its job really well. Not all laptops resist 12 years). This one was VERY weak. I only remember it had an inter core duo inside it.
My second laptop was my very first personal laptop: Acer Nitro 5. I got it when I became 11, and it was very good. At that time, it was the best gaming budget laptop. And my guys, this laptop never disappointed me. I mean, I knew what it could do, and what it couldn't do. It could render blender animations, render particles and volumetrics, but I just had to know its limits. As far as I stayed between them, It never dissapointed.
I had Nitro (from which I got my nickname (fun fact :) ) ) for 2 years, after that I got a LENOVO LEGION 5, which was a VERY big upgrade from what I had before. The specs were huge, the price was huge and it just destroyed the limits I used to have with Nitro. (I gave Nitro to my brother in the meantime, and it became his personal laptop). Legion did not last EVEN A YEAR. It started having problems, heating, up to the moment I replaced it with my current Laptop...
My last and current laptop is ASUS ROG STRIX G15 with RTX 2070. Not a gaming budget, but I wanted something better for game dev as I became better and better at graphics... I've only had this one for about 8-10 months, and it never disappointed me.
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Now, here's the twist: Remember Nitro? Yes, that 4 Years old laptop is STILL working just as in its first day. It started having some lag, but after a full factory reset it became just as in the first day.
For this reason, I consider ACER NITRO 5 the best budget gaming laptop. It is good for code, good for graphics and affordable. Trust me when I say that you won't regret one penny going out of your pocket for this laptop. It's about how long it will last you while still maintaining its performance, and for that, I can say I had a really good experience with him (and still have, it is still working, my brother just played fortnite on it last night for 4 hours straight!)
Now, here's a bonus tip to help your laptop last more if you do buy it: get a cooler, and a good one. Coolers will help your laptop soooooooooooooooo much, you won't even imagine. You can extend your laptop lifetime with 1-3 years by just getting one.
Now, all I said was for budget, but you could go further and make a b=very big investment into a better laptop. Since you're 3, I'd suggest instead of buying a very good high-specs one to get a budget-gaming one for 2 so that 2 can work now.
That's all up to you, guys, and if you're interested in Nitro 5, here's a link for you:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-AN515-55-53E5-i5-10300H-GeForce-Keyboard/dp/B092YH...
Remember what i said, though: Get a cooler! It will help you soooo much in the long run, you can't even imagine.
With that being said, thank you for everything and I hope I'll get to see a new game coming from you and that you will solve your laptop problem... Stay tuned for something coming out soon! ππ€
Had a fun time playing it!
[Nitro Here]
Asante! ("Thank you!" Generated in a random language)
If you have any suggestions or things that you didn't like, feel free to write them here π€
That's a really cool game! Kinda like whop the mole buy with twist! I really like the jump scare animation. One thing I'd recommend is the instruction note was a bit too long for me and the control instruction was at the bottom so I have to read them all the way through. But that's from me who's actually don't like getting into reading that much.
Overall. Great game ;D
[Nitro Here]
Obrigado! ("Thank you!" Generated in a random language)
Don't worry, you're not the only one who doesn't like reading all the way to the end π... I'll keep that one in mind for any future update.
I hope I'll see you in another game jam as well! π
Note: This game might have a sequel.
I like the music, it really drives home the mood, although it's nothing to write home about. The door opening sound effect gives me the chills as well.
Overall the gameplay is pretty simple, it's basically a clicker where you need to avoid the bad stuff.
The pixel is pretty nice, and although I'm not a huge fan of jump scares, I think you executed that one pretty well.
I was a bit bothered by not having an obvious way to close the "help sheet" presented in the game, but that's about it for the "complaints" that I would have.
I like the fact that it has a full fledged menu with all the graphics settings and audio settings
[Nitro Here]
TeΕekkΓΌr ederim! ("Thank you!" generated in a random message)
Yep, you got it! The game idea was pretty simple and we tried to keep it like that. Now, I didn't know the player couldn't figure out how to close the sheet. I just updated the game page so that anyone who comes to see it will now know!
As for the settings, we tried giving our best to let the player change them however he likes.
Thank you for your suggestion and I hope I'll meet you in another jam! π
The art and the animations are fanatstic, really like the pixel art style, that walkie talkie radio is really well done aswell! I think the music and sound work really well good job with them aswell.
ended with 201 candy :D
[Nitro here]
Grazzi! ("Thank you!" generated in a random language)
Hehe, nice! Don't mind the super ultra impossible-to-even-dream-of high score of 700+ candies on the game page... It was like that because I enjoyed sooooo much testing it that all my candies stacked up and resulted in that π. Anyway, you did pretty good then!
Man, you even beat my first score! (192) And I am a developer!
This game is awesome! To improve however I would add some more visuals to the title screen as it seems as if there is not much going on in my opinion. Other than that, great game and I didn't know that there was jumpscares until I played and I jumped a mile!
[Nitro Here]
Merci! (" Thank you! " generated in a random language)
Haha, we forgot to place a warning in the game page π.... I hope both you and your chair are alright. I posted right now a warning in the game page to let other people know what they're about to face. You saved a lot of hearts and roofs, trust me.
Again, thank you! And I hope I'll see you in another jam!
"Although I couldn't really finish the game myself gameplay loop is pretty good imo. I really like the pixel art on this one, smol twin looks so cute. Btw in my honest opinion you need to remake the shift over music it sounds a bit off for me for some reason. But still, pretty good game." - Pwerrr
[Nitro Here]
Danke! (" Thank you! " generated in a random language)
Well, the small twin was intended to be scary just like his brother, but I guess his size makes him look like that... As for the shift over music, it was created to sound like kindergarten music, one specifically for kids, which would sound happy and joyful.
I will keep your opinion in mind, and yes, it was somehow supposed to sound like this (the music)
Again, thanks, and I hope I'll see you in another jam! π
Hey guys! Please write your feedback on the Game Page, not on the Submission page so that new players can read and use your feedback as well (They can't see them in the submission page)
To access the game page, just click on the Rabbit Image Next to this comment!
Thank you! π€
Fun game! I enjoyed the pixel art, and the animation was really nice. Nice work :)
Thank you! Yeah, I thought Pixel art would've been our best choice for this game (also because it's quick and easy to do). I hope you saw my stream cuz I really enjoyed your game! π
I did check out your stream :) Thanks for playing, glad ya enjoyed it!
awesome. The best feedback i could give is to work on music. Other than that the game is awesome. I really enjoyed it.
We appreciate that! As for the music, what kind of music do you think would've fitted the game better? Most of the music is made by myself (Nitro Talking here) and I wanted it to sound as following:
Main menu: Creepy
In-Game: Hypnotising and Calm, to keep the player focused
Shift End: Childish
Death Menu: Creepy
If you have any suggestions for a music or something you thought of feel free to share it with me or paste the youtube link in here!π