Post by Valeriy Petrov in EMUUROM comments

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Thanks for the great game!

I must confess, that I lacked the patience to finish it, but enjoyed the original concept.

I was confused at first, as the game gave me little to no instructions about its objects. But it unraveled itself nicely through the interactions with them. I liked how the very first room teaches you this basic lesson that sets the mood for the whole game. This world seemed so alien and strange at first, but as you learn how each creature behaves it reveals its hidden patterns and becomes 'readable'. Although some of the platformer challenges were too hard for my taste.

The scanning-collection mechanic on top of it adds a new dimension to the exploration. I liked how biological descriptions of creatures give hints to their mechanical behaviors.

Overall, the game left with a strange feeling of being in an alien, yet non-threatening world, that has its own strange, yet comprehensive laws. Great work!

borbware3 years ago

Thanks for the, umm, thanks! And for feedback! Nice to hear that the 'alien-ness' of the world is coming through, and that the scan entries are working as intended! ^^

As for the platforming challenges - I aim to make some of them less frustrating in the full version. Which room(s) in particular made you quit, if I may ask? :D

Demo area map with room numbers:

Valeriy Petrov3 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

Hey, you're welcome!

I would say that rooms 35 and 45 were quite challenging, but I've managed to overcome them. Jumping the caterpillar was especially frustrating since it required very precise timing and I'm just not good at this. I wouldn't say that any particular room has made me quit, but when I reached room 34 I felt a bit overwhelmed. It's just that rooms are so mechanically dense and full of challenges, and there's little to no breathing space between them.

With that said, I can easily see a platformer puzzle person relishing your game precisely for the things that I found somewhat frustrating about it. Namely, densely interconnected puzzles and hardcore platformer challenges. I'm just happened to be not that kind of person :)

P.S.: oh, and thanks for the map! It made me realized I've missed some of the secret passages.

borbware3 years ago(+1)

Thanks for the insights!

The tricky caterpillar jump is something I could try adjusting by just making its collision box a bit wider. I do want the game to have hardcore platformer challenges as well, but in the demo area I would like every player to at least reach the scanner first...!

Designing this kind of a game is like walking a tightrope in a cramped room lol. I'd like to add as much breathing space to the rooms as possible but, like, w h e r e. The interconnectedness of adjacent rooms gives me, as a designer, very little breathing space, so unfortunately that is reflected on the player on many occasions. What a problem have I generated for myself!

Anyway, the design of room 34 is something that i'm not perfectly happy with yet. It should be the last exercise before the end of the tutorial area, but maybe there's just too much to take in at once.

I made a small change to the room recently (not sure if additions are really helping lol): Otukka the caterpillar is there! Hopefully its presence gives the player a subconscious idea where they should be heading.

Valeriy Petrov3 years ago(+1)

Being a game designer myself, I feel what you going through. Designing puzzles is a tough challenge, but adjusting them to player's expectations and skills afterward is even harder. Especially when you have such an intricately interconnected system as your game world. But that's that major source of fun in our craft, isn't it? ;)

I think caterpillar actually works well at signposting the exit! And increasing its collision box might work well too.

itch.io

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