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[Vallar]

A new version has been uploaded to itch.io again and with it quite a few changes came along. Mostly it has been done coding wise, but hopefully you might notice generally better gameplay (hopefully)!

Changelog:

• Rewritten some of the text that appears between levels. Not quite happy with it, but this is closer to the tone I am thinking of.
   Might change though.
• Enemies code has been refactored. They should function slightly better.
• Introduced 3 more new enemies. Probably need to get to around level 7 to see some of the new ones.
• Abilities have been fixed they'll drop normally
• Fixed slow motion choppiness
• Enemies don't yet have a major tell before attacking but it is more concise now.
• Enemies shouldn't spawn on top of the player anymore.
• Countdown between waves no longer affected by slowing time.
• The mouse issue with text point appearing instead of normal mouse should be fixed.
• A music track has been added, it is a test of whether or not you think this fits. Let me know what you think.

The updated link is here.

As usual would appreciate your critical feedback and thank you very much in advance.

[Nodragem]

Hello!

I tried the game and I get to a point where there is a "big" (I mean bigger than usual) gray square on the middle of the screen and it changes periodically to white.
I tried to pass through it, several time, when it is gray, when it is white, nothing happened. So I tried to stay in it for a while, nothing...

I have no idea what to do at this point, did I miss something?

Also the pause button does not work and I got the impression that I can not die.

In any case, the gameplay is quite original and opens to a lot of paths to explore.
For instance, I think that the current control would be even more fun, reactive and intuitive if it was done with a swipe gesture on touch screen :D did you try?

Good luck!

[Quicksand-S]

In the updated version, I still found that the text cursor appeared and the time-slowing still affected the countdown. Strangely, time-slowing no longer seemed to affect enemies.

I really like the music (What is it?), but it felt so good when enemies happened to move exactly on the beat that it made me wish they always did.

I saw a power-up, but it disappeared so quickly that I didn't have a chance to get it. Maybe items shouldn't disappear until the next wave starts? That way, you'd have time to pick things up while waiting for the countdown. If you're worried about it being too easy to get power-ups that way, they could drift toward the edge of the screen or get destroyed by enemies, or something like that.

The control didn't seem as responsive in this version. A lot of the time when I clicked, my character wouldn't move. It might just be that I got swarmed by enemies more than usual and so I kept clicking to dodge projectiles before my character had come to a complete stop. It was frustrating not being able to move when I needed to, but I can see that potentially being a good part of the challenge.

[Vallar]

Hello!

I tried the game and I get to a point where there is a "big" (I mean bigger than usual) gray square on the middle of the screen and it changes periodically to white.
I tried to pass through it, several time, when it is gray, when it is white, nothing happened. So I tried to stay in it for a while, nothing...


I have no idea what to do at this point, did I miss something?

Interesting that shouldn't happen. Can you please tell me which wave was it? If you can take a screenshot would be quite helpful. I kind of guess what might be wrong but I need to make sure.

Also the pause button does not work and I got the impression that I can not die.

Next version will feature an agonizing death :D. I'll straighten up that button -- been acting weird for a while now >.>

In any case, the gameplay is quite original and opens to a lot of paths to explore.
For instance, I think that the current control would be even more fun, reactive and intuitive if it was done with a swipe gesture on touch screen :D did you try?

The controls on a touch screen will be similar to the mouse; a tap on the screen. I would have loved to do swipe but swipe is slow in comparison to a tap and forces you to cover a part of your screen with your hand/finger. So I resorted to a tap instead of swipe.

Swipe could work with turn based but I am not yet sold 100% on changing this into a turn based game as I feel it will lose the "action arcade" feel it has.

Good luck!

Thank you very much and thank you for trying it out :D. Hopefully when you try the next version it feels miles better

In the updated version, I still found that the text cursor appeared and the time-slowing still affected the countdown. Strangely, time-slowing no longer seemed to affect enemies.

Now that is horribly messed up... I'll track the problem again, maybe it wasn't pushed through this version -- though I am sure it was in.

Hmm... I thought what I did fixed it. It happens only when dragging as it would seem. I am planning to use a custom cursor so will leave it for now till I add the cursor in. If it didn't fix it (I am guessing it would because it won't use default settings), I'll check if I could remove the GUI. I am suspecting that is what is causing the issue.

I really like the music (What is it?), but it felt so good when enemies happened to move exactly on the beat that it made me wish they always did.

Thanks, I got it off Opengameart.org as a placeholder. Here is the file information in case you want to listen to it:
DST-www.nosoapradio.us- TowerDefenseTheme

As for enemies moving with the beat, I doubt I'll go that route too complicated for what I want to do here. A more akin track will be in the next version as I try to get closer to the type of music I want in.

I saw a power-up, but it disappeared so quickly that I didn't have a chance to get it.

Power ups live for 3 seconds before they destroy themselves. I could make it 5 if it is too fast. I don't mind them waiting around a bit. Though I rather have the powerups cleared off before the next wave. This way you have one more variable into the mix do you attack? Evade? Get loot? Lead away enemies? Etc...

I am considering adding an idea where I would add a powerup node (some kind of object) that you go to, dump all your resources in and you buy a powerup of your choosing but a high price + slightly increased timer. That is why I want to leave these powerups like that... since if they linger on things will get pretty easy -- specially if the nodes spawn every couple of levels.

It was frustrating not being able to move when I needed to, but I can see that potentially being a good part of the challenge.

This is the original intended controls for the game. Unfortunately a bug was introduced while building the game (last minute change that I didn't test) that allowed you to spam click/move around. This wasn't intentional which probably why some people felt the movement was spammy. Now you really need to think and consider things pretty carefully rather than move willy nilly around.

Hopefully as you play more, you get used to it more.

[Vallar]

Hey everyone, I know it has been a long time. Unfortunately I hoped this version would have new art and look more polished all in all. However, art is taking a very long time to come around so I thought I'd rather a new version than just keep waiting a few extra weeks.

Here is the changelog from what I remember:

• Fixed bug where your slow down time would affect wave timer
• Finally you can now pause and don't have to alt+tab or switch tabs to do that
• The game now has bloom, let me know if you like it (note that it is very subtle now, since there is no art).
• The delay between movements was reduced ever so slightly. WIP a tell so you know when you can dash and you can't.
• Increased the max dash distance.
• A new powerup doubling your dash distance is now available.
• The boss you encounter on wave 4 (big square) stopped acting like a brick and do nothing. It will now actively seek to kill you
• Order of bosses has changed, hopefully the new order is better than what I have had before
• Added a new minion type.
• You aren't invincible anymore. Once you deplete your 3 lives, the game ends and you have to refresh the browser to restart the game (working on a retry button)
• The writing between the waves has been drastically changed. Now it is only one sentence and the writing itself changed as well as the tone. The change reflects exactly the tone and storytelling method I have been after from the beginning.

There are a few known issues:

• Sometimes the mouse changes to a typing symbol when hovering on the middle of the screen. It won't affect gameplay however
• The first boss may need some tweaking in terms of difficulty as well as the second one, so feedback is apprecaited
• There is no indication of when a mob is being damaged other than a slight stop in time.
• There is no way to tell how much HP remains on an enemy after hitting it.
• The game BLEEDS that it NEEDS art. We are working on it and hopefully you'll like what you see

Without further ado, here is the link to the build

[Vallar]

Hey everyone,

It has been a long time since my last post but I didn't abandon the project, I was just slowly working out a redesign for the game since it felt that there is a dissonance between the narrative in the game (the story pieces) and the mechanics itself.

This is an overhaul (even the name will change if this turns out to be a good idea) so expect an entirely new game with different mechanics but the same theme; the endeavors one takes in following their dream and trying to achieve it. I am trying to show the journey someone might take to reach their dream and realize it. Taking making a game as an example, the endeavors when you start out not knowing anything, then learning design, then taking up code, going through tutorials, hitting up your first obstacle with how to achieve this or that and so on.

Note the game is going to have an abstract art style and the narrative as well as the gameplay tries to conform to this.

The general gameplay revolves around you being thrown into a level where you start off with 10 Hope. Hope is the "currency" to keep you going after your dream. Chasing your dream you need to find the exit in the current level before your Hope runs out. During your exploration you can pick up the green stuff which will increase your hope by 1.

You'll have upgrades and different abilities; upgrades are earned by losing. So for example SPOILER ALERT! to earn the first upgrade you need to die 3+ times to get an upgrade to your move speed END OF SPOILER .

The controls have changed so now instead of click to move you use WASD or arrow keys. No combat at all (trying to remove aggression from the game).

As always I would love your feedback and reactions. You can test an early prototype here

[Quicksand-S]

Nice to see you back here again.

I tried the prototype but didn't seem to have a character. It felt like it was very zoomed-in and all I could see were some blocks and the particle effects around a green item. The controls didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever.

With regard to your "spoiler" for the upgrades, I really don't like that idea personally. If you're encouraging players to play badly, I'm not sure they'll have much fun. Some games do this sort of thing secretly, to make the game easier when players are having a hard time, but if you're going to be open about the upgrades then people will try to get them. It's not fun purposely failing at something, and it can potentially be time-consuming. I'm curious about what the goal of that system is.

[Vallar]

Nice to see you back here again.

Thanks, glad to see you are still around here too

I tried the prototype but didn't seem to have a character. It felt like it was very zoomed-in and all I could see were some blocks and the particle effects around a green item. The controls didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever.

That is a very nasty bug. I think it is fixed now, you can give it another go if you want. As for the camera being zoomed in that far, that is temporary. If I zoom out you'll see the entire maze, so a quick and dirty solution to get the prototype playable is the zoom in. Working on a different idea for a later version of the prototype if this turns out to be good.

With regard to your "spoiler" for the upgrades, I really don't like that idea personally. If you're encouraging players to play badly, I'm not sure they'll have much fun. Some games do this sort of thing secretly, to make the game easier when players are having a hard time, but if you're going to be open about the upgrades then people will try to get them. It's not fun purposely failing at something, and it can potentially be time-consuming. I'm curious about what the goal of that system is.

Right, that is a good idea and I imagine, who likes to do weird stuff like killing themselves a few times to get an upgrade, which is how you get most of the upgrades. However, there are two things about this:

1- I wanted to simulate what you feel like when tackling an obstacle or rather a problem when following your dream. Specifically when you are starting out as a newbie. In terms of game dev as an example, you don't know how to code very well or draw art or make music for example. Then you decide to do that, you try once, twice, thrice and fail. Maybe you succeed on the fourth or fifth time... this is what the system is about. In the case of the spoiler, you tried to move fast to get more hope but couldn't so you ended up dead. First few times you'll think you did something wrong, by the third time you'll probably feel frustrated and may or may not give up. If you didn't, you'll get the upgrade and can finish the level.

2- Aside from the simulation the player will not be told about this. This is why it is a spoiler; if I am to pitch the game to a player I'll probably say a unique upgrades system that relies on certain actions or events done to get the upgrade (similar to the old Fallout games). But it won't be "you have to die or fail to get upgrades".

That said, there will be other abilities (note upgrades vs abilities) that you can get without having to fail in the game or do stuff like this. For example there is a shield ability that you can earn in the game in two ways; the first one is similar to failing but rather than failing you have to tackle a feature in the game X amount of times. The second one is to actually find the upgrade somewhere. With abilities, I am trying to simulate knowledge/skills that emerged due to past experiences or its holistic realization. Basically let's say you are writer and started making a game. If you learned to make games, there is an inherent skill related to game development (writing) that you have. It won't be useful at first (since you'll most likely be handling coding and art) but will emerge and help with one part of the game; content. That or perhaps the tutorial or writing descriptions or instructions. That is what abilities represent.

I guess what I am trying to do with this game is similar to Papers, Please. I don't know about you but that game got boring after 10 minutes. Though the game wasn't about being fun, it was about sending a message and having the player experience certain situations and emotions. This is what I am trying to do. Definitely I worry about it being fun too... but right now, fun is taking a close second seat to the experience delivered.

Sorry for the wall of text.

[moonkey]

Hi there!

I really like the concept of the game! As someone with many failures under his belt, I can definitely relate, and I do think this could turn into a great experience. However, I’m a bit confused with the demo: how do I restart after dying??? =]]]]

[Vallar]

Hi there!

I really like the concept of the game! As someone with many failures under his belt, I can definitely relate, and I do think this could turn into a great experience. However, I’m a bit confused with the demo: how do I restart after dying??? =]]]]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for trying out the game. Glad you think it could be a good experience -- hopefully I can realize it the way I imagine it.

At the moment there is no retry right away but refreshing the page will have the same effect.

[Quicksand-S]

I feel like I'm missing something. I tried the fixed prototype and here are my thoughts:

-The movement feels really slow.
-Hope goes down so fast that there's no point in going after certain hope pickups since you'll lose more than you'll gain. Maybe they should be worth more hope?
-It appeared to be impossible. I picked up maybe six hope items and then the next one was too far away for me to possibly reach before dying. I don't think I even made it halfway to the next pickup. Is there a way to sprint or something?
-What's the goal of the game? Am I trying to get to a certain location or just stay hopeful as long as possible?

[Vallar]

I feel like I'm missing something. I tried the fixed prototype and here are my thoughts:

-The movement feels really slow.
-Hope goes down so fast that there's no point in going after certain hope pickups since you'll lose more than you'll gain. Maybe they should be worth more hope?
-It appeared to be impossible. I picked up maybe six hope items and then the next one was too far away for me to possibly reach before dying. I don't think I even made it halfway to the next pickup. Is there a way to sprint or something?
-What's the goal of the game? Am I trying to get to a certain location or just stay hopeful as long as possible?

1- I am debating whether to increase the speed slightly or not. Even then it has to still be less than the required speed to get all hope and exit the maze.

2- This is related to number 1 as well. Maybe I should increase them or decrease the rate of which you are losing hope. However, I am really setting up the player for failure in the first level. Trying to get them to fail twice before giving up -- if you fail twice (i.e. restart the game) you get the speed increase upgrade.

3- Precisely the case. It is impossible and I intend for it to be impossible. I want the player to fail a couple of times (this is in narrative form equal to the experience you get trying to overcome an obstacle and fail).

4- The goal of the game is to exit the maze. There are two exists and both of them are far.

I guess I should explain the above anyway. I am trying to get the player as mentioned above to fail at least twice to get the speed upgrade. This is me trying to send a message "trying to overcome an obstacle, you don't always succeed from the first try. So you fail, but if you try again, you might gain extra knowledge that will help you succeed." The extra knowledge is the upgrade. The success is you getting out of the maze before you lose all hope.

That said, I am guessing this is hard to imagine with no narrative (will come later). But when you start with "Dream!" you'll get a bit of text after losing the first 3 points of hope describing why you are losing hope. When you pick up the second piece of hope you get another text describing what did you pick and what it does.

So basically the game loop is divided into 2:
1- The first loop; you try to achieve a certain goal (i.e. getting out of the maze for example) aside from the first and maybe the second level you should be able to achieve them without having to fail.
2- The second loop; you can't always succeed from the first try. You'll sometimes fail and the only way to succeed is to always try again. If you try enough, you'll get something to help you.

The there is a third hidden loop but only will occur at a certain specific action and isn't really quite a loop; this is triggered when the player doesn't play the game for a week. If that happens, he starts losing 1 random upgrade or ability each week. This is to represent the fact that if let's say you quit doing something for a very long time, you'll feel rusty and need a refresher.

Does this help you understand the design and the intention? If so, I am not yet able to balance both fun and frustration and there is a balance there that I want to hit -- I really don't want to end up with a game like Papers, Please -- at least to me -- wasn't fun beyond the first 10 minutes. This is why I am posting here and hoping others can give me feedback -- emotional feedback. How did they feel at every step of the way. With this I can adjust the gameplay and the math to make it more fun and still not lose the original vision

[Quicksand-S]

So it's a completely narrative-focused, metaphorical game? I imagine that could work pretty well for some people, especially when the little bits of text (or voice?) are added. For me, though, even narrative-driven games require engaging gameplay OR at least a very immersive/interesting atmosphere. In any case, I'd say a prototype like this doesn't really work because it's not showing what the basic gameplay is going to be like (mostly because you don't start over when you die, so the main idea of the game isn't implemented). It's hard to get a feel for what the actual game will be like without that.

[Vallar]

So it's a completely narrative-focused, metaphorical game? I imagine that could work pretty well for some people, especially when the little bits of text (or voice?) are added. For me, though, even narrative-driven games require engaging gameplay OR at least a very immersive/interesting atmosphere. In any case, I'd say a prototype like this doesn't really work because it's not showing what the basic gameplay is going to be like (mostly because you don't start over when you die, so the main idea of the game isn't implemented). It's hard to get a feel for what the actual game will be like without that.

Not really, best thing to describe the narrative in it is Thomas Was Alone. That is how I want the narrative to be implemented a background kind of thing. It is a reaction to what is going on in the game rather than the main focus of the game like Gone Home for example.

That said, the failure and getting upgrade mechanic is actually in the prototype. If you fail twice, the third time you get the upgrade. I uploaded a new version with what I have mentioned. Here is the changelog:

• Camera is no longer zoomed in. The maze now is engulfed in darkness. A light source is stuck to the player which will help you see better. Possibly at later version I could have the light react to how much hope you have thus reinforcing the idea of hope is what helps you on your path
• The upgrade mechanic is in. Now if you fail twice, the third time will give you the upgrade.
• Narrative is in. Text isn't final and mostly place holder but it gives you an idea of what to expect
• Due to the system I am using for lighting, unfortunately I can't build to WebGL seems it isn't supported so now the game is a Windows downloadable .exe instead

Link is here

[Quicksand-S]

If the narrative is meant to be in the background, I'm curious what the gameplay will be like in the future.

I like the idea of the light being affected by hope.

This sounds like a better prototype now that the upgrade mechanic is in place. Cool. I'll have to give it a shot later.

[Vallar]

If the narrative is meant to be in the background, I'm curious what the gameplay will be like in the future.

I like the idea of the light being affected by hope.

This sounds like a better prototype now that the upgrade mechanic is in place. Cool. I'll have to give it a shot later.

Looking forward to your feedback

[Quicksand-S]

I downloaded the latest version and it could not be opened. I tried again in case the download had gotten corrupted but got the same result. Windows says it's not a proper archive file.

[Vallar]

I downloaded the latest version and it could not be opened. I tried again in case the download had gotten corrupted but got the same result. Windows says it's not a proper archive file.

That is plain weird... I uploaded it again now. You should be able to download it just fine. It is around 12MB

[Quicksand-S]

Same issue. I've never had trouble opening a RAR archive, so I'm not sure what's happening. Maybe try ZIP format?

[Vallar]

Same issue. I've never had trouble opening a RAR archive, so I'm not sure what's happening. Maybe try ZIP format?

Done. It is a ZIP archive now. I tried it on my laptop and it works.