It looks like it's been a bit of a Marmite game as far as the controls are concerned. As for my design process: once I knew that I wanted to make a game where the player has to move backwards, it followed that the arrow keys couldn't be used to move, hence the "run" button. The jumping is definitely inspired by the classic Tomb Raider controls, where the tough part isn't jumping, but in properly lining your jump up. The "creep forward by tapping the button" mechanic is lifted directly from the classic Mega Man games.
If there's one thing I've taken away from this, it's that what feels good for me won't necessarily feel good for everyone; I really enjoy the controls, but I'm aware that a decent chunk of people want a game's control scheme to just do its job and then get out of the way.
Anyway, glad you liked the aesthetic, even if the controls weren't to your liking. Thank you for playing!
Yes, feedback is key here. I watched a few streams of people playing my game, and almost nobody understood the ledge jump. Meanwhile, I was sitting there thinking, “It’s right there! Just grab the ledge and jump!” 😄
I’ve received a lot of feedback on previous entries too. It’s not something you can simply turn into a checklist—it takes a lot of time and polishing, because you never really know what players will expect from your game.
A good rule of thumb is to make the experience as comfortable and intuitive as possible for the kind of player you expect. When you want to express yourself through the game and say, “I want it to work this specific way,” it’s often better to push that personality into the story or the mechanics rather than the basic controls.
The key is to make players feel comfortable, because you're not really selling a game—you're creating an experience. What people remember isn't just how your game worked, but how it made them feel.
I hope this little insight helps. Cheers, and thanks for letting us play your game!
