itch.io

Thanks for the feedback and for playing! I've been tweaking the difficulty and think it's gotten to a really good spot since the game jam version. Congrats again on your entry, as well!

Glad you enjoyed it! I also ended up allowing chains on regular matches too (it seemed unsatisfying, for example, to land next to a bunch of 3s but only be able to break one -- especially if you had "setup" those 3s in advance.

I'm working on some ways to balance the difficulty. I hadn't thought about the size of blocks, but I'll probably start spawning higher value blocks at the bottom every few turns to make it harder to keep an empty board.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I already have a version I'm testing now that will ramp up the difficulty over time. Need to get the pacing right and will update the game once the game jam ends.

The sfx were the last thing I added, and I'm so glad I made time for it, lol. It's kind of the only "juice" in the game (plus the particles) and I guess they really work well together.

Thanks again!

Hey, how are you playing the game? What device and what type of input?

Thanks for the feedback and playing! I agree it's too easy in its current state. I'll definitely develop more post-jam and make the challenge ramp up better -- and some visual polish. Very glad to hear you enjoyed it for a bit!

Thanks for playing and thanks for the feedback! I noticed that too after playing a bit more and sharing with friends.

The only difficulty escalation right now is the falling block will fall faster as you get more points, but since there's so much space, I doubt you'd ever notice.

Planned updates:

Every few turns, you'll be given a warning like "New Row in 5 Turns" and then a row will spawn at the bottom -- not every column, but an escalating percentage. And then you'll have fewer turns until new rows spawn in a cycle. So might by 5 turns at first, then 4 the next time, then 3, and finally go back to 5. That should add some pressure. And when new rows spawn, the range of values will get expanded, so it's less likely a new rows helps you.

Mostly, trying to find ways so it's not empty space all the time. Too easy to clear the whole board and never risk hitting the fail state (not being able to place the falling block in the play area--just like Tetris.

Thanks! They're particle effects with collision wired in if you're curious. Then I just let physics do the rest 😅. I want to add a few more effects to the blocks themselves, but for the jam, the particles definitely gave the most juice.

Had a lot of fun -- picking the bullet order is a genius mechanic! Do you plan to explore that idea in a bigger game?

Wasn't sure what I'd be getting into: turns out a very fun and addicting take on the theme! Love the design

Thanks for playing! Yes, I had to search long into the night for the perfect rock crumbling sound effects lol

Thanks! I wanted to add some visual cues to help make the game a bit more readable, but ran out of time. 

Glad it clicked and you enjoyed it! Thanks for playing!!

Lol -- thanks!

If you're playing the Itch version, it's a super old version of the demo. The demo on Steam should have more levels and definitely many more features and a bit of polish!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2115130

Thanks for the follow-up! I'm like, the only game-dev in my friend circle, so it's really, really helpful to hear your thoughts :)

Planning on playing the other games in the jam a little later this week, and yours will be first on my list!

Hey! Thanks for the feedback! 

You know, I originally had the game like that, but then got self-conscious that people thought the game was too simple. I'm thinking for the final game (or maybe even a revised demo), I will go back to the old formula, like you suggest. I'm also toying with the idea of having a sort of.. skill tree. So players can unlock new abilities as they go, and decide for themselves which moves would be the most advantageous to prioritize.

If you're interested to see how the pacing was before, check this let's play from a while back--I'd love to hear if you think it works (though it's a bit dated). I feel like it's exactly as you describe, haha:

Wall jump with space vs shift was also a recent change. I kept noticing people spamming the "jump" button, so they'd accidentally bounce off walls with unintended rebounds.

So I guess in conclusion, I agree with everything you're saying, haha. I should just be more confident in myself, the game, and the players and pace it accordingly--and not let a couple stray negative observations derail the experience.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts! This is really helpful feedback.