I understand there's an appeal to these sorts of super high-commitment platforming controls, but it's definitely not an appeal I appreciate. This doesn't really capture the appeal of Jump King or Getting Over It for me, since both allow for much more user friendly controls in a much more charming atmosphere. There's definitely a kernel of that type of game in here, but I don't feel like it's going to be one I'd want to endure these controls for.
Play game
Shadow Peaks (Demo)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Sound/Audio | #6 | 3.333 | 3.333 |
| User Interface (UI/UX) | #8 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Visuals(Graphics) | #8 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Overall | #10 | 3.333 | 3.333 |
| Fun | #11 | 2.833 | 2.833 |
Ranked from 6 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
DevLog Link
https://darkland-studios.itch.io/shadow-peaks/devlog/639720/complete-overhaul
Comments
A lot of it just had to do with the fixed jump arcs, though the static screen-based camera with sharp cuts when moving between screens definitely doesn't help either since it makes jumping to the next screen a gamble until you've memorized where everything is in the void above/below you. Overall it just feels very clunky to control, which is something I just don't enjoy. JK managed to overcome a similar high commitment control scheme by having an extremely granular charge-jump and very appealing characters, but I think overall these types of games just don't appeal to me as much as other people seem to enjoy them.
That's unfortunate to hear. But thank you for playing regardless. We have played with the idea of making difficulties. Various forms of the game with different nuances to allow new players to progress but still possing a challenge to experienced players. The main two were casual and traditional. Casual being where you can control the player while in the air and have infinite checkpoints and traditional with how the game is now. If this casual mode was added, would you say that it would fix some of the annoyances for you and pose a more bearable challenge?
I don't think either of those are the issue as much as simply the controls needing to allow for more player expression. At the moment it feels like the only real way to express skill is through the timing of the double jump, which can work, but due to the fixed jump height and jump arcs often just feels like the game isn't as responsive as it should be. I feel like it's probably just my personal preference and it's likely not the right call for the type of game you're making, but going back to the example of things like JK and GOI they both allow for an incredible amount of player expressiveness in setting up the jumps even if you're the mercy of physics once you are in the air.
There is also the other factor of the game properly recognizing collision, often if I hit the corner of a ledge the game would get stuck in a falling animation where I couldn't move, grab the ledge, or jump off the wall; but if I let go of the movement command I would then get locked into a freefall and just have to eat the lost progress rather than simply grabbing the ledge below like normal.
This is a cool precision platformer... I don't know if anyone else in the jam is old enough to remember this but it reminds me of Blackthorne for the SNES a little bit. Even to the point where the movement feels deliberately difficult and frustrating at the beginning but quickly becomes a part of the challenge as you get used to the arc/distance of the jumps and stuff. I didn't make it very far but the parts that I played were really solid, I could see coming back and trying more when I have more time lol. Everything feels thought out and deliberate, so really no suggestions on the gameplay overall. Had a minor issue with the ledge hang at one point, the animation played and i stuck for a second before clipping through and falling back down. This was right after a screen shift, I had fallen from a section into the section below and caught on to a ledge near the top of the screen before clipping through (I'm not sure if those details help but I figured I would include them anyway). Cool game though, excited to see more!
Submitted
Star RacingI appreciate your input! I'm glad to hear you liked the level design, I've put quote a bit of time into it and scrapped many prior versions. Though, the next update will have a few of the more difficult jumps in the first couple screens made a bit easier, if not more obvious to new players.
I've never heard of Blackthorne, but I'll check it out.
Yes, that bug has been with the game since the beginning and is due to the nature of how the ledge catch and climb System works. It used to be much worse, but I've gotten it down to a reasonably rare level so hopefully within the next couple big updates I can weed it out completely with enough small adjustments.
I'm glad to hear you liked it enough to revisit it! The final game will have more polish and will have a bunch of really tough challenges, such as no checkpoints, blinded mode, reverse mode, and no walk or run mode, to named a few. When the game is fully released on itch and steam I will also be having a large giveaway for the fastest time submitted within the first month of its release with a prize from $1,000 to $5,000, depending on how many sales I get in that month. We also plan to have many more installments in this Shadow saga of games following Shadow and his race within the darklands and their history, so, if you're interested, stay tuned, we'd love to hear from you again on a future project. ^^
Great start to a game!
- Overall: The game was really well put together! Once you are further in development I'd suggest starting the game with a super easy tutorial level to ease new players into the unique jump controls.
- Fun: It was a lot of fun to go through the levels once I got use to the jumping!
- Visuals (Graphics): Awesome pixel art and animations. I really like the smooth climb up animation!
- User Interface: It's a great start! The loading screens are sweet~
- Audio: Great start as well. Perhaps some more reaction/ambient sounds could help :D
Keep it up!
Submitted
YesterSolI appreciate the input. I've also got quite a few complaints about how quickly the difficulty spikes. By the next big update shown in the description of the games page I'll have added a tutorial and will have toned down the difficulty of the first few screens a bit. I've been struggling with with whether I wanna go full rage foddian game or if I wanna focus on the replayable speedrun aspect. I think I've officially settled on the latter.
I'm glad you had fun.
This will probably be largely the final UI design. I want the user interface to be fairly minimal. However, I may have a controls screen like the one in your game, it's a pretty good idea I didn't think about. The loading and menu screens will also likely be updated a bit with the main menu obviously having many more navigation options than just start game.
I'm also very proud of the ledge climb animation. The lore of this game really relies on the visuals, so I'm glad you liked them.
I do plan to add a jumping sound and more sound with, for instance, the shadow colossus's laser or give Albedo her own ending music for the credits. I'll make some interaction sounds with the menus when you click a button or something. I may also add the occasional cave shake sound play, or perhaps just some more cave ambiance. I was going to add a sound for every time the player impacts the ground, but this game is just to fast paced when you get really good at it, so it was just a constant sound that was more annoying than immersive.
Thank you! And thank you for playing. Good luck on your game as well. If you think you'll be interested in playing further at a later date, then the final game will be released sometime late next year after a handful of larger updates where I'll hold a giveaway of $1,000 - $5,000 for the fastest time(s) recorded or streamed within the first month of the games release.
If you don't mind me asking, could you tell me roughly how many screens you got passed?
At first you have to get use to the controls but then they click and for example the foward double jump make much sense. There are some small problems with attaching yo ledges and snapping to the wall but they work most of the time. The level design is really great though it start rough right of the bat(an error? that I found myself guilty too) with some nice touches that I would have reserved for later stages.
I got a speedrunner bug that moved my player position upward in the wall stick animation.
Overall I enjoyed it a lot I found your approach to platforming really unique. The level design is were this game shines so if I can say that some work of polish needs to be done is on those small clipping issues the game have.
Oh the positional checkpoints are a great touch!
Thank you! I appreciate your input! I also thought the beginning levels were fairly difficult or advanced for the very start, but, with checkpoints and much later levels following a decent progression, I actually kind of like it being that tough from the start. It's meant to be a difficult game.
I'm glad you liked the level design, its gone through some DRASTIC changes. There are still some tweaks I'll likely make before the final game is released.
Yes, the glitching into ledges has been a bug that's been with the game from the beginning. It has to do with the nature of the action, so it's a tough error to fix. It used to be a lot worse. Luckily I was able to bring it to a manageable level before the voting began.
Thank you for playing! ^^
That was really cool. It must have taken quite a while to get here.
Compliments on a really cool executed game.
Submitted
The Solar Tech
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.