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ABSTRACT & HYPOTHESIS

You must balance what is convenient and what is inconvenient.

So, I really like a lot of the ideas here.  This submission is very unique.  I like the idea of gambling your health to deal damage.  I like the funky control scheme.  I like the weird CRT fisheye filter.   However, I want to emphasize an important interplay, that which is between frustration and convenience.  

There is nothing wrong with creating a frustrating game.  Many of the most beloved games of all time are very frustrating, but they make it convenient to keep playing.

CASE STUDIES

My first example is Super Meat Boy.  It's a brutal precision-platformer.  The game expects a lot from you, and you die in only one hit.  But retrying the level is blisteringly fast!  It makes you want to keep trying.  It's hard to win, yes, but it's also easy to keep trying.  In this game, the levels and enemies are inconvenient, but everything else is smooth.

Another, more recent example is Getting Over It.  This game takes it a step further.  Even when you fall from super high up, you never stop playing.  Not even for a second.  Losing all that progress is discouraging, but the game doesn't even offer you A CHOICE to give up, since you never actually lost.    If every time the player lost significant progress, a little menu popped up asking them whether they'd like to quit, I bet you the completion rate of Getting Over It would be much, much lower.  In this game, the controls and level design are inconvenient, but everything else is smooth.

Even From Software, the kings of frustrating games, have reduced the length and frequency of their infamously inconvenient boss runbacks over the years.  And I'm certainly not complaining about that!  In these games, the enemies, level design, and combat are inconvenient, but everything else is smooth.

DECONSTRUCTION

All this is to say: I like a lot of the ideas presented here, but if your intent is for players to stick through the grind in spite of their mounting frustration, I think this game isn't convenient enough.  

We can break down how the game is inconvenient, whether it's intentional, and what we might want to change to address the imbalance:

• Movement controls are inconvenient
  • WE LIKE THIS!  This is one of our pillars.  This cannot, and should not, change.
• Aiming & Attacking controls are inconvenient
  • See above.  This is another intentional design choice and it is balanced with the power allocation mechanic to create interesting decisions.
• Replaying the game is inconvenient
  • This is frankly what prompted this whole essay.  Please add a Restart button.  Asking the player to refresh the page or close the application is diabolical.  Contrast to case studies in the above section.
• Visual identification is inconvenient
  • Potential room for improvement.  Game objects are represented by abstract shapes and lack identifiable features.  This is understandable as a solo project made in one week, but moving forward we can look here.
    • Which shape is me?
      • Strange controls somewhat invalidate the "mash buttons and see what moves" strategy
    • Which way am I aiming?  Which way will I shoot?
      • Player just has to shoot and find out, potentially losing some health just to answer this basic question.
    • I read about the enemies in the description, but which one is which?
• Learning is inconvenient
  • Tutorials are tough, especially for a weird game like this one, but if you can find some way in-game to teach the player your mechanics, the unique playstyle could be a great hook!  The extra polish would improve first impressions of your game.  How much time you want to spend is really up to you.
    • Consider a game structure that gives players time to digest mechanics (MORE DEV TIME)
      • Consider creating levels where the goal is simply to get to the end using the tricky movement
      • Consider creating still targets to aim at, like breakable walls or practice dummies
    • Consider adding a "how to play" button (LESS DEV TIME)
      • Consider displaying all the controls somewhere in the game for the player to reference

CONCLUSION

Overall, this showed a lot of potential.  

Not everyone is honest in these competitions.  Other developers want you to rate their games highly, so they smile at you and say. "cute game! I really loved it.  :) :) :)" 

It could be bad for me.  You could retaliate.  You could go back to my project and give me one star for all categories.  But today I saw a cool concept shining through your game, and I wanted to share my honest thoughts about how you might be able to improve it and why.   I wish you great success with current and future projects.

If you disagree with any of what I had to say, that's totally okay.  What's important is that you read it!

Cheers!

~QCDev