itch.io

Sorry for this being really late, I got my hands tied with a lot of other things as of current. I wanted to finish the game before writing this, but I wasn't able to...

From what I saw of the first few levels however, THIS IS WAY BETTER THAN THE OLD VERSION.

It's much easier to traverse levels now that the UI is smaller, and I like a lot of the new level design! The levels feel more structured ( I didn't have a problem with the old level design, but it's now far easier for me to memorize level layouts ).

The newly added crystals ( I don't remember them in the older version ) make it easier to know when you need to time travel, and the level design gaurantees you know where to do so.

I have just one small tiny little problem though... The clocks add 1 second, and are usually huddled up... The reason this is a problem, is that if you spend even 1 second to get a watch, it becomes a waist. But since clocks are huddled up, this isn't a problem, since it's always give you a bunch of time when collecting them at the same time.

What's the problem? You don't have time to collect every since watch, and if you left a few behind the first time, the time you get isn't worth the amount of time it takes to get those watches.

But that's just about it. I like the new art, menu, UI, and just about everything else. I can't tell, but I think the player's physics are slightly better than before ( I have no idea )?

Anyhow, I am extremely glad you updated the game, as this had some of the most potential of a game out of this jam!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BETTER THAN HALF OF ALL PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM OVER THE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Thanks, if I have time I'll check it out!

Amazing! I found the game concept fun, and original. A gem in the rough, compared to a lot of the games in the jam!

I would give a proper review, but I am far too tired right now ( and probably wouldn't do it justice anyways ), but just know I have basically no complaints. ( I may give a more thorough review if I have the energy/time, as you most certainly deserve it! )

Yeah, I'll update the game thoroughly after the Jam ( hopefully ). Other than that, thanks for the kind words!

This is three days after I've played, so I may miss a few things... But this should sum up ( most of ) your concerns with my first comment:

Bugs:

The sign randomly rises the level count many more times than it should, which makes it unreliable ( it jumps up randomly, e.g. from 0-14 ).

The coins get extremely loud when collecting them consecutively or in large groups.

The shooter ( cannon or whatever you may call it ) shoots many bullets stacked over each other ( which may be intentional ), but my main problem is that it lingers after hitting the floor ( and stacks on-top of each other ), and if it is above a switch platform, it will continue moving afterward ( leading to it catching me off gaurd ).

Eye-strain:

Gray-scale is important when making artwork, especially for a video game ( since people will likely be looking at it for longer ), since it shows the contrast between colors ( making them easier to differentiate for people who are color-blind/have bad vision ).

For long play sessions, it can be hard to focus on the player as the background is as distracting as they are ( in grayscale, the default green player is the same complexion as the background ). This makes the game harder to play for people with bad vision ( a small fix for this is outlines, but it's more important to first get the colors done right ).

The small checkered background when moved also causes eyestrain, since at fast speeds ( while moving rooms ) it causes a stacking effect... This is a little hard to explain, but: When moving a small repeated texture quickly, it begins to appear as if it is slowing down ( instead of moving with all the other objects ), despite the fact it is moving at the same speed, which can cause my eyes to focus on too many things ( as they are moving separately ). ( this one is the least out of the other problems though )

One last thing:

You don't have to update the game if you don't want to, my feedback is just for you to try and evaluate your future work to see how it may be improved.

This is an okay game.

The player doens't feel too responsive ( as the animation stays the same regardless of input ), but this is honestly really minor.

I feel the camera should be zoomed out, as it feels cramped during gameplay, but once again this is also minor.

The player falls down too fast ( be careful if you ever change this to not make it floaty ), making it annoying to angle your jumps properly.

All of this isn't too bad ( except for the last one ), and are forgivable in my book.

The game has a lot of different mechanics, which ( could ) lead to interesting setups and level design.

But, what is the main problem with the game? Sadly, Level Design.

There are many times were you hit your head while jumping, have a lot of mechanics introduced at the same time ( causing confusion and leading to the lack of experience making easy sections harder ), jumps that need perfect timing and precision, random spike placement, and a lot of other problems that stem from this one aspect.

Quick examples from the first level:

I wanted to beat the entire game, but this was too difficult to do because of the random spikes ( both literal and metaphorical ) in difficulty and unfair level design.

I thing the art is okay, and works for this type of game ( simple scaling platformer ).

I like the fact this game is ( mostly ) in grayscale, as not many games ( if any ) in the jam have tried this style.

I think you did a good job with making the player know where everything is: 

Thanks to the darker backgrounds, simple style, and lack of clutter ( too many things on screen trying to grab your attention ). Unlike a lot of games in this jam, this didn't hurt my eyes!

I wish some of the graphics were more consistent ( double outlines used only in certain places, some things having slight color ) but this is forgivable.

Some of the graphics are unclear ( like the player, not sure what most of the lines on his face mean, nor his outer body ), and could be described better ( through using clear shapes & symbols that people are familiar with ).

Some objects ( like the moving platforms/spikes ), could have been given unique visuals to show the fact that they are different from they're normal counterparts.

Overview:

Nice work, you showed a lot of skill in many aspects, but the level design and graphics could definitely be improved!

WARNING:

Do not take all advice people give you, as it may be biased or simply just not work for your original vision.

Please look through what you may feel is important and is genuine for the game you wanted to make, and any you may make in the future.

You do not have to update your game if you do not want to, I just want you to take any valuable advice I might have given with you for any projects you make in the future.

I noticed this long after I had already published and polished the game on Itch.io, so I sadly couldn't fix it. I can easily fix this by simply making so the chick has a bigger hitbox. I am sorry, as I was far too tired at the time to notice ( due to the deadline of the jam ).

I appreciate you for coming back and giving the game another try, and I will do my best to improve the project ( as I was planning to ) as much as I can. I am terribly sorry for any and all inconveniences.

Also, when it comes to the atmosphere, me and my brother worked tirelessly to make the game feel as good as it does. I think adding in a background, visual effects, more sound, and changing the level design ( to be more open ), can give it a better feeling of what we were going for.

Thank you for the honest advice, I too hope you can one day become a master of "Growing Up North"- my first attempt at a large public project with a deadline... ( oddly specific, but that's because I've made a couple large games before- although none of which are as good as GUN )

Yeah... I made sure to remove every softlock, but since I pulled an all nighter just to finish day two and make the entirety of day three, I was too tired to notice this. From what I am aware of, it is the only softlock in the game ( and it being at the very end makes it all the more devastating to me ).

I will fix it once the jam is over, but thank you for playing the game!

Sure thing, I am busy right now so expect to see it sometime tommorrow ( hopefully ). I've been waiting for somewhat to give me a real detailed review so I can improve my game, so I don't want you to wait so long for yours!

You still did really good with everything else in the game, and considering how you made the last few levels/sections in 3 hours is really impressive ( I had to pull an all-nighter just to make sure my game was complete, and rushed the last few puzzles in the game ).

No problem, I am just happy to see so much work put into the project considering just how much slop was submitted for the jam... I'll definitely check on this project in the near future.

Great job! I left my main views on the itch.io page, but I genuinely congratulate you on making such an amazing game! This is exceptionally better than a lot of games in the jam, considering all the great one's I've played today.

Very nice, this game definitely stands out as one of the best games in the jam ( and I've seen quite a lot of good one's recently )!

The game is smooth: The player is snappy and responsive ( no wonky physics or delay ), and the dash and ground-pound were fun to use! The game is a bit challenging, but nothing felt too bad ( more on that below ).

I kept on forgetting the theme while playing this, as I feel that there isn't much here to do with "To The Top", but stand alone this game still feels great and almost like a finished project.

The game has a lot of interesting gimmicks ( e.g. breakable crates, levers, spikes ), but they should have been spread out more through the game. Other than that, they are extremely well made and fun to interact with, but I didn't see them being used with each other effectively ( combining and matching together gimmicks to make new ones ).

The game in some ways feels like the levels could have been split up more with shorter sections, and that mechanics could have been first introduced in seclusion before mixing and matching them together.

A lot of the level design feels repeated or random, but the gameplay feels so good that this isn't too much of a problem ( since this is for a game Jam ). I also feel that some of the design was kinda unfair ( e.g. random spike placement ), but nothing felt too out of pocket.

The artstyle is an extremely bold choice for a game jam ( 3D assets despite being a 2D platformer ), but I believe it payed off- as the game looks gorgeus! The sheer amount of original 3D assets and decorations is amazing, and looks even better with the extra 2D assets as well. The main character is nice and greatly constrasts against the background, making them easy to see.

Overall:

This is absolutely well made and polished to it's finest. No bugs, no glitches, it's playable, and even has a menu! I am extremely impressed with what you've made, congrats!

WARNINGS:

Please don't follow all the advice people give you, as sometimes it's just not right for you or completely bogus. Try taking everything with a grain of salt and try to see what works and doesn't for you.

Really well made.

I feel there are a lot of things you did right, and things you did wrong, so congrats on making the game within the time limit.

I left a comment ( one of the longest I've made ) on the itch.io page... Sorry if it comes off as mean, I was just trying to give constructive critisim where it's due. You don't have to listen to all of my advice, just pick out what works for you!

This game has amazing presentation, but lacks in terms of gameplay severely.

I really do feel like the controls are honestly quite annoying, and I felt almost immediate eye strain as the game started to scroll faster.

The graphics look good on their own, but in game can be unclear and visually displeasing while trying to climb. A simpler, lighter backdrop would be way better ( or you could make the tiles lighter and the background darker ).

The player is not colorblind/eyesight friendly, as his red is not rich/dark enough and blends in with the background ( This can still be a problem for people with regular eyesight in terms of eyestrain, and looking at the player for long play sessions, which is literally what this game is all about ).

The platforms are jumpthrough, but look solid ( which messed me up a few times ), which is bad considering that the walls of the tower are fully solid. They should either half the size, or have a different look to convey you can jump through them.

The game otherwise is actually fun ( not too original but still enjoable ) and inetersting ( not really the most mechanics but the generation adds for a lot of replay value ).

The menus look really nice, and the art for this game is incredible ( better than a lot of games in the jam ). Color theory definitely could have saved a some of the graphics ( like the player and backgrounds ).

Overall:

Great submission for the jam but definitely lacking in terms of gameplay/mechanics.

This was a fun time for the short amount I played, and the game looks absolutely stunning! I liked the dialogue, and the enemy designs were fun.

This game looks almost exactly like "Mina the Hollower" to the tea, but with infleunce from "Undertale" and "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening... Not the most original, but still definitely interesting (  can't really be too based off of Mina the Hollower since it hasn't released, but it's all I could think of while playing ).

... But I kept getting softlocked which really sucked.

Overall really good though!

I didn't find any bugs I am pretty sure, but  despite my attempts I could not beat the game!

This is an ay-ok game:

I wish the player didn't fall down so fast, as the very snappy movement can sometimes be hard to predict/time.

And I am not sure is this was intentional or a bug, but the checkpoints don't work ( which makes it really annoying when you die ).

The difficulty is good, and the ladders work nicely ( they gave me a feeling of safety, as I could use them to rise up extremely fast ). But, I feel maybe just one or two more gimmicks could have added a lot of depth ( a falling or switching platform, spring, etc. ).

I am glad you controls are properly listed in the description and actually has a breifing ( making them easier to see), although I would recommend using bold for and centering it, usingt it as a header to make the control list even clearer.

The graphics work for this type of game, nothing hurted my eyes here unlike some games in the jam, and the player character is very cute!

I do feel that if the graphics matched the player this game would look way better- but it's definitely fine ( games like Dadish and Super Cat Tales don't look too good, but the consistent style really pulls them together in terms of visuals ).

To explain this a little further, if a game uses thick outlines for the characters, then the tiles should also have the same thick outlines, and even the backgrounds but to a lesser extent ( more advanced artsists don't always use this limitation on all assets, but they still take it into consideration ).

Overall:

For your first game jam game, and having it only made in two days, you did really well!

Don't follow all the advice people give you, just make sure to check and see what works for you ( not all advice give is for you, but rather it might be for the people making the video ).

I've seen a lot inexperienced, and insincere people giving advice online, so be careful ( if a video/post says something like "You need to do this", "You're doing everything all wrong", or "This way is worse" then stay away from it. )

Nice game, and exceptionally well made! Sure I had a few gripes here and there, but I'll leave those for the itch.io page.

You ( and your team if you had one ), did a great job in terms of the artstyle, gameplay, and level design. While this may not be as good as a sonic game ( obviously ), it did a lot considering the short time span to make this!

This is honestly an exceptionally decent game ( very nice graphics, decent physics, had an overall good time ).

I wished the camera was more zoomed out, as everything felt extremely maze like ( since the level is more exploration focused, and because of how fast you move, the camera should have been zoomed out even if only just a bit more ).

The player is snappy but I feel that their jump speed ( height of their jump ) should be a bit higher ( constantly missing jumps I would expect to clear in a game like Sonic Mania/Pizza Tower, I am obviously not holding you to account for those games but I just figured my jump would be a bit higher ).

I see that the game has "Old-School" difficulty, but placing enemies in random places ( mixed with the small camera size ),  adding bottemless pits that restart the level, randomly spacing out watches ( time collectables ), and watches giving 1 second each ( which barely makes a difference when you only get one watch every 5 or so seconds it takes to find one ) really made this game feel more unfair than challenging.

In terms of mechanics, I wish there was some type of extra move to help with platforming. A spin-dash to easily gain immence speed instead of having to run back and forth, a double jump to make dealing with enemies and platforming sections easier, etc. I am glad the game feels good to play, but I feel some extra depth might have been needed.

But, the idea of time travel ( likely borrowed from Sonic CD ) can make up for a lack of base depth. But, I wasn't really sure how it worked ( I would either try collecting a bunch of watches, run around really fast, or just wait for it to happen randomly ).

I think letting the player switch at any time is a really good Idea ( a few games have done similar ideas, but I've never seen it done for this type of game ), where you could time it in order to go quickly through a bunch of gates while running, or make an enemy fall off a ledge, etc.

The game's graphics look extremely nice, so congrats! I feel maybe sometimes it can be eyestraining when your going really fast ( as small repeated textures can overlap eachother when moving past them quickly, this can be fixed by making somewhat bigger textures, making different types, or just not adding much noticeable detail ), but this does't happen too often.

The player sprites are nice ( I can see the influence from Sonic 3 ), they look very expressive and you used some old school tricks to make the sprite understandable ( dark gloves and pants contrast nicely against the character ), I tested it in grayscale and it works really well ( which means people who are colorblind/have bad eyesight should have an easy time playing )!

The world map is very detailed, and I like the overall look. The levels properly represent their respective areas. I never had a hard time differentiating between the actual terrain and the background. I feel maybe some small decorations could have been added in the environments here and there but it's not at all a tie-breaker for me.

The overall level design is actually fun and straight forward. No gimmicks / mechanics, but they were all well designed ( if it weren't for the camera being so zoomed in, I think these levels would have played even better ), although I wish it was more clear what was and wasn't a pit ( some type of sign, whether in gameplay or literal, might have helped ).

Adding in such a detailed main menu ( in terms of options ) is really appreciated, as with my submission for the jam, I didn't bother adding one at all ( in another game I was working on I spent a couple weeks just to get the menu working with very little options in place, so kudos for making one in less than a week ).

Overall:

I am extremely impressed at what you've. This is the longest comment I've made for any game in the jam, as I genuinely care about your game and the experience that was made.

WARNINGS:

Please don't follow all the advice people give you without first checking if it works for you and whether or not if the majority of people agree ( this doesn't always work, so check in with professionals/people who play your type of game rather than random people who rarely ever play your type of game ).

You don't have to update your game if you don't want to, just make sure to hopefully take some of my praise and critiques going forward if you ever make another game again.

I actually love NES-style games, and I've been working on one for about a month or more.

I genuinely love retro games, and enjoy games with hard difficulty/challenge. I like retro ( like ) games more than any other types of game currently, and I have played many of the classics before ( e.g. SMB3, SMW, Bubble Bobble, Pacman, Mr. Driller ). 

I don't mean to be... well mean, I am glad you did put in effort to make the game, I just sadly had a bad time. I think the menus for the game are nice but I just didn't like the controls and gameplay. It's fine, as I have my own personal interests, but I do feel like you should have:

1. Listed the controls

2. Made graphics that are easy on the eyes ( large, blocky, simple shapes )

3. Smooth camera transitions when turning

It is a unique type of racing game, and I haven't seen one like it ( driving to the end of the road and turning ), but I wish you described how this matches the theme ( there are a few ways off the top of my head but you should put in the description ) and also possibly making the game easier to control ( I had a hard time with the car physics ). Other than that, you did do well ( you had only a week or less to make this ).

You don't have to take all, or really any of my advice. These are just thoughts/considerations I hope you make in the future. Sorry for being unclear with my first comment.

Thank you for the kind words!

This is an interesting submission for the jam.

I congratulate you on making the game procedurally generated ( and hence infinite ), adding a score ( which I haven't seen in most games ), and updating it during the jam ( hopefully taking playtesting into account ).

Although, my main problems are:

That the game's camera is too zoomed out ( even on full screen ), that the player jumps way too high ( which can be hard to control/anticipate ), and that the bright background that is used hurted my eyes ( due to the fast moving camera, and how it blended in with the environment ).

You don't have to change most of these things completely ( if you ever plan to ), but hopefully you can take both my praise and critics as just ideas/thoughts going forward. ( please don't just follow all the advice people give you, just see what works for you and try to get a majority opinion with unbiased people before making a decision. )

This is playable, and I had some fun with this game... But this is super short!

Idk what to even put here... But atleast this is playable, there's no bugs I encountered, and you put in a main menu ( which I didn't do for my submission ), so I respect your efforts!

Great game, I left my comments on it in the itch.io page, but since I am here I'll just say you did way better than a large amount of games published for the jam, and I genuinely had fun playing this ( unlike a lot of games from the jam ), so I am super glad you put in the effort to actually make an interesting video game- Good Job!

This is actually extremely good compared to a lot of the games in this Jam!

The player controls smoothly ( while I originally considered the jump a little floaty, it ended up growing on me and felt normal after a while ), there are nice level design skills shown ( introducing a mechanic/gimmick, iterating and improving it, then pulling it all together with a twist/challenge at the end ), and I appreciate the fact you kept introducing new mechanics ( moving platforms, ladders, double jump ) throughout the span of this short ( but impactful ) game.

You used what seems to be free assets, but despite them not being fully original ( from what I can tell ), you definitely did the most with what you had when it comes to the graphics ( nice use of decorations, structures, and level assets )!

Only complaints: The player feels a bit floaty, and the game could have been longer ( even if only by a little ), but I am genuinely impressed with what you've made, as most people sadly rushed/didn't take too much time to polish/playtest their projects to make sure they are playable/have interesting gameplay.

NVM, completely missed it, my bad.

Another oversight is a softlock in the third major puzzle of day three, make sure not to fall down into the lower area after rising the chick up the steps.

I'll work on the game after the Jam.

I am sorry for the puzzles in day two being difficult due to an oversight I didn't encounter during development.

The playtests I did made it seem like there was no problem, but I now realize that when the chick bounces off a flower, they will sometimes leave the player behind.

Stand in the front of the chick in order to avoid this ( most of the time ).

I'll hopefully fix this after the Jam...

Well done, only nice things to say about this game! I absolutely love what you've done here, this stands out to me as one of the exceptionally good games in the jam!

This is well done ( and slightly reminiscent of "A Short Hike" ).

I like the simple moveset ( although I never found a use for the kick, especialy since it makes you tumble over ), and how it gets expanded over with the mechancis/gimmicks  you've put in place.

I assumed you used some free to use assets for the graphics of  this game, but I am supprised to find out everything was made by you ( whether it'd be for the jam or just lying around ). They look amazing- and despite not making a million different assets, you found ways to do the most with what you had availible.

This game is extremely professional, and I can't believe it only took you a week ( or less ) to make this. Absolutely great work.

My only complaint: The player randomly ragdolls while I am walking- although that might be something intentional put in place by you.

I had no idea there was a grapple hook, as none of the game's controls are listed in the description.

Thanks for the nice words of encouragement!

This doesn't match the theme ( To The Top ), and zombies spawn on top of you... The art is great, and the effects are nice too, but the game is lacking in terms of gameplay/mechanics that have to do with or are centered around the theme.

Sorry bro... But this isn't at all playable...

The character gets flung around far too fast, and bounces around at the literal speed of light endlessly ( and eventually to your doom )...

I wanted to play this SO BAD, but I can't because of the reasons above.

Other than that however, the game looks amazing! Incredible use of colors and parallax, this genuinely is the best graphics ( although debatable I guess ) I've seen for a platformer game in this jam so far, especially since it only took three days to make.

The game concept is really cool and original ( going through a bunch of platforming challenges that are selected in a random order ) and actually matches the theme-

BUT, the game has only a handful of levels, the "Level" sign is glitched and doens't work ( along with some other bugs and oversights ), and the art ( while yes this is a game jam, you should have done more with less ) is eyestraining, with everything blending in with eachother, and the level design sometimes straigt up CHEATS YOU ( e.g. spawn and instantly die ).

Sorry if this comes across as jerky, it's actually a good concept and you did put in a lot of work... But, this game needs a lot of work for it's ideas to be fully realized.

There isn't any content at all ( 10 seconds of gameplay at most )...

None of the art is used effectively ( assets in a white void ),  the player plays like they're on the moon, and you used a default template to make this ( or followed a tutorial of some sort ).

The game is pretty unoriginal ( as is with the title ), it does match the theme though and also does have some gameplay ( but not much depth/interesting mechanics ).

The art is okay, I think the voxel style works well for this type of game.

The player actually plays really well ( snappy physics, the camera is fine but it would be better if it did not clip through walls ), although the enemies feel unfair and I have no idea whether or not if I am actually able to jump on them ( so I just avoided most of them ).

Good job, a lot better than most games submitted for the jam!