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[kampy]

Hello everyone. I've made a basic prototype that I would like to get some input on. It's a platformer where the player is always bouncing. Here are the basics:

Left/Right Keys - Move left/right
Z - Slam downward
Touch A Red Block (Enemy) - You "die" and the level restarts
Touch A Star - Move to the next level

HTML5: http://ryankampmeier.com/bouncy/
Windows (No need to install): http://ryankampmeier.com/bouncy/Bouncy.exe

Here are the questions I pose to anyone who plays it: Is it fun? Do you think it has potential if I were to continue working on it?

Thanks to anyone who checks it out.

[kampy]

There's now an HTML5 version, so there's no need to download anything. Hopefully that makes it easier for everybody to try out. 

http://ryankampmeier.com/bouncy/

[Wacompen]

I played until the level with the spikes on the ceiling. Pretty fun as is, would need the right character to make a lasting impression eventually

[ndnninja15]

I played the html version, it's pretty fun though the level with spikes above I had to ferociously tap my button just right to get through. I could see this working as a mobile game.

[kampy]

Thanks Wacompen and ndnninja15. I really appreciate it.

It's funny, because I thought a game like this would be infuriating to control on a mobile device.

[michaelplzno]

Spike ceiling got me to quit, its decent sometimes frustrating.

[GuernseyGeek]

Nice work. It's a fun mechanic.

Like the others I gave up on the level with spikes on the ceiling. The only other level that was frustrating was the one with two red blocks shuffling from side to side.

As above, I think it would work as a mobile game.

[Fincks]

The levels with spikes on the ceiling are pretty easy compared to levels with red enemies.
It's really hard to grasp the righth timing when they're moving left to righ or up to down. I stopped at a level with two moving platform and red ennemies on the second one moving up to down.

I couldn't grasp the right timing and each time I lost on the second moving platform with the two red ennemies, I would have to pass the first platform again.
Not like it takes a long time, it's 5sec, but it just breaks the rythm I'm in and I can't focus on the timing of the two red ennemies.


Anyway, it is fun. With a nice art style if they are enough levels, a good level design and new mechanics introduced each x levels, it could work.
I would say that levels with red ennemies are the hardest so you should be careful with them as it's when someone might quit out of frustration.

[kampy]

Thanks again to everyone for the input. I realize now that the enemies move too fast, so that's something I'll keep in mind if I continue with this project.

[StefanSava]

I think this game is good. I think it has lots of potential and I had a good time playing it. I finished it but the last level was really hard. The others mentioned it maybe working on mobile - my personal opinion is that I probably wouldn't play it on mobile as what drove me to finish the game in the browser was the tight and precision controls i had to master - I think on mobile you can't achieve tight controls for action-based precision platformers.

This would make a excellent pc game though

[psyguy]

It's really hard to grasp the righth timing when they're moving left to righ or up to down. I stopped at a level with two moving platform and red ennemies on the second one moving up to down.

I couldn't grasp the right timing and each time I lost on the second moving platform with the two red ennemies, I would have to pass the first platform again.

This is the level that defeated me too.  It's evil.  But, I did enjoy the game.  By the way, is there a way to resume the last level you tried, or start on a certain level, or do you have to start at level #1 when you return to the webpage?

[kampy]

@StefanS Thanks. I agree about the game working better on PC.

@psyguy Right now there isn't any sort of level select, but maybe I'll add it to future iterations.

[Manky]

First off, a couple of minor presentation things:

• Center the game on the screen, horizontally at the very least.  Even if you're not super experienced with HTML, throwing a <center> tag on it would look a lot nicer.
• I try not to pay attention to controls given outside of the game itself because you should assume your audience isn't going to.  You should find some way to convey in the game or on the page that Z does a quick drop, as it's an essential part of the game that I didn't realize existed until the spiked ceiling level.

Those issues aside, this is pretty fun. Your physics don't have any noticeable issues the immediate reset on death keeps it from being too frustrating.

Dealing with moving enemies can be pretty annoying because your own movement is so limited.  The timing is simple enough to figure out, but your means of controlling your own timing makes me feel like it's much harder than it should be.

Graphically, I have a soft spot for really simple games like this.  I will say that the countdown boxes look a little out of place, as they're the one environmental object with no outline.

The levels are pretty straightforward in design and I feel like this mechanic is a little too simple for you to do much more with than you've already done.  The last level in particular was a bit annoying in its design, as the bottom platform presents no challenge other than having to wait for it, and every time you die at the top you have to wait out that bottom part again. It's a small thing, but it's the only point playing this that I felt particularly annoyed by the challenge.

It's a nice game overall.  Find some more mechanics to play with and start looking for interesting ways to combine them with what you've already got (the countdown blocks, for instance, seem to have a lot of untapped potential) and I think you could learn a lot about level design from making this project.