This game feels really incomplete. The idea of rewinding time could definitely have gone to interesting places, but it didn’t. The inclusion of enemies seemed odd, since everything else suggests it to be a puzzle game. The movement felt a bit off, and the wall jumps launched you way too fast. The background is still the default clear color. Obviously this game was only made in a week, so it’s understandable why all of this would have happened. Remember to focus on your core gameplay before anything else - the enemies weren’t important, so they shouldn’t have been implemented unless you had extra time and a good reason for them to be included. The time spent on that unnecessary addition could have then been redirected to improving the core parts of the game. It’s a skill that you learn with practice and experience. I hope to see the people behind this game make some more and improve over time!
Viewing post in Windin' Through Time jam comments
Hey!
Thanks for the feedback. This was our first game jam, and we are still learning the ropes of things.
I learned alot of lessons during the game jam, and one of them that I didn't fully realize until this comment came in was to make the game much simpler. I think we added enemies early on, but later on, we just sorta rushed it. I think it might be from a lack of planning because from my side, I really just wanted to focus on that rewinding feature, and I took so long to do it that it wasted alot of time. I am a beginner in coding, so having to realize my skill ceiling in this game jam wasn't fun during that time. I will definitely do more practice in coding because I really want to care about the functionality on the game side. I should do more practice outside of university and such, and I think this is my first full step on it, aside from QA testing.
I think my Dev friend who worked with me on the game was great, and the added bonus of us being on a similar level helped. We both listened to each other, and tried to do our best. I just think for our first game jam, the theme of restarting sorta threw us off (I don't know if it really did for my friend, but for me , it really did due to the potential difficulty). The experience really both made us more inspired to keep working on different game jams in the future (but not during uni and on good amount of sleep)
Thank you for your feedback. I think it would help alot to tell myself about building on the core gameplay. And I get so hung up on the functionality of the game, but in game jams, it's rare to do that unless you are experienced in coding (or organized...which I am not lol), but that is what practice is for. I see you around alot on the Playmakers discord and such, and I respect the way you help out people with advice and such. I did not even expect a comment for this game, but I am glad to have gotten the feedback.
Have a good day
Also, I love Hourglass Island. I thought the visuals were great, and the puzzles were really smart. And congrats on winning!
Thank you! It’s good to hear you plan to keep making games. I know all too well the feeling of running up against your own limits when trying to get something done. It can be disheartening, but trying again and seeing your improvements makes it worth it.
One of the most generally applicable pieces of advice I have is to get people to playtest your game, almost as soon as it’s playable. Anyone, sometimes especially the people you wouldn’t think of. Sometimes the best playtesters are the non-gamers that struggle with the game. Try to find time to playtest, it helps with every aspect of development in my experience.
What you describe about how the game needed to be simpler is called Overscoping. You’ll learn to estimate your own skill level with time, but overscoping is kind of a right of passage for game jams, so welcome to the hobby!