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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperPlaytestingAtomic Arena 2
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Author Topic: Atomic Arena 2  (Read 9252 times)
Akari
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« on: February 24, 2007, 02:24:02 AM »



Atomic Arena 2 is a sequel to originally a 48-hour project made by me & PainMachine back in Summer 2004. In Autumn 2005, we started to work on the sequel, and after six months of (slow) development, we released it in February 2006.

So what is it about?

Atomic Arena 2 is a retroish arcade-survival game, where the goal is to score as high as possible.
You take the role of an atom and guide it in two-dimensional space avoiding spawning antimateria and destroying it with various bonuses that can be collected from the playfield.


This time the game features:

* Single- and multiplayer
* 3 gamemodes
* 7 different bonuses + the skull bomb!
* Online and Offline scoreboards for every game mode
* 3 different enemies
* Temperature (a whole new feature)
* Much better gameplay and engine
* A killer soundtrack by ZOMBAH!

That's about it. Have fun or die.

The game can be downloaded from here:
http://www.teamfiregames.com/aadb/index.php?nav=dl (Version 1.0.4, .zip, 3.02 MB)

You can also find other information, the first Atomic Arena and the online scoreboards from the Atomic Arena Database:
http://www.teamfiregames.com/aadb/

A few screenshots:

An ingame screenshot


The main menu


Another ingame screenshot
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ravuya
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« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2007, 12:15:59 PM »

That is a very attractive GUI you have there.
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Akari
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« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2007, 05:00:38 AM »

So, could I get some more actual feedback now?

Seriously, don't let the screenshots to mislead you, they don't tell pretty much anything at all about the gameplay, which is the main thing in the game.

It's almost sad that whenever I tell about this game somewhere, the response is like one comment like "yeah pretty cool" and that's it. It's sad also because the feedback we get from the people who actually play it is 95% of time mainly positive.

And I can see from the page that there has been more downloads recently, so at least some of you must have tested it. Could I hear your opinion?
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Derek
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« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2007, 05:47:47 AM »

Sorry, Daiz... the Feedback forum hasn't really gotten rolling yet.

But I played the game and here's my critique.  If you're sad that everyone's so positive about the game, then get ready to be very happy, because I'm going to be kind of harsh.

What I didn't like:

It's impossible to tell what's going on in this game.  Is everything that's not a bonus an enemy?  Sometimes it seems like I get little balls that help me destroy stuff, but it's impossible to tell because EVERYTHING IN THIS GAME IS A LITTLE BALL.  Seriously, you need to distinguish the "antimateria" somehow.  Make them triangles or something.

The controls feel clunky.  This is exacerbated by the fact that the main character is a little ball.

The enemy AI is boring, and the enemies all clump up because they just follow you around.

I disagree with ravuya.  The GUI is simple, but it's not attractive.  It's uninformative and unengaging.  Having everything in different corners of the screen only makes it more difficult to tell what's going on.  And trust me, it's already pretty difficult.

Despite your simple art needs, the graphics are kind of primitive.  Get a pixel artist to help you tidy up those icons and bonuses.

Better art, more special effects, and more sfx would enhance this game greatly.

What I liked:

Generally I like dodging things, and the idea of having things circle around me and trying to defeat enemies that way is intriguing.
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Kornel Kisielewicz
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« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2007, 06:09:29 AM »

Sorry, Daiz... the Feedback forum hasn't really gotten rolling yet.
I think the problem is that we have a lot more developers than players here xD.
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jankoM
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« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2007, 06:18:58 AM »

At first I couldn't manage to start the game. I think you have too many options and readmes and everything upfront. I got lost somewhere in options and couldnt exit or start the game. then I terminated it and run again this time I got lost in readme but back did go back so I finally came to Start button.

Then I had no clue what is going on for a while. who am I? what is the meaning of all this (and other existential questions)? Then I figured that I am that blue thing with an arrow on top and that I better run away frow everything I see on screen. Then I relized that those circles with B on them actually are good to pick up so I then started avoiding and picking up B's which then became pretty intense and interesting especially when things rushed up and more agressive music started playing.

After all... it is very simple concept but quite fun. It is good for some diversion but if you want to sell it or make it more prominent you need to deepen it. I think the base is very fun to play (which is very important) - more fun than I would expect from (dodge following balls game)
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Akari
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« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2007, 06:43:54 AM »

Thanks for the quick feedback, and a few comments back:

Yes, I know the game can be quite confusing if you don't read the readme fully first. We wrote it and really try to make new players to read it before starting to play, because it includes all kinds of important information regarding the gameplay. So, may I ask you all, did you read the readme first before starting to play the actual game?

And about selling it, no, this game will remain as a freeware product, so we aren't going to "deepen" it with updates. We are probably going to make another sequel, but it's not under serious development at the moment.

And Derek, I'm not sad that people say positive things about it mainly, I'm sad that people doesn't seem to give it a try because they judge it from the screenshots or from the information that has given. It's quite hard to explain the gameplay, the most important part of the game in just pictures and text. We probably should make a gameplay video.
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Alec
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« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2007, 07:07:38 AM »

So, may I ask you all, did you read the readme first before starting to play the actual game?

Ahh... Readme's. I think nobody ever really reads them. Wink I guess the challenge is to come up with stuff that people can figure out on their own without having to resort to the readme.
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jankoM
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« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2007, 07:13:04 AM »

I havent read readme, but I never do ... it feels like work not playing...

I think if the game isn't some sort of hard strategy (and even then) you should work on making game appear logical and obvious and not rely on readme.

By this I mean ... let enemies be seen as enemies and pickups like something that is apparent I want to pick up.. that B is not that inviting

yes make a video!
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Derek
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« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2007, 07:38:27 AM »

Thanks for the quick feedback, and a few comments back:

Yes, I know the game can be quite confusing if you don't read the readme fully first. We wrote it and really try to make new players to read it before starting to play, because it includes all kinds of important information regarding the gameplay. So, may I ask you all, did you read the readme first before starting to play the actual game?

And about selling it, no, this game will remain as a freeware product, so we aren't going to "deepen" it with updates. We are probably going to make another sequel, but it's not under serious development at the moment.

And Derek, I'm not sad that people say positive things about it mainly, I'm sad that people doesn't seem to give it a try because they judge it from the screenshots or from the information that has given. It's quite hard to explain the gameplay, the most important part of the game in just pictures and text. We probably should make a gameplay video.

It's not obvious from your replies that you're interested in improving the game at all. Too bad. Tongue

A word of advice, though... when people don't understand or want to play your game, it's not their fault, it's yours.  If the screenshots aren't getting people interested, then you need to improve the graphics.  If people are getting confused when they play, then you need to make the game more intuitive.  And so on and so forth.

I notice that quite a few (especially indie) developers get a little defensive when choices they made regarding their game is questioned... "Oh, that's the way I like it."  Which is fine - you're the developer and you can do whatever you want.  But that kind of attitude is not the way to make a great game.  Every criticism has some kind of truth to it!
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BenH
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« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2007, 08:04:37 AM »

Yes, I know the game can be quite confusing if you don't read the readme fully first. We wrote it and really try to make new players to read it before starting to play, because it includes all kinds of important information regarding the gameplay. So, may I ask you all, did you read the readme first before starting to play the actual game?

How many memorable games have you played which required you to read the instructions manual? The best games are the ones you can pick up and play without any previous knowledge. Smiley
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Alex May
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« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2007, 08:07:46 AM »

I would like to say that the graphics did not / would not put me off trying this game.
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Akari
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« Reply #12 on: February 28, 2007, 09:43:30 AM »

Just to say, english isn't my first language, so if my posts are unclear or hard to read at times you can blame that fact. I try my best to make my posts clear and readable.

Derek, of course I want to develop this concept further. It's just that we probably won't update Atomic Arena 2 with new gameplay elements, since we're going to do a third game in the series too. And the latest version for this game was released almost a year ago, so we are pretty much done with this project and working on other ones at the moment.

So, it's not like we have "abandoned" Atomic Arena, it's just that it's not the top priority at the moment for Team Fire Games.
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Inane
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« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2007, 02:41:58 PM »

(First: I didn't read the readme, but it only took me a few minutes to realize what was going on)

The starfield set to moving by default makes it more confusing I tink, and I think it should be set to static by default.

I also think that the enemies should have a distinct difference from your bullets. Well I did know right off the bat that the green and orange thingies are trying to kill me, when the game introduced the fire enemy things, I didn't know whether they were an enemy or what.

I also think that more use of effects, like what the fireball guys use could benefit the enemies, you just can't go overboard. Of course this could go along with the previous paragraph, and you could have all the enemies have trails, while you and your bullet things don't.


Edit: Wow.
I used the words I, also, and think alot there.
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real art looks like the mona lisa or a halo poster and is about being old or having your wife die and sometimes the level goes in reverse
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