[Feedback Friday #47] - October 14, 2016 - Halloween!!!

FF #47 is CLOSED. Next FF will open Friday, Nov 18!

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Want design feedback for your new game? Then you've found the right thread! Post here to get precious player feedback. Discuss until we lock the thread to start the two week break.

How To Ask For Feedback?

• Show - Pics, videos, or best of all, a playable game!
• Be Concise - Who's got time for Wall 'O Text? Less is more

How To Give Feedback?

• Be Positive - Finding redeeming qualities in the worst of games, is in itself a game
• Focus On The Design - Not the designer
• Be Specific - "Your game sucks!" is for nubs

What To Show?

• Minimally Viable Product (MVP) - Core game play >>> everything else
• How To Scope Small (Unity tutorial)

Gigi

[PS - Feedback Friday #46 is here]

 

Last feedback Friday was very quiet, so I'm here to spice things up!

I've been in Unity for about a year. Developing has been a hobby, but finally I'm getting close to releasing something. While it is a pretty simple project, I think for a first release it won't be too bad.

There have been many 2D platformer games. Most of them (such as Angry Birds or Red Ball 4) are simply games with a set number of levels (usually about 30-60). However, this means that the first levels are too easy, and the last levels are too hard. Once you're done with the levels, there is no reason to keep the game installed. So I decided to make a game with a twist.

1: It is 3D/2D. The game's world is in 3D, but the ball and movement is in 2D. This creates an art style that seems to be rarely used. Also, this helped me out as my art skills are garbage, so I can use both 3D and 2D assets. This 3D/2D style graphics was partly inspired by Fallout Shelter.

Fallout shelter: First game I saw that had a 3D environment but 2D players. NOT my game.


My game:



2: It is infinite. I spawn challenges for the player in real time, so every game is different and endless.

Also, I have a customization system in place. While my art skills are garbage, I'm sure I can find some decent images to use for the ball.

While it isn't a very impressing project, I think it isn't too bad. Also, I'm planning to make more maps, not just this "dungeon" scene I have.

So why am I posting here? Well, I'd like to get some feedback! What do you like, what do you hate, and what would you add/remove? I've also set up Unity Analytics to see how well balanced the challenges are.

Here's a WEBGL link. The game is for Android so the leaderboards don't work since WebGL doesn't support Google Play Services. http://gamejolt.com/games/ball-jumper/193869

Here's a GIF of a bit of gameplay. It is quite limited and I really recommend you try out the WEBGL link.: http://i.imgur.com/T6QXqFH.gifv

Thank you and happy coding

P.S. Sorry for the unfinished audio. I got sick for a few days so I couldn't finish the audio in time

 

I'm on my phone like I imagine many others might be so the webGL isn't possible.

Maybe a vid of game play to also check out? I know vids are a pain but they can really give a great sense of the game if one doesn't have time to play. Maybe they will see vid and make time to try. However, my understanding is you have less than 3 seconds to hook someone.

From the description and images I still can't tell what the game is truly. The way it is unique from other games does make me want to try it though

The 1st pic I am drawn to and it looks fairly clean. The 2nd pic I can't tell what is going on.

Your art style from the 1st image is pretty good and clean.

Sorry for the minimal feedback but my lunch break is over *sigh*

 

LOL the 1st pic is Fallout Shelter, NOT my game! I just meant to show it as as where I took inspiration of the art style from, since it's the 1st game I saw that has a 3D environment but 2D players.

 

Oops lol ... 1st post and now I'm totally embarrassed

 

No problem, I wasn't clear enough. Added link to a pretty subpar gameplay GIF.

 

@DroidifyDevs I tried the WebGL version (Firefox 49). When I clicked the "Settings" button, I couldn't go back to the main menu - the button to close it didn't work, and I had to refresh the page. Bit of a game-breaker, that one

Apart from that, my only problem is that I had to keep pressing A and D to move. That would probably work fine on Android, but on a keyboard, I would prefer to hold the button down.

I do like the traps - they remind me of the side-scrolling sections of Crash Bandicoot 2 and 3, but with less slapstick. I'd try making it more slapstick - watching the ball get squished, burnt to a crisp or sliced in two would be hilarious. Even just have a silly game over theme would help.

 

Thanks for the feedback! Turns out the settings button is broken

I'll need to add a game-over animation, a better UI and player death effects. I'll work on those next

Also forgot that before release I'd like to create at least 1 more map, probably paid.

 

@Philip-Rowlands Working on effects

 

Time to add Spamocalypse in: the mechanics are mostly complete, and I have finally uploaded it to GameJolt.

Background Info
For those who don't know, Spamocalypse: Aftermath is a Thief-style first-person stealther in which the player is a thief hired to steal the Huta Teapot from a museum in a spammer-infested city. It started out as a project whose purpose was just to create line-of-sight mechanisms that could take light into account and sound detection for later projects, but I then caught a bad case of scope creep and started filling out the world with multiple levels, a save mechanism and a somewhat creepy atmosphere. Well, since Halloween isn't too far off, a creepy atmosphere is probably mandataory

Since I last showed it off, I ripped out my customised pathfinding system and replaced it with the built-in code. It mostly works, although the Spambot NPCs tend to get stuck on corners (and I'm tempted to just add a note lampshading this). I also bumped up the intensity of the night vision so you can see more easily in dark corners, and rebuilt the tutorial level so it isn't just a flat courtyard - mainly so I could properly test out lifts and ladders.

What kind of feedback I'd like

• The level design. I'm trying to emulate the Thief games, where there are multiple routes through the level. Are there enough shadows to lurk in, and is there enough to do? I have maps for the levels - are they easy to understand?
• The ladders mechanism is that you press F to use it. This then results in forward/backwards movement being translated into up/down movement; however, to get off it, you have to move sideways at the top or bottom. Is this obvious without it being spelt out?
  
• The voice lines for the NPCs (see spoiler tags below). I used a text-to-speech engine with different accents, but they all sound kind of robotic. I'd like the Spammerised Moderator in particular to be a little creepier - something along the lines of the Hammer Haunts in Thief.
  
• My player interaction system. It basically makes objects glow if the player looks at them - is it simple enough to use?

Spoiler: Spammerised Moderator voice lines

Spoiler: Scottish Spammer voice lines

 

I really love the atmosphere, I think you did a great job with making it look creepy. The graphics are decent when it comes to the world. I really like the map.

Of course you could add the ladder controls in a tutorial, that's not too hard.

The voices are a bit robotic and I think you used way too many effects, they are hard to understand. Obviously you can't fix the robotic sound as you're using text-to-speech, but the effects distort the voice too much (just my opinion).

The player interaction system seems to be fine as well.

My biggest complaint is the UI. It is a complete mess, some buttons don't work and their style doesn't fit the game. This is coming from a person who released a build with a broken "Close settings" button

Overall I think this can be a great game, the atmosphere and lighting is great, but the UI is by far the largest setback. Good work!

 

@DroidifyDevs yeah, I forgot about some of those buttons. For some of the in-game ones, I gave them an orange colour when highlighted - mainly because on Linux, the mouse appears to be about 20 pixels higher than it actually is (or it was, at one point). I've been thinking of setting the main menu and the rest of the buttons to use the same font as the ones for closing letters just so I have a consistent style across the game - would that be an improvement?

 

Are you sure you're using the correct screen resolutions? Sometimes in games my mouse will be off if the game window is at a different resolution.

I think you need to look overall at the design of the buttons. For example, here's a sci-fi level I'm working on (actually in the same project I showed):


As you see the level looks quite sci fi with those textures, particle systems and electric currents. So I made a end-game menu to match:


Of course, it's not perfect. However, all good games have UI that's customized and fits with the game.

Candy crush saga:


Mass Effect 3:


Image how stupid it would look if ME3 used Candy Crush's buttons? And if Candy Crush used ME3 buttons?

I'd recommend for that game some spooky textures for the buttons. You could probably use some from your walls or floor. Just something to match the game, not the default white / orange Unity buttons as they are pretty ugly.

Also, if you're using the link you showed to find fonts, ouch
Look here, my favorite font site: http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=205

 

I didn't think of the screen resolutions! Thanks for that, I'll give it a try.

I actually did find dafont a while ago - in particular, I found a font for some graffiti in some of the levels. I just found the Essays 1743 font earlier while looking for medieval/Shakespearean fonts, and I like it enough to use it as the main one. Yes, I know, Shakespeare died over a century before that, but semantics

I agree about having a consistent style. As it stands, I'm reworking the main menu so that the menus all look like a piece of parchment where the buttons are represented by a wax seal - when highlighted, the seal on the left changes to the one on the right. I may do this for the pause menu as well.

 

Better get my ass into gear and put something up to test and get feedback.

 

If you came all the way here just to leave the comment, you could have at least tested our projects

 

LOL sorry I couldn't work out the game mechanics and I couldn't play the other game because I'm on a mac.

In the mean time however, I'm posting this up to give myself motivation for feedback and get something playable.

My game was built from scratch by me alone, including modeling texturing lighting and sound.

Before the deadline, I want to perfect the gameplay, which will include a brief magical 2D mechanic, a 3D mechanic (with puzzles), a victorian style setting, with elaborate wallpaper and fixtures... and a chilling sound design which takes the player deeper into an inescapable horror.

 

Sorry to hear you couldn't figure out my game mechanics. Actually it's simple, press A - D to move left-right, and Space to jump

 

Yeah sorry, I just worked it out now, I was holding down 'a' and 'd' but it wasn't moving, then I realised you have to keep tapping it. I thought the gif looked great, but I personally found the game a bit too difficult.

 

YUP the audio was good. Overall the game seemed great, however I'd work more on the doors as they don't really look like doors. Also, were the checkered walls intentional? I can't remember the last time I've seen a checkered wall.

Do you plan on releasing your game? If so, will you release for Windows too? After all, most people (like me) own Windows PC's, especially for gaming.

Once I'm done with this stupid project I'm working on, I'd like to make a PC game. I'm just not too keen on shoving $100 (plus a bought game) on Steam Greenlight, so I'm hoping to make it through this project.

Keep up your work!

 

Thanks the video shows a check board pattern for the game play prototyping stages (puzzles mainly) The end result will be fully modelled and textured all designed by hand. The screenshot above the video should show briefly what it looks like modelled properly and textured roughly.

I'm having trouble with a decent enough story line and game play, but as it's only feedback, I'm scoping small for the time being.

I will release a windows build for this thread, I know it is most popular.

Yeah $100 seems a bit steep, especially for a student, but I suppose it is for a good cause, and the cost of 2 tripple A games. Might be worth it, you've come on a bit and you've only been using unity for a year. that's great, like me I've only using unity for under a year.

You must have spent a bit of time on the physics of your game, the bridge looks particularly well done, did you use hinge joints for that? Also clearly a lot of time was spent on your GUI, my only critique would be of some of the brash colours and typography. But I like where it is going. Did you bake the lighting?

Keep it up too.

 

Well I think if I can't make about $120 on Android game development to cover Steam Greenlight and 1 Steam game, I have nothing to do in game development. I don't think I'll make it all in this project, but if it gets enough downloads I might.

Physics was one of the highlights of this project, as I've never worked much with physics. Since physics is so important in this game, I decided to do a good job on that Since I've probably spent a total of 15 hours over 2 weeks on this project, I'd say 8-10 were spent on getting the physics right.

Here you can get a package with the bridge (textures removed since they were from Asset store, it's a OneDrive link): https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ao-fan5pgktlg60N3Z6rr2FwAbba8w I did use Hinge Joints, and also I have a script on each plank that sets a chance for the bridge to break.

Actually I did my GUI really quickly, which is why the colors and fonts don't really look right in the dungeon scene. And the customization menu is a disaster, but at this point I just wanted the customization concept to work.


In the Sci-Fi level I'm working on, I think the UI looks almost polished. At least the end-game menu looks more-or less not awful. I really suck at art and I'm really cheap so pretty much everything is free from the Asset Store.

As for the lighting, that was perhaps the hardest part after the physics. I can't bake lighting because the game is infinite. As the player moves left, I spawn prefabs with challenges ahead of the player. When the player moves forward enough I turn on the large flames so he can't go back. This is because if he were to go back, he would fall off the map because I delete old prefabs as the player moves along. So while this helps with performance and lets me create an infinitely long world, I can't bake lighting. So far I've been getting about 45 FPS on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 (a $120 Android tablet), so that's more than decent for mobile. I'm glad that you like where it's going

After all, it's meant as my first project to be published, and I only want it to pay off Steam Greenlight lol

 

@iamthwee I don't have a Mac build yet, simply because I don't have one to test it with. Though when I add my new UI, I probably will build one...and it will probably break, because I've never built anything Macs before - cac, I've never even used one! But then...it's an "Early Access" game, so it's supposed to be buggy

I haven't done an official build with the new UI yet, but I have some preliminary screenshots I'd like some feedback on. Here's the new main menu.

I think it's a bit cramped - my initial thought is to move the "About" button on the other other side of the screen and resemble a piece of graffiti, and then spread the rest around a bit more.

For the game itself, I've combined the old objectives and pause menus into one. Here's what this looks like. Again, I think I need to spread things out just a bit more - would adding a line to separate the list of objectives and the menu help?

 

They look pretty nice, but are you sure you like those red seals? Maybe you can just change the text color when hovering over a button...

 

Just from the video, I like the atmosphere - the feeling of deja vu, doors creaking shut with nobody else around is pretty unnerving. I haven't tried it yet - could you add a download link?

Yeah, I like them. I might be overdoing them, though - I'm currently using them for every button.

 

Or maybe you could show 1 seal by the button you're hovering over.

 

Here's a new build:

Changes:
Made the UI more polished. While I don't think it's done, I think it's a lot better than before. Let me know what you think.
Slightly tweaked the ball's physics, you shouldn't notice any difference.

NEW: Added a Sci-Fi level. This is where I'm completely stumped. As you'll see, I think I've done a great job on the graphics. I was able to make the level completely without realtime lights; I used only ambient lighting. I also added new concepts to my game, such as a low gravity power-up. However, I really have no idea what to do with this level. I don't want to make it seem too close to the dungeon level, but I'm completely out of ideas. Perhaps you know of any similar games?

Thanks for testing, here's the link!
http://gamejolt.com/games/ball-jumper/193869

P.S. There is a bug in Chrome, where the D button doesn't work. However, all buttons work ONLY in full-screen mode in Microsoft Edge. Everything works perfectly in Mozilla Firefox. Internet Explorer loads very slowly, and the buttons work ONLY in full-screen mode. Audio is non-existent in IE.

 

I like the music in both levels, and the lighting in both fits the scene perfectly.

I think the teleporters in the Sci-Fi level are a bit too slow - just about every time I landed in it, I got electrocuted and then arrived at the other end. For extra traps, you could also add in a flying saucer that will kidnap the player if they enter the beam, or switch some of the electric arcs out for laser grids...or have the player go through the Death Star canteen and get hit by a tray

 

Update to Spamocalypse:

Firstly, I have the new GUI in place. I think I may need to tweak some font sizes, and I think the level intro screen (see the image below) needs a bit more work (i.e. replacing that scroll area with something...not sure what yet). However, I think it fits the setting of the game a lot better.


I also have a 64-bit Mac build, which is completely untested, because I don't have one to test it with. I have no idea if it will work, crash to desktop, or hijack your computer on behalf of the Word of Turscar, so...consider yourself warned!

And fixes. Very important fixes:

• I forgot to assign some buttons on the game over screens, which made it look like the game had frozen upon failure. Game-breaker! Weren't you supposed to test this, Philip?!?!?!?
  
• I finally fixed a bug where the player could jump while leaning. This wasn’t a game-breaker, but it looked a bit odd to be jumping while leaning over at a 30 degree angle.
• I tweaked the exhaustion mechanic after one of my workmates commented on it. It now allows you to move at a snail’s pace, but you can’t attack, run, jump or climb a ladder. I also lowered the timeout to get your breath back before you can do any of that again to a second. I may update the speed a little later, and maybe allow the player to climb ladders but at the same slow pace.
  
• Ladders don’t make the player kinematic any more. Instead, they just toggle whether or not the player ignores gravity. The tutorial also tells you how to use them.

I haven't fixed the voice lines for the Spammerised Moderator yet. That's the one with the most distorted voice, caused by the Wahwah effect in Audacity. I'm trying to make them sound creepier than a slowed-down text-to-speech clip - any suggestions?

 

Looks good from the screenshot, when I get on my main PC I'll take a look.

How did you manage to make a OSX build on Windows? I thought you needed to buy a Mac for that... only thing I can think of is you used a Hackintosh virtual machine (I had one, I hated it, don't judge me).

As for the voice lines, did you try recording your own voice and adding a ton of effects over it? I've seen people do that here on the forums.

 

I'm actually on Linux. If you're doing a standalone build, it covers Windows, Linux and Mac - you have to build each one separately, but you don't need a Mac. I think you need one for iOS development, but I've no interest in that (or Android).

I tried recording my own voice early on, but the microphone on my headset is lousy - it picks up me breathing, which is kind of distracting. I've also tried a recording app on my mobile, but that's a bit cumbersome, and the sound quality isn't great either. I still have some voice clips for the Logic Bomb weapon, which are just me snidely saying "This statement is false", or demanding that somebody divide the square root of -1 by 0, or similar things. Those have been cleaned up with Audacity, but I just think my voice sounds awful.

 

Not really much to report, finished a rough idea of the lighting (thank god for enlighten) and models, but way more to do... One level, straight corridor- i'm going to have to go back a refactor that into the more interesting shaped level, first person controller all done from scratch using no assets. Game play still non existent but getting there. Please be gentle with a noob less than one year's experience

@Philip-Rowlands yeah if you could put up a 64bit mac build I'd be interested in testing.

Looking like everyones' making good progress. Slow but good.

 

Starting to look like a real game, but you need to lower the field of view of your camera as you have a weird fish-eye effect. The art is turning out nicely, I couldn't dream of doing that well with the art.

You said everyone is making good progress, while I'm here ripping my hair out on how to make a fantastical level more interesting than a semi-realistic level.

 

Thanks the fisheye is OTT as it is a horror game but I'll defo tone it down.

Remember, fantastic gameplay is hard, semi-realistic is actually very good

 

@iamthwee the 64-bit Mac build is already up on Gamejolt.

Is it just me, or did the fish-eye effect in level 4 look more pronounced compared with the previous levels?

 

Oh sorry I didn't see, I'll check it out tomorrow, in level 4 I actually have a vortex image stack, the idea was your visual distortion gets worse as a type of sanity meter. But I'll probably reduce the fish eye and accentuate the vortex so it is obviously meant to be a visual distortion.

 

You wanted a UFO? You got it!

A very rough version. Overall I think the UFO's behavior is going to stay about the same, but I do need to step up its model quality to fit the rest of the game.

Any other ideas? I can't believe that fantasy game creating is so much harder than semi-realistic.

 

And another FF draws to a close. Next FF will open Nov 18th! Until then, stay frosty.
Curtiss.