Nice artstyle with the glowy lines, just needs polish to make it all follow the style and fit together. I'd change the font to something similar to it, for example, instead of going for the pixel? look. Like elb "elb.dev" .dev said down here, making the balls shoot farther with the charge up is a must for more complex puzzles later on. You'll probably update this too, but visual effects for retrieving the balls would be good, and a MEATY one for when you reach the goal. Basically, when you're going for something simple like this, polishing it to the max is a must. Gameplay is fine and fun enough, with a pachinko esque pull. Just keep adding more objects to it.
ithiro
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I've described them in detail here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1861290/discussions/0/3191369524236384853/
Thanks a lot, I'll give your game a try when I can!
Sometimes Game Maker Studio (as you might know) screws up like that, and doesn't assign enough memory to the game at launch. Usually just restarting it (with Chrome, and other memory hogging programs, not running) fixes the FPS issue.
Also, thanks for the bug report, it'll be fixed for the day-one patch.
Excellent base for a game right here. Good controls and mechanics, all fluid, functional and responsive.
Here are some points I made while playing:
- It'd be good if you could have your shield up if you're holding the button after an attack ends. And also attack even if holding the button to block with a shield (maybe even with a unique attack).
- I think this game would benefit from parries, stunning enemies when you block at the last second, and maybe some sort of action-cancelling action, like if you press the dodge button while not holding any direction you do a quick dodge that can be used by skilled players.
- It's fine to have a permanent damage system to avoid potion-spam face-tanking, but please don't let players use their potions if their life is as high as it can go with them.
- I don't want to make too many points on the art, as it's WIP, but I think the menus need some work as to not be as confusing, damage numbers should be colored to differentiate between your and the enemies' damage, and also consider zooming things in, as your animation system and gameplay would benefit a lot from larger character sprites. The controller on the side also seems unnecessary, unless it's only for testing purposes, you'd be better off with a handy button guide.
- Also, game doesn't pause while on the menu. This is fine if intentional, but you have to show at least a bit of the screen if so.
Good luck and hope you make it into a full game!
Looks interesting, keep at it.
Some issues I found:
- The camera goes crazy when you rotate it, specially near other objects and when airborne.
- Be careful when making isometric games with digital inputs for movement (up, down, left and right), specially if the diagonal movement doesn't align with how most of the world is constructed. I'm assuming this'll have no analog input because it's a browser game, but it's what I would associate with marble games like this.
- Your game might need an arrow pointing to the next checkpoint, as it's really easy to rotate the camera a few times and get lost.
- The ball doesn't seem to be rotating in the right direction, visually.
- Performance seems insufficient for browser play, specially with what's being shown on screen. I never get these games to run well on my PC though so it might just be me.
Thanks for playing, and glad you enjoyed it!
- Right-click is the global "Back" button in this game, just like my japanese doujin games! It feels odd at first but it's actually quite convenient. I'll add a confirm before you get booted back to the title screen, however.
- It's just the hair slider, because some races can't help but be bald, or have limited hair options. But I'll try to make it remember your option when you change back to them.
- Nope, and I only didn't add it because I ran out of space for buttons in the character creator screen. I'll consider it though, if it gets expanded to the point of justifying a scrolling feature for the entire thing.
- It does damage, but very little. It specially damages your armor, though.
- The moon looking fake is intentional, but I'll make it so the village magically doesn't deplete your lamp oil.
Good strat, having a well balanced build and considering your damage and utility is key. Also, items in town, despite being cheaper than in the dungeon overall, also have varying prices, so it's good to know when something is worth the gold or not.
Edit: Not really, the map has limited functionality to keep it quicker and easier to use but also make it not that reliable on. The zoom is also that way because of how large the late game dungeons can be, which is when you'll need to bring it to the center most. Making a more function-rich map can be done, however, if enough people request it.
Hee hoo! I'm Ithiro, and for over a year I've been working on this passion project of mine together with my best friends:
It's a hardcore first-person pseudo-3D roguelite action RPG dungeon crawler stylized after retro PC games, inspired by classics like King's Field and Heretic.
My design philosophy for it was a slower-paced game which rewards strategy, adaptability and self-control more than just quick reflexes, kinda like the Souls series (at least in the first few entries). It has lots of neat stuff like hand-drawn and animated enemy sprites, different game modes; tons of unique weapons, spells, special powers and enchantments; and more! With a focus on solid gameplay, it gets progressively more fun as you learn all its mechanics, secrets and form your own broken strats and experiment around, discovering things yourself!
Other highlights include fully customizeable, dynamic character portraits including exotic races; a dark, opressive atmosphere with some cryptic lore; gigantic low-poly bosses; real RPG mechanics that make you FEEL your character's stats; and a kick button!
I'd love it if you guys checked out the demo and wishlisted it:
https://ithiro.itch.io/devil-spire
Thanks for your attention!
- Very interesting, nostalgic, mysterious, cozy and comfy. Congrats.
- You have a nice start to a good aesthetic, but you must be mindful of your game's pixel depth: the resolution of textures vs the size of the models they'll be applied to (the main offender being the mountains vs the grass). It's not easy to get this right in 3D, but is a must for this kind of look.
- Nice work on the controls, specially for the analog sticks. Menus needs support for the D-pad (and maybe for the movement too, for that retro feel), and the camera needs a sensitivity option (it's too slow).
- A run (+speed, -turning) button would be a good addition.
- Maps seem too big for their own good, and easy for you to get in a bad/boring situation (falling in the water, for example), at least without better movement options (bicycles? floating? rolling around?).
- Equipping items and attacking doesn't seem to be working at all when using a gamepad (and the mouse+keyboard).
- Missing details: Do something about the blank bathroom mirror; Needs a spashing effect for when you jump out of the water too.
Neat idea, fun, well implemented and thought out. I just think dashing should be free, as it's already hard enough to use. I know the interface is most definitely WIP, but it could use some work, like putting the special bars near the player instead of way up there. Props for enginedevving and online multiplayer, even if I didn't play that.
Thanks for trying it out anyway!
GMS has some weird issues with performance, sometimes just running the game again shoots it back up to 60fps, but I'm studying ways to make it more optimized. There's no mouse acceleration at all for the camera, but the vertical part of it is like modded z-axis for DOOM, so it can feel weird. Locked doors are never in the way to the exit, that floor probably had a secret wall you could open to advance. You can find those by paying attention to out of place walls, or the [E] prompt when looking at them. And finally, that isn't a bug, you just got blinded by a spell.
Thanks for playing! You can definitely go really fast later on, or if you crank up that game speed setting at the beginning.
The sprint is less intense than other games because it doesn't require stamina, and is more a psychological thing to make you feel like you're moving faster. It can feel better if you set Shift Run to OFF, so you're always running when not performing an action.
The weird vertical part of the camera movement is an intentional thing to make it feel more like the z-axis isn't a "real" thing in the game, like a vertical aim DOOM mod.
Thanks for playing the game! Glad you liked the graphics and sound.
About the more frustrating parts: Learning how to conserve your weapons is a big part of the game, so using the traps, and even other enemies to do your job for you is a good idea. Using spells wisely, not hitting the walls and being mindful of breaking crates with your weapon instead of a kicked goat is also good.
And a little tip about the secret walls: you can guess where they are by the placement of the torches in each room.
Thanks for playing!
I'm considering reducing the sound propagation to reduce the auditory chaos a bit, thanks for the heads up.
The chain lightning is really strong, but terrible for lone targets as it can easily backfire like it did, you can still dodge if you anticipate it, though. Lots of spells are dual-edged blades like that.
I wanted the moon to look as fake as possible, but maybe I should've gone with a different approach?
And yeah, figuring things out is part of the game. But if you feel like you're not given nearly enough to do so, you can report that and I'll see if it can make it easier to understand.
Thanks again!