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(1 edit)

Glad to see we aren't the only ones who the theme made think of MacGyver. 

I like the overall idea behind the game. The story and way to progress fits well with MacGyver. The music and art are great. However, the UI/UX could use some work. The biggest issue was getting soft-locked and having to restart. The first time I had this was picking up the sausage and walking out the door without using it. When I got the backpack, I couldn't use any items. I just got a message that my inventory was full. I had no way to discard or swap items. The game could use with a way to put the item in your hand/inventory back into the bag, including the sausage, or at least dropping the item. It would also be nice if you had a button, or menu option, for restarting the level. In the house it restarts you when you get caught. Outside it will send you back to the start position, and the bag is shown on the ground, but you keep the bag, and the item in your inventory/hand, so you can't try other items. Once in the tent, if you have the wrong item, there is nothing to do but restart.

It was also odd to be using so many keyboard keys. On one hand it did make sense to use the letter matching the action. On the other, you could only really do one thing at a time, other than when the backpack was open, so having to jump through a bunch of buttons didn't really play well. If you had your multiple items active and could press a button to use a specific one, then it would feel better.

Great concept. On point with the theme. Just needs a bit of work on the gameplay experience.

(+1)

 It is detailled, honest, friendly feedback like yours that make participating in insane events like these worthwhile. Thanks so much for giving it a try, and pointing out all this stuff. I was amazed by the high level of accessibility you provide with your TD game, so that's inspiring, and it is certainly something I will be prioritizing higher in future projects. As to the bugs and flaws you've encountered, I apologize. Core features, like parts of the inventory system, the puzzle with the sausage, were not completed in time. We've decided it's better to deliver a bugged game that's playable than not to participate at all. We're glad that you can see the potential behind the wreck. Everything will be adressed in the next update. So many keyboard keys was a conscious decision because we thought it's funny. Maybe it would be with less bugs around.

We do these jams for feedback and to improve our own skills, especially when experimenting. We totally understand running out of time and having bugs or missing features you didn't get to.

After doing several Wild Jams, with their strong push for accessibility, we've developed  and refined some core systems for making things accessible, and try to plan for it from the start. Sometimes it can be a limiting factor on our design choices (such as trying to make the UI work for keyboard, controller, and touch), but thinking about it from the start lets us make the choice for where we want to go, and which we intend to include. Our first GWJ submission was not accessible at all, and we spent the week afterward developing a lot of the core accessibility systems you see in our games now. Each game we bring them into, and jam we participate in, they get refined a bit based on what we've learned.

And yes, it is good to submit what you have and get feedback, rather than give up. No matter how bad it is, you can learn from it and work to do better the next time. Who knows what others will see that you missed. It's not just the feedback on our own games, but seeing what others have done and being inspired by them that helps us grow our games, which makes participating all the more worth while, regardless of the state your game is in. As long as there is something to play, submit it!

I agree that the keyboard keys would have worked better if not for the other issues. Still, for accessibility, you may want to make it a setting. The default can be what you have, but the player can switch to a simpler control in a menu.