Post by Alan in RunFridgerator comments

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I should have said this last week, but "Up" to jump sucks, PLUS it doesn't work on the thumbstick, just the D-Pad, which is surprisingly sloppy for you lot.
Left Bumper to jump feels weird too. Why not "A"?
Not convinced "pick-up/drop" and "throw" aren't the wrong way around
Levels should flow into next levels
Please put the PDFs of DevLogs on itch.io if possible!
WTF are you talking about "only levels 12 and 13 are in playable state", there's a half a playable game here!
Did I miss all this puzzle-y goodness last week because I was focused on the gyms?
There's a lot of edges need sanded off and little things that could be tied up, but there's some real gems of puzzle design in here!
Please put egos aside for a moment within the team and discuss who is making the puzzles that really hit and who isn't, and shuffle the workload. Learn from what's working and what isn't.
Difficulty is the big issue right now. Figure out those parameters! What makes a puzzle easier or harder? Is there a way you can estimate difficulty without testing?
Take the motifs and archetypes you've got and spin them out in sketches. Group the levels by challenge themes and then figure out your parameters with those

Levels 1-3

This is clearly basic stuff, but it doesn't feel bad? Actually enjoyable towards the end of level 3
Consider the use of the space - wide open top feels weird
Spacing towards the end of level 3 feels a bit too much, could condense the end sections a little

Level 4

If I didn't know better, I'd think I was playing a puzzle game
Portal-style box reset needs tidied up - box shouldn't reset all the time while button is depressed, etc

Level 5

These things need rethought
This feels completely incongruous with previous level
Moving platforms should be synced to prevent the player getting stuck/squashed
Puzzle seems to rely on you standing on the ends of the platforms? Feels more like a glitch than a solution
Couldn't make the final jump (mostly due to previous points)

Level 6

Couldn't figure this out, but I liked it in principle
Metrics need more love: box shouldn't be in such a tight space that it clips and sticks like that. Define minimal "tunnel" spaces so that they feel fun and smooth.

Level 7

Nice use of open space at the start to lure me into the solution, but camerawork could be better there
Poor use of camera at the end where you show a whole space to the right that isn't necessary
Don't get cocky, but this was a good puzzle with a really satisfying "AHA" moment ...

Level 8

This is also a good puzzle
Very nicely done, showing the rolling boulder at the start to demonstrate the destruction of objects by falling hazards
The inversion of the door ... lovely work.
Metrics felt off though - definitely had the right solution but couldn't land the shot. Could be that I wasn't reading the geometry right, it seemed like I needed to be in a very precise spot,

Level 9

This felt easier than 8, despite working on the same principles
That platform is painfully slow to arrive
The use of the clutched object as a shelter is a nice touch, but might need a stronger introduction.
Boxes did not reset with the player death, leaving me stranded with the box on the other side of the hazard

Level 10

Not sure what's going on here ... some nice ideas, but not polished to the same degree as previous levels
Was able to throw the ball under the big white block and get stuck

Level 11

Level 12

Keep aesthetics in line
Consider your spacing - the platform takes a little too long to reach the right spot at times
Pretty easy to figure out, might want to shuffle the order

Level 13

Not sure if its deliberate that the last platform is timed with the others so I had to awkwardly jump on the box to reach it - it worked, but it's a bit shaky
I really want to also play a level where the wall buttons that activate the lifts are press-and-hold and I have to keep going back and forth pressing different ones to get platforms to line up. Nice motif that deserves to be repeated.

Thanks for All the great feedback, I agree with most of it, some points I wanted to make some comments on:

The Jump: It’s on LB because you can’t press A if you want to jump while hovering with a block (both the Right Analog stick and A require your Thumb to be pressed).
Levels should flow into next levels: Agreed! We don’t have the level flow, because we’re not set on the order of the levels yet.
Please put the PDFs of DevLogs on itch.io if possible!: I’ve discussed this with you in the past and then you said it was fine I thought: “You're right about the build reviews ... maybe it's not so bad if you don't use the DevLog functionality "properly". See what you can do with linked files for now.”
Level 0 till 9 are from last week so that why I didn’t specify them in this Devlog. 12 and 13 are the NEW playable levels this build.

Level 9

"That platform is painfully slow to arrive. The use of the clutched object as a shelter is a nice touch, but might need a stronger introduction". True, this is the reason why we made the platform so slow, so that you’re “forced” to use the block to block the hazard blocks.

Level 10

Polish state of the Level: This level was a work in progress I believe, so it indeed needs some polish.

Level 12

Keep aesthetics in line: This is just how we block out levels, to make it easier to go from sketch to level while keeping the metrics in mind. So, it’s a bit of a work in progress.
Pretty easy to figure out: good point, it was harder in the first iterations, might have to get back to that.

The Jump ... does that actually happen though? I agree with the logic in theory, but since you changed the way collision works, I'm happy "holding" the box without pressing the thumbstick. I ended up just roaming around holding the box "inside" my character, and it felt okay.
With the PDFs - I didn't realise that it was going to switch out to Teams whenever I clicked on them! It's clunky. I think itch.io should allow you to host the PDFs on the game page, though? Not sure. The main point is - sometimes I will say "yes, that should work" to something and then when we try it it doesn't work as well as I hoped, so ... it's still a thing. Not saying get rid of the PDFs, just saying that Teams isn't the best place to put them.
Level 9 Platform - this is the thing with game design feedback: one point doesn't counteract another. It isn't a zero-sum game. In this case, both situations are true: the slow platform is necessary for the timing, but it's also painful to wait on it. There's always a solution. The trick is to not be reactionary. Gather up all the feedback and assess the situation as a whole, then look for ways to improve. Don't "fire-fight".