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[Rain8]

Hi everyone, decided to make an arcade style game as my first android game project.

The idea was mostly to learn / test different aspects of android game development but it's a complete game experience in its own right with 2 main modes: hand-made campaign with 50 levels (normal/hardcore modes) and procedurally generated endless mode with high scores (+Google Play leaderboards).

No specific engine was used, everything is drawn on the canvas (probably wasn't the best idea but seems to be working just fine). Includes integration with Google Play Services Achievements and Leaderboards.

I did all the initial testing on my own on both actual devices and emulators but i'm still looking for feedback on
present issues and just general ideas on what can be improved / is missing / shouldn't be there in the first place.

Game Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rain8studios.dungeondash
Requirements: Android 4.4 and above

Some screenshots:


Video preview:

[8Points]

Hi! I think the game is a good idea, but I can't get over the controls. It feels very unpredictable where my guy will end up when I swipe. At first, I thought it would just move them in one direction until they hit a wall, but half the time I hit a wall and just keep going in a different direction without any input from me. Or, the guy stops at a seemingly random point instead of going all the way to the next wall. The combined effect is very disorienting, and means I can't actually make decisions about where to move. It's just too seemingly inconsistent , I never know where I'm actually going to move or stop.

If I could actually follow through on my intent, it would be a cute game. I like the conflict of trying to beat levels quickly but also having to be careful. Feels kind of like Spelunky.

Oh and every time I see one of those yellow obstacles that move back and forth, I think it's a big coin or something because they're the same color.

[Rain8]

Hi! I think the game is a good idea, but I can't get over the controls. It feels very unpredictable where my guy will end up when I swipe. At first, I thought it would just move them in one direction until they hit a wall, but half the time I hit a wall and just keep going in a different direction without any input from me. Or, the guy stops at a seemingly random point instead of going all the way to the next wall. The combined effect is very disorienting, and means I can't actually make decisions about where to move. It's just too seemingly inconsistent , I never know where I'm actually going to move or stop.

If I could actually follow through on my intent, it would be a cute game. I like the conflict of trying to beat levels quickly but also having to be careful. Feels kind of like Spelunky.

Oh and every time I see one of those yellow obstacles that move back and forth, I think it's a big coin or something because they're the same color.

Thank you a lot for response!
I'm actually a bit confused now about problems with controls... oh I think you mean when you swipe up the guy doesn't go all the way and just falls afterwards. It's supposed to be "jumping" , so when you swipe up the guy floats in the air for a little bit and waits for your next swipe, if you don't swipe in the next direction he falls. The game layed out in a way that it's 2d side perspective, not top-down, so there's "jumping" and "falling" (in a way). If it's not what you meant, please tell me here with some example, because other than swiping up, if you swipe in any other direction you suppose to go until you hit the wall indeed and "fall" afterwards, swiping up has a fixed "jumping" height.

Considering yellow floaty things ("saws"), I think you're right, I shouldn't have used the same color as coins for them, I'll recolor them in the next patch

Thank you again for response, cheers  

[8Points]

Oooooohhhhh it's a side perspective I totally thought it was top down. This changes everything! Much better to control now haha...

Not sure why I thought it was top down. I suppose it does look like a roguelike, and I don't remember seeing anything about jumping or falling in the game. I'd suggest having some text at very least to make sure players get it.

Anyway, I'm gonna try it again now that I understand what's going on

[Micah.WhiteBoxGaming]

First off I love the old school 8 bit gfx style. Disappointed its not old school top down. Great game concept. Do you have a video to share?

[Rain8]

First off I love the old school 8 bit gfx style. Disappointed its not old school top down. Great game concept. Do you have a video to share?

Yeah, I kind of noticed a lot more people prefer top-down perspective but, oh well, decided to design this one differently.

I'll add video with the next update.

[8Points]

Alright, now that I understand how it all works, it's much better.

It's a really interesting take on platformers. It feels so much like a top down game somehow. Kinda feels like the ice puzzles in Pokemon or that one ice level in Chip's Challenge...

I gotta say, the level design is really good. I appreciate that I don't get blindsided by hazards when I move a long distance into a new room. The coins make for interesting logic puzzles, trying to position yourself properly.

I think that positioning-as-puzzle is my favorite part of the game. Trying to time my movements between 5 different hazards is less fun, and it's pretty frustrating to go through a whole level and die at the end. Like, I already solved the movement puzzle in the level, so when I restart I'm not making interesting decisions, it's just, ok I go here then here then here etc and the hazards just annoy me because I have to do nothing but wait for them to not be in the way. The levels can be really long and I think checkpoints or something would do a lot to keep me engaged.

Endless mode softens that feeling by being somewhat random. I like the increased emphasis on moving quickly, and the tention of needing to wait for hazards makes me take more risks. I definitely approach it less like a puzzle and more like an action game. I haven't played more than a couple times in that mode, but I've already repeated the same room style several times, even within the same run, and it feels kinda weird. I can't imagine trying to actually randomly generate a playable level for this game though, so doing the Spelunky style random collage of hand designed pieces is a good alternative.

I think the jump is a little awkward. Most times Im required to jump, I just swipe up a bunch to keep myself held against the ceiling while I wait for the hazards to clear. In the later levels you can't really do that, and I find it pretty hard to time, say, when I should jump so I don't hit spikes but still let an enemy pass underneath me, or something. I'd like to see something that lets me know how much time I have before falling, or just not fall at all, or even just tap to fall.

Anyway, it's a fun game. I'm up to level 30!

[Rain8]

Thank you for such a detailed response!

In terms of level design, screen width is fixed (the amount of tiles on the screen that is) for all aspect ratios and resolutions so I tried to make it so you will always have all important details on the screen and nothing will kill you offscreen while you're moving left or right.

Considering different hazzards, it's hard to make later levels challenging without putting a bunch of them in the same spot considering how few types of them currently are and sometimes it definitely creates a bit too much of a waiting game and can be somewhat frustrating. It probably can be solved by just adding more types of obstacles.

Checkpoints are something I was considering from the beginning but they somehow made the game way too easy (I didn't consider Hardcore mode from the start which probably would've been a better solution: to keep checkpoint in the main mode and remove them from Hardcore). As an alternative I decided to go with the Shield upgrade (can be purchased in the shop with coins) which gives you an ability to make a few mistakes without restarting the whole level.

There're currently not a lot of options for Endless level generation that's why they're repeating within a given speed (every 2nd speed until max have completely different types of layouts though). The way I made it it's not actually that hard to add new types of layouts for random generation, I just wanted to check that initial ones work properly first.

Jumping is definitely artificial. It's the result of me trying to figure out how to make jumping mechanic when you can only move in straight lines in 4 directions. Levels are currently designed around this type of jumping so it's practically imposible to change it mechanically. However, I like an idea of adding animation to let you know how much time you have (no idea why I didn't add it right away).


P.S. A little note considering updates. Because of the current situation Google can take more than 7 days to rewiev new updates (previously usually took just a few hours). That means even after I publish new update (which is practically ready) it can take more than a week until it goes live. Currently next update will include music, a couple of new layouts for Endless, updated animation for jumping, some reworks to Play Store page and, hopefully, I'll make a video preview (and hopefully it won't be choppy).

[Micah.WhiteBoxGaming]

Its all about finding balance when you design your game. Younger generation prefers quick gains from what Ive read. I think older people like my self like long grinds and good story dialog.

[Rain8]

Added video preview and patch 1.03 should be live by now