itch.io

1. Does camera feel good?

Yes, the camera feels good.

2. How does the map feel to navigate?  Does it feel too big? Too open?

I think the map is too big. It is definitely not too open, I feel like the closeness of the map is good it's just too big to navigate with the speed of the ship. I also died a few times hitting something that was not on the map, is that supposed to happen? Was I hitting debris? How was I supposed to know that piece of debris was there without checking the window? It was pretty frustrating dying over and over trying to get through that part of the map. 

3. What are your thoughts on the panel layout?  Does it feel easy to move through? Should things be grouped differently?

I think the panel layout is good to move through once II get the hang of it. Although, I can see one of the buttons to control the ship while looking at the map which I'm not sure was intended or not.

4. Does the monster feel balanced? Did it feel like a threat? Did you feel like you could escape?

The monster does feel balanced and it felt like a threat. i think the hide button as enough for me to escape the monster.

6. Thoughts on the hide button? Does it feel useful?

It was useful and I think it's an essential part of the game. 

7. Did you use the window? Did the oxygen feel balanced?

I did use the window and i don't think the oxygen feels balanced. I think it depleted too fast when using the window making the window very difficult to use. 

8. How is the movement? Do you feel like you're able to move through the environment properly? Fast? Slow?

I think the movement is fine it's just too slow in my opinion. Especially if the goal is on the other side of the map it doesn't feel too fun to navigate through the whole thing.

9. How was the map? Did it have to many landmarks? Not enough? Was it useful?

The map was good. I'm not sure what you mean by landmarks but I think the minimap is helpful. However, there is the wall that I hit that i mentioned earlier that was very frustrating to hit as a player.

10. What does the big red button do?

Self destruct :(

Does the hectic aspect seem more balanced than before? And if not, what aspects aren't? For example, enemies being too quick/slow, etc.

I didn't play much of the first playtest but the gameplay does feel very balanced at the moment. After a few runs, finding the right strategy and being familiar with the towers let me play smoothly. I think the enemies are balanced pretty well as well.

Are towers (now with variety) more balanced together, or are certain towers over/underpowered?

I feel like Cassini's Halo was an underpowered tower, but I didn't test it out with its upgrade. I think Sol V was my favorite and most used tower, it may be a little bit overpowered.

Does the elemental aspect of towers to enemies feel smooth/intuitive to understand?

I'm not sure what you mean by the aspect of towers TO enemies but I feel like the theme is done pretty well. The towers have their elemental aspects but I wasn't sure if they were having different affects to the enemies themselves.

Does the flow of the game feel moderately smooth(er), and in what ways if not?

The flow of the game feels really smooth after running a few rounds. It really does give off the Bloons TD and overcooked feel to it. 

Is the UI intuitive and understandable? Any comments on adding/removing/clarifying anything to it?

I think adding a speed-up option on the UI and the waves would be a good touch. I know Bloons does it and I think it would be a nice addition to your game to let it speed up a little bit during the slow times. 

Did you find any interesting strategies during your gameplay? If so, please let us know what you found, and if not, tell us how we can give you more opportunity to strategize.

My main strategy was placing the towers at a good distance from the Blackhole and Astral Chest so I can have the fastest time to collect and store stardust between the two. I also would be able to upgrade my towers the fastest. 

What do you think about the multi-tiered currency? Does a currency dedicated to the blackhole give more incentive to complete it than before? Is the wormhole tower (if used) sufficiently helpful with collecting currency?

I think the multitiered currency is an interesting aspect and it's being done pretty well. I think a currency dedicated to the black hole isn't needed since it already is the main goal to complete the level. The wormhole tower is a great addition and is very helpful with collecting currency. 

One thing I wanted to add on was that I think the dark matter and the currency should be differently shaped because sometimes I get it mixed up with the currency.

1. What do you think of the puzzles? Too difficult or too easy?
   1. Hello, I think I was terrible at this puzzle but I generally am not that good at puzzles. I actually had my little brother come and solve it for me so I think the puzzle was a good level.
2. What types of puzzles would you like to see added? (More interaction/exploration?)
   1. I think more interaction would be cool, more things in the room to interact with.
3. How did you feel about the oxygen meter? (Balanced? Too slow? Dynamic with player movement and fire?)
   1. The oxygen meter worked very well. I believe it is balanced in its current state.
4. How did you feel about the fire/extinguisher?
   1. The fire/extinguisher felt awkward to me at times. When I was too close to the fire it wouldn't be put out and sometimes I would forget this and spend a good minute just trying to put the fire out. I think a cool idea would be to make the fire easier to be extinguished but make the fire spread so that the player has to actively extinguish the spreading fire.
5. What did you think of the pace/length of the game?
   1. So far I think the pace is good. It gave me enough time to solve the puzzle, but I would imagine as the game goes on the levels should get harder and we become more vulnerable to dying.
6. What did you like about the game?
   1. I liked the movement and the art so far. It feels very smooth and satisfying to play.
7. What did you dislike about the game?
   1. For me, the puzzle was too hard. But again, I think i'm just bad at puzzles. Maybe add a hint system or easy mode for people like me lol.
8. What could be improved or added to enhance the overall gameplay?
   1. So far it feels like a well-made game with a good direction. I would expect in your next playtest more puzzles and levels to be developed and adding more interactions in the room would add interesting dynamics to the game.

1. How was the gameplay? Exciting? Fun? Boring?
   1. The gameplay was fun. I was a little bit confused about what to do at first but I think that was part of the experience.
2. What did you think of the map size?
   1. I think the map size was a good size for the gameplay to stay interesting.
3. How did you feel about visibility while playing?
   1. I think it was good visibility but I play on pretty high brightness so I got to see things in the dark.
4. Tell us about your favorite part of the game.
   1. Exploring the map
5. Tell us about your least favorite part of the game.
   1. One time I died without hearing footsteps but that could've just been my lack of attention.
6. Thoughts on difficulty? How does it feel on the first run, vs after having more experience with additional runs?
   1. I think it's at a good difficulty right now. 
7. Feedback on any specific mechanics?
   1. I think having a clearer indicator of where the monster is would be a good mechanic to add because sometimes I turn a corner and i just die.

I think the level size is perfect for the fast paced game it is. I feel like the blood bar has too much initially and I feel like the bat ability should cause more blood to go away or the blood should go away faster in general because the bat ability can be abused to get blood packs easily and take little to no punishment for using the bat ability. I would like to see a powerup that lets me push the enemies away, I feel like that would be an interesting mechanic to add to the game. The movement of the horde is perfect, I really like how it follows you around rather than just moving in a straight line. Other stats I would like to see would be the current level I am playing. It would be nice to see what level I am in while playing the game. Yes, I think the score helps increase the replayability of the game because it allows for a different goal rather than just living or getting to the next level.  I am not sure what you guys mean by a permanent max blood powerup but I believe adding another powerup to the game would be interesting. As long as it isn’t a broken mechanic and the levels get significantly harder where the powerup is really useful to the player.

1. How challenging was the game? What would make it more or less challenging?

I believe the game is decently challenging with all the obstacles present. However, I feel like there should be more progression with the difficulty, maybe the speed goes higher as the game goes on. Also, I feel like changing the house distance from the road to different distances rather than just one distance would make the game more challenging. Another interesting addition would be adding a punishment to the player's money for missing a house completely. 

2. What was the gameplay experience like?

The game is fun but it feels a little bit slow, it would be nice to have a faster speed to make it more challenging and make it more exciting. However, the way it feels right now is relaxing and more of a chill game rather than a challenging game. 

3. How do the user interface and controls feel?

The interface and the controls are great and I think there is room for improvement to make the game mechanics more interesting. For example, maybe add a jump to allow the players to jump over obstacles, and then maybe add obstacles that players aren't allowed to jump over.  Another addition that I think would be interesting would be adding a way for the player to speed up.

4. What did you like about the game?

I really like the art and the concept of the game. The game being set in Albuquerque adds a really nice vibe to it. I also really like that the player has to get the newspaper in the right spot to maximize the payout. The hitboxes between the bike and the obstacles are also very well constructed.

5. What did you dislike about the game?

I feel like the game could have a faster pace that can make it more challenging. Also, more mechanics like changing speeds and jumping could make the game more interesting.

I think the level size is perfect for the fast-paced game it is. I feel like the blood bar has too much initially and I feel like the bat ability should cause more blood to go away or the blood should go away faster in general because the bat ability can be abused to get blood packs easily and take little to no punishment for using the bat ability. I would like to see a power-up that lets me push the enemies away, I feel like that would be an interesting mechanic to add to the game. The movement of the horde is perfect, I really like how it follows you around rather than just moving in a straight line. Other stats I would like to see would be the current level I am playing. It would be nice to see what level I am in while playing the game. Yes, I think the score helps increase the replayability of the game because it allows for a different goal rather than just living or getting to the next level.  I am not sure what you guys mean by a permanent max blood powerup but I believe adding another powerup to the game would be interesting. As long as it isn’t a broken mechanic and the levels get significantly harder where the powerup-is really useful to the player. Also, I would like to mention that the art style is really nice for the game, however, it is a little bit hard to distinguish what the player can walk through or not. I'm not sure if you guys were going for that but a player can definitely get used to it if you guys keep it this way so I don't think it is a problem/