Polarity - WIP - PC/Mac

Hi all,

Latest webplayer(Updated! 25/06):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6007755/Polarity/WebPlayer.html

Got so many projects on the go at the moment thought i'd get some feedback on the latest demo.

This is Polarity, a first person puzzle game based on a colour coded virtual world, think Tron meets Portal.

I'm still in the early prototype/whitebox phase and there are still a ton of bugs/issues/exploits but feel free to report them.

More specifically I would appreciate it if players could answer some (or all) of the following questions:

*How entertaining was the demo?
*Was the demo challenging enough? Too difficult?
*If you got stuck, where and how long for?
*Did the signposting suitably inform you of the mechanics?
*Where there any aspects of the game you found frustrating/annoying?
*How much would you be willing to pay for this title if we assumed it contained 30 levels?





Update:

*Fixed the bug where you could pick up a block you were standing on.
*Added first pass crouch with "C" key.
*Changed appearance of inverter barrier to a scrolling texture.
*Added floating cube and audio to the title screen.
*Added widescreen support to the webplayer.
*Other minor bugfixes.
*New levels soon!

Thanks everybody.

 

It's really fun! I like the gameplay and graphics style (though some parts can be tweaked a bit, like the color changing wall).

 

Very nice game concept. Definitely had a nice challenge to it. The instructions were fine I knew what needed to be done for the most part with minimal searching.

 

Appreciate the feedback guys.

@rab236

The plan is the inversion wall will have a sort of zippy particle effect along it to differentiate it from the rest of the environment.

Would you buy this game if it were released?

 

It was really fun, but there were atleast two issues. Sometimes if I rotated my self fast the block I was holding could push me, so once I fell down a ledge because of that. And second issue, is that it is possible to jump on the block you are holding, so you can jump your way to the exit.

 

THAT'S AMAZING! Holy Cow! It reminds me of Portal! I would love to Play/Buy this game when it comes out! Just the demo is Sweet

 

Thanks for playing guys.

@Goolygot - I'll address the bugs you mentioned, I had noticed them both myself but yeah they could be exploited.

@MysticWorks - You'll get your chance hopefully! How much would you pay for 30 levels?

 

Small update this evening:

*Fixed the bug where you could pick up a block you were standing on.
*Added first pass crouch with "C" key.
*Changed appearance of inverter barrier to a scrolling texture.
*Added floating cube and audio to the title screen.
*Added widescreen support to the webplayer.
*Other minor bugfixes.
*New levels soon!

Latest playable demo:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6007755/WebPlayer.html

 

Can't wait to see more levels. I'll be keeping an eye on this topic.

 

Level 3 is now complete (first pass) and can be played via the new web player:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6007755/WebPlayer.html

I've made some major changes to the way cubes are interacted with and added stickiness to pads to prevent them sliding off.

You can skip straight to level 3 from the main menu.

Screenshot of the new level:



Enjoy!

 

A few people have been having difficulty with this one so I'll put a hint (a hint system is planned for the finished title):



This level requires you to do something you've never needed to do before.

 

The game is cool. The colors are a bit too bright (too flashy and fatigue your eyes easily) but I think but its still a nice game.

The 3rd level is bugged and also you don't know what you're supposed to do or go. I found it but took forever. The player needs a visual cue, like a door or exit there, an arrow or something. In these types of puzzle games hiding the exit is not a good idea usually. You have to show the goal and the player has to think how to get there and not hide the exit or it becomes tedious and makes the player want to quit.

Here is how to get stuck forever :


Take blue cube put on platform. Once are up there take cube from platform and put it on button. now take the other blue cube and put it on platform. Now jump down in the red stuff. You will be back at the beginning but the platform will be up. Hit the reset button but oops its the other blue cube that comes down, the platform is still up. You are now stuck as you don't have an angle that lets you see the cube on the platform to get it back to lower it.

Here is how to get stuck and to mess up the game :

I got to a certain part of the puzzle where I had a blue cube and a red cube. I threw those inside the blue glass thing (one after the other), as I thought I needed to do that to finish the level. Then I realized that it was not it and jumped in the red stuff that made me start over. When I hit the reset button, a blue cube came down. When I put that blue cube on the blue platform it did absolutely nothing.

I am sure it is because it was the blue cube that I had turned red prior to throwing in the glass thing or something like that. The cube was blue but it was acting as if it wasn't or as if it was red. I took the blue cube that did not work and threw it in the red field to make it red and then threw it a second time to make it blue again and then finally the platform reacted to the blue cube. It sort of reset it I guess.

I don't know how you coded it but I guess you would have to make sure that the cube that comes up when you hit the reset is really blue and not only coloured blue. The other cube that I had thrown inside the glass thing was technically lost and I was stuck because you need two cubes to finish the level and I had only one...So you can get stuck this way too even if you make it to the end.

In the second level:

You can also cheat in the level with the field by walking where the field is and moving the cube quickly between the two sides of the field quickly until you get the right colour.


Also another comment, the cube moves around too slowly it should follow your camera movement better and not be that sloppy otherwise it can make people dizzy. Paired with the flashy colours, I had a feeling of dizziness while playing.

 

Great feedback Patapouffe,

Yeah there are a ton of bugs at the moment, I discovered the same one today.

As for level three, it definitely needs refining, much of the game does. The exploit in the second level is tricky to solve but I'm working on it.

The brightness, I'm not so sure. You're the only person so far to mention it but I'll bear it in mind.

Appreciate you playing and providing feedback.

 

Hi LeakySink,

No problem. Glad I could help. Keep up the good work !

 

Another update:

*Increased reponsiveness of the cube locking in front of you.
*Added a few beginner rooms to really drive home the core mechanics.
*Patched up the final level temporarily to stop people dropping cubes in the hole.
*Increased physics timestep.
*Added cursor change if the player is hovering over an object they can manipulate.
*Completely changed the control system to a left click toggle for pickup/drop and right click for throw.

Latest web:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6007755/Polarity/WebPlayer.html

 

Nice update !

The beginner rooms are nice. There is just this one thing at the spot where you have to grab the cube through a hole in the wall. Pretty sure it wasn't intended to do it this way, but I just crouched and could go in without the need to grab the cube.

In the second level, where you have two green platforms and one blue, a side of the wall reacts to the cube and makes it change colour. Its not game breaking or anything.

 

Ahh yeah. You're right. I'll make it a tiny bit smaller then you wouldn't be able to fit through.

As for the colour changing walls, yeah that's a bug. I'll fix it tonight.

I toned down the colour palette slightly, with the increased responsiveness does it still make you feel sick?

 

yep, I noticed the difference when I played last time. It doesn't make me feel sick anymore, so its great. In my opinion, the increased responsiveness on the cube, is definitely better this way.

 

Hello there LeakySink! i'd like to review your game.

First off i'd like to unofficially consider myself the 'game breaker'.

First off, you'll be needing to fix your crouch. It is quite broken. I like getting outside of the map on any game I play. Go to any level that has a roof that you can get close to, and crouch (press C) as quickly as you can (preferably after jumping). you'll see what I mean. you can use this 'glitch' to get distance jumps and get an extra boost on how high you jump. This glitch led me to be able to jump out of the map, skip parts of the game, and cheat through levels with ease.

Also, those 'color changer walls' that you have that change the cubes colors, are they meant to change color depending on what side of the wall the cube is on? because you can just pick up the cube, put it partially through, and it will be whatever color you want. I like to consider it finger painting the cube

Another glitch I found is with the blocks. With any block, you can simply set it on the floor, grab it, jump and land on it (midair) and repeat. It's a bit hard to explain, but this glitch allows you to go as high as you want with the block. Kind of like an unintentional elevator.
This glitch I found in the 4th level, in the big room with the first block. I used this, along with the "crouch glitch" that I mentioned before to get above the map and mess around.

Other than this, it seems pretty cool

 

Hi xzile.

Interesting points.

For the moment I think I'm going to remove the crouch ability, none of the current level designs require it and it was hacked in pretty quickly.

The grabbing blocks and getting higher I really don't know how you're doing it. There's a trigger volume at the players feet that if the object is touched it will automatically drop.

 

Hi LeakySkin,

I tried what Xzile said and I was able to use the cube as an elevator. To make it work you need to be standing on the block and have your camera view down so what you see is the block and you will see the cursor changed to show you that you can grab it. Then stay in this view and just keep alternating click to grab and jump (click, space click space). Just mess alternating between click and space as quick as you can it doesn't need to really precise. This will make the cube will go higher and you along with it since you are on top.

Also, the cube comes down very very slowly once its in the air.

 

Feedback time!

Great idea. I like it.
It plays well.
I like the music.
I like the fact that I can grab a cube from afar.
I like the colored cube only having an effect on the platform of the same color.

It's a bit flashy, but with some tweaking can look awesome.


Issues:

- I didn't know I could grab a cube from very far so in the second room, I didn't know what to do for a good 5 min. I tried to stand on the round platform, heck, even tried to spin on it...
- ...because I didn't know what the reset button did. I thought it was telling me to spin or do the same move as in the previous room. Maybe teaching what the reset button does would help.
- When I looked in the next room through the small square opening, I thought it was simply the next room. Maybe add a white contour around the opening to signify it's important in order to solve the puzzle?
- In the Red Green Blue exit room of the next level (or the next section???) When I approached the walls on each side of the door with a cube in my hands they would change to that color... like the moving platforms. Simple texture flagging glitch.

I'll play some more later.

Good job!!!

MQ

 

Hi MoonQuake,

Some good points there.

The room with the hole is there to force you into learning the range mechanic (many people struggle with this) so I'm thinking of redesigning the puzzle, I'll take on board the white border suggestion, that might work.

The texture flagging glitch yeah I know about that one, thanks for the feedback!

 

Another thing Sink is the info signs/text signs.

If you want to just use images, then I suggest you stick to images. (so you don't need to localize the game if it becomes the next Portal) Because if you use text even if it's only once, you might as well use text and images all the way to make it 100% clear.

There are, like, internationally recognized images for each of the moves you need in your game. You could use them. Or come up with some that work as well.

About the white borders, if you keep the color white in relation with the goal, then you can teach a lot by using it wisely. You can guide the player easily.

Again, I'm here to help if you need graphics/lighting/audio/design help.

MQ

 

Minor update tonight, not had much time:

*Implemented much more obvious glow around objects when they can be interacted with.
*Increased size of cursor.
*Refactored initial levels which demonstrate new mechanics to make them as simple as possible.
*Fixed a bug that was causing colour converted cubes not to reset correctly.

Latest webplayer:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6007755/Polarity/WebPlayer.html

 

Tried the new build.Here are the comments:

-Where is the music ?
-Like the new mouse cursor (much clearer)
-The new signs are easy to understand

-Found a new bug:

1)You need to be far from a cube (try this with the second cube in the first level)
2)now put you cursor on it
3)click to grab and click to drop (do this really quickly like a double-click)
4)the cube goes flying up and does weird things
5) I was able to lose the second cube in the first level this way(it seems like it went through a wall when it flew) and then I was stuck in the first level because the cube was gone. I also lost the cube in the second level this way.

I guess you need to make sure that the cube is close before one can drop it or if you drop it while its coming towards you, it will add the velocity to it and make it fly around. Otherwise make sure that the cube can't get lost.

 

Hello, can you post here shader of big red wall???

 

It's a pretty standard UV scrolling shader Din, why do you want it?

 

I don't know anything about shader coding, but I rly need something like this for one of my current projects... It would be great if u could give me one)

 

It's not a shader, it's a script I attach to the object. You can find it here:

http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/19848/making-textures-scroll-animate-textures.html

Update:
*I've been working on polishing the core mechanics and features before I get any decent art in.
*New cursor has been in for a while with highlight.
*The moving platforms are now much more responsive, reliable and functional.
*Initial focus tests are positive.
*Still a long way to go!

 

I've been working on the art style and story this week, quite struggling with it.

Any feedback welcome.

 

screens looks good but you might want to try to have the texture of the wall different from the texture of the floor.

 

Resurrecting this thread from the dead.

I've been incredibly busy with my full time job recently but I've still found time for this game, I believe the only way you'll ever finish a game to a polished standard is to add polish as you go along, so here's a latest video of the power pads and something similar to how they will look/behave when finished.

I've also got some really great concept art, once I get permission to put it up, I will.

Feedback welcome as always:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utM3kXAOodY&feature=youtu.be

 

Patapouffe is right, en fait!

Also, I like the new cube pads rotating effect stuff! I prefer the new look of the game too.

Too bad you don't have much time to work in the game... it's promising.

MQ

 

Good to hear MQ.

Here's an art test I'll be working more on today, the art is really the area that needed the most attention.

Removed - poor hosting!

 

Another art update:



I'll be putting up a full level with first pass art in the not too distant future.

 

Triple post update:

Planning on releasing this level today if anybody is volunteering to playtest:



There's quite a lot of new stuff but I'll get to that in the new build post.

 

Hi LeakySink,

It keeps getting better and better. I will try the level once its up.

 

Wow, that was fun

Here's my answers to your questions.

*How entertaining was the demo?
Very entertaining. Really would like to see more levels. I could waste a lot of time on this.

*Was the demo challenging enough? Too difficult?
Yeah, I actually got stuck on what I think was the 3rd level. It was the one with the big pit and the piece of glass flying across the level. The first few levels were clever, the one with the color changing blocks was a lot of fun. Took me a minute, but had that gratifying moment when I figured it all out

*If you got stuck, where and how long for?
Answered in last question, but I actually gave up after a few tries to come post here instead. Not sure what to do on that one though.

*Did the signposting suitably inform you of the mechanics?
Yeah, mostly. The color changing blocks and throwing blocks wasn't mentioned though so I had to figure that out myself. However, that said, I had a "Cool!" moment when the blocks changed color without me being told.

*Where there any aspects of the game you found frustrating/annoying?
Just the fact that I'm on my laptop with a touchpad

*How much would you be willing to pay for this title if we assumed it contained 30 levels?
My first question would be, will it end up on a console or mobile device? Those are really the only places I play games. I just have a hard time getting into playing them on the PC. Perhaps because I've never owned a high-end rig. Either way, on mobile, probably $1.99 and on a console, $15-$20.

 

Oh, and I'd really like to see a shadow on the ground so I know where my block is being dropped. I missed the buttons a number of times because I wasn't close enough but looked like I was.

 

Great feedback there scheda,

To answer your questions:

It's planned for PC, Vita and potentially XBLA but I think iDevices would be too fiddly play on, that said it would be easy enough to port so I'll definitely consider it.

The shadow is a good idea, when I find some time I'll implement something along those lines.

 

As promised here's the latest build.

Tons of new stuff:

*Completely new introductory level, break into the mainframe.
*New hint/tip system informs you of controls and actions contextually.
*Player can crouch (this is still pretty buggy but it works).
*Plenty of art polish/improvement.
*New animations on the cubes/pads/platforms etc.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6007755/Polarity/WebPlayer.html

Feedback welcome.

 

That link was broken, updated.

 

Tried the new build.

-You can use the cube to go really high by alternating jumping and grabbing the cube. I passed through a ceiling and found myself on top of the level. It also messes up the physics of that cube once you do that. If you grab and drop it afterwards it will drop very very slowly.

-If you forget to bring the red cube with you before jumping in the hole, you are toast.

-I like the new graphical style.

 

Hi Patapouffe,

Ah the old cube grab jumping, I'll look at that.

If you forget the red cube you aren't toast at all, think harder

Thanks!

 

Very nice, easy puzzles but i guess they will be harder in later levels, good to have some easy ones to start with : )
Patapouffe: No need for the first red cube after the hole : p

Edit: I think the mechanics were easy to understand and the help text was descriptive but discrete.
Great game!

 

Thanks Virror,

Yeah this is supposed to be the first level, very easy to establish the mechanics. The levels will slowly increase in complexity and include more mechanics. The help text is a bit of a crutch, I'm intending to turn it off after the first level but leave the option to keep it there if players wish to.

 

*How entertaining was the demo?
I think the gameplay mechanics introduced in the demo so far were a lot of fun. Throwing around and "force pulling" the cube feels great. I also like how the cube connects to the sockets and that you don't have to connect it, but can just hold it over them.
*Was the demo challenging enough? Too difficult?
The demo was pretty easy. I liked how the level seamed to be designed so that you wouldn't get stuck, but I fealt like I was being guided too much.
*If you got stuck, where and how long for?
I didn't.
*Did the signposting suitably inform you of the mechanics?
I must admit I don't know what you mean.
Edit: The viewport wa too big for my screen, so I couldn't see it. I think it would be good if you just showed an icon displaying right click, left click, and so on instead of the text.
*Where there any aspects of the game you found frustrating/annoying?
No.
*How much would you be willing to pay for this title if we assumed it contained 30 levels?
It depends on the level design. If you introduce new elements and make puzzles that force me to rethink my strategies, it would be around 10$. I would recommend polishing the mechanics, the feel of the controls and the visuals though. I very much liked the direction visually I think the cube and the sockets look good already (which is good since they play an important role), but even those could be improved. The environment looks a bit too simple.

A coupple of things happen a bit too fast imo. Crouching and standing up for example.

 

Hi LeiterJakab,

Glad you liked it. The signposting question was related to the tips that are displayed at the bottom of the screen which give you guidance.

Sorry about the viewport, eventually you'll be able to change the resolution.

The level design will become much more complex, this is just the first introductory level. Glad you like the art, I agree at the moment it's a little too simple.

 

Very close to having a second level ready for playtest but not quite there yet.

A screenshot will have to do for now:



This level is actually based off one of my original designs from the first prototypes, some of you may recognise the layout.