Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

• Theme: I was hoping we wouldn't really get any "technically combustion is just a bunch of really small explosions and that's how cars move so we will just include a vehicle and that covers it" and I have to say this kind of fits into that category. Game isn't bad at all, I just don't think it ties in well to the theme presented. Fun to Play: Super fun to play! I don't get on well with the Asteroids-style games where you are in a fixed space and you rotate your ship and make it move forward as my brain doesn't work well like that, but flipping it to have the camera centered on you at all times makes that movement mechanic a lot less punishing for me and made a very enjoyable experience. The planets having their own gravity well was probably my absolute favorite feature! Well, that and ripping things off the surface but not catching them knowing they will float endlessly around the vacuum of space O_O. Accessibility: First thing I want to note is that the font you used on the itch page is really hard to read. I love a good pixel font, but all of the characters look so similar that it's difficult to parse it out at first. This is your first shot and your initial impression to the player before they even play/buy your game so you want to make sure to give them the easiest path forward to knowing what your game is. The UI is very clean and responsive, but I would have liked to see remappable keys. It's always good to give the player the opportunity to change the keys something that is easier or more preferable to them. This is one of the first barriers you'll find for a player to potentially not be able to play your game. There is no way to access the settings menu (access to volume sliders, refresh themselves on game controls or fundamental game mechanics) once you get into the game. It's always good to give players access to any settings at any point in the game. Originality: Incredibly original game! Well thought out and designed, this is a game I would love to play more of! Audio and Visual: Music is upbeat and fun to listen to, and the visuals are really nice. It's clear you put some good polish on this game! I came back to edit this part of the Audio section. I opened up your game while writing this feedback section to make sure I didn't miss any features I wanted to talk about, then forgot I had it open for like half an hour. Realizing I had some bumping music playing, I tried to figure out what song on Spotify it was but noticed nothing was playing. None of the Twitch streams I was lurking were playing music either. THEN I REMEMBERED I HAD YOUR GAME STILL OPEN. Can't give a better review for the music than that, I tell you what!
• This was a great game to play, though not without it's downsides... Whilst very fun to fly around in the ship, going from planet to planet scavenging resources and relocating the local population, accidentally launching items you needed into deep space without a way to track it made me feel like giving up, rather than a challenge to complete. Controller support and single-hand controls are good accessibility features to include, and both the audio and visuals were great.
• My personal favorite and the entry I felt had the most potential; I would be very excited to see an update for this one post-jam. I loved every aspect of the design and presentation - the lofi music was really nice and the cosmic background gorgeous. A great vibe for just drifting through space. I liked the implementation of physics, even if conservation of momentum is a challenge for me. Maybe a speed gauge indicator would help? The pull of gravity on the planets was a great detail. Not being able to pull up the menu to reference controls again once the game started was disappointing. The mini map hint zone was frustrating and didn't feel accurate enough for the way it was presented. Several runs I wasn't able to find the very first target object and just ran out of fuel retracing my steps all over the diamond on the mini map. Having a way to repair the ship (something similar to the fuel cannisters) would be a welcome addition, especially for players that seem to find themselves overly attracted to off-screen asteroids. Some way to tag or more easily reclaim objects that have floated off planet would also be a good update. I wasn't able to get my controller working, and I think I would have a much easier time using a controller rather than mouse + keyboard. The directional muscle memory for me is just better with a thumbstick, so hopefully that can be worked in.