itch.io

What would you add / change to make the game fun and enjoyable which would make you the player want to open and play it constantly?

I'm not player of this kind of game however I know how this game is played. My major gripe with people aspiring to make such game is they never specify the goal which is important. For your concept, you mention becoming leader of community which unfortunately not quite clear.

So my suggestions are :

1. Specify in detail the goal of the game. Ex: Leader of community, specify how big the community should be, what the community should have to be called thriving.

2. Make alternate goals which alter gameplay. Ex: find hidden spring and construct structure to share the water from the spring. Or construct settlement for people living in distant places.

Your link is wrong, it should be this : Drop Bear Mini Jam 2.

That being said, thanks for sharing this, too bad I couldn't join since I couldn't make webgl game.

Fire Leaf Water

Why would you want to win a game jam? not saying it's bad thing but you need good reason.

OTOH I'm not sure if I could ever win a game jam again especially if the rating is based by participants' vote.

That's why I'm participating in game jams to increase my dev skill and to express myself.

 what factors do you think contributed?

Years ago, I've created Crime Buster and Contra : Locked 'n' Loaded and some youtubers play them. I believe this is because there weren't many youtubers that time and fan games could easily get noticed.

However, when I've decided to create original IPs, I had to ask youtubers who offer to play games for free in their channel. There were plenty of them a decade ago but recently it's so rare to find such youtubers.

Who played it and are they very open to playing smaller, less popular games?

For now, I'll have to wait for youtubers who ask for games to be played for their channel.

Interesting concept but couple things aren't clear for me:

1. Who is the bad guy here? White lady or villa owner or both?

2. How does player actually solve White Lady's murder? only by collecting her body parts? I think there should be more.

3. Is the main gameplay similar to FPS (shooting enemies etc) or first person walking simulator (no shooting but lots of walking and finding stuffs)?

4. Continuation of #1, what is the failed state of this game?

Fire Leaf Water

Nice video! I can see the game concept from the video.

My biggest issue is how do you aim your shots? you're not expecting player to shoot all the time then steer the chopper until the shots hit desired spot, are you?

I hope the camera doesn't move too much like in the video cause it would be hard to control the chopper and anticipate enemies' shots.

Ruvor Rush

I found a good one : Aereven Lunar Wake.

I've tried both and I can say for sure that Rabbit's Quest is not Linklike and doesn't play like Legend of Zelda. Shipwreck is linklike.

Well, 

1. I like :

 a. Seeing multiple enemies unique to each area.

b. Fighting various bosses (except of one).

c. Finding secrets. Well, only three but better than nothing.

d. Getting reward from clearing a room. It gives incentive to return and defeat all enemies in all rooms.

2. I dislike:

a. Having toooo many rooms with clear all enemies to progress rule. This is metroidvania not linear game.

b. Being forced to earn max health before entering ancient cave. Why?!? any player would do that on their own so there's no need to force this.

c. Having a boss fight which is just survive + deus ex machina.

d. Getting gems which aren't as good as they should be. Orange bullets should appear as default shot after gaining orange gem. Yellow shot should allow hurting paralyzed enemies. To balance this, reduce the size of the shot and increase the HP cost. And bosses are immune to paralyze shots.

e. Requiring getting other gems as requirement to get yellow gem. It is ridiculous. Player should be allowed to get it before the others to give choice.

You said it yourself that AI generated games fall short in some aspects, so the answer is obvious : nothing.

Is it the speed of generation, novel or unique ideas, replayability (different every time), or other attractions?

There's no way you could get novel nor unique ideas from AI. Replayability isn't enough to make a game fun or engaging, you need important element which AI couldn't provide.

I've completed this game and I have liking to features but also disliking to some features.

That being said, this game deserves good rating as it qualifies as great metroidvania. I love seeing various areas with their own unique enemies.

I have lots of feedback but my main feedback is in the room with NPC suggesting to follow the arrows is easy peasy, there should be both iron and bronze steel walls for player to crash onto. Even better, the arrows should lead down to next room (with both iron and bronze steel there) to inform player that charged status persists when going to next room.

In case anyone wonders, here's my final progress : 

Too bad there's no way to change control setting.

But this is a good linklike nonetheless. There are some feedbacks I could give such as using different sprite for fire mage in the forge and red swimming troglodyte and having more places requiring song of fire and wind.

Ruvor Rush

Are you looking to get some cash also?

You should take some break first, play games you like preferrable the one with same genre as the one you're going to make.

Then after your mood is good, answer this simple question: who will work on your dream game? you or someone else? you're free to choose but each choice has its own consequences.

Ruvor Rush

Your link is incorrect, it should be like this : Statue Pack.

As for the statues, they look good. However, running man statue looks more man in fighting stance. 

You need to be specific on what assets you'd need. Do you need 2D or 3D assets? do you need background layers, sprites, front layers or something else? do you need music tracks?

Personally it doesn't matter much to me. I've played many games (mostly game jam entries) without music yet I could enjoy the game fine.

I've read the concept and despite the length, I feel like it's missing essential aspects. I can find multiple features but none of those features seem to be important in stopping the threat. Or IOW it's not mentioned anywhere how to stop the threat at all.

I find ability to fight in the concept but how do player fight exactly? by shooting gun? throwing harpoons? swinging sword? or what? 

Speaking of fighting, captured creatures don't die but what about player? can they die?

In general, this idea might work for Stardew Valley fans but it would require lots time to make this game happen, thanks to its complexity and depth (figuratively and literally).

The ceiling looks strange and different compared to the ground. IMO it would be better if both ceiling and ground are similar.

Crystal Collector

You could offer your services in Indie Game Collab Jam  which as the name implies, requires collab. 

What game should I make?

Make a platformer in which you collect foods to give to animals. The catch is some foods are guarded by animals but you need to take the food without hurting yourself.

Crystal Collector is my entry for Ludum Dare 57 whose theme is Depths.

 Collect crystals to win each level while surviving assault from depths creatures. However, you could earn more crystals by feeding them to sea flowers. Purchase upgrades if needed. Can you survive all levels?

Some shots:

Ruvor Rush

2 kinda like PT rip off and doesn't reflect the impression I get from the title (no pun intended). I prefer 1 cause the mirror could represent the title.

Ruvor Rush

Hello Manuel! can you show us some of your music work?

Ruvor Rush

Ruvor Rush

I prefer purple to make her stand out from other characters.

Ruvor Rush

are we headed for a future of corporate-approved, risk-free entertainment, or is there still room for games that dare to be different?

IMO we are heading for indie game boom. Aside of quality, AAA games are quite pricey therefore gamers would prefer to try cheaper or even free games which could be found here. Though whether they could find what they like or not it's another story with so many free games here and also elsewhere.

Something completely different.

Ruvor Rush