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Lost Forger's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Originality | #61 | 3.432 | 3.600 |
| Theme | #69 | 3.528 | 3.700 |
| Audio | #78 | 2.956 | 3.100 |
| Accessibility | #99 | 2.384 | 2.500 |
| Overall | #101 | 2.751 | 2.886 |
| Graphics | #103 | 2.765 | 2.900 |
| Fun | #134 | 2.098 | 2.200 |
| Controls | #140 | 2.098 | 2.200 |
Ranked from 10 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Godot Version
3.5
Wildcards Used
"Wah Wah Wah" "Hardcore" half of "Gadget" (tutorial room only)
Game Description
Survival/Strategy Horror
How does your game tie into the theme?
You try to forge your way out of this dungeon, by carefully managing your resources.
Source(s)
no
Discord Username(s)
vincecreates
Participation Level (GWJ Only)
2
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Comments
The lighting and ambience you set in the game was really good, and I liked the concept. I felt that the controls were very overwhelming at the start, but that is the spirit of game jams lol. Nice submission
Thanks for the feedback !
I definitely should test my games more with keyboard/mouse, since I mostly test them with controller, and adapt the controls to them (since it's easier to adapt pc controls from controller than the other way around).
I never really check if the keyboard experience is as smooth as the controller one though, which is probably why it can be overwhelming if I introduce too many buttons/mechanics, so that's helpful to know.
I'm glad you still had fun playing it, and got a feel of the ambience I tried to set up, and would recommend giving it a try with a controller and some good headphones !
I like this concept. It fits with the theme well and works with the idea of procedural generation. With some polish this could be improved a lot. I found the controls to be very difficult to remember. In fact, I had to have a copy of the page open in another window so I could reference the description. Having a way to see them in game (either through the pause menu or just overlayed in a corner somewhere) would go a long way. Additionally a sprint button or general movement speed increase would be a good.
Thanks a lot for all the feedback and playing the game !
I totally agree I should spend more time on the experience on keyboard/mouse, since I mostly play and test on controller, and make that experience as smooth as possible, then try to adapt it to pc, but barely had time to test it out this jam.
I thought about changing the constant walk speed, with a sprint like you said (simple stamina bar), that would make noise while sprinting, and attract the ghosts. One of the gadgets is an invisibility cloak, which would make you slower as a compromise, but didn't have time to implement the gadget system :(
The constant speed definitely gets boring after a while, but this jam was really messy (and I started late), so that's why the polish is also not really there.
Thanks again, and I'm glad you still liked some things about this rough prototype of a game haha !
Thanks for the submission! I liked the art in this game and love that the worlds were (or at least seemed) to be procedurally generated.
That's hard to do in a game jam!The worlds themselves seemed a bit too large for my tastes. I found myself spending a lot of time walking through the hallways that connected the rooms instead of the rooms themselves. Maybe some smaller more intimate rooms would be nice?
Thanks for the great feedback!
The dungeons are procedurally generated indeed, using a BSP algorithm (Binary Space Partitioning).
I did try and balance the world size out, especially once we got the dungeon and ores implemented, but I got to admit, I haven’t been able to fully test it once all the mechanics were in place, and I thought the game could be unbalanced in different ways.
I do wanted a big “labyrinth” sort of layout, so that you have to be mindful of where you going, since it’s a game about not getting lost, while managing your resources, and I thought the current amount of rooms was ok (16 every time).
I also wanted to make sure the game could be winnable in one run through the dungeon (you need 10 magic ores to build the exit portal), and if I reduced the number of rooms with the bsp algorithm, it would be 8/4 (by powers of 2), which would make it impossible to win the game in one run. (I’m not going to tell how to win, but you can only find one magic ore per room)
I could’ve however made the world size and rooms smaller, which would’ve lead to shorter paths between rooms, but then again, I really lacked in time for balancing/polishing.
Thanks for playing and leaving some critical feedback, and I’m glad you got some fun out of it!
I like the mix of the forging, foraging, and exploring. Great use of the lighting, felt great! I had a bit of difficulty with the controls and a few bugs cropped up with picking up crafted items, but overall the game was fun.
Thanks a lot for the feedback! Could you tell me which controls were a bit confusing? (I mainly test with controller, but should test more with keyboard/mouse in future jams to make sure it feels good).
Could you also tell me (if you remember) which bugs you encountered with picking up items, would be greatly appreciated ?
Thanks again for the great feedback, and playing the game, and I’m glad you still got something out of it !
It may have been the fact that some of the popups for showing which items combined, but they were buttons that seemed to be hovered and could be clicked on, but didn’t do anything. Also, as mentioned I would end up with tools crafted on the floor, but sometimes I couldn’t interact or pick them back up. The bugs mostly stemmed around the crafting and item interaction for me.
Oh, that is all intended, I just wish I could’ve provided some more visual feedback and polish those mechanics out (inventory with the tools, and better forgeUI, since this is what I made to implement the mechanic, and barely touched it since, due to time).
The recipes for the different weapons are basically checkboxes that get pressed through script once you forge an ore correctly, but are all disabled so you can’t press them yourself.
If you’re talking about the OvenUI, I basically copied the ForgeUI, removed most of the buttons, and modified the script, so yeah, the ores that appear (“copper” + “tin” = “bronze”), are all still buttons, which I also should’ve disabled, but I hadn’t even thought about that!
The game is also about resource management, so I decided you wouldn’t be able to swap out tools, and can carry a maximum of 2, so if you already have 2, and forge a third one, you can’t pick it up until you break one of your tools. This makes forging in the dungeon better on one side, since the tools will stay there, you can go break one tool, and go pick it up. But if you forge it in the forge room, and go out of it, you lose that tool.
It is good to know tho that they seem like bugs to players tho, since I thought it could be understood through playing the game, and getting what it’s about, but better polish is definitely needed for a better experience !
Thanks for the more detailed feedback, it definitely helps!
Yea, I understand how hard it can be with limited time. I wish my crafting menu had more features as well. I tried to provide context to the user in my crafting interface, but it can be difficult, especially in such limited time!
The game's combination of discovery and forging was a good idea, especially when combined with horror! But the execution was not that good, especially with visuals not being that good to match the gameplay.
The mini games were a little confusing at first and the tutorial was not that helpful.
Overall the game had a great idea and would've been better if you had more time to polish it.
Thanks, I totally agree, I basically had 1 day to polish the game, and I tried to focus on priorities (tileset, character, oven, anvil, door, menu), and some particles here and there.
It would've been really nice to have 2 more days to balance and polish it out, but it is what it is, and I'm actually surprised I got something out in time haha.
I do agree the tutorial is not that helpful, it's more there as a sandbox/testroom, to test without consequences and pressure, and a lot of ores, to get the hang of the basic mechanics, and test different weapons' durability/damage, depending on what material you craft it with.
There's a lot that couldn't even make it in the game, cause I didn't have time for basic testing/polising, and would've made the game look even weirder x) (Gadgets, Chests and a key generated with that chest per dungeon, that you have to find, and then forge the correct one to open that chest, which then gives you the gadget indefinitely)
Thanks for playing, and leaving critical feedback, it's really appreciated !
Fits perfectly with the game jam theme. I saw a lot of games about forging in a similar manner, but none of these, as far as I know, cared about finding the materials. The exploration alongside the ghosts gives the game a unique twist. I played with controller, as I saw you recommending this in discord and it as a pleasing experience!
Something that I noticed that could be improved, is the tutorial. At first it didn't really understand how the controller and buttons worked. I guess that's complicated since you are supporting keyboard and controller.
Congratulations!
Thanks, your feedback is greatly appreciated ! I'm kind of amazed I got something out in time.
The tutorial was made in the last hours, since I realized the mechanics were a little too "unique/uncommon" to just be thrown into without any explanation, so I quickly used my testroom, and turned it into a tutorial room. For the rest, I want the player to test things out since it's a discovery/survival game, and not carry them by the hand the whole way, you're a forger after all ! :)
I put the controls in the description of the page, but it's definitely something that should be included in the game !
It's sad the gadgets couldn't get properly implemented on time, but I'm just glad I got something out that is playable, in time, cause it didn't seem like it when I started on Tuesday, when I finally had some idea of a game hahaha.
Like always, it was a lot of fun working on, and I learned a lot, which is what these jams are all about ! I just had very little time to polish, so had to do a sort of "semi-polish" on everything pretty quick, which is sad, cause polishing and juicing up the game mechanics is a lot of fun.
Thanks for playing, I'll check your game out !
Can't believe that you had your idea on tuesday and still managed to get the game!
Same honestly hahaha. This is the main reason why the game is not as polished though, I really wanted to see what that would've been like, but we do what we can in jams, and the feedback is so helpful, so I compromised on a lot and tried to get something out !