Thanks for playing it. We didn't spend enough time on playtesting, so a lot of things are less intuitive than they could be. I guess it's even more important for puzzle minigames.
First of all, the idea behind this game is really smart. For every sword, you're judging if it's worth it to go for it or if you should rather wait for a better chance. Also, there is a great amount of content in terms of swords to unlock.
Sadly, the gameplay gets a bit repetitive before you even get to see a lot of these swords, because you have to wait quite a bit for the right moments. I really like the reactions of the AI opponents, and especially how they also use items/actions. Keeping an eye on that and guessing what they will do is pretty fun. On the other hand, I didn't really feel like using actions myself was worth it. They feel either too expensive, or in case of the bluff (which is free), I don't see what it actually does.
The balancing of the entry fees also feels rather harsh. I tried several times and only once made it past day 2, only to be disqualified the day after that. Another smaller point are the value estimates - the true value is always exactly in the middle of the estimated range, so you know it anyway.
I like how you can unlock the entries for the swords, as it feels like you always win in a way, even if you get disqualified. Maybe there are a little too many items for a jam game and you don't see most of them, but on the other hand the variety is fun to see.
I also like the art, especially the characters but also the swords, even though it doesn't fit perfectly together.
I feel like my recent experience in fixing last minute issues is really paying off here. The only small problem is that it's not possible to work on multiple ones at the same time. Luckily, none of the issues seems critical to the mission and we can launch either way.
I also like the art and sound, really enjoyable overall :)
It took quite a while before the ducks appeared noticeably faster, and then it got out of hand pretty quickly, so maybe the difficulty curve could be improved.
I think we can all agree that this game looks amazing for a game jam. The sound and atmosphere are also stunning.
The bombs are a fun mechanic and allow for a lot of interesting gameplay. I feel like this could be expanded quite a bit given more time.
A small issue I encountered, I got reset to a very early point when I died to the boss and had to play through most of the game again, though I might misunderstand the checkpoints.
It's completely hilarious and I love it, the movement is genuinely unique. But I wish you didn't make it this difficult, especially hitting the small corridors is quite hard and since you can't change direction in air, it's also tedious to try repeatedly.
Level 10 took a few more attempts than the others, but I think that's fine as the rest was pretty well balanced I think ^^
The only small issue I had was the level results, sometimes I got the "All Toppings" and "On Time" when I shouldn't have, and sometimes I didn't get them when I should.
I really enjoyed helping out in such a serious situation!
It looks great, and I always love a silly serious setting like this to go with the actual gameplay. Audio is the only thing I missed, but even so, this is really well done.
Happy you liked it, and thanks for the feedback :)
You're completely right that the controls aren't great, I definitely underestimated the time it takes to come up with and implement an intuitive control scheme.
Also, I'm so happy you liked the music! I rarely really compose anything and it's something I'd like to work on, so it means a lot.
I know the controls are far from intuitive, but even so I spent more time on that than on anything else I think, it used to be far worse. But unfortunately I just didn't have as much time as one should spent on an event this serious and important ^^
As for the rating, I initially wanted the crowd to give some reactions to what you do to give you some feedback. I agree that this is something that should be improved, though on the other hand I never intended the rating to be the focus of the game. At one point I almost replaced it with an RNG.
Others have already mentioned that the lives feel kind of punishing and unnecessary, and I have to agree. In fact, you might want to go a step further: let players skip to whatever checkpoint they want, or have separate small levels instead of one level with checkpoints. That way people can just try out all there is to the game without getting stuck. (I've made that exact mistake before as well though, and I know getting the same feedback again and again can be a bit frustrating, so, sorry for that)
The controls can feel a little floaty, but I suppose that's only fitting for a guinea pig in a ball. Also, I played using the touchpad of my laptop, so I suppose that made it a bit more difficult, and especially scrolling didn't work that great. Perhaps the mouse actions could have been assigned to the keyboard as well, but that is of course personal preference.
Simple but cool idea, kind of like Tetris itself. It also looks pretty polished in terms of graphics and UI.
Some other random thoughts on the game: I think it would be interesting to have the pieces appear at different locations, but that may also just be confusing. Also, I think the pieces that appear are mirrored compared to how they look in the queue, which is a bit confusing. The music is rather repetitive after a while, though the sound effects are really nice.
These are just minor things though, I really enjoyed the game :)
Definitely a unique take on the theme, and a relatable title for the game ^^
I found it a little counterintuitive that aiming also stops you from moving with the platforms. Once I realized that, I found myself just starting aiming immediately after each move so I wouldn't get pushed off the platforms. As others already mentioned, it would also be nice to have a little more control, for example separately controlling angle and charge. This could also help so you don't have to wait for the perfect move.
One thing that could be improved is visual clarity and feedback. Show how many points you get from each marble, the exact score (not immediately abbreviated to 1K), the precise effect of upgrades, etc.
Great to hear that you are committed to learning and improving the game!
I know it's hard to design good puzzles, especially in a short amount of time. Understanding how a player will approach a level, providing enough options in a level so they don't just stumble into the solution, but also not overwhelming them, while knowing the solution yourself, is really difficult. I think playtesting (by other people, not just yourself) is also even more important than with other genres.
By the way, we made something similar but not (intended) as a puzzle game. We would also love some more feedback, so feel free to check it out :)
The rewinding is an interesting mechanic, and I like the twist of a changing environment/gravity within a single level.
The puzzle design didn't really work for me though. I finished most levels by just doing the one thing possible, and rarely hit a moment were I really needed to "solve" a level. I really liked the one where you had to place a clone that's pushed through three doors that you then open one by one, because it wasn't just about placing a clone on the next available button.
I think the game also needs a way of showing how the buttons are connected. Without that, it's even harder to plan/solve a level, and even more a case of randomly trying things. I had to stop on a level where I had 4 clones and 7 buttons and couldn't figure out which ones to press. A related issue is the camera, I think seeing the whole level at once would really help so you can plan your moves.
The controls feel a bit robotic because of the instant movement and the jumps are a little floaty, but overall I think it is fine.
I like the art style and sounds, and the rewinding animation is great.
I also like how you integrated the tutorial into the game.
I think the UI should show the current gravity in addition to the next one just for clarity.
It's an impressive game considering how late you decided on it!
Regarding 2D, there are great assets just like for 3D. Having an artist on your team is great of course, but you can make great stuff with free assets as well. Or you can go with some minimalist style to create something decent yourself. But of course, it's totally fine to just go with whatever you want :)
I think the basic mechanics are solid, but it needs polish. For example, it took me a while to figure out I can upgrade my buildings, and then the upgraded versions and their effects are not clearly visible.
The loop theme didn't really work for me because I got to the end on the first run, but otherwise, I don't think I would remember or really consider too much of the timeline of events. I do like the concept though. I think I would consider some changes to the events: make them more impactful, so it's worth remembering them, and maybe provide some way to gradually save some of the timeline as a kind of reward so the player doesn't have to keep track of every single event.
The graphics don't really match, there's different scales of pixel art and then the hand-drawn parts, although individually I think it's fine.
A fun game and nice interpretation of the theme! I like how the game gets increasingly hectic over the course of a day, but lets you calm down at night. It really makes for good pacing.
So, here's how it went for me: first time, I accidentally hit Ctrl+W and closed the tab while in the town, so I had to restart. I got through the horror part, but managed to walk past the staircase back up and fell off the floor of the world, so I started again. I hit a wall telling me I shouldn't be here and may have to restart, but that was fixed by going back for a bit. Then I stumbled through the wall in the final room without checking out the submit button, so I went through the whole game another time. I literally played in a loop, in a game that's all about being in a loop of developing a game. And then, at the end, the game just loops back to the start.
What can I say, you nailed the theme in the most meta, fourth-wall-breaking way possible.
On a more serious note, a suggestion for next time: try finding an interesting gameplay mechanic first, and then worry about the theming. Also, 2D may be the easier start.
Oh and I read the pause menu of course. And the sign in the first room that said "Attempt: 3" when I got back there at the end.
