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[hapafive]

Hello all!  I've written a puzzle game and am worried it might be too hard.  I would love to get some feedback on the difficulty ramp (or any other aspect).

Unity webplayer demo: s3.hapafive.com/jam/web/chrome/WebPlayer.html

Thanks for your help!

(edited to be more specific)

[Jupiter_Hadley]

Hello! This game is quite cute and I like the graphics. Should it be a game for android? I feel like it would be much better suited for swiping instead of my boring computer mouse; as far as the game being too hard, I don't think its that hard at all. Some puzzles require a little more thought then other, but regardless, they all seem doable. I played the game for about 20 minutes and due to the lack of a level counter that I could see on my screen, I'm not sure how far I got. Most of the puzzles only took a few seconds, though one I got suck on and used the little ? to help me out. With that, I don't thing it could be 'too' hard. I would deferentially get this for an android though, rather than as a computer game

[IzzyReggie]

The game was fine. I imagine more puzzler-oriented people would enjoy it a lot more than me (which is not to say I didn't enjoy it). My biggest complaint would be: it's fairly inconsistent.
Most levels I would blast through without even thinking, and be like "oh, that was really the best solution? huh" and then I would come across a real stumper, where I'd be 1 under minimum each time. I made it through the entire starter section, but it got to 1:30am so I decided to call it quits.

To maybe calm your worries: it's not too hard, it's just some hard ones got stuck in 'easy' sections.

[Mittens]

I only played the first 16 levels, but I found I got 3 stars on almost all of them very quickly, so no, I don't think it's too hard.
The game is really neat and polished, one thing I think could add to it tho is if the fox had a talking noise (ala Banjo Kazooie) and if the music was less repetitive and in your face (a more ambient track would make it take longer to get annoying)

[JDM]

You've got some really smart puzzle design here!  Well done.  It's got a really fun aesthetic, too.

The only thing I'd reconsider is your level order.  There's some stuff in the late teens/early twenties that seems like it's slightly out of order.  Like with the one-direction blocks, you have a fairly difficult one featuring those before two easier levels, and it might make more sense to switch that around.

BTW, about your hints: It might be cool if you showed a two-star or one-star solution instead of the three-star.  Then your players can get through with your fairly generous hint options but come back and solve it better for more satisfaction?

[hapafive]

Hey folks thanks for all the feedback.  I am reassured it's not too hard but there are definitely some things to tweak.  I am expecting to put this onto mobile devices. I'll keep working to smooth out the harder levels - your specific feedback on where those are is helpful.  Over time it gets really hard for me to judge which levels are hard and which aren't :-)

Anyway thanks for all the great feedback and suggestions!

[Qqwy]

Hey folks thanks for all the feedback.  I am reassured it's not too hard but there are definitely some things to tweak.  I am expecting to put this onto mobile devices. I'll keep working to smooth out the harder levels - your specific feedback on where those are is helpful.  Over time it gets really hard for me to judge which levels are hard and which aren't :-)

Anyway thanks for all the great feedback and suggestions!

Hmm... I played it through from the start. It is indeed not too hard. I have to say tough that I found going from level nine(one rock, a par of five moves) to level ten(two rocks and a par of ten moves) a  very steep difficulty curve. Maybe you should move level ten up a little because the level right after it are again a lot easier.

[ladron]

Overall the design is really good. It reminds me of the game "Quell".

The gameplay is very fluid and I can picture it working really well with swipe gestures on a touchscreen. The feeling of velocity and impact of the moves is nicely done.

Regarding difficulty, I found it to be a very smooth, easy progression at first and then the difficulty kicked in at level 14.

Too hard? I don't know. It depends on the audience you are going for. I think the casual market probably wants a *very* gradual increase in difficulty (if any...) while others will appreciate the challenge.

I really liked the progress bar at the top showing the moves so far and the goals.

[Uykered]

I gave up on level 3 because it was too easy, and felt like I was being treated like a baby who had never played a game before.

However, it's probably fine considering your casual phone audience — I'm sure they like things exactly this!

[hidingspot]

Fun game!  I think the difficulty question depends on your audience.  Is it meant for youngsters?  I ask because of the cuteness of it all.  If so, I imagine it would be challenging but fun for that age group.  For adults, the first section (through 24) was not too hard, but I have yet to play the second two sections.  I'm assuming the puzzles get more difficult/interesting from there.  I'll try to come back to it.

Stuff I liked: Cute graphics and music.  Short tutorial only says as much as necessary, then let's you play.  As mentioned above, there are a few level order switches that might help, but overall the learning curve was solid.

Possible improvements: I agree with Jackson31 about pushing the music into the background a bit.  Also, simple games like this are all about the polish.  Things really need to look and feel great.  You're well on your way, but a little more snap and pop would help.  For example, the sound of the rocks hitting walls and each other doesn't quite fit to me.  I imagine something like the sound of pool balls colliding.  Something like a tweaked version of this: http://www.freesound.org/people/juskiddink/sounds/108616/
Perhaps that would make the feeling more gratifying.

[Rodifan]

This game makes a pretty good time-killer. Put that shizz on mobile gaming and people will play it. I assure that.

[Udderdude]

It's definitely not too hard.  But of course, difficulty is subjective.  If your target audience is little kids (which after playing it I assume it is), getting difficulty feedback from grizzled game developers/veteran gamers probably isn't the best idea.

[soulareus]

Wow, this game as really easy for me, but I have been playing games for over 20 years.  I feel like I've seen the exact same game mechanic before in a few other puzzle games.  I put a high emphasis on originality in games I play, but we all play games for different reasons.  On the plus side, the sounds and graphics are done very well and it looks polished.  I was a little surprised about how easy this game was because of the title of this thread.  I was expecting something about as hard as this game: http://www.kongregate.com/games/soulareus/hard-lander.

[Nathan Cash]

I agree the level order was a bit mixed up. Maybe group puzzles into easy, medium, and hard packs so everyone will have something to enjoy. Overall this is mobile device gold! PLEASE FINISH IT!!! I would buy so quickly.

[Ziggurat]

Great level design! The introduction of new blocks with fixed behaviours and more varied shapes make this a really good take on the parking lot/slide style of game.

Changing up the art as you progress will add some more variety and keep the player interested.

[MooCowG]

Just wanted to reiterate what's already being tossed in this thread:

Difficulty is fine. At a bare minimum it seems that you're trying to reach a broad demographic with the art style and level progression, so as an adult male of 30 years, it was challenging and amusing. It held my interest. Get some feedback from some youngsters and you'll be on your way. (The level progression was a bit schizophrenic. I'd blast through some of the early ones and then hit a wall randomly. After getting through on 2 stars I'd have an easy time with another 4 and then another wall.)

I wouldn't listen alastair. Maybe it's a bit slow in the first few levels, but I plowed through them fast enough that I didn't care. Get some feedback from "gamer-illiterate" people to tweak the pacing there. People here are probably going to have a ridiculously easy time with them. If you give up that quickly it's not your game to begin with, in my opinion.

Good job!

[hapafive]

Just some final follow up here: this morning I published the game on Google Play (for Android).  All of your feedback was SUPER helpful for tuning and polish.  If you're on Android please do check it out! Thank you!!!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hapafive.rockslide

[Nathan Cash]

No IOS?   

[Toen]

This was a lot more adictive than I thought!! I don't think it's too difficult at all, it has an awesome progretion from really easy, step by step, to challenging. I would only change a bit the Music, but it's only my preference. Awesome work! i mean it

[stevesan]

I'm enjoying this a lot so far! If anything, you may wanna cut one or two of the earlier puzzles that feel a little redundant to me. But no big deal either way. Very polished.