Yeah, thanks for giving it a try also! I mostly made ping to try out a few different ideas that I had while making Spark but didn't implement based on the time frame of the game it is a part of and for simplicity. Also the fact that the jam spark was for is still is in its voting period I didn't want to put it into the igc jam incase that conflicted with the original jams rules. I'm planning to work on some form of this idea moving forward and after considering it probably will go with Sparks theme over pings as I have more ideas for it. And I just really like the little skeletons I made haha

Thanks so much for recording this! You gave me lots of vaild feedback, some of which I've heard already, but it is really great to see the pain point that caused the criticism playout as you are experiencing it. If we do this jam again I might have to get over being camera shy so I can do the same for others haha. Thanks again for playing!

Thanks for playing and the great feedback! While the Destroy mechanic is OP and I'm working on ways to nerf it a bit, the Avoid mechanic way the hardest to design puzzles around and that is why I came up with the detect area covered with the box solution. Yet the more I think about this I don't think thematical it makes sense that you can push anything onto a detection area and not me detected...But thanks again for playing, your feedback definitely made me think!

Thanks or the feedback and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I totally agree that Destroy is OP so one of my next steps is to figure out a way to nerf it. I'm thinking of have a "cost" for different "hacks" and having only so many resources per level to put towards them which might help. Thanks for playing!

Very fun! Honestly very little criticism from me on this project as I could see my self downloading this off of the app store and playing it on breaks at work as is. The only reason I stopped playing at level 2-25 is because I need to write this and get ready for work and might just try it on mobile if I get the chance at work today. Played on PC this morning and it felt and looked great. The one bit of input I would give and this honestly might hurt the game if mobile is the market you wanted to go for is to move away from this cute colorful style and really lean into the wyrm aspect of the title and give it a Norse or Germanic Mythology theme...I guess you could keep it cute and do this mythology theme at the same time though. Once again great job I really enjoyed playing!

• What was the most frustrating moment in what you experienced?
  • In Pachinko it feels like the Daves go right through the colorful pegs with little to no resistance, so even when you feel like you have him dropping in at a good angle they do little to slow him down or influence his trajectory. Another, and I’m not sure that this isn't more of a cosmetic issue, is when you first play Plinko and a bunch of Daves get stuck on top of the ambulance and then you go to play Pachinko those same Dave are now floating it front of your cannon, and this might be a different bug entirely but it seems like they sometime block/slow down the Dave you are shooting out of the cannon.

• What was your favorite moment?
  • In general the humor of the entire concept combined with the visuals and sound design is great but as far as gameplay goes I would say I enjoyed Plinko the most. Also the way Dave blows up and lands with everything crashing down on him in the menu screen when a mode is selected is a great touch.

• Was there anything you wanted to do, but the game didn’t let you?
  • Probably put multiple Daves into the ambulance at once(might take some of the difficulty away though…)

• If you had a magic wand where you could change any part of the game, regardless of cost or complexity, what would you add/change/remove?
  • I would add more to Plinko mode. Power ups for the gurney such as speed boosts. Have it so when the bombs go off in range of the gurney all the Dave you have on it go flying. Evil Daves that you want to let hit the floor. Those are just examples but I guess I would want more difficulty and complexity in the Plinko mode.

• What would you say you were doing in the game?
  • Playing games that are normally reserved for a ball of some sort with an unfortunate fellow named Dave.
• How would you describe the game to friends and family?
  • Plinko, Pachinko, and Pinball with ragdoll physics!

I’m a fan of puzzle games and I feel like you have a solid concept here! High Score: 505

• What was the most frustrating moment in what you experienced?
  • So if I’m correct these are some form of randomly generated puzzles which from a development point of view saves a lot of time I’m sure but as a play especially in puzzle games its nice to have the option of trying a puzzle a few times if you don't get it on the first try or setting the game down and coming back to it with fresh eyes another time. In this format it doesn't seem like that is possible.

• What was your favorite moment?
  • It is super satisfying to get a good line of combos and rack up the points!

• Was there anything you wanted to do, but the game didn’t let you?
  • I would just reiterate my frustration above.

• If you had a magic wand where you could change any part of the game, regardless of cost or complexity, what would you add/change/remove?
  • I think it would be even more satisfying if when you get multiple combos in a single line if there was a multiplier that racked the points up even more.

• What would you say you were doing in the game?
  • Setting up bumpers on a grid that directs a ball to hit buttons on the grid in the order that scores the most points.
• How would you describe the game to friends and family?
  • A puzzle about angles and combos.

This MVP is a solid start to what I think could be a fun game!

• What did you like the most about this game?
  • While you could definitely go a lot of different directions with the visuals in the future, I felt for this type of game the neon geometric art with the juicy interactions was great!
• What did you dislike the most about this game?
  • I’m not very good at these types of games normally, and I honestly found this game to be a bit easy. I beat this MVP version of the game without dying once which made for a fairly boring experience. I do understand that this is an mvp though and the point is just to get the mechanics in a state that expresses what the game is. Just making the level timers longer would make these much harder for example what is an easy way to ramp the difficulty.
• What would you like to be able to do in this game that you have not seen yet?
  • It would be interesting if some of the upgrades were new weapons like an area stun blast as an example, but that might complicate the controls.
• What frustrated you in this game?
  • I would say I don't have many frustrations. The controls felt pretty good and responsive. I think the most frustrating part goes back to my dislike answer in that I didn't find it very challenging.
• If you have seen/played earlier versions of this game with the Rock Paper Scissors enemy matchups, how do you find the game now with that system removed?
  • First time playing, but that sounds interesting.

Hey, thanks for playing!. I'm glad you enjoyed it. These are all great suggestions, and the plan is to add lots of different experimental mechanics in future builds then keeps the ones that work and cut the ones that don't!

Thanks for the detailed feedback, and I might just have to take you up on the offer for future playtesting! I also really hope IGC Test Buddies becomes a regular thing, because the feedback has been great so far. I agree with you that destroy can be OP, and that is why I plan to implement some sort of cost for different "hacks" in the next build. I am considering calling the resource RAM, which is inspired by the hacking mechanic in CP 2077 and might further enhance the feeling of hacking. Also, on your note about it not feeling like hacking, I am hoping some of the future mechanics and UI elements I plan to implement will help in this regard even further.

Overall I think this is a fun puzzle game with a cute art style and great theme!

• How many puzzles did you get through?
  • I got to the level called blobby in the second world.
• Were there any cats that weren't clear?
  • I could not figure out that level with the new blob cat but all cats before it were fairly easy to understand especially once you got the tool tip on them.
• If you used a controller (especially a playstation one) were there any issues you encountered?
  • Used a mouse.
• What did you like most?
  • I really enjoy puzzle games in general, and you have created an interesting rule set. The cat theme and their particularities are a great match for that rule set.
• What did you like the least?
  • The second level with the guard cats, while I felt I understood the rules of that cat, the solution I finally came up with didn't make sense to me fully, but I couldn't put a finger on what was happening.

Thanks so much for playing the game and the thoughtful feedback! Also going the extras mile and recording your play session is much appreciated :) Do you have a entry in the jam? I didn't see one but if you do I want to make sure to give it a playtest and feedback!

I was excited to give this another try since I haven't played it since a much earlier version and am happy to say I wasn't disappointed 👏 you have really upgraded it since then! It's very fun and I love the theme. Overall I think this is a great pinball game although I would classify myself as a pinball novice. The music, art, UI/UX, and sound design are wonderful. My high score was 713,621 using the strategy of trying to get all of the initial upgrades before further upgrading them. Also was super excited to get into the "bonus" area the few times I managed to get the lights all on! One last note would be that a couple of times when the Mochi Guardian saved my orb it just sort of shot it off the bottom of a flipper and I lost it anyway. I would say this is a bad thing because it doesn't feel good as a player but it might be the only way to keep that upgrade from being OP at higher upgrade levels especially. 

Which flippers work better?

I honestly think they both felt equally responsive. The only note I would say was once with the upper flippers I hit the orb and it sort was a “dull” or “unresponsive” hit. 

Are lvlups too fast?

For the pinball skill level I’m at I would say no they are at a good pace. I’m not sure what score/level you would have to hit to have maxed out all skills but it seems like you would have to be a fairly good player to hit that level.

Good job! I can see something very interesting being built from this early prototype.

• What round did you get to before quitting?
  • Made it all the way through on my first play!
• What was your strategy, if any?
  • The only card I played was “Change one die and all its faces to a normal ten-sided die (face numbers 1-10)” other than that I just decided which combo of dice seemed to give me the best chance of scoring the max points within the rules of the round.
• What did you most like?
  • The moments spent considering which combination of cards would be best suited to the rules
• What was frustrating?
  • At first I did not understand how to play my cards
• What did you wish you could do?
  • I was hesitant to spend coins on drawing cards and probably would have been more likely to consider purchasing them if it was a sort of shop with different prices for a rotation of cards you could pick that changed from round to round.

• What was the most frustrating moment in what you experienced?
  • By far the most frustrating part of the game is the crafting of the recipes. There is way too much clicking from one menu to another and dragging from this inventory to that inventory. And then you leave a successfully blended batch in the blender before moving to the freezer and when you go back to get it it is gone from that inventory and you must start over. Very frustrating. What was even more frustrating for me was the timing mini game involved in the crafting process. In general it feels necessary and punishing for a game genre that in my opinion is supposed to be chill and get its challenge from the logistical management aspects of the game. The worst is when you successfully blend a recipe only to fail in chilling it…

• What was your favorite part of the game?
  • I enjoyed the art direction. I think this style is very charming and fitting for the type of game you are going for.

• Was there anything you wanted to do, but the game didn’t let you?
  • I would have preferred a more face to face interaction with each customer rather than the sort of auto purchase mechanic that is in the game. Not sure if a first person pov might be a better option?

• If you had a magic wand where you could change any part of the game, regardless of cost or complexity, what would you add/change/remove?
  • Revamped crafting and inventory management system

• What would you say you were doing in the game?
  • Managing an ice cream stand. Crafting stock, setting prices and choosing a location.
• How would you describe the game to friends and family?
  • Ice cream stand management sim

One small final note would be that I didn't even realize I had the recipe for lemon pops until I had unlocked the recipe for cherry pops and did a further investigation of my recipe book. Only to then discover I still could not buy lemons and make the old folk happy.

Hey, just finished playing ħUP! and while I didn't reach the goal I can definitely say that this is a unique and interesting concept. I have zero knowledge about quantum mechanics and while I started to get the feeling i had some (very little) control of the particle after playing for awhile I wasn't sure if I was missing something with my lack of knowledge. This might be a skill issue on my part that would go away with more experimentation an time playing(which might be the entire concept you are going with as you are playing as a scientist so experimentation is key) but as a player I just felt a bit lost. This is impressive concept to have created in 2 weeks. I would encourage you to experiment more with it if you are enjoying it and see a way forward towards making it more approachable to the less scientifically inclined like myself.

Does the core loop work for you? Is it FUN? If the game had more content and polish do you see yourself playing it for 10+ hrs?

I feel it is fun, and I could see myself playing this for 10+

Are mechanics easy to grasp and work with? If not, what did you find unclear/confusing?

I would say the difficulty ramp would be something I would like to see improved. Possibly a tutorial might fix this as well but it is hard to understand exactly what the goal is at first and what kind of playing tactics are expected as a player. After playing for a bit I felt I started to get a better grasp of the mechanics but this trial and error might put off some players.

How far did you get before you stopped playing?

4th level…but more of a skill issue on my part as I played for about 30-45min 

What did you like the most?

Drinking Troll Piss

Other than drinking piss I also felt like the art, music, and sound design are excellent. Nostalgic but with modern sensibilities that really helps with the readability of the game. 

What was most frustrating?

At 100% zoom in my browser some of the tool tips are being cut off and I had to zoom out to 65-70% to see everything.(I can provide screenshots if desired.)

What would you change about this game to work better for you?

It would be nice to have the ability to do partial moves with the different heroes. For example, you do a partial move with the Vanguard, a full move with the other two, and then are able to finish the Vanguards move. I would also reiterate what I said about the difficulty ramp and a simple tutorial possibly even though I know that is easier said than done.

Password: igc

Thanks for play and giving your feedback! All of this is great and will definitely be taken into consideration.

Thanks for playing and the feedback! I totally agree about the world being to lifeless unless the bots are moving. In my previous game that this project was spawned from I had little flickering torches spread throughout the levels that added a bit of life to the scene

I enjoyed playing, good job!

• What was the most frustrating moment in what you experienced?
  • The dash mechanic felt a bit unpredictable to me. Even on a full energy tank sometimes it would be a short dash forwards other times it would almost send me flying over the edge of the level. I would have used it more if I had more control of it like you do the jetpack.

• What was your favorite moment?
  • Moving around the level with the jet pack mechanic felt fun and intuitive. I also like the art style you are going for here, it feels almost nostalgic but I can't really put my finger on what it reminds me of other than possibly 90’s graphic design trends that I remember from my childhood. Also I have a fairly underpowered pc and a lot of 3D prototypes I have tried to playtest for people have not been optimised to the point that I can play them, so I was happy this ran so well!

• Was there anything you wanted to do, but the game didn’t let you?
  • I would have wanted to have some sort of reason to use the resource while in the level collecting them before returning to the base to upgrade defenses/equipment. As in, maybe a secondary gun that shoot the energy back out to fend off enemies or destroy obstacles in the world blocking the players path forward.

• If you had a magic wand where you could change any part of the game, regardless of cost or complexity, what would you add/change/remove?
  • While I felt the platforming was fun and you are off to a good start. I felt like the game needed more speed potentially. Like possibly some sort of momentum build mechanic. Just a thought I had while playing! another thought I just had was about the blocks that look solid but you fall through. These blocks really only trick the player once and after that they stand out so much that you just treat the like empty space.

• What would you say you were doing in the game?
  • You play as a polar bear with a jetpack who needs to venture out into a radiated tundra to jump around collecting resources to create a safer more radiation proof home for your family while not succumbing to radiation poisoning yourself
• How would you describe the game to friends and family?
  • I would describe this game as a first person 3D platformer where you play as a jetpack flying polar jumping around a world made of ice blocks to collect resource.

Thanks for giving it a play and taking the time to give this great feedback! I'm just about to upload the actual "final" jam version of the game with all the bugs I found fixed and a few more challenging puzzles added. I don't expect you to play it again because I fell the version you played gets the core mechanic expressed even if in a less "polished" manner. Thanks again!

I was assigned your game as part of the feedback pairing and I have to apologize because my PC is not up to the task of running you game properly because it is underpowered. Even though I am unable to complete the play through I just want to comment here and say that I love the art that I can see in you screenshots! The characters environments and UI is all beautifully done. Once again I'm sorry I can not give proper feedback.

I almost gave up on trying to play this game because at first I could not figure out how to get past the main menu until I read another comment here that mentioned that zooming in on your browser helps a bit. Overall this is a cute game with a very cute art style. I enjoyed the character design a lot. While the clicking mechanic was simple enough to understand I felt that the feedback you are given as a player that you are making progress or even affecting the world at all is very lacking at times. I was also a bit lost as far as what the story was trying to convey to me as far as the overarching story goes and never really understood what the larger realistic hand represented. Overall I think this is a good entry to the jam that had an interesting take on the theme.

Thanks for taking the time to play it!

very cute! great interpretation of the theme and wonderful art :)

Really well done! 

This was such a touching and relatable story :) I also love the interpretation of the theme...and art...and everything about it!

Thanks for giving it a play! I appreciate the kinds words :)

Thanks for playing! I really appreciate the feedback :)

Thank you for the kind words! Hopefully what they say about "leaving them wanting more" is a good thing haha

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I certainly might expand on this concept in the future but my current goal as a dev is to do a bunch of jams this year and not pick a larger project until I have some more experience. Thanks again for your kind words!

Your praise is very kind :) I really appreciate you playing the game!

Thanks for playing! Balancing level difficulty was definitely a big challenge for puzzles like these. Thanks for the feedback :)

This is beautiful.

You packed a lot of emotional impact and storytelling into just a few minutes and a few written artifacts, well done! I also really liked the art especially the spirit.

Thank you so much :) I'm really happy with how my simple little skeleton guy turned out! It is a solo project. I ended up having almost the entire jam off from work due to the holidays and didn't have much else going on so I really put my all into this! 

That's great to hear you enjoyed it :) thanks for playing! I did make both the art and music myself and am really happy with how they turned out. I tried to keep both super simple which ended up working really well! They both went though a good bit of iteration to actually get them to this simpler state. For instance at one point while making the music in FL Studio it had 4 or 5 different instruments but I simplified it down the 2 and it was so much better haha

Thanks for playing! That’s great to hear, because that was sort of the plan. Teach the player the flow of the game with minimal risk of them failing early, and then ramp the difficulty up slowly as they progress.

Thank you :) It definitely is possible that I expand this after the jam...