The core idea is nice indeed, I played it for ~10 mins and for some reason I couldn't find out how to shoot, not sure if it's to be unblocked during the game, my maximum score was 218 and it was hard to dodge with no ability to shoot, I clicked everywhere on the screen including the white button in the middle in the bottom (which I didn't really understand what it does) and still the ship wouldn't shoot, not sure if it's intended by the game.
Also additional thoughts on the UI:
The logo doesn't really fit on my device's screen
And I think here it would better to put the "Play Again" button above and make it bigger because users will want intuitively to press the first button they see after the death with the idea to start over and currently such a button is the "menu" and I was getting back to menu even though I wanted to just start over :)
Wishing you success with the further game development! Hope the feedback was useful 👍
Another thing, I think it would be better to move the whole action stuff (ship + asteroids) a bit above so that you can use the below part of the screen to control the ship and so that the thumb doesn't cover anything
Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback, my friend. This was really helpful.
When I started developing the game, my main principle was to keep the controls simple and use only one main control system. That’s why I split the game into two phases.
I think you assumed that the ship could shoot during the driving phase, and maybe you didn’t reach the combat phase. During the driving phase, you only need to dodge meteors and collect useful pickups. After surviving for a while, the game automatically switches to the combat phase. In that phase, a reticle appears, and when you aim at enemies with it, the ship shoots automatically.
The controls and gameplay were intentionally planned to be simple because I wanted to test this kind of structure. That is also one of the main reasons why the game is vertical. If I had planned more complex controls, I would probably have designed it in landscape mode, especially because of the thumb-covering issue you mentioned.
So maybe you can try to survive a little longer in the driving phase next time. :D
Also, the white button in the middle makes your ship a “ghost ship” for a short time. You can use it during the driving phase, and it lets you pass through meteors. So you can press it when you feel like you are losing control or when you just want to stay safe for a moment.
A few other people also mentioned that I should add a tutorial. I was actually waiting for the last pieces of feedback before deciding, and I think I will definitely add one now. :)
The logo also broke on my own phone, even though it looked normal during testing, so I will fix that too.
I think you are right about the Play Again button as well. I am already redesigning the UI/HUD elements from scratch, and I will keep your suggestion in mind while reworking that screen.
Thanks again, seriously. You even noticed the small details, and this feedback was very useful for me. My current goal is to update the UI elements first, then add a tutorial and a leaderboard later.
Thanks again!
