I finally decided to play this myself XD
I was kinda worried before because I'm bad at horror games (I don't like jump scare at all :(( ), but I still can't help myself but being creeped out by the atmosphere (visual and audio) you guys created! I love the mix of 2D art in a 3D environment style, it really makes it feel dynamic to go around using the character!
One thing I noticed is about the flow of the game is a little bit confusing at the start, idk if I didn't play the game properly enough or anything, but it seems like I went and skip a few steps to begin with. Maybe, you could make the rule board or maybe something that the player can't ignore appears from the start, so the player gets a clear understanding that they must follow each rule right from the start of the game. But I assumed you guys set it that way, so the first rule is a scripted violation for the player to accidentally break.
I think if you guys can focus the game for the player to solely not breaking the rule it'd be clearer for the player, the side quest of finding the part of little girl's drawing was kind of distracting and leading it from the focus of the title "Minde the Rules". Cause it feels like the rule is a one-time thingy (story-driven/scripter), not a continuous mechanic that the player must actually follow for the rest of the game.
and,, sanity meter is actually a good mechanic if you guys can create more obstacle that challenged it :)
But really, this game does have a lot of potential! I do hope you guys can develop it further! :D
Viewing post in Mind the rules jam comments
Thank you for giving us such thoughtful advice!
We intentionally make the player violate the rules at the start, which may take away their control of the game and make the flow feel a bit unnatural. Perhaps we can refine this in future updates to make it feel more natural and dynamic. For example, the rules could be revealed progressively based on when the player breaks them, and it might even be possible for players to complete the game without breaking any rules at all.
One of the biggest design challenges for us is the conflict between puzzles and rules. Ideally, we want the player's experience to change based on the rules without restricting their gameplay. This means that puzzles shouldn't rely on specific rules, but at the same time, this approach can make the connection between rules and puzzles feel weaker. We're still working on this and trying to find a better solution.
Ideally, each level would have more rules to choose from (similar to selecting traits during character creation), allowing players to experiment and develop their own survival and puzzle-solving strategies. We also plan to make the sanity mechanic more tied to the rules to make it more important.
Thank you again for your feedback!