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Improve My Game Jam 43

Hosted by anomrac21 · #imgj
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A jam submission

Shinobi SwarmView game page

A bullet heaven survivors-like with ninjas!
Submitted by Francisco Cidade — 3 days, 17 minutes before the deadline
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Shinobi Swarm's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
User Interface (UI/UX)#33.9003.900
Overall#43.6003.600
Fun#73.7003.700
Visuals(Graphics)#113.4003.400
Sound/Audio#123.1003.100

Ranked from 10 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

DevLog Link
https://fcidade.itch.io/shinobi-swarm/devlog/1447986/first-steps-in-my-survivorslike-project

Developer Feedback Questions
Hi everyone!

I've been working on this survivors-like project for about a month and I'm excited to share it for the Jam, I hope it's still allowed in the Jam — I'm truly sorry if it's not! I've used this time to focus on implementing various game mechanics and would love to get your thoughts on it!

I’m looking for feedback on:

Controls: How does the game feel on Mobile, Keyboard, and Gamepad?

UI/UX: Is the interface intuitive?

Content: Which weapons or upgrades would you like to see in the game?

General: Any other feedback is highly appreciated!

Thank you for your time and for playing!

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Comments

ivancevicSubmitted25 days ago

This is a full on game! Think you just need your own visuals to make it your own. Congratulations! I think I suck at the game because I died a few times and one is getting the first boss down to 60% . All in all I had fun :D . 

Something I would check: 

- not sure if its intentional, but the last 20 seconds no one attacked me and I just waited there for the boss to arrive. If this is intentional maybe the last 20 seconds could be some weird effects signaling that the boss is on its way?

The UX seems very good. I understood (or at least think I did) everything that needed to be done. 

Wanted to critique the Katana Slash ability. At the moment it only strikes at the player facing position which feels weird. Maybe the intention is to have it that way, but think it would be more interesting if it could point in the mouse direction.

Submitted
Sheep Keeper
Reply
torlaiSubmitted25 days ago

Excellent work, meu compatriota!

Let's go:

Controls: How does the game feel on Mobile, Keyboard, and Gamepad?

 - Played on keyboard, control response was very good

UI/UX: Is the interface intuitive?

 - UI is well done, could find everything easily, no wasted clicks. The shop UI did not use the full widht of the screen though, There was space for 5 icons in one line, but only three appeared, the rest of the line was empty and the other two went to the next line. Should be easy to fix with the Control settings in Godot.

Content: Which weapons or upgrades would you like to see in the game?

 - I think the coolest part of Vampire Survivors is when you are overpowered and can clear a huge amount of enemies.  I would like to have weapons that cause damage in a large area.  

General: 

The time based waves caused some moments where there was nothing to do, mainly on the first levels nearing 5 minutes, I would suggest to make the game check if there are no enemies left instead.

Great work, well done!

Submitted
Canyon Strike 02
Reply
Dragon's Isle SoftwareSubmitted26 days ago

This is a good start. The core mechanics work well. The gameplay is simple and easy to understand, but still challenging to play. The upgrades are good, and there was always something useful. The UI was clear. I used mouse and keyboard.

I started with the default character, and liked the shuirken. After beating the level I moved on to level 2 and tried the second character. I really did not like the straight in front attack of the katana, especially with the eye enemies that swarmed at the start of that level. I did a lot of running as I worked out how to use it and survive. I see that it is powerful, but I much prefer it as a secondary or tertiary weapon, over the starting one. It is great for the boss fights, but even there I prefer to have the other weapons to deal with the swarms and the katana for hitting the boss. I went back to the default character after that level. I liked the scythes, especially when you get 2 or more spinning around you. I largely ran around enemies in circles, letting the attacks do their thing, and collecting what was left behind. I'd move out as a new wave came in and then corral them all into a new circle. I played through the third level and got several shop upgrades. I never had enough to unlock another character, so mostly spent on the top section of upgrades.

The difficulty rose at a good rate. The bosses hit hard, but were also pretty easy to avoid. The harder versions of existing enemies that showed up with the boss fights was a nice touch. 

The description for level 3 says to reach level 10 to awaken its guardian, but I was only at level 7 when the timer hit 5 minutes and the boss appeared.

This was a nice submission and fun to play.

Submitted
Hungry For Loot
Reply
WeirdBitGamesSubmitted27 days ago(+1)

This is really well-made and polished!The shinobi portrait are is great, as are the in-game sprites too!
The music changes on each attempt, a lovely touch that I noticed!
The controls are about as simple as they get, which is a real positive point!
Also it has a 2 player mode?? This reminds me so much of the good ol' NES days!
This is such a good entry and already a professional game!

Submitted
Bit Souls
Reply
Francisco CidadeDeveloper26 days ago(+1)

Thank you so much! I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed the game!

The 2-player mode was actually the whole reason I started this. My wife and I got addicted to Vampire Survivors, and I decided to build something we could play together haha

Reply
WeirdBitGamesSubmitted26 days ago(+1)

That is a wonderful reason to make a game! <3

Reply
SergeantArcadeSubmitted27 days ago(+1)

I had a lot of fun with this one! The ninja theme is great and I liked the fast pace of it.

On Gamepad, the menus worked but I couldn't move my character at all with the d-pad or the joystick (8BitDo SN30Pro controller). It worked fine on Keyboard though.

Interface is intuitive. I would have liked an exclamation point "!" appearing over the Shop button in the main menu whenever I have enough money to afford something new.

The katana weapon seems weak; it has a limited range and the animation lasts longer than the actual hitbox. As far as new weapons you could add, how about bamboo that juts up from the ground? Some sort of boomerang weapon that comes back to you could be cool (though not sure how to make it ninja-themed).

As others have pointed out, level three is a huge difficulty spike, and even with max shop upgrades, I struggled to kill even one single enemy.

But I like the concept. Leaning into the theme and adding some shrines around the map where you can get buffs for the run would help this game stand out.

Submitted
Dolky
Reply
Francisco CidadeDeveloper26 days ago(+1)

Thank you so much for the detailed feedback!

Regarding the controller issue: that is very strange! I actually use an 8BitDo controller myself to play and test the game, and I haven’t encountered that specific bug yet. I’ll definitely investigate the input mapping to see if there’s a conflict with that specific model or a D-input/X-input glitch.

The Katana weapon really is harder to play with, but its also hard to not make it overpowered haha, ill keep messing with it until is perfect.

The Shop with the ‘!’ is genius!

I love the idea of bamboo spikes and shrines! Altough the current theme is Ninjas, im probably gonna mess with different themes also, so the boomerang is also a really cool idea.

The difficulty spike in Level 3 is also noted. I’ll be looking into the enemy scaling to make sure it’s challenging but not impossible. Balancing the difficulty is currently the hardest part of the development haha

Thanks again for playing and for helping me make the game better!

Reply
paveleeSubmitted27 days ago(+1)

Hey! The game looks like good base for a new vampire survivor-like game.

  • Gameplay
    • I like this kind of games and gameplay is good. Movement, fight has good feeling. Progression has good peace.
    • I think the first level could be just shorter like max 2 minutes or maybe just automatically switch levels when player achieve the goals. I got feeling that 5 minutes is just too long but I really appreciate there is final boss! Really cool
    • When switching levels I lost all my upgrades, I assume it's design to make game rogue-like but still I had some disappointed I lost all my upgrades :D
    • Meta-progression with the shop is cool idea. Unlocking new characters is really great approach!
  • Controls
    • I played on keyboard only and it's good, no problems.
  • Art
    • Pixel art is good, I like your shadow technique. To be honest game looks much better than vampire survivor :D
    • I like your character design, pretty interesting and nice looking 
  • Music
    • Good match for the game art style (retro style). Did you compose the music by yourself?
  • UI
    • UI is pretty clear, didn't have any problems to run and play the game
    • I didn't try 2 players feature
  • Bug
    • I am not sure but I have feeling there is some bug when I start again playing after losing. I think it could be related to not restarting game timer.

Congratulations on your submission! Keep working!

Submitted
Rootwarden
Reply
Francisco CidadeDeveloper27 days ago

Thanks for the feedback and the kind words!

I’m still a bit torn between having shorter levels or much longer runs like in Vampire Survivors, so I’ll definitely keep testing to see what feels best for the players :)

I totally get the frustration of losing upgrades between levels, but that’s part of the fun haha! The idea is that you’ll use the shop for those permanent boosts to get stronger over time.

As for the art and music, they’re actually from the awesome asset pack Ninja Adventure by Pixel-Boy. I tried making my own at first, but let’s just say I failed miserably haha! I decided to use this pack while I keep practicing my art skills on the side for future projects.

Also, thanks for the heads-up about the timer bug, I’ll look into the reset logic to make sure everything clears properly after a game over.

Thanks again for playing!

Reply
Noah WesleySubmitted28 days ago(+1)

Good start. I'm a sucker for this type of game. What I have to say is primarily about gameplay, so sorry if I don't answer your questions. 

Firstly, I noticed both the enemies and my weapons seemed to make contact without actually touching. There were definitely a few times where a hit was registered when there was still space between. 

Secondly, the difficulty curve is a bit steep. In the first level I ended at a point where I didn't even have to move, but the next level I died without killing more than 5 enemies. So maybe a bit of a slighter change would help. 

Third, I was able to buy every upgrade after the first level. Maybe the price should go up with each purchase.

Fourth, Junji's starting weapon is a bit hard for a starter. I might suggest changing it.

Like I said, I'm a sucker for this type of game, so I hope to see it get developed more. For weapon suggestions maybe a poison dart, a bamboo spike trap, or a boomerang type weapon could be good

Submitted
RoundHouse Ricochet
Reply
Francisco CidadeDeveloper27 days ago

Thanks a lot for the feedback!

You’re totally right about the hitboxes. Some other people pointed that out too, so it will hopefully be fixed in the next update.

The difficulty curve is definitely my biggest challenge right now, so it’ll probably take me a few more tries to find that sweet spot between the levels. It also makes a lot of sense what you said about the upgrade prices, I’ll start messing with different scaling to keep the progression interesting.

About Junji, I’ll take another look at his starting weapon to make the early game a bit more welcoming for new players.

Also, I loved the weapon suggestions, especially the boomerang! Thanks again for taking the time to play and help me improve the game!

Reply
Humane TigerSubmitted28 days ago(+1)

Hey! Nice game! For most games I struggle with understanding how to play them - not this one. The mechanic is dead-simple, even for slow-brainers like me :-D And I I even managed to win, yay!

I am so impressed by the fact that this game has been in development for only about a month! It already feels so polished and rewarding.

As for the questions, I can say that using keyboard feels really good and flawless. Also the movement speed from the beginning is well chosen, most games go too slow, but not this one. For the UI, I was a little irritated with the pre-selected "1 Player" Button. Offering such a select state often comes with a "Confirm", but here I had to "confirm" by clicking the selected button again.

As for the content I don't have any valuable feedback, I enjoyed the selection as it is. The only issue I had was visually distincting between collectables and enemies, when things got hairy. So it happened I was running into enemies while I was trying to collect dropped items.

Good job! Keep up the good work!

Submitted
9 Dayz
Reply
Francisco CidadeDeveloper28 days ago(+1)

Thank you! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! :)

I was only able to build these mechanics in a month because I’ve started similar projects before and gave up halfway, haha. Since I’d already solved many of those problems in the past, I was able to move much faster this time.

The UI feedback is extremely valuable! I struggled with it myself during playtesting, but it kept getting pushed back by other priorities. I’ll definitely be implementing those fixes soon!

Thank you for taking your time to test the game!

Reply
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