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[arrogant.gamer]

Hi

Signal is an abstract puzzle game made in puzzlescript. It is "finished" in the sense that I've made all the levels, and added sound effects. I'd like general feedback, as this is only my second finished game.



In particular:

- was it fun?
- did you understand a narrative, and if so, what narrative did you understand?
- were there any moments when you felt frustrated?

Also, I'd like to have a sense of how far in the game you got. The levels all have names, like

[00001.478974] SIGLOST

This is chapter 1, level 4 (the 1.4 in the middle). If you don't beat the game, and if you remember to, let me know what level you stopped playing at. There are 18 levels.

http://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=7620162

Thanks so much for trying my game ^o^//

EDIT: I wanted to apologize in advance to people who don't see colour the same way as I do. You probably won't be able to play this game... to make it work, the sprites would need to be differentiated by their shape, rather than their colour, and I really wanted the square sprite with a dot to be ubiquitous. You are on my mind, though, and my shame is real.

z.

[JeepBarnett]

I had fun at the pure interaction level. I like dealing with the conundrum of controlling multiple things, but it didn't really play in to the puzzles as far as I got.

I'm stuck in this level:


When I push the block on the red dot the level doesn't complete. I didn't feel frustrated till the point. I'm not sure if there's a trick to it that I'm not seeing.

The undo feature is great! Is it built into puzzlescript? This is the first one I'm tried.

I didn't get a good sense of the plot, but I think maybe I'm a hacker trying to block the signals of some transmission.

[Prads]

When I push the block on the red dot the level doesn't complete. I didn't feel frustrated till the point. I'm not sure if there's a trick to it that I'm not seeing.

You have to make that little white square (on the block you are pushing) turn red. You can rotate the block(one that you are pushing to the red dot) by pressing x when you are next to it.

I completed till level 13. I think it's a great puzzle game. When I first started it I had no idea what I was doing but as I played along, I seemed to understand what was going on. The lack of tutorial made it much more interesting to me.

[arrogant.gamer]

I had fun at the pure interaction level. I like dealing with the conundrum of controlling multiple things, but it didn't really play in to the puzzles as far as I got.

Yes, this is very common. I'm really interested to see the ratio of players who get stuck on this level, vs those who don't. It seems to be about 50/50. It isn't your fault: the instruction "press 'x' to action" is shown only briefly, and then doesn't come up for six levels. Not giving you a reminder at this point is probably a poor design decision on my part (but one that I seem to want to stick with).

The undo command is a feature of puzzlescript, and yes it is quite awesome. I think without it, many of the levels in Signal would be too hard.

You have to make that little white square (on the block you are pushing) turn red. You can rotate the block(one that you are pushing to the red dot) by pressing x when you are next to it.

I couldn't have said it better. You made it quite far! You also made me notice that levels 1.4 and 1.3 were out of order (so, you actually made it to 1.4). Thanks for your positive comment. I'd like to encourage you to play through the rest: there is actually one more game mechanic that you haven't seen, and it is introduced in level 1.5 (the next level).

Here is a link to a version that starts at level 1.5: http://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=7625810

[JeepBarnett]

Does rotating the block have any additional interactions with the puzzle? It seems weird to have the extra step of pressing X on it unless it allows for new types of puzzles (such as blocks that take up multiple grid spaces or maybe buttons that you DON'T want to press when it passes over. I didn't get far enough, so maybe you've done that or it has some story purpose.

If you really want to train it, you could have a level where that's the only possible interaction. For example: start the box on the button in a corner that it can't be pushed away from. The player will have no choice but to search for a new way to interact with it and after mashing keys will find they can rotate it.

[William Chyr]

Hey! This a great puzzle game. I was pleasantly surprised.

I have to admit, when I first started playing, I was really confused and a little frustrated, but then I started to notice patterns, and things would click in. Then it was a lot of fun.

Even though the lack of instructions and tutorials might turn off some players, the "ah ha" moment you get when you figure something out on your own is totally worth it.

I'm currently stuck on this level (I believe it's 1.179893?):


 
I'm having trouble figuring out what the 2-white-1-green blocks do. I remember that the 2-white-1-pink blocks allowed me to use the green blocks to control the pink blocks, and thought this would be the same function, but reversed. However, this doesn't seem to be the case... Or perhaps I'm missing something?

Anyway, here are some thoughts right after playing:

• In addition to the "undo" button, is it possible to add a "level reset" button? Technically, you could just hit "ESC" and then "continue", but I think that takes away from the flow of play a bit.
• Have you thought of having the level number at the top of the screen? I think it'd be a nice way for the player to be reminded of how far they've come.
• Have you tried having a white outline around all the blocks? Might not work that well, but I thought it'd be a nice way visually just to split up the blocks a bit and make them individually stand out a little more.

EDIT: Regarding narrative, I got the "signalling" part of the game, but I'm not sure if there was more to it than that. It certainly didn't cross my mind while I was playing. Mostly I was just trying to figure out the properties and rules in the game.

[Prads]

Does rotating the block have any additional interactions with the puzzle?

In level where there are more than one blocks that you can push, rotating those blocks in same pattern and moving one of the block moves all the other blocks. So yeah they do have interaction with the puzzle and in later level that mechanism makes some interesting puzzle. The puzzle where willychyr is stuck (above post) is where you need to use that rotating mechanism. The 4 blocks on the right can't be accessed and you can only push one block in the middle. So you just rotate the block in the middle to match the pattern of the blocks to the right and push it to control the blocks to the right.

I couldn't have said it better. You made it quite far! You also made me notice that levels 1.4 and 1.3 were out of order (so, you actually made it to 1.4). Thanks for your positive comment. I'd like to encourage you to play through the rest: there is actually one more game mechanic that you haven't seen, and it is introduced in level 1.5 (the next level).

Here is a link to a version that starts at level 1.5: http://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=7625810

I will give it another go as soon as I finish some of the work I need to do for my game.

[Prads]

Didn't know what the fuck I was suppose to do in this one lol:

[arrogant.gamer]

In level where there are more than one blocks that you can push, rotating those blocks in same pattern and moving one of the block moves all the other blocks.

You are the boss of this game. I don't have to explain anything to anyone. Thanks! You are currently on the last level, and you're right that it is quite different from previous levels. Can you tell me what you've tried? I mean, what you've accomplished so far in the level? It is the first level that relies solely on the final mechanic, and it is possible that you solved the previous two levels without using the last mechanic (in which case, I salute you).

Also, can you let me know if you perceive a narrative, and what it is?

Hey! This a great puzzle game. I was pleasantly surprised.

I have to admit, when I first started playing, I was really confused and a little frustrated, but then I started to notice patterns, and things would click in. Then it was a lot of fun.

Even though the lack of instructions and tutorials might turn off some players, the "ah ha" moment you get when you figure something out on your own is totally worth it.

Thank you ~<3 You are my target audience for sure.

I'm having trouble figuring out what the 2-white-1-green blocks do.

You know what, I didn't notice this at first but in that level the "2-white-1-green" blocks (or "control blocks", as we call them internally) are exposed, and that is misleading. If the pink dude pushes on one of those green control blocks, all green dudes (or "drones", as we call them) will move. They are only meant to be exposed like that in levels where they contribute to the puzzle. I will change that level's layout right away. They have nothing to do with that puzzle.

In addition to the "undo" button, is it possible to add a "level reset" button? Technically, you could just hit "ESC" and then "continue", but I think that takes away from the flow of play a bit.

There is a reset button, 'r', built in to puzzlescript.

Have you thought of having the level number at the top of the screen? I think it'd be a nice way for the player to be reminded of how far they've come.

Displaying text is difficult in puzzlescript; that's just one of its limitations. It would be nice though, I, too, tend to feel a little "lost" in puzzle games.

Have you tried having a white outline around all the blocks? Might not work that well, but I thought it'd be a nice way visually just to split up the blocks a bit and make them individually stand out a little more.

This one is both a limitation of puzzlescript (which forces a blocky resolution), and an asthetic choice. The game has a disorienting look and feel on purpose (blocks moving everywhere, very little different between walls and actors, etc...).

WillyChyr, thanks so much for your thorough evaluation! Your comments have definitely helped me understand your experience of the game.

If you really want to train it, you could have a level where that's the only possible interaction.

An interesting thought: then it would be much more obvious that the player is "missing" something. I might just add another level to chapter 0 with that layout.

[arrogant.gamer]

I just played through the last level to verify that it is solvable: it is solvable. Lots of people are having trouble with it, though, and so far no one has solved it to my knowledge.

So! Probably there is something I haven't communicated well enough. In the interest of making that level more approachable, can everyone let me know what they've tried, and at what point they are stuck?

I don't want to just "give a hint" because any hint that I give should really be in the game. I want to figure out what hint I should add to the last few levels to make the last level doable.

EDIT: here is a link to the last level http://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=7642162

Thanks!

[Prads]

Solved it! Woohooo! :D

Edit: As far as giving hints goes, I would say don't. There is this excitement that you get when you are finally able to solve the puzzle and hints would ruin everything. You have a great puzzle game in your hand!

[arrogant.gamer]

You have a great puzzle game in your hand!

I'm glad you liked it! I would like to understand, though, conceptually what it was you were having a hard time with. Was it just that that level's "key mechanic" hadn't been thoroughly introduced?

I kind of imagine that's the problem: that mechanic is available in the three previous levels, but it isn't "necessary" to solve them. I wanted the player to discover the mechanic accidentally and say "What? I can cheat?", and then gradually have it be more and more practical.

Anyway: seriously thanks for your attention and perseverance, and for your kind words.

[Prads]

Nah the mechanics was clear (especially that sound makes it hard not to notice it). I just couldn't figure out the puzzle at first. As soon as I noticed I could use use the top left block to move the bottom block on the pink thingy (I knew it was possible but I just didn't think it that way at first), it became clear.

[lethargilistic]

[...]the instruction "press 'x' to action" is shown only briefly, and then doesn't come up for six levels. Not giving you a reminder at this point is probably a poor design decision on my part (but one that I seem to want to stick with).

You've used 25 of the maximum 31 total objects right now, and you might consider creating a set of tiles that are the characters "Act: X" and making a level that is solely writing this. The win condition should be considered satisfied if none of the relevant pieces are on the board, so pressing any button will advance to the next level. I created a character set for the whole alphabet for my first (and so far only; must learn faster!) game, Pluto is a Planet, that you could use. You can use wall tiles as a frame, as I did.

[Shaun LeBron]

Just wanted to say that I really like the mechanic here.  I'll also reflect what was said here about the initial frustration and mystery, followed by small epiphanies from the level design that brought it all together.

I enjoyed the experience and design, but I'm putting it down after this level.  Brain hurts.

[arrogant.gamer]

Just wanted to say that I really like the mechanic here.

Thanks! That is definitely one of the levels that will make you put the game down. Can you believe, in an earlier version I had 4 blocks on the left!? That's just dumb. I think it is levels like this that I've learned the most from: the player knows exactly what to do, but can't execute their plan to completion because of some out of control pink dude. I am much happier with the levels where there player can formulate a plan and execute it, and then perhaps later realize there was a much easier way.

[xarn]

I personally found it very confusing. What bothers me most is that all blocks look alike.
It would be great to differentiate blocks more to see what blocks you control, what are the "walls", the "crates" ...at least making the walls different would help greatly.

[arrogant.gamer]

I personally found it very confusing. What bothers me most is that all blocks look alike.
It would be great to differentiate blocks more to see what blocks you control, what are the "walls", the "crates" ...at least making the walls different would help greatly.

This is my favourite kind of feedback! Last night I sat down and demoed the game with a fellow at a dev meetup. His reaction was just like yours: he sat down and the first thing he said was "where am I". He pushed "UP", "DOWN", and nothing happened. I could see he was struggling. He didn't manage to pass the 1st level, because, like you, he was so overwhelmed by noise that he could not distinguish signal.

As for 'what are "walls"', suffice it to say that those things you bump up against are not "walls" at all. They are as confused as you are!

[arrogant.gamer]

Hey! @SaintHeiser of digital-synthesis is doing a cover of Signal, in his own dark art-style. Visually, it feels like the moody parts of super-metroid. In addition, the game will be full of new levels and weird stuff (because the dude is weird).

teaser-trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gQvLbN9EuQ&feature=youtu.be