The player movement feels incredibly polished—the grapple has a learning curve, but it’s so satisfying once it clicks! I did struggle a bit with navigation; some textures are flat enough that entryways blend into the walls. A bit of depth cueing, like fog or a shadow under the player for platforming, would go a long way. I also found the difficulty spikes a bit sharp in certain levels. Lastly, I noticed the music doesn't always loop, leaving some quiet gaps. Overall, the core movement is fantastic—great work!
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Thanks for the feedback ! The movement was essentially taken from another project I've been working on. This jam was a good opportunity to make a full game out of it and learn how to make level design. If you have any additional thoughts on the grapple, I'd love to hear them. I've been struggling on how to make it accessible/learnable for players because it's a very complex mechanic.
The drop shadow is a good call. I had one but removed it because of some build errors I didn't want to bother investigating lol.
Some of the difficulty spikes definitely needed some rebalancing I agree.
On the music looping issue. I fixed it on 1.4.1 I believe. If it's with regards to the loop not being seamless, that's due to us using mp3 files instead of wav files. Mp3 files don't work for seamless looping unfortunately.
No problem, glad the feedback was helpful. I'm sure you're considering most of this already, but here are some extra thoughts on the grapple to improve accessibility/learnability:
- Keep it simple: It's definitely a complicated/unique mechanic, which makes it even more difficult to design levels around, so I think it could be useful to break down the movement into more manageable chunks in your notes so you can accurately measure & organize abilities for level design. For example, you could measure how much horizontal and vertical distance you get from pulling off every movement option using a grid-like level blockout (where each block represents 1 unit of distance), categorize each movement option by how difficult it is to pull off, record it somewhere (maybe a spreadsheet), and design levels around the amount of distance it takes to pull off each move. Here's an example of how it would look:
| Grapple Controls | |||
| Ability | Difficulty | Distance Gained | Level Ideas |
| Basic Grapple Swing | Easy | 6 block distance forward, 3 block distance up | To cross large gaps |
- This might be a little excessive, but the idea is to think about complex mechanics from a clearer perspective and design levels around the difficulty of each movement option. You could choose "easier" moves from a spreadsheet of every movement option to ensure easier moves are always in easier parts of the level and avoid discouraging new players. In addition, you could sprinkle in optional secrets by hiding them behind the most advanced movement options.
- Gradually increase difficulty: I think gradually increasing the difficulty of levels is crucial for complex mechanics. When I first got the grapple mechanic, I didn't know what I was doing and kept falling off the level. This was fine because I could immediately restart, but it would be nice to have a moment to breathe and experiment with the new controls. Again, I think taking level ideas from the spreadsheet of "easier" grapple moves would be useful in organizing the levels. To go back to the example spreadsheet above, the initial part of the level where you get the grapple mechanic could be to cross large gaps and then gradually build from there.
- Reference from similar games: If you haven't done so already, maybe try analyzing the level design in similar titles, like Penny’s Big Breakaway or Hell Pie. Look at reviews specifically focusing on their platforming to see what resonated with players and what missed the mark to help strengthen your approach.
In summary, I think breaking down complex mechanics into more manageable chunks, gradually increasing the difficulty, and referencing similar games could help. Additionally, Playtesting, gaining more feedback, and doing other movement-based projects could help build on your experience managing complex mechanics. Overall, nice job!