itch.io

always happy to talk game

I wish I could go back to the days of Disco and talking about games for the love of them
I own a consulting business, aiding companies and creators make game products (which are rarely pc games) so games have become work
that and family life take all my time

I'll be really happy to be informed about progress and come playtest new features
can I be the first in your mailing list? :)

premise is nice but it does not translate well into gameplay
the player can essentially ignore the loop and just focus on avoiding and moving constantly
moving is always rewarded
this is direly in a need of some trade off, where not moving will gain something
for example, start with the loop almost empty, and have it populate as a direct result of standing still or moving just a little

or
maybe something that will make timing the loop more meaningful 
make the weapons a collectable on field, when the collectible is touche it gets added to the loop at current pointer, but if it collides with a weapon already there player losses bote
or maybe add a collectable bonus points on field that can only be collected while the pointer is in a specific segment of the loop, adding a timing vector to contradict the avoidance vector

to conclude, the premise of a weapon timing loop is a good idea, but nothing yet in the game explores it in a meaningful way
otherwise it is a very well delivered piece, clear, responsive
art and code are solid, solid technical skills all around

the art is on point, the sound is effective, the design and delivery are done well.
it's a well performed piece and almost a perfect product.

on the critical side it is slightly leaning towards an overtly simplistic message.
the player is hit on the head with it, it could do with slight improvement in game design in order to strengthen the emotional experience  and make the message more nuanced.

while the work part is brilliant, for it provides a slight sense of mastery in face of the mundane, as shown in the player's slight improvement from one run to the next or between days, this is too quickly substituted with a feeling  of zero agency.
failure breaks should be slightly shorter, the keypress timing a little less forgiving  and the rate of speed increase less steep, 
so as to allow just a bit more room for mastery
this is playing with the player's emotion as it allows for a small success within a mundane and trivial task, which leans well into the message.

walking home and home chores need either a slight variation, adding a miniscule sense of discovery or some angle for mastery
the walk home is the most failing part of the game where the player is reduced into the audience  of an uninteresting film. adding a button to press while the predetermined film is playing feels like the designer is mocking the player for playing, not like dealing with a routine. it deducts from the message.
even real life traffic jams, offer something.
either the pointless game of switching lanes with the false belief of state improvement or the timing game of releasing and reapplying the breaks or, at the very least, the act of people-watching in the adjacent cars.
The music alone is what saves the walking home part and adds some taste to it.

Last is the vacation itself,
the act of the "reward" turning into nothing but a tiny picture on the wall is shear genius.  it provides an emotional "drop" of disappointment mixed with humor before returning to your tiny work-mastery drill.
But, having the vacation itself repeat with zero variance too quickly drains the emotional potential and humor out of it.
the gag runs dry as soon as you hit the second vec.
providing a very slight variance in the vacation "scene", and therefor variation in the picture collection on the wall, will allow the player to sustain the very tiny aspiration for his next vacation in the face the loop-like rat race, even if merely in order to "complete" or "collect" which are effective player drives.

these tiny increases in variance, mastery or maneuverability will go a long way in doubling down the potential emotional ride of this piece:
a dire contrast
between the tiny momentary incentives and rewards and the overarching meaninglessness of the meta-loop.
or put more simply, life.