itch.io

Good work with the audio and effects - the feel of the actual shots is good.

There's an issue right now where I can walk off the map, and it's actually an advantage because I can see the enemies more easily against the lighter background there.

Wow, really? I thought for sure the first set was focusing on rooks, and the second on bishops... weird how we create patterns like that. Thanks for sharing!

It took me a while to figure out that I could dash through certain enemies.

Hahaha! I definitely can't see myself playing this for more than five minutes, but the simple first-person view of the dresser chasing you in the dark works well.   It is funny that the description says something about not looking back, but you play the whole game looking back.

It's described as an "endless runner" and I suppose it fits that description, but it's a fairly different interaction. I wonder if you could add a reflex element that would keep the player alert - I felt like I could play with my eyes closed. What if the dresser threw dirty socks at you every once in a while, and you had to dodge them?

Game's working fine on Firefox 107 Windows 11.

This is an interesting concept. It seems tuned well, since I was usually able to place 3rd-5th on my first few races and it seems like with practice I could do better. On the other hand, I felt like the game suffered from a low-ish decision density - most of the time it made the most sense to follow the highlighted path, and while I could walk another direction I couldn't see why I would. Seeing a powerup off the path fixed that now and then, but it didn't seem like there were very many.

I love how many themes there are though!

Played the online demo. This is nicely done! I like the UI sound effects. I wished a few of the UI elements (the map buttons in particular) had a stronger rollover effect - I see that the cursor changes, but it didn't read as "clicky" as I'd like.

The first few puzzles are a great selection because they're clearly teaching me to look for particular kinds of opportunities. I'm used to chess puzzles feeling kind of random, and this got past that for me.  I did bounce off of puzzle ten for a bit, and found myself wishing for a bit more feedback (as other reviewers have mentioned).

Thank you!  I will investigate.

Made it 356 miles.   This is awesome, a great mash-up of two throwbacks!  Nice work!

Awesome!  Beautiful game, and there's the core of a really cool idea in using a mastermind-style puzzle as a combat system.  It might be important to give the player less information when they hit a partial solution, or to give opponents some ability to change the target pattern.  I also wonder what this would look like if it was symmetrical - if as the player I set my own secret pattern and the AI tried to guess it, while I was trying to guess theirs.

Nice work!

Thanks for the feedback!  Can you tell me more about what Firefox version / OS isn't working properly for you? I have seen it work well on:

• Firefox 57.0.1 (64-bit) Ubuntu 17.04
• Firefox 57.0.1 Android Oreo (Nexus 6P)
• Firefox Focus 4.0.1 Android Oreo (Nexus 6P)
• Chrome 63.0.3239.84 (64-bit) Ubuntu 17.04
• Chrome 63.0.3239.111 (32-bit) Android Oreo (Nexus 6P)

Thanks for writing up a postmortem!  I love reading about the developer's experience making a game.  Calling out the audio tools you used is especially helpful.

Interesting!  The game looks and sounds great.  I also found it to be fairly difficult.

I finally reached the end of the level and got to race my doppleganger - then I was really sad that the doppleganger went away again after I fell in a pit.  It was like being kicked back to the first level after I'd reached the second.  I went ahead and played until I saw the doppleganger a second time, but after losing again I don't feel compelled to keep playing the same challenge over and over. I feel like my personal problem is less that the game is too hard, and more that it's too punishing.

It seems like there are some natural checkpoints in the level (the tunnel sections) and I wonder if they could be used to introduce the doppleganger earlier, or not send you back as far when you fail.  I also want to know more - why is there a copy of me? Can I interact with it? Why do I want to beat it to the end of the level?

The computer beat me with this shape.  Is this supposed to be one of the winning configurations?  It doesn't match any of the four silhouettes given.

Nicely done.

There's actually a sort of beautiful irony to the game slowing down as you clear enemies, since it's the exact opposite of the original game which sped up as enemies got removed from the screen because it didn't have to draw as much stuff.

I vote for procedural Galaga next!

Wow!  Intense, but pretty cool.  It was frustrating to be unable to see my cursor while trying to start the game, and I found this very difficult to play with touchpad or trackball.  Maybe I need a beginner mode!

Might be much more playable if you could just hold the mouse button down to gain energy.

The game is beautiful, and the concept is fascinating... I wish I could see more of it!

This is fun!  Web version is not working for me (Ubuntu 17.04,  Chrome 62) - it runs, but the input seems to think I have keys stuck in the "down" position.

The Linux download did work for me, although the ".exe" extension isn't needed and I had to manually make it executable (`chmod +x`).  Very nice feel with the sound effect and screen shake when a bug is hit!

This is wonderful!  What a great puzzle, and a nice clean look and feel.   I'm having a little trouble finding your source code, the master branch on the linked repo looks mostly empty.  Can you point me in the right direction?