Released Adventure Guy!

Null-Z

Member
okay I played it for a while. I made it to the spider boss.

Here's my 2 cents.

What I like:
- Great graphics. Especially the cut scene animations. Although the graphics could use a little polishing here and there, but let's set that aside for now.
- Nice level design and enemies.
- Nice retro music.
- I especially liked the portal animation.
- The basic foundation is solid.


Issues:
- I didn't like the arrow controls. Please add a WASD option. In 2020, arrow controls are outdated. WASD for movement and action buttons on the right side of the keyboard is the best (IMO) to simulate game controller layouts.
- I didn't like the single hit death system. Maybe insta-death can happen if you fall into spikes or lava, but not if you get hit by an enemy projectile. Your levels are fairly large and it's quite frustrating to go back to the last checkpoint for taking one hit from a fireball. Please consider adding a healthbar.
- The spider boss was insanely difficult. I fought it 20 or 30 times. I only hurt it enough to get it to the second phase and it just became too difficult. The control system and the one hit deaths caused me to give up. Here are some of my thoughts on the spider boss:
  • The platforms crumble too fast and takes a while to come back. It's the only position from which I can attack the spider but it's practically useless.
  • The fireball explosions should could vanish a little quicker.
  • The spider animation was awkward. It looked like it was dancing. IMO the spider leg movement should be gentler and slower because that's how spiders walk on webs.
  • It felt unbalanced. If the player dies by one hit and if his weapon has a short range, then the spider should not be so overpowered.
  • It was just too difficult for a first boss.
Maybe the spider boss feels easy to you because you've made it and you've spent so much time on it, but for a new player, it's disproportionately difficult.

But overall, I'm getting a lot of good 'indie' vibes from it. It is definitely the kind of game that I'd invest time into playing. Good work! :)
Thank you for your feedback! it's such a rare occurrence.
To respond:
I'm hesitant to add health or change the control scheme to the player because of the massive tangle of a code I gave him starting out in developing games and would rather leave it as-is and build with it in mind. however, I think I will add more checkpoints because I felt that frustration too but figured it was just me. knowing now that the Spider boss is such a big hurdle, I'll knock it down a few pegs.(Little secret if you'd like to skip the boss. just "K"ill it.) oh and believe me, even though I programed it, it was hard for me too.
 

pixeltroid

Member
Thank you for your feedback! it's such a rare occurrence.
To respond:
I'm hesitant to add health or change the control scheme to the player because of the massive tangle of a code I gave him starting out in developing games and would rather leave it as-is and build with it in mind. however, I think I will add more checkpoints because I felt that frustration too but figured it was just me. knowing now that the Spider boss is such a big hurdle, I'll knock it down a few pegs.(Little secret if you'd like to skip the boss. just "K"ill it.) oh and believe me, even though I programed it, it was hard for me too.
IMHO you might be taking a big risk by leaving the control scheme and health as is. Because people who download your game might lose patience and just give up. I hope you reconsider.

For controls, you have very basic moves (run, jump and shoot) so it should not be too difficult to re-code the movement. In fact, you can just use the code you have right now and replace the left/right arrow keys with A and D. And instead of S for shoot, you go for L or K.

If you don't want to add a health bar, then you need to either ease the difficulty by a great margin. Or at least increase the difficulty very, very gradually.
 

Mk.2

Member
Regarding control schemes, I will straight up avoid any 2D action platformer that only allows arrow keys for movement. It's like someone has handed me a controller with the d-pad on the right and face buttons on the left. I also advise you to reconsider.
 

Null-Z

Member
I have updated the Demo with the recommendations.
-Spider now moves slower and Fire drops extinguish quicker
- A and D is to move left and right respectively, K is to shoot.
 

pixeltroid

Member
hey I played it. The A and D controls were a huuuge improvement. It was much more comfortable to use. Maybe you could assign "W" as an alternate jump button?? That way, left-right-jump buttons would be close to each other and would be easier to control.

I defeated the spider boss. But it was still difficult and felt repetitive.... just running left and right get's old fast. And it was way too hard for a first boss. Consider reducing it's health some more. I spent around 30 minutes just trying to beat it.

After the spider boss, I finished the room I couldn't get past this one area and gave up...only because a certain enemy that was making it difficult.


thing.jpg

This enemy's projectiles had a pattern that was random and difficult to spot and avoid. I died here a few times and gave up. This enemy or at least it's projectiles definitely needs some refinement. Players should be able to learn it's attack pattern and avoid it.

I've recorded a video of my playthrough. Perhaps it might offer some insights with regards to the level design and enemy placement.



Anyway, you've got a nice game with a lot of cool ideas. Keep refining it!
 

pixeltroid

Member
no! It's just the Beehive level.
Ok. I just played it. Made it to the bee boss. I made it to the second phase, but I guess my reflexes weren't fast enough to avoid it's lightning attack. So I gave up. :(

- I like the new format. It's more linear -- finish one room, then move to the next.
- Nice graphics. The 3D-ish effect for the background really stands out.
- Nice music.
- Nice level design. Although in the second room, (where you jump on the bees to make it to the top) things got a little difficult.

Overall, nice stuff!
 

pixeltroid

Member
so you think there should be more time to react to it? what part of the lightning attack was the issue?
Yeah I think there should be more time to react to it. Especially considering everything kills you instantly if it touches you.

The issue with the lightning attack was that the cross thingy follows me too fast. And when the lightning strikes, it persists for a little too long, so I can't even jump across it. If I'm at the edge of the screen, I have no way of escaping it.
 

Null-Z

Member
Yeah I think there should be more time to react to it. Especially considering everything kills you instantly if it touches you.

The issue with the lightning attack was that the cross thingy follows me too fast. And when the lightning strikes, it persists for a little too long, so I can't even jump across it. If I'm at the edge of the screen, I have no way of escaping it.
Thank you for the specifics. I'll see about editing this.
 
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