First of all, there have been quite a few things in common that reviewers mentioned in their feedback. In particular, how the game could use a checkpoint system or a clearer explanation (and that Walk in a Park bug which makes the mode ironically unbeatable). Also, many people appreciated the backgrounds and variety of obstacles, which suggests I might have gotten my Jam priorities right.
For the record, I made all the particle backgrounds and music synchronization stuff before I even got to making obstacle mechanics. I guess this order worked well in my case, since near the end I figured I might as well make the last stage a breather wormies party with no obstacles whatsoever and it still makes sense in context.
Based on these, here are a few points I would like to include in the full game (aside from fixing some typos and bugs):
1. Clearer instructions
The game instructions phrasing suggested that there are multiple wormholes, serving a setup for scoring a SINGLE POINT in the entire ENTRY. This, along with not explaining the obstacles properly, led multiple people to believe there are other wormholes and running into the crystal from the second section of the (only) wormhole. However, now that I can let go of this jokey theme inclusion, I can make proper and honest instructions.
Other things I want to clarify:
- the obstacle outlines are harmless; instead they serve as the warning for actual obstacles (some people apparently didn't notice that, but those who did appreciated the warning)
- only the head is vulnerable; the tail interacting with obstacles causes no harm, instead it serves as an additional obstacle for the player (also, we control the worm, so snake-like movement is quite appropriate here)
2. Checkpoints
These would have been too much trouble in the 24 hours timespan (including sleep) I worked on my entry, largely because specific stages are based on the music, so I'd need to make mechanics for that.
Also, the music is a large part of the experience, and listening to it on checkpoints basis rather than the whole thing in its entirety could spoil it, if there was no way to play it from the start again. In short, there are quite a few challenges involved here.
On that note (haha, musical note) I'd like to include tighter integration of music and gameplay, in particular by having each gameplay "step" (i.e. when worm advances a tile) synced to the rhythm of the soundtrack. Also, to allow checkpoints on the one hand and still provide the experience of playing through the entire soundtrack, I would like to include a replay system (that implies the worm will have its beginning-of-stage state stored, to consistently start from it on each restart.
3. More wormholes
I might want to gather a few more cool songs from various composers (of course, getting all the necessary licenses/permissions first) and build more levels based around these. I mean, there are so many things that can be done with this concept and such a variety of obstacles. Speaking of which...
4. Smarter and more varied obstacles/gameplay elements
Right now, the obstacles appear pretty much randomly, except for a fixed segment in aqua section. Where applicable, I might make them a little more malicious and have them appear at inconvenient places, such as "accidentally" placing them near the worm, having them explicitly appear so that they aim for the worm head or even have them appear at the tail so that the worm can't just circle around the same place. Furthermore, people said that having something to collect would be also nice, so I might make some mechanic based on that. I wouldn't rule out manipulating the worm tail length, either - the possibilities are broad here.
(also, checkpoint system should give me more leeway with the difficulty, with it being focused on single segments rather than spread across the whole song)
5. Graphics configuration, maybe
It's been pointed out that as pretty the background is, it can be straining for the eyes. I admit the general intensity and various effects (especially the foreground colour inversion effect) could be a problem, especially for people sensitive to visual stimuli and such. For that reason, I might add some extra graphics configuration options, though I'd need to consult someone on that.
(also, possibly having fewer particles effects for performance reasons, because really)
Oh, by the way, the game was partly inspired by the RAVING WORMS ON DRUGS theme (thanks, lolslayer!). I thought I included it in the Afterword, but apparently I included the wrong version in the Jam ZIP. >.<
Now, to respond to the individual reviews:
@ParodyKnaveBob - I'm glad you enjoyed my entry so much, your review really made my day; also, it was quite useful seeing someone play it; thanks a lot ^^
@Mercerenies - I like how you pointed out the sunrise background; the sense of finality was exactly what I aimed for in that part (also, if one looks closely, as the game enters the sunrise section the wormhole shadow in the middle disappears; I guess it means that technically the player exited the wormhole, but let's not look too much into that ^^')
@lolslayer - glad you enjoyed entry, however frustrating it sometimes have been. I've already addressed the checkpoint system and I admit some graphics configuration could make the game easier on the eyes. Could you please elaborate on the epilepsy trigger you mentioned? While I know some general information about epilepsy triggers (flashing images, large areas rapidly changing) I don't have much experience and "sense" of what can or cannot cause a seizure, so I'd be grateful for more details (including the part of Wormhole that might be a trigger and why)
@HayManMarc - thanks a lot for the video playthrough, that singing reminded me of that 3 days of jamming song (guess it's four days now)
@FrostyCat - thanks for the feedback; good call about the leak, in all my rush I totally forgot to clean up the particle types and systems >.< (hopefully I didn't forget to remove the objects themselves, but still)
@Relic - hopefully, the lacking feeling of progression could be addressed by checkpoints...?
On unrelated note, I totally agree that Best Reviewer award should be brought back. I don't know why it got dropped...
@NazGhuL - when it comes to the movement, hopefully it's properly smooth on the Hard difficulty (which I kinda designed my game around, and only then managed some magic numbers for easier levels); also when you said "Unforgivable" I really hope you meant unforgiving ^^'
@curato - as it turned out, the game was played on Walk in a Park difficulty from the get go, which explains why there were no obstacles (it's definitely preferable to some obstacle-devouring bug)
@The M - yeah, I guess having either some collectibles or obstacles pushing the player away from the comfort zone could be useful? Maybe not all the time, but I'll see what I can do
(also, thanks for all the other reviewers for their feedback; I just didn't feel like I had anything in particular to answer to that isn't covered by the points above)