Post by TheBigRoomXXL in Design Discussion: What do you SPECIFICALLY want feedback on?

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Hi everyone,

My game is name HARPOON!!!. It is a top down shooter in which you have only an harpoon do defend yourself. Everytime you use it to get it back to use again. The goal is to create a feeling of tension because you can’t afford to miss. And also have a great feeling of satisfaction when everything go according to plane or you succesfully recover your harpoon at the last second.

I really like working on this game and I want to update it. Before I add any content I would like to polish the basic "feel" of the game.

1) How do you feel about the movements of the Player? It is too slow or too fast? Do you find it maniable enought? Do you think a secondary movement skill would make improuve the experience?

2) The harpoon is supose to deliver a feeling of strenght. Do you think it deliver on that feeling when you use it?

Thank you in advance :-)

https://thebigroom.itch.io/harpoon-labyrinth

Crime Dog4 years ago

1) I am of the firm belief that almost every game can be improved by a dodge roll, but that's just me :)

2) I think it might be a good idea to make picking up the harpoon a click rather than a hold. If you wanted to use a hold input for anything, it might make more sense doing a hold/release to throw the javelin to add emphasis to the feeling of throwing? Something to try maybe!

H_Labs4 years ago

1) The movement of the player is perfect. It feels like I am in complete control (contributing to a feeling of being powerful). I'd be careful if you're adding anything such as a dodge roll or dash since those can take control away from the player (making you feel less powerful) in exchange for temporary safety.

2) The sound effects (love the Wilhelm scream, btw) such as the thuds make me feel powerful. Hitting multiple enemies also makes me feel powerful as does exploiting the enemy AI. However, almost everything else in the game makes me feel weak and like I am up against impossible odds. The sort of feeling you get when taking on the zombie horde with only limited resources. One of the reasons for this is the harpoon. Having one harpoon means you are going to switch into a (powerless) running away state when trying to recover the harpoon. The delay on picking up the harpoon magnifies this because you have to stand still for a short while, exposing yourself to the enemy.

Some other things that made me feel less powerful were:

The zoomed in camera. Since I can't see the enemy (and some can jump across a good portion of the screen), my guard is always up. It is sort of like how you have to be prepared for what's around the corner or through the window in the older Resident Evil games. When I do see them, I usually end up using a more twitch-y reaction instead of calculated, controlled one since they are almost on top of me.
The number of enemies. Mowing down hordes of enemies can make you feel powerful (I felt great after hitting three in a single shot!), but if you're outnumbered and forced to run, you feel very vulnerable.
Enemies can jump over your harpoon. I think this is great, but it doesn't make me feel powerful. It makes my weapon feel weaker (since it can be dodged).
You can't win. The game is infinite, so you will die at some point. It's hard to feel powerful when you know that you're going to die (although some final blazes of glory do make you feel good).

That all being said, I really enjoyed not feeling powerful. It was satisfying going up against a powerful enemy!