So the Katakijin feedback is back, and man did one of them do his best to make me feel like shit.
Anyways I'm just going to talk about some of the feedback they gave me.
Venge scored best in: Visual Art
And scored worst in: Game Design
That's odd. I thought I'd get Gameplay or something like that, not Visual Arts.
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Tutorial is lacking. Could have done with a difficulty setting. Need checkpoints. Very little enemy variety - too much combat with nondescript ninjas.
Enemy ninjas also take too many hits too kill. Sprites are also constantly blocked from the player's view by objects such as grass and fences, obscuring the action, animation and ninja moves. Not too fond of the backtracking either.
The game should probably be designed with players of all skill levels in mind. Also encountered a crash bug after loading game.
I agree with this for the most part. I ended up realizing all that he said too. The only part I didn't argree with is "the game should probably be designed with players of all skill levels in mind." I don't think so. You don't play IWTBTG and complain about difficulty. You become better at it, and that is part of the game itself. It's the same thing with games like Ninja Gaiden.
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+Good rock music
+Nice, but simple graphics
+Plenty of nice polish and flair within the simple graphics
-Wall climbing is a little difficult to understand (why/what makes him jump around so much)
-Opening enemies repeated too much.
-Big slash not as useful (so it seems) as little slash.
Well not much to say here. The game was incomplete so this makes sense.
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overall, a decent execution of an age old concept. the tutorial was not very helpful in figuring out how to play the game, i got stuck not knowing how to climb the wall (figured out in-game later on). also, not having instructions on which keys do what is a major impediment for getting into the game.
I guess he skipped the tutorial. Maybe I should make it mandatory. Figured it out though it seems. Not much here either.
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I found the controls so terrible as to be unplayable. Before submitting to a design competition like the IGF, I strongly encourage the developer to consider what contribution to the industry they are attempting to make. If the way you describe your game is "it's just like these other games," then it is not an appropriate submission. If you're going to put all of this time and energy into making a game, for the love of games, do something original.
What the fuck? Who is this guy? He practically had nothing constructive to say about my game other than bitch about originality. Yes it's unoriginal, so what? Not everybody is trying to revolutionize the industry you prick. Some of these judges need to learn how to enjoy games.
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Crashed on close twice including one hard crash requiring a reboot. Who knows. Could be any number of things.
Metallic sounds might be a bit harsh for menus. I like the other sounds attached.
The intro level is wayyyyy too difficult. It's okay for someone who's already played this kind of a game --maybe-- but novices would quit in frustration.
Nice straightforward design with nifty flourishes. Level design is good if a bit blocked out looking. The tasty and tasteful art helps much here but why all the occluding fences?
Control of the character is okay. Using powers and abilities is intuitive. This works the way it's supposed to.
This isn't an original concept of course, then again, looking at Venge --which is a fun name, btw, maybe everyone should make at least one of these. Much to be learned here and food for thought.
Good feedback here. Need to work on those bugs.
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I like this style of game, but feel this one is missing out on a few key things.
Controls - By having four keys in a row with different functions, I found it easy to get confused, often jumping when I wanted to attack. Consider moving the jump to the (somewhat) more standard spacebar.
Feedback - Consider including the interaction key with the "interact" prompt so I don't have to randomly try keys to find out what it is - in general, if you can include the key on-screen without breaking your immersion, it's preferable.
Level Design - the goals were not very clearly indicated through visuals or instruction - most of the first tutorial level was the same color. Consider picking out the player's goals in a different color. Additionally, consider highlighting the interact points more clearly.
Training - The tutorial for combat was a huge list of information - different keys, moves, magic, etc - too much to learn without being able to put it into practice. Consider splitting this stuff up into stages v.s. specially-tailored enemies against which each attack is worth using, and require the player to use each ability to progress. (you do this well with the movement tutorials).
Combat - In general, I didn't get to see why I needed so many different attack variants - I could just spam the X key and usually win. With no health-bars on enemies, they need to very clearly show their health status in some other visual way. Consider whether the control complexity/combat system is necessary.
Very good feedback. I honestly don't know how to tackle this control problem. I had my friend play the game and he was also complaining that there were too many buttons. I can't help but feel that it's something players are just gonna have to get used to. Gave me lots to think about though.
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Excellent chunky 2D combat system stuck in an otherwise somewhat tepid platformer -- it's about 60% of a finished and amazing game that has more to do between points A and B.
Yeah, the platforming isn't the point of this game. I'm glad he/she thought so highly of the combat system which really is the star of the show.
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The visual style is very nice in some places (the cherry blossoms in the background, the lighting effects)... but it's a bit uneven. For example, the title screens are rough by comparison, as are the character sprites (the animations are nice, but the character design is odd... very chunky).
Sword fighting was a bit sluggish, at least on my computer, so it essentially turned into random button mashing. I also found that I could simply jump over the enemies to get past them (until the point in the game where "barriers" appear and block your path until you defeat the 4 boss enemies).
The rock soundtrack was a bit heavy-handed. Maybe Japanese windchimes instead...
Why can't the guy run with his swords out? The transition between modes (from running to fighting) was a hurdle.
I don't really understand what he meant by transitioning being a hurdle. You literally walk up to an enemy and fight. That's how it is in these type of game. I don't know. But other than that, what he said was expected.
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Overall, pretty good feedback I think for a rushed demo. Full game should be out this year and I'll take into account all the feedback I've gotten. Hopefully I get further next year...and that one asshole of a judge is off the panel.
Player
