Honestly, it looks way too similar to webfishing. I'm not saying there isn't room on the market for another social fishing game, but I'm sure tons of potential buyers would look at it as a copycat.
I hope for your sake that I'm wrong, and I wish you good luck & happy developing!
I totally agree with your points, rulric. I found myself a bit conflicted during voting because I did not want to discourage devs, but I also did not want to inflate their ratings in a way that felt dishonest or out of pity (for the sake of not discrediting someone else's game that is strictly more "Tamagotchi-like"). A third category like "Game Completeness" (or something similar) would do a great job of providing devs additional feedback while not discrediting submissions that better adhere to the intended submission rules/types.
I've never hosted a jam before, so I'm not sure what's capable with Itch's system, but it'd be cool if each category (Gameplay, Art, Audio) had ratings simply for the sake of feedback (even if they were not factored into which game actually "won" the jam).
EDIT: I read Lyz's comments (and plans for 3 category honorable mentions) - very cool! XD
My only criticism is some of the SFX were a bit rough on the ears haha (specifically in the fishing minigame)! But other parts of the sound design were great! Loved the ambience and entire feel of the game. Good job!
Hey, I haven't rated this one yet cause I can't see the full game. Could you add a fullscreen button to the project? (You can do this from your game's itch page settings in the Frame options category)
I did consider your gem removal and swapping idea, but decided I wanted the decisions with gems to be a bit more permanent. In the game concept, the gemstones would "physically" alter the turrets structure (thus irreversible), but I didn't get the turret sprites finished, so it's less apparent.
I do intend to add a turret selling mechanic that refunds most of the cost of the turret and gemstones.
I had never heard of Gemcraft till reading your comment, so I just looked it up. It's surprising to see my concept has basically already been made. I even had the idea of creating a gem-merging mechanic.
As for the gems being cheaper, I totally agree. I think I shouldn't have aimed to make the game "endless" and instead had a target wave to beat. I knew I needed to make the game scale in difficulty so the game eventually ended, but I definitely made it far too hard in the earlier stages. I'm planning to make some balancing adjustments after voting ends. I've also considered adding a "sandbox" mode of some kind that gives you infinite money.
Thanks for playing! I'm planning to release an update on Saturday which should make it a bit easier to survive (and be able see all the gem combinations).
Great game! Only suggestion would be to speed up the camera a bit. I think the controls are super fun & unique (took me a few seconds to figure out, but I really like them).
