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A topic by philRaco Indie created Jul 14, 2021 Views: 119 Replies: 4
Viewing posts 1 to 3
Developer

what should be improved????

Developer

apart from the pause menu NOT working correctly or the graphics

I've played a little bit of two levels as I write this. I'm interested in what's here and I ultimately like it, but I have some issues. Controlling the dash move feels a little wild. I think it may carry too much momentum after a dash has been performed. I also at point performed some kind of super jump via the charge move (I think) I didn't know how to perform it again. Knowing how to use the charged dash button in general felt unwieldly. I think having it set so you press the button to do the dash would be an easier concept to retain rather than the current "hold then release" system. Not that I hate the idea of a hold and release move that propels you forward, but I felt a disconnect between the player input and when the action is performed. I also think it would be nice to see a health bar to tell how many hit points you have before you're booted out of the level. I thought at first losing enough coins were the health system, but I lost all my coins and still was able to try again after dying, so I'm not sure how health works. The trailer shows a meter for the charge ability, but I couldn't see it while playing. Lastly, it would be nice to have controller support. I think one of the big issues I had with the controls was the current keyboard setup. I'm not used to it, which made it hard to ease into it. It's not an impossible setup, just not the most comfortable. 

Also nitpick, but it would be nice when the game booted up in windowed mode to have the window be closer to the center of the screen. The way it functions now cuts off some of the bottom/lower right section of the window. Also turning on and off fullscreen with ALT + ENTER seemed to cause some window-centering issues as well where the window is cut off on the screen as well. 

I also noticed a lot of unclear moments. The whole opening I was confused by. The transition from the control layout with Sally Sterns to the separate gameplay tutorial was confusing. I'm not sure if this is something  The main character has a double jump but inconsistently. One time I died and the music faded out. 

Overall, I like what's here, even if I had a frustrating time with it because I died so many times while struggling with the controls. 

Developer

Hey Wesley, thank you a lot for playing this version of 'Round The Mind!

Your feedback is extremely appreciated and I saw some concerns you had about game design, the structure and general gameplay of the game. I'll go into detail about basically every point you talked about.

Do note that the version you played is a year old, and the newest version does come with changes I will detail in the bullet points below.
As for your comment:

  • The dash move being wild  to control is intentional. I wanted it to feel like it's a move that you really tame and become acustomed to and as the developer, I can basically control it how I want, but I do understand your position that as a new player it feels really hard to control and that the hold and release system doesn't feel quite appropiate for it. It's understandable, however, considering the more advanced moves that are able to be pulled off with practice, the hold to release system works better from my own testing. I will however try to make the dash much more responsive to player input to not feel completely uncontrollable when first playing the game.
  • Tutorializing moves is a big problem that even the current version of the game (v0.5.1b) has, I completely agree with you. In a demo releasing this December, I want to rework the current first level to actually tutorialize that different button combinations make the player character perform moves, on top of adding an option with all moves the player has performed to show them how they can do them again.
  • The game's health system works like Super Mario Odyssey's: there is no health, your only punishment is losing coins/bolts. As with the advanced moves, the December version will teach this to the player.
  • The bar you saw in the trailer is under Options -> Accesibility -> Diegetic Indication. If you turn that setting off, the bar will appear. From internal testing in my discord server people wanted a more diegetic indication that was closer to the player sprite. In the version hosted here, that is the case.
  • As of v0.5.1b, there is controller support! I would advise waiting a few days up until i release 0.5.1f as I'm improving joystick movement and fixing a bug where the controller font buttons wouldn't show up.
  • I'll gladly make it so the game starts for the first time in windowed. As for the Alt + Enter issue, there should be a fix for it in 0.5.1f too.
  • The "double jump" is actually only one jump. It functions like an infinite coyote time. (Again, tutorialization needed, wait for December demo for that)
  • The version you played had a really unfinished version of the first cutscene, which is why you felt confused. Again, can't stress this enough, December demo.
  • That music fade out glicthed should already be fixed in the current version!

Reiterating, thank you lots for playing this experimental version, if you want to follow the game as it progresses further in development, following the main page for the betas is a good place to do so.

Have a nice day!
- philRaco

(+1)

Hey thank you for addressing my concerns and for explaining the thought process behind the mechanics. They were interesting and helpful to read. I really appreciate it.

Good to know there are plans to fix the rest of the issues I brought up. I'll wait for the new version that has improved joystick functionality.

Thank you again and keep up the good work!

-Ethan_Wesley2000