Saw this from your reddit post. Just wanted to say this is a really good prototype so far! It's pretty addictive and the core gameplay loop is fun, yet also intuitive and easy to learn.
The tutorial was easy and helpful.
I don't really mind the abstract theming, although I imagine it might help to give the game a more concrete theme later on. But that would just be a small bonus, since the game is already fun. If you were to give the game a theme, maybe it could be something bug themed? Like you control a swarm of ants, locusts, or some other kind of bug.
One piece of feedback I had is that movement speed doesn't seem to be that important, at least from my experience playing. I never really felt the need to spend points on upgrading my movement speed instead of my vitality, swarm size, or damage. This leads to the decision about how to spend your points to being a little bit less interesting. To fix this, I think it would help to make more of the "hazards" (I don't know if that's the right term for what I mean; I'm talking about the randomized obstacles you can get each round like "two factions", "wind" or "water") require fast movements more. For example, maybe you could change the "wind" hazard so that instead of a constant, steady push of air, it is randomized wind gusts that push you around with way more force, but they do so in randomized directions. This would make the player feel more inclined to invest in being able to move faster, because they would understand that the wind has the risk of unexpecedtley throwing you off course. Also, I am still kinda unsure of what the "water" hazard is meant to do. I feel like I kinda just ignored it.
Overall, very good game! I'm excited to see where it goes! Great job!
Very unique, yet simple idea! It seems surprisingly polished for being made in under a day. I like the pixel art in the menu, and also the Gameboy aesthetic. Great job. You're talented.
