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Dimenshift, Currently in Alpha

A topic by Lost Connection created Nov 12, 2020 Views: 413 Replies: 2
Viewing posts 1 to 2

Over the past  month or so, I've been working on turning Dimenshift, a project I made for a game jam awhile ago, into a complete, releasable game. I feel like it's coming along pretty good so far.

While I would say it's far from done, I feel like the core mechanics are pretty much done. If they need any tweaking, I'd like to do so now, before I finish fleshing out the levels.

So, I'd really like some alpha testers for this game. Any kind of feedback is appreciated, from tweaks to the core gameplay to critiques of the level design.

About the Game:

Dimenshift is a sci-fi inspired platformer that focuses on the Dimenshift Device, a device that allows the player to shift slightly out of their current dimension, allowing them to walk through walls and evade enemies.

The game features a maze-like level structure that encourages exploration, somewhat inspired by metroidvanias.

The project is here: dsdevs.itch.io/dimenshift

Moderator(+1)

Hi Detective Software Devs,

I played your game, I enjoyed it! Reading the description I felt like I’ve played similar games, but it was well executed, and it kept me entertained. Having said that, here’s my feedback for it:

  • I’m a bit confused about the character. I get the feeling it’s meant to resemble something, but I’m not sure what. I can’t help but feel that if it was something more recognizable (or a bit more anthropomorphic?), it would be easier for me to get attached.

  • It makes sense that the enemy with the spiky lines hurts you, and the square one is like a platform to step on. However the very first enemy I met was a square one, and I tried to avoid it. Maybe it would help if its edges were rounded, to look less aggressive?

  • The pick-up icon that makes the character bigger, looks a lot like the icon in the middle of the screen, that the player collects pieces for (I’ll call it the pizza icon). While I understand the one that makes you big is like an extra life, I’m still not sure what the icon in the middle of the screen does. If they are not connected, it would be better if they looked different.

  • I absolutely loved all the secrets and hidden areas that are tricky to get to.

  • The game seems punishing at times. On stage 112 there is a platform where I need to drop to another platform with the enemy, but I can’t see the enemy until I drop. If the game is meant to be punishing like that, that’s fine, but not sure if it feels “fair” (getting punished for something -kinda- not in my control).

  • When moving to a new dimension, it would be nice if the character left some hint back. There were many times where I wasn’t sure when to come back to the stage in time, and the walls would crush me, unless that’s intentionally part of the challenge.

  • Opening the map, the copy that reads “MAP” is on top of the circle icon in the middle of the screen (the pizza icon) and since the game is only using two colors, they blend together.

  • The map could use some kind of background, even a tinted one, as I can’t easily tell where to scroll.

  • The map would be easier to use if it didn’t let me to scroll to unexplored areas (unless that’s intentional).

  • The icon that makes the character bigger looks the same when you pick it up and it makes you bigger, and when you pick it up and it makes you white. But if you find it again while being white, it’s now white as well, but it does nothing (at least I didn’t notice anything). Was the white icon meant to be used when the character was big?

  • At times it’s unclear which path is the correct one and which one is a secret/extra path. Would be more fun if there was an indicator, like changing how the vortex behaves if it moves you to extra stage maybe?

  • Level 4 seems to teach be how to double jump, but it seems like previous levels required that to some extend. Unless it was the extra levels that needed it, I diverged a lot ..

That’s all I noticed, sorry for the wall of text!

I understand it’s still a work in progress, and some of the things I’ve mentioned might already be in your roadmap. I added them anyway for completeness.

These are all my personal opinions. It’s up to you to decide what is worth implementing (if any) :)

Thanks so much for playing it! I actually appreciate the wall of text, lol. I'm just going to address each of your points:

  • The character was intentionally a little abstract and vague, going along with the mysterious/cryptic theme of the game. I see your point, though, and will definitely consider changing it if more people feel the same.
  • I mainly wanted the enemies in the first level to be basically harmless. There's moments in later levels that are meant to teach you that they're harmless, so I didn't figure it'd be a big deal if new players avoided them for awhile. Again, I'll keep it in consideration with future feedback.
  • I hadn't thought of the powerup looking similar being confusing, but you're right. Will definitely change that in the future.
  • Glad you liked the secrets! That's a big focus of the game.
  • Thanks for mentioning the level that felt unfair. I want it to be challenging, but not brutal and definitely not unfair. I'll look into it.
  • Not knowing where the character is exactly is supposed to be a part of the challenge. But, if many players feel the game suffers for it, I'll rethink it.
  • "MAP" being illegible is just an oversight on my part, thanks for mentioning it.
  • Thanks for bringing out the other map UI bits, I haven't really gotten around to polishing it, so I'll keep them in mind.
  • The white "powerup" icon is actually unrelated to the black one. This is related to the same issue with the "pizza icons" and I will probably change that.
  •  I'll keep the thought about secret levels being more clearly marked in mind.
  • In my testing, levels before 4 shouldn't require the double jump, unless you accessed a secret area that required the double jump to get to. I'll be sure to double check, though.

Thanks again for playing and providing such in-depth feedback! It is much appreciated :)