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[Chris Pavia]

Hello TIGers!

I'm more of a lurker than a poster, but I wanted to get some feedback on a prototype I put together for a small game I'm about to start on.  It's a pretty simple top down zombie shooter (how original!), small in scope because I'm not really a coder.  There are 3 game modes and 15 short levels (5 for each mode), and an online high score table.  Art is all placeholder, and there is some functionality missing (such as the win condition for survivor mode), because I'm eager to get on to the actual game. 

Get it here:
http://www.filedropper.com/postmortem

Screenshot:



Instructions:

Movement: WASD
Shoot: Arrow Keys
Reload: E
Bomb: Space Bar

Gameplay Modes:
Last Stand - Kill as many zombies as you can until you are overrun.  Score is based on time alive and zombies killed.  Keep up the killing for a points multiplier.

Survivor - Withstand waves of zombies and make it through alive.  Score is based on zombies killed.  Keep up the killing for a points multiplier.

Running Man - Find the 4 keys and make it to the exit alive.  Score is based on time.

If you want to make things more fun, select 'Flashlight Only' before choosing a level!

What I'm looking for feedback on:
How are the controls?
Is it too easy/hard?
Does any gameplay mode stand out as more fun than the others?

[fyamnky]

I'll be checking this out soon as I dont have a research paper due. It looks pretty bitchin' though.

[Chris Pavia]

Have you gotten a chance to check it out yet fyamnky?  Looking forward to your thoughts on it!

[Alec S.]

I thought this was quite a fun game.  It had about the right amount of challenge (it may be a bit on the difficult side, but that's not too much of a problem).

There were some issues with the controls, however.  Primarily, shooting.  The system you had in place to shoot diagonally seemed to get easily confused.  If I pressed up and then left, for example, it would shoot one bullet up, then another diagonally up-left.  If I pressed up and left at the same time, it would shoot up and up-left at the same time.  You may want to consider making aiming controlled by the mouse.  The other issue I had was with the flashlight (it generally wasn't pointing where I wanted it.  I would have wanted to run backwards while shooting, but the flashlight points in the direction you're going).  Having the mouse control aiming would solve this as well, as the flashlight could also point in the direction of your mouse cursor.

Also, in flash-light mode, the HUD is hidden unless lit by the flashlight.

All in all, I thought it was quite a promising start.  If you fix the control issues, you'll have the makings of quite a fun game on your hands.   

[Chris Pavia]

Thanks for the feedback!  I agree that the diagonal shooting is wonky at the moment.  I was hoping to avoid mouse aiming and have all the game play be controlled through the keyboard, but the extra precision the mouse offers is definitely needed, so I'll have to test it out and see how it fares.  Good call on the flashlight pointing in the mouse direction, that would kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
I can't believe I didn't notice the flashlight obscuring the HUD! Been staring too long at my own game I guess.

Thanks again, it's a big help!

[Chris Pavia]

I've uploaded a new version of Post Mortem at http://www.filedropper.com/postmortem02
This version has the mouse based firing and flashlight Malec2b suggested.  Left mouse button fires and right 'drops teh bomb'.  I haven't tested it too thoroughly, so there may be some minor issues.  Any opinions on this version versus the original would be appreciated.

I think GM High Score has recently been discontinued, so the online high score table doesn't work anymore.