Petal To The Metal: Feedback please!

Plisken

Member
This is a game I've been working on for quite a while now. It's still in very early development, but the basic gameplay is for the most part, complete. That said, I'd like some people to play it and give some feedback on the current build. If there are any adjustments that need to be made, I would like to do it before I start working on the rest of the game.

Everything in the game was created by me aside from the text engine which is stated within the game. That includes all the pixel art and music. While I know these probably arent going to be the games strong point, id like to know the opinions on this stuff as well as general gameplay. Is the music good? is it too repetitive? Do the backgrounds look passable? or terrible? etc...

Here's the link and a video of the game.

game link:

Video
 

ophelius

Member
Awesome game so far!
Here's what I love:
-I love the trail behind the hero, looks really cool!
-Music is fun and energizing, not too repetitive.
-Backgrounds are gorgeous!
-I love that you can jump through the dandelions, I would have fun just jumping through fields of those
-Love the jump and attack mechanics!
-Love the water physics

Here's what I think you should change:
-The brown blocks aren't that pleasing, maybe simplify them, make them more appealing to the eye.
-The text letters are spaced out a bit too far, brings the letters closer to each other, makes it easier to read.
-The waterfall logs should accelerate down just a little, not only to increase the challenge a tad, but to make it more realistic.

Not a criticism but a suggestion, those platforms that fall when you jump on them, the delay until they fall is probably a bit too long. If you reduced it to like 1 sec, it would offer a bit more challenge

Anyways, your hard work paid off, I would play this game!
Cheers
 

Plisken

Member
Awesome game so far!
Here's what I love:
-I love the trail behind the hero, looks really cool!
-Music is fun and energizing, not too repetitive.
-Backgrounds are gorgeous!
-I love that you can jump through the dandelions, I would have fun just jumping through fields of those
-Love the jump and attack mechanics!
-Love the water physics

Here's what I think you should change:
-The brown blocks aren't that pleasing, maybe simplify them, make them more appealing to the eye.
-The text letters are spaced out a bit too far, brings the letters closer to each other, makes it easier to read.
-The waterfall logs should accelerate down just a little, not only to increase the challenge a tad, but to make it more realistic.

Not a criticism but a suggestion, those platforms that fall when you jump on them, the delay until they fall is probably a bit too long. If you reduced it to like 1 sec, it would offer a bit more challenge

Anyways, your hard work paid off, I would play this game!
Cheers
Thank you so much for your feedback! I'll take those points into consideration
 

ophelius

Member
Thank you so much for your feedback! I'll take those points into consideration
Your game reminds me of a game engine I started a while ago, but I never finished it or made a game out of it.
Check out the end of this video demo for a comparison.
Though your backgrounds look way better ;)
 

Plisken

Member
Your game reminds me of a game engine I started a while ago, but I never finished it or made a game out of it.
Check out the end of this video demo for a comparison.
Though your backgrounds look way better ;)
I
Your game reminds me of a game engine I started a while ago, but I never finished it or made a game out of it.
Check out the end of this video demo for a comparison.
Though your backgrounds look way better ;)
Your backgrounds look fine :) yes the mechanics look similar between games
 

pixeltroid

Member
Here are my thoughts:

- Cool graphics and animation.
- Great music.
- smooth controls. Although I'd prefer "W" as an alternate jump button. If you're using W for something else, then have an alternate jump button on the right side, right next to the attack button. Perhaps "K".
Right now, your current layout requires the use of the thumb in addition to 3 other fingers (A,D and J). Just cluster the action buttons on the right side of the keyboad, the way it would be mapped on a SNES controller.. It's more intuitive and would help players perform complex, timed jumps.
- Nice level design.

But I clearly remember playing an earlier build of your game. I think it just had one level also. Looking forward to playing more! Good luck!
 

Plisken

Member
Here are my thoughts:

- Cool graphics and animation.
- Great music.
- smooth controls. Although I'd prefer "W" as an alternate jump button. If you're using W for something else, then have an alternate jump button on the right side, right next to the attack button. Perhaps "K".
Right now, your current layout requires the use of the thumb in addition to 3 other fingers (A,D and J). Just cluster the action buttons on the right side of the keyboad, the way it would be mapped on a SNES controller.. It's more intuitive and would help players perform complex, timed jumps.
- Nice level design.

But I clearly remember playing an earlier build of your game. I think it just had one level also. Looking forward to playing more! Good luck!
Yes this stage is merely a test level so it's the only one I've uploaded. I don't want to start designing a bunch of levels while I was still fleshing out controls.

Ok, I'll add K as a jump button. Eventually, I'd like to add a button mapping system, but in the meantime I'll do this for people who prefer that.

Thanks for the feedback!
 
This is very impressive. I was just browsing these forums for the first time in 10+ years when I stumbled upon this gem, so I recreated my long-abandoned account just to compliment you on your work! šŸ˜ƒ The pixel art is just gorgeous, and the music has some strong Jazz Jackrabbit vibes - which is always a good thing, in my book. I agree that the jump button would be better mapped elsewhere (W or K would be great), but that's a minor nitpick. The movement engine is very smooth, and I like that Lilly gets dizzy if you spam the attack button. Overall it's looking great so far, and I can't wait to see what else is in store. Keep up the good work!
 

Plisken

Member
This is very impressive. I was just browsing these forums for the first time in 10+ years when I stumbled upon this gem, so I recreated my long-abandoned account just to compliment you on your work! šŸ˜ƒ The pixel art is just gorgeous, and the music has some strong Jazz Jackrabbit vibes - which is always a good thing, in my book. I agree that the jump button would be better mapped elsewhere (W or K would be great), but that's a minor nitpick. The movement engine is very smooth, and I like that Lilly gets dizzy if you spam the attack button. Overall it's looking great so far, and I can't wait to see what else is in store. Keep up the good work!
Thanks a lot! I've barely even gotten started, so there's still plenty in store!
 
C

Crimson

Guest
It looks like quite solid platforming!

I really like the magenta trail behind the character!
With how vibrant the character and the collectables are, it might be nice to make the fore- and mid-grounds brighter to match the character.
Like bright green grass, dark undertones on the trees to contrast with a bright light on the top where the sun is hitting, etc...

To not have it be overwhelmingly bright and vibrant, lower contrast on farther background elements, but keep the same vibrant hues.
 
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