Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
(+1)

This game's premise is a bit hard to swallow. I've never played a game where the opponent cheats without some way to cheat back. For example, in "Inscryption", the game master cheats often. But, you can solve puzzles in the cabin that give you powerful cards and board game pieces to "cheat" back. 

If the player can't also cheat in Pool of the Damned, where's the fun part?

At the very least, there should be a way to overcome the cheating. There's one part where the ghost makes the screen pixelated. That was fun, because even though it made the game harder, I was able to overcome it through skill.

However, sometimes the ghost swaps the colors of the balls AFTER I've already made my shot, and sometimes he adds more balls in my color to the table when I look away. There's no way to really "overcome" these, and these parts made me feel like I should just play a different game.

The physics are good, for the most part. But I noticed the balls tend to slide along the walls for a long time. Sometimes this worked out in my favor, but mostly led to me scratching the cue ball.

The camera angles feel limited. I wish I had free range of the camera, and I wish there was some sort of overhead view of the table I could see.

The visuals are great, and I like the way the ghost is animated, especially when he lays across the table to take his shot.

There is one typo I noticed: "Did that ball just...moved??" It should be "move" instead.

Overall, I'd say focus on how you want the player to feel. Do you want the player to feel smart, like they've outwitted the game? Add more cheats that the player can overcome through skill, and remove or change the ones that they cannot.

Also, there's a fantastic video on randomness that I love, and think every game developer should watch. It will help you identify what parts of your game are fun: 

(+1)

Thanks, that's some really good feedback. I'll be trying to adress most of it on the next versions of the game, mainly regarding the cheats mechanic. I'll try to add possibilities to the player to be able to use them at his favour or outsmart the AI.