Post by Fifth Layer Studio in Blipherd's Gardens jam comments

Game-like Jam - Pac-Man » Entries » Blipherd's Gardens

Viewing post in Blipherd's Gardens jam comments

This is my review for Blipherd’s Garden’s

Overall

A complete game, both similar but also very different from the OG in many interesting ways. (interesting is the word today, sorry!). It’s fun and each level adds interesting challenges. Unfortunately it lacks visual juice (particles, shakes, etc.) but it could be an interesting challenge for a post jam polish.

Graphics

Hand-made graphics are very cute and add an interesting analog touch. I don’t know if the 3d adds a lot to the game feel: dots, being billboard sprites, seem to disappear at certain camera angles. The rural/farmy style is very appropriate for the sheep herder theme.

Sound

Music and sound are very analogic which is nice and interesting and appropriate for the theme, even if a bit too loud. I would have liked a bit of processing, minimum mastering/eq, but I’m a sound maniac, so feel free to ignore…

Gameplay

Very similar to the OG, old tactics still work.

Adding a shop is an interesting choice, but it’s not clear what you’re buying. What’s a blip?

A bit of onboarding/tutorial would have been nice, maybe the first level could be turned into this?

Collision check is a bit buggy,

Attract mode is a very interesting touch, in theme with the arcade vibe

Like Reply

Lost Connection10 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

I'll take "interesting" as a compliment :)

Thanks for the detailed feedback, I think you've made a really good assessment. I agree with most of your points (except maybe the 3D one). Visual juice is one of my weaknesses for sure. I tend to get caught up more in the level design and mechanical logic than in polishing the game feel.

For what it's worth, "bliips" are the sheep-like creatures. I thought that was obvious from the game's description, but I'm always making the mistake of assuming everyone will read that, which is a bad assumption and it would've been good to make that clearer in the game.

Thanks for playing!