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[krasse]

Hello!

This game is a result of some further development of my LD23 entry.

You are supposed to control this little defenceless creature that only can play music and dance. Make other enemy "dancers" do the fighting for you.



I would really like to get some good suggestions on how to improve it.
I have some ideas such as adding projectile flight hints for all "dancers" (along with better SFXs, music and visual stuff like particles etc.)

Play it here!

[ryansworld10]

The gameplay doesn't make much sense. A lack of meaningful tutorial or direction makes it extremely hard to figure out what exactly is going on.

[greenexec]

Agreed. I couldn't get anyone who I made dance fight for me.  The concept is fun, though; sort of Space Channel 5 with more aggro.

[krasse]

The gameplay doesn't make much sense. A lack of meaningful tutorial or direction makes it extremely hard to figure out what exactly is going on.

I see... That is really good to know.

What if I add some messages (in a tutorial fashion) like:
* Move with directional arrows
* Press 'D' to dance
* While pressing 'D', move close enough to an enemy and he will dance to
* Dancing enemies will move exactly like you do
* If you press and hold 'F' while dancing, the dancing enemies will attack
* They attack in the same direction as you stand/move
* Now try to kill the boss in the fort, using some crazy dancing!
* Beware: The boss wears ear plugs!


Other hints I might add as the game progresses:
* If you move while attacking, the projectiles will move faster and longer.
* Use obstacles, like walls and trees, to align your dancers. Dancers standing close on a line can do a lot of damage to a single enemy!
* Music can be heard through walls. You can sneak a dancer into a fort while standing safe outside!
* You need to move really close to tougher enemies before they start to dance.


Does this make any sense now or am I missing something vital?

[krasse]

Agreed. I couldn't get anyone who I made dance fight for me.  The concept is fun, though; sort of Space Channel 5 with more aggro.

Is there some issue with pressing 'D' and 'F' at the same time while moving?

The dancers should throw axes at regular intervals when you press and hold 'D' and 'F'. Is this not happening?
I know that there are some issues with certain key combinations on some keyboards (I'll have to read that article again perhaps )

[krasse]

I have now added some interactive tutorial messages in the first level and hints for all the other.

Thanks for the feedback!
It was very useful.

[krasse]

Added reticles for the dancers and improved a lot of other stuff like a strange keyboard input bug and music.

Has it improved and/or makes sense?

[greenexec]

OK, now it's actually possible to know what's going on, and relatively straightforward to play.

It feels like a tech concept in search of design.  Like, the world is looks cool, and you have all these cute animations and what sounds like spontaneously generated music---neat stuff! 

Yet the actual gameplay is sort of stilted.  You wander around until you find some dudes, slowly drag them over to the castle, and then execute the baddies with somewhat inaccurate throwing.  Every now and then your battery runs low, so you have to give up and wander around randomly some more.  I didn't feel like I was learning anything once I got over the initial hump, and the baddies' castle worked against them; I'd send in my troops and leave myself smacking against the wall on the outside and never took any damage.

What kinds of tradeoffs and challenges do you expect the players to confront, and what skills will they get good at?

[krasse]

Thanks a lot for your feedback greenexec!

I can tell you why I find this game fun and why I don't just give up in trying to get others to play it . This is when you strip away all the tech stuff and just consider the gameplay:

I find it extremely addictive to try to manipulate and quickly grasp the physical configuration of my dancers to get as much damage as possible to the enemies I currently face. When I have 1 dancer it is not much fun but when I have 2 or more I can either perform the attack from the best angle or try to align them by dancing them into obstacles like walls. I feel very clever when I get 2 hits at the same target from my dancers. I feel extremely happy and clever when I get 3 or more hits with one attack and manage to save them all from getting hit.
The elevation of the ground also makes it more challenging. You also have to find a good spot for your attack since all your dancers just aim straight ahead with zero Z direction, which makes the terrain important.

These game elements make me feel like I learn more and more about the game and get better at finding good and deadly configurations more quickly. This is certainly a tradeoff and a challenge since if you use a more "spread out" configuration, you increase your chance at hitting one target (or several if it is a group) but if you face just one strong enemy, a tight line of dancers is the best

I guess that this is the main reason why I find it fun and that I tend to play it over and over.

I think that you have helped me a lot to pinpoint the problem: I fail to show the players  what I find fun in the game. There should be:
1. Some info/tutorials that guide the players towards thinking more about the dance configuration
2. A score/reward system that rewards combos and other "good" moves. The score system should include getting more battery with more hits etc.
3. a better level design that forces you to think about the dance configuration more. A long corridor with a large enemy at the end forces you to align in a row etc. The current castles don't really fulfill any of this. I have the most fun when I lure them out from the castle and fight "outside".

Again, thanks a lot for your feedback. It has really helped me understand what the real issues are (I hope)