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[garlandobloom]

DUET

This is a game that I have been exploring recently, it is a platformer focusing on puzzles which require teamwork between two characters to solve. It is primarily designed for two players, although it is technically possible to play by yourself, considering the controls are on one keyboard. (at the moment) I am primarily looking for feedback on the mechanics and challenge of the game. The graphics are just prototype art at the moment, so I don't need any feedback on those.

The game features 5 worlds, each focusing on a different type of interaction between the players.

Controls:
RED:
Arrow Keys and Shift
GREEN:
WASD and Space


(A little theory:)
There are a lot of games out there that have "co-op" but very few games that actually have cooperative gameplay, with meaningful interaction between two players. Almost of of those games simply spawn another player one in order to maintain an ideal drop in/drop out experience, and the best I've seen either limits the real cooperation to very small portions of the game boils down to a special action that the players can use when they are close.

This game is intended to explore that untapped area for interesting gameplay. So far I have been doing that through puzzles which require teamwork to solve.

Because most games with "co-op" have two players which are exactly the same, each player in this game behaves differently.

For example, one player can jump higher, and the other can run faster.

This game is a study of how those differences can affect interactions between two people.

[garlandobloom]

I posted a new demo, so sorry for the double post, but I was hoping to get feedback on the new version.

I have also been working on the art style for the game with my fiancee. (the artist for the game) So here are two of our early concepts.

[Igor Hardy]

Both concept graphics show great style. Personally I prefer the mood of the first, painterly one.

[Vania]

Its great.
I had a very similar idea for a multiplayer game... damn it.
I like it a lot, and I usually dont like puzzles.

When a player is on top of another his speed should be modified as if it were a moving platform, that about the only thing I would change for now.

[JaJ]

I kind of agree that it would make more sense for the characters to be each others' moving platforms, even though this makes some of your current puzzels easier.

I also thought the game didn't really get challenging fast enough. I think played about 25-30 levels. And most of the solutions where pretty obvious and the only challenge (if any) was in the execution. I only gut stuck two times, which, in my opinion is a bad thing for a puzzle game :p

I like both art styles but I find the first to be more interesting.

[Valyou]

Huh. Looks a lot like my thought-up game Blib and Blob, with co-op, a red charecter, and a green charecter. Looks nice though, and maybe I'll end up inspirig a few bits from here to B&B.

[garlandobloom]

Thanks for the feedback, it's good to get some nitpicks about the actual gameplay. Instead of just positive comments. Or musings about the art style. (Which is so WIP, it's kind of irrelevent for discussion)

I haven't actually prototyped the idea of the characters riding eachother like moving platforms, being that I believed that it would not just make many of the puzzles easier, but it might eliminate them entirely. Some of the puzzles in the game are completely irrelevent if one player can move exactly with the other. The foundation of the game has been that the players have different talents. I don't believe the game would be more interesting if the players could move as one. If you know a puzzle in particular, which you solved with this method, I would like to know about it, so that perhaps I can alter the puzzle.

As for the easy-ness factor. I have only had the privelege to properly test the game twice, since it seems to be so hard to find two people who can sit down and play the game together. I don't like to hear that the game is too easy.

[garlandobloom]

Prototype Demo no longer available.

If you have played the game before, here is a short description of the changes: (If you haven't please read the first post)

-New Puzzles with new mechanics!
-720p HD resolution, (not that the placeholder graphics are much to look at)
-Now the game is divided into 5 worlds, focusing on different interaction themes:
    1.Separation
    2.Collision
    3.Friction
    4.Gravity
    5.Time
-Newton's Third Law! Momentum for the masses.
-New camera system for smoother play

[oyog]

Er, I'm a little confused by the site hosting your demo.

Do I need to sign up to download?  I don't find a download link anywhere...

I may be temporarily blind.  It's been known to happen.

[garlandobloom]

Demo no longer available for download. We're in full production swing now, so the prototype is pretty much off limits to the general public.