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[Jimbob]

(DISCLAIMER: These shots may not actually be in the game yet  )

Okay, so I'm making a Bubble Bobble kinda co-operative platform arcade game, where you play a couple of Knights, battering goblins around one screen levels. There are some things I want to get feedback on though.

I have made two early version of the game, one in BlitzPlus (B+ - testengine.exe) and one in The Games Factory 2 (TGF2 - KnightsTest.exe). Both are included in this zip here:
Download Knights! test (800kb)

There are some differences between the two.
1. The basic running around jumping is different. The B+ one uses UP for jump, SPACE for attack, whilst the TGF2 one uses X,Z for your actions.
2. In the TGF2 version, ATTACKING in the air will give you a bit more vertical momentum made more apparent by also holding JUMP, whilst this doesn't occur in the B+ one.
3. In the B+ version you can spawn goblins by pressing '3' and batter them around with the sword, but you will get hit on the slightest touch of a goblin. You can come back alive with '2'. In the TGF2 one, the goblins will stop when they are in front of you, and essentially will ready themselves for an attack, but I haven't done that bit yet. The goblins also can semi-navigate parts of the level in the TGF2 one, otherwise they act like Lemmings.

So basically, in each case, which do you think works better?
I'm leaning towards the TGF2 version, with maybe switching the jump button back to UP. Being hit seems too easy in the B+ version and it seems natural to have a mini double jump when you attack midair. I was also toying with a sort of 'ground pound' if you press attack a second time... thoughts?

You can also have fun editing the levels in the B+ version, I think it's fairly unbreakable (*fingers crossed*).

[moi]

At this point I prefer the B+ version, but I don't see much differences except for what happens if you attack while jumping. But for that part I prefer the B+ version.
Also check the URL.
I like the retro look of the mockup screen.

[Ishi]

\o/ it lives!

I'd personally much prefer Z/X as jump rather than Up. You could do both!

Ground pound sounds pretty cool. A basic combo system could work too, so you if time your attacks and take the enemies out in quick succession you get points++.

[ThetaGames]

Looks good!  The goblin AI looks pretty solid, and I like the graphics.  However, when you attack in mid-air, you seem to hover for a bit.

Also, please do not make the game open a webpage when you exit.


Good start, though!

~ Theta Games

[Jimbob]

I think it just opens a little splash logo? Not a whole screen? Either way I can't control that. It's like the loading bar at the start of GameMaker games...

And yeh for the attacking in mid-air hover that's the 2nd difference, and obviously it doesn't quite work for you. The thing is I felt it was odd just attacking in mid-air but continuing to fall at a rapid rate. The way I envisioned it was that the swing of the sword would effectively let you 'hop' a little extra, to gain a bit more height. Does that not feel intuitive to you?

Thanks all for the comments.

[ThetaGames]

I suppose that extra little 'hop' works well.  I just wasn't quite sure of what you were going for.  It does feels a little slow, though.  Perhaps the attack should be executed in a smaller amount of time?

[handCraftedRadio]

This is pretty cool. I definitely prefer the z/x button setup.

[moi]

If possible, offer an option for redefinable keys, because on my non-qwerty keyboard, Z and X are a mile away from each other!

[Akhel]

Pretty nice, reminds me a little of Mario Bros.. I like the up/ctrl setup better, but why not just let the user use both?

Also, the ingame editor is pretty nifty.

If possible, offer an option for redefinable keys, because on my non-qwerty keyboard, Z and X are a mile away from each other!

You really should set up keyboard shortcuts to use QWERTY if needed. I use Alt+Shift+0 to alternate to QWERTY and Alt+Shift+9 to go back to Dvorak.

[Drew]

The TGF version feels much nicer to me.  I like the jumping physics a bit better, and the mid-air hover thing is cool.     

I absolutely hate up-to-jump control schemes, though, so that may be coloring my judgment.  This seems to be the great divide in indie games