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[SamuSamu]

I've just uploaded the first early alpha build(PC) of my game Bedrock to IndieDB.

Bedrock is a local co-op roguelike-like platforming game for 1-3 players.
Each player controls one character that has unique abilities and is needed by the group to keep going. Players objective is to dig as deep as possible in a procedural underground world, filled with gold, loot and enemies.

• One of the players is an 'Architect', who plans the route which players will take by playing a tetris-like minigame.
• One is a 'Miner', who mines ahead and plays a role of a scout-like unit in the group.
• And the third player is a 'Warrior', who is the only one in the group with abilities to kill encountered enemies.

Players will try to mine gold and they will encounter dungeons filled with enemies and puzzles. Dungeons reward players with loot that gives them new abilities to survive longer.

My goal is to push out early builds often and get early feedback as much as possible. I'm planning to get the final game out during 2015.

If you try the build, please give me a comment if I'm doing something right with the concept or if you think it's utter crap.

Thanks,
Samu  

Edit:
Just realized that you can't see the controls anywhere so here they are:
Keyboard:
Move - Arrows
Action - E
Jump - Space
Switch characters - Tab
Rotate plans - Q/W

Gamepad should be easy to figure out.

[Quicksand-S]

Your IndieDB link is malformed. It seems to include quotations.

Anyway, the game looks cool. I really like the art style and animation for the characters. I'm going to download the alpha and try it out. Just thought I'd mention the link issue first.

Edit: Oh, I see you fixed it already.

[SamuSamu]

Your IndieDB link is malformed. It seems to include quotations.

Yeah fixed it already, thanks for the heads-up though, Quicksand.

[Quicksand-S]

No problem. So...I downloaded it, started a new game and was instantly stuck because nothing I pressed on the keyboard did anything apart from toggling character selections. Only when I tried to quit by pressing Escape did the game start. That's a bit unintuitive.

When I finally got into the game itself, I couldn't do anything except switch characters and swing my pick-axe in the air. It took me a while to work out that I had to use the other character to mark areas first. Even then, it took a while to work out how to dig because my character didn't seem to be having any effect (maybe sound and spraying rocks/dirt would help). On a related note, I noticed that some of my digging "plans" disappeared once I reached a certain spot with my tunnel. Is that intentional? If so, I have no idea why it does that.

The button in the main menu that's supposed to let me quit the game does nothing when clicked.

Playing with a gamepad, I noticed that you don't seem to have deadzones implemented. My character often ended up facing left when I released my thumbstick because the stick is just a tiny bit loose. I would say a deadzone is a must for any game that allows gamepad control.

Anyway, it would probably be fun with someone else, but playing alone makes it so incredibly tedious. If the miner could dig without requiring a plan, that would make it far more enjoyable. Maybe miners should just dig faster with a plan than without? That way the character planning tunnels is still useful in multiplayer but solo players can manage on their own.

[volkiller730]

haha i saw this on imgur yesturday

D/ling the alpha now game looks great

[SamuSamu]

Wow, thanks for the great feedback, Quicksand.

No problem. So...I downloaded it, started a new game  and was instantly stuck because nothing I pressed on the keyboard did anything apart from toggling character selections. Only when I tried to quit by pressing Escape did the game start. That's a bit unintuitive.

When I finally got into the game itself, I couldn't do anything except switch characters and swing my pick-axe in the air. It took me a while to work out that I had to use the other character to mark areas first. Even then, it took a while to work out how to dig because my character didn't seem to be having any effect (maybe sound and spraying rocks/dirt would help).

At this point the game really lacks on tutorials/info, which might confuse when starting to play. And a lot of things lack any visual feedback. I'm gonna try and do something for this soon.

On a related note, I noticed that some of my digging "plans" disappeared once I reached a certain spot with my tunnel. Is that intentional? If so, I have no idea why it does that.

The plans disappear when you hit a rock on your path. Again, there isn't any feedback on this yet so might confuse.

The button in the main menu that's supposed to let me quit the game does nothing when clicked.

Well, this is unfortunate. Thanks for pointing it out, will fix it asap.

Playing with a gamepad, I noticed that you don't seem to have deadzones implemented. My character often ended up facing left when I released my thumbstick because the stick is just a tiny bit loose. I would say a deadzone is a must for any game that allows gamepad control.

To be honest, I haven't even thought about this before, thanks for pointing it out.

Anyway, it would probably be fun with someone else, but playing alone makes it so incredibly tedious. If the miner could dig without requiring a plan, that would make it far more enjoyable. Maybe miners should just dig faster with a plan than without? That way the character planning tunnels is still useful in multiplayer but solo players can manage on their own.

The main focus is on the co-op play, but I guess I need to figure out something to make it less tedious when played alone. If you have any other ideas how to achieve this, I would gladly hear them.

[Quicksand-S]

Why do plans partially disappear when you hit a rock? If the rock was completely blocking the path, I guess that would make sense. I'm pretty sure my plan went sideways, though, while the rock was below me, so the actual path was still valid (if I'm remembering correctly).

The main focus is on the co-op play, but I guess I need to figure out something to make it less tedious when played alone. If you have any other ideas how to achieve this, I would gladly hear them.

Well, you could always have a "Jack of All Trades" character with the ability to mine or attack with the pick-axe, or do it Trine style and let the player switch between mining and fighting, but both these options probably require a separate singleplayer mode.

You could have AI control any character that the player isn't using, so the architect would make semi-random plans (heading down with a bias toward gold blocks, probably), the miner would dig any area that's been planned to be dug, and the warrior would protect the other two. If you're into AI programming, I think this could be pretty fun. This way, the player can choose the role(s) they like best and you don't have to mess with the actual plan/dig/fight mechanics to make them work for singleplayer.

Naturally, the easiest option would be just to stop advertising it as a 1-3 player game, so that if people want to play on their own that's their problem. As a person who dislikes multiplayer-only games and doesn't have anyone to play co-op with, that isn't a solution I like much. It might be worth considering, though.

Have you had anyone you know test the game yet? I find myself wondering if people will like having such limited abilities. For example, I would hate to be stuck playing the miner if all I can do is follow the path someone else laid out for me. Even the architect's job is pretty limited. Only the warrior gets to have fun moving around and doing things freely.

[SamuSamu]

Why do plans partially disappear when you hit a rock? If the rock was completely blocking the path, I guess that would make sense. I'm pretty sure my plan went sideways, though, while the rock was below me, so the actual path was still valid (if I'm remembering correctly).

I guess I could change it to just remove the part of the plan that gets blocked by the rock, but that would require path finding, which I do not have in yet. Right now, the game allows you to place as many plans as you want with architect and this is not my intention. I'm trying to get the plan placing to be challenging and "puzzley" so that playing architect is more interesting than just spamming plans so that the miner can dig where ever he/she wants.

You could have AI control any character that the player isn't using, so the architect would make semi-random plans (heading down with a bias toward gold blocks, probably), the miner would dig any area that's been planned to be dug, and the warrior would protect the other two. If you're into AI programming, I think this could be pretty fun. This way, the player can choose the role(s) they like best and you don't have to mess with the actual plan/dig/fight mechanics to make them work for singleplayer.

I've thought about this and was wondering if players want them to act on their own. I guess I'll do some simple AI to test this out later on.

Have you had anyone you know test the game yet? I find myself wondering if people will like having such limited abilities. For example, I would hate to be stuck playing the miner if all I can do is follow the path someone else laid out for me. Even the architect's job is pretty limited. Only the warrior gets to have fun moving around and doing things freely.

I have tested it with two players. I played as Miner and Warrior and my friend was an Architect. I really liked being the Miner, going head first and when my friend was Architect it really felt like I didn't have to bother thinking where to go, I just went on with the digging. Right now, I think the Warrior is the most boring character, because the enemy encounters are scarce and the enemies don't have an AI yet(They do attack you if you come close, but they don't follow you).

I realize it will be hard to develop this as finding 2-3 players to test is a challenge on its own. That is one of the reasons why I'm going public with this early on, to get a better chance to get feedback on 2-3 player sessions.

I really appreciate the time you've taken to test the game, Quicksand.

Cheers.