Notes after you die, game just freezes. Maybe add a "try again" button? It would be nice to have a "game over" screen or something. Alternatively, you could have the space bar also reset the game once its over.
Also, I feel there should be a break between beating one enemy and starting the fight with the next. I got confused and thought an enemy I was fighting got a full heal.
definitely adds to the immersiveness of the game. While I wouldnt say they were necisary, I would say they make the gameplay significantly more enjoyable.
1) Not enough feedback: Looking at the changing numbers is dull, maybe add sound on hit, miss, heal and enemy attack. Visual cue would be also nice.
2) Spamining space all the time is the best strategy. I would decide to add small cooldown when you miss (wile active you couldn't attack / heal maybe like 1/3 off bar traveled) also indication in some form, maybe a hourglass?
Reverse the slider at the end of the bar rather than restarting it.
Change the zone location and distribution per enemy
Add new kinds of zones into the pool with various special effects
Procedurally generate zones based off of past generations in accordance with some type of story-telling balance system ala Amorphus+ et al. At the simplest level, reuse only previously-seen zones until its time to introduce a new one and separate zone options into tiers, delivering an option from the correct tier based on total round number using a cycling structure like t1 t1 t2 t1 t1 t2 t3 t2 t1 t1 end, for example.
Add a non-combat system part of the game, for example (in similar order):
Add an overarching plot
Have that plot delivered incrementally rather than in one opening and closing screen-card, with updates between some/most battles.
Add encounter-specific game over text
Add encounter-specific text variations related to things like the player winning with hp over or under a certain threshold, the fight taking more or less than a certain amount of time, etc.
add graphics for the enemies and cutscenes/dialogue.
allow the player some optional choices with a small amount of impact on the game, for example some optional levels that unlock a second ending.
allow the player more robust choices, such as (in order again):
optional sidequests that don't meaningfully impact the plot
a relationship system with npcs approving or disapproving of pre-determined choices
general systems in which the player acts and in which individual choices are categorized, so that npcs approve or disapprove of categories of behavior rather than specific acts.
character-specific quests
character-specific ending modulation (ala Fallout New Vegas)
sidequest/main-plot integration
have no characters that cannot be interacted with as NPCs.
Add a map on which a player avatar moves when not in battle
6. allow the player to interact with/affect the game mechanics (e.g. zone distribution and effect, slider speed, slider number), e.g. by equipping items or receiving boons
7. Reflavor the combat system to be something other than physical violence.
8. Add additional combat systems and logic to switch between them (e.g. based on enemy type, or based on choosing a random one each level)
Thanks for such a thought out response! I've got so many questions for you, but for right now I want to get a better understanding of your simplest point.
What is lacking about the current system that makes you suggest a reversal of the bar?
Nothing, I just think the bar sliding side to side instead of only moving left would look slightly better, and I figured it would be easy to implement. I was mostly just trying to engage with the prompt.
It’s great insight! It was so obvious but it genuinely never crossed my mind, the combat flows much better this way! It also gave me the idea to have the enemy attacks fire off when the bar hits each side instead. Next update will have these changes
Maybe have something that explains what controls exist? I understand if you dont want to tell people what the controls do, but it can be a little annoying to press random buttons to see what happens
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Notes
after you die, game just freezes. Maybe add a "try again" button? It would be nice to have a "game over" screen or something. Alternatively, you could have the space bar also reset the game once its over.
Also, I feel there should be a break between beating one enemy and starting the fight with the next. I got confused and thought an enemy I was fighting got a full heal.
Good thoughts! I agree, Ive made both of these top priority for the next update!
How did you feel about the sound effects and screen shaking?
definitely adds to the immersiveness of the game. While I wouldnt say they were necisary, I would say they make the gameplay significantly more enjoyable.
Just came back after a few days
already the progress is amazing, just from reloading the page
Gonna try it out now
1) Not enough feedback: Looking at the changing numbers is dull, maybe add sound on hit, miss, heal and enemy attack. Visual cue would be also nice.
2) Spamining space all the time is the best strategy. I would decide to add small cooldown when you miss (wile active you couldn't attack / heal maybe like 1/3 off bar traveled) also indication in some form, maybe a hourglass?
Thanks for the feedback! I just sent out an update that addresses both of these points. More details in the latest devlog.
From simplest to most complex:
6. allow the player to interact with/affect the game mechanics (e.g. zone distribution and effect, slider speed, slider number), e.g. by equipping items or receiving boons
7. Reflavor the combat system to be something other than physical violence.
8. Add additional combat systems and logic to switch between them (e.g. based on enemy type, or based on choosing a random one each level)
Thanks for such a thought out response! I've got so many questions for you, but for right now I want to get a better understanding of your simplest point.
What is lacking about the current system that makes you suggest a reversal of the bar?
Nothing, I just think the bar sliding side to side instead of only moving left would look slightly better, and I figured it would be easy to implement. I was mostly just trying to engage with the prompt.
It’s great insight! It was so obvious but it genuinely never crossed my mind, the combat flows much better this way! It also gave me the idea to have the enemy attacks fire off when the bar hits each side instead. Next update will have these changes
Sounds good!
Maybe have something that explains what controls exist?
I understand if you dont want to tell people what the controls do, but it can be a little annoying to press random buttons to see what happens
side note: love this ide
Thanks for contributing. As a dev that has a bad habit of waiting WAY too long before getting testing feedback, this is going to be interesting.
Great feedback, thank you!
Bug: Enemy health goes up when you hit green. Unintended behavior?
Funnily enough, not a bug - Just systems working poorly. Let’s make it better!
What did you expect to happen when you hit the green? What about the red?
My expectations were: Gray deals damage, green deals more damage, red is a miss.
Ohhh, very interesting! This is great feedback, thank you.