Fun gaem. Personally I think the falling pieces have too many walls, and I ran out of energy too fast (plus I wasn't sure how to get more energy), but besides that I had fun with this genre mash up!
The game's flow is a bit confusing to me, because it's clearly taking tetris as inspiration for some things, but it doesn't really play like it at all. It works better as a puzzle game without the pressure of the pieces dropping, so I think a change in perspective could do something for it - perhaps something like having a board where pieces may come from all four sides? With the ability to rotate them, or the ability to switch what side they're on. Something like that.
Other than that I do like the puzzle style gameplay in itself, and the levels do get challenging as they go on. I played for a while, however I hit a level where this type of block would always appear, which would freeze the player controls other than still being able to use the pause menu:
Ooh boy, I said I'd play it, but this was rough. I found the division of what you're doing to be not great. If it was me personally, I'd look into playing Henry Hattsworth on DS. That game had it where normal gameplay was Mega Man Zeroish and it switched into a puzzle mode at times too. I honestly think trying to move pieces and the knight at the same time is way too much to ask of your player.
This is definitely a good game / concept but as others have mentioned, it takes a while to figure out. In my first game I went to clear a line as quickly as possible, because the 'tetris side' of the game is most prominent / obvious at a glance. Of course I ended up killing myself because I was standing in the cleared line. In the next game I died to a monster because I wasn't paying attention to my HP. Basically it took a while for me to figure out the 'dungeon crawler side' of the game to keep myself alive.
I guess that's the challenge of combining two completely different games into one, how do you marry them together so that it feels like one game instead of two?
Maybe an in-game reason why the cleared lines are dangerous? (like if they flooded with water or something before vanishing) Maybe as someone else suggested, a build phase where you take turns between a block falling and moving your knight? I played with the move-separately control scheme.
You did a really good job with this, and it might just need a good tutorial or introductory level to help new players "get it". Love the art style too by the way.
Not my cup of tea but seems like it could be a neat mobile/Switch game. I thought the default controls were very intuitive and easy to pick up though. I didn't realize I could break through walls so I thought I got stuck and retried a few times.
Very cool idea for your game. My thoughts are similar to the other 2 comments.
The requirements to pass the level are a bit too difficult, especially for the very first level where people are learning to play. I almost managed to beat level 3 but the requirement to take 25 damage screwed me over as not many enemies were spawning, then I get sent back to the main menu.
It seems like the player has 3 lives before having to start over, but I didnt see that indicated anywhere so you don't know how many lives you have left. Being able to earn extra lives would be nice.
Showing items and enemies in the red indicator would help a lot, its hard to focus on your character and the locations of the items that are coming.
Certain items seem useless on earlier levels, such as the key which I assume opens chests? Also other than the requirement on level 2, I'm not sure what the coins are for, is it just a highscore thing?
I dont think this game really needs the AP meter, I died to this a few times because I dropped myself into the void not realizing I couldn't move away, thought it was just a bug at first before I realized my problem. I think the players movement is already limited enough from the layout of the blocks and walls. Having to stand still and wait for the next block to drop before moving or attacking doesnt really add much.
There are lots of different enemy types but almost all of them seem to do the same thing, just melee attack. You added lots of cool stage hazards so Im sure you can think of ways to make more unique enemies. How about a rock golem that requires hammer points to kill, or a mage that fires through walls?
Pretty fun, but takes a lot of time to wrap the head around.
I played with a controller.
I would often accidentally move the knight against a wall or a void tile and use a hammer which was not desired, especially annoying while in "block placement"-mode
switching between the two modes is very awkward: I want to move the knight and think where to go, but the blocks would start falling again automatically
when pressing the trigger to quickly drop a block, it would rapid-fire and place several blocks
the first level is overwhelming in many ways as too many things need to be learned at once
the red block helper doesn't show items & enemies which is a little annoying when rotating, because I have to think about how to rotate the base shape, look out where the walls are and then know where the items/enemies will be placed
would have been nice to have the controls on screen while playing, instead of needing to go into the menu
only after I was done playing did I discover the "separate" control scheme, which plays a lot nicer, especially in order to learn the game. Would have loved to have this as the default.
I would often accidentally move the knight against a wall or a void tile and use a hammer which was not desired, especially annoying while in "block placement"-mode
I get what you mean. In the fist prototype I had it so you had to hold down a separate button while moving to use the hammer to avoid this kind of mistake, but I removed it because some people found it unintuitive.
switching between the two modes is very awkward: I want to move the knight and think where to go, but the blocks would start falling again automatically
this might not be what you want, but in the options you can make the tetris pieces not fall automatically. if you have suggestions for how to make the switching less awkward I'd love to hear them.
when pressing the trigger to quickly drop a block, it would rapid-fire and place several blocks
that's odd, as I set up the code so that you have to let go of the button before being able to drop another piece. what platform were you playing on? maybe it's a specific issue to the web version... still very odd and definitely unintended.
the first level is overwhelming in many ways as too many things need to be learned at once
hmm I tried to make the first level easy and short but I guess I failed. I should revisit the idea of a tutorial mode.
the red block helper doesn't show items & enemies which is a little annoying when rotating, because I have to think about how to rotate the base shape, look out where the walls are and then know where the items/enemies will be placed
that's fair. originally I did it like this because I didn't want the players to only look at the projection of the piece, but I'll do something about it
would have been nice to have the controls on screen while playing, instead of needing to go into the menu
true. I'm not sure where I could put them as the UI is already pretty busy. this is another thing that a tutorial mode would help with maybe.
only after I was done playing did I discover the "separate" control scheme, which plays a lot nicer, especially in order to learn the game. Would have loved to have this as the default.
hehe that's fair. this used to be the only control scheme in the first few version. I added the new control scheme a while ago to simplify the controls and the game itself since with 'unified' controls, you only have to focus on one part of the game at once.
again thanks a lot for this, and I hope you'll look forward to the finished game!
The concept of the game is quite interesting! It's quite fun too. I think the design could use some polishing. Having to switch from using the knight back to tetris mode at the same time is a bit awkward. Maybe you could fix this by doing phases? Example: Place three or four blocks THEN only use the knight. And then repeat.
Aside from that:
I noticed you can't click on the retry button when you die or the continue button after finishing the level.
A warning when you're about to clear a line with your character on it would be useful.
I would make the AP count pop out next to the character (like you do with the HP when you take a hit) every time you make a move so you can easily how much you have left.
The hit sound that plays after attacking could be softer so it's easier on the ears. Add some random variation to it too.
Add more music. I'm getting tired of this one song playing on loop as I'm writing this feedback.
The aesthetics of the game aren't bad but all beige/gray/black is a bit boring. You should find a way to make the color scheme more pleasing to the eyes. Maybe add a colorful background instead of the black void.
How much time did this take you to do? If you fix these small issues the game isn't far away from being to ready to sell.
Comments
Fun gaem. Personally I think the falling pieces have too many walls, and I ran out of energy too fast (plus I wasn't sure how to get more energy), but besides that I had fun with this genre mash up!
The game's flow is a bit confusing to me, because it's clearly taking tetris as inspiration for some things, but it doesn't really play like it at all. It works better as a puzzle game without the pressure of the pieces dropping, so I think a change in perspective could do something for it - perhaps something like having a board where pieces may come from all four sides? With the ability to rotate them, or the ability to switch what side they're on. Something like that.
Other than that I do like the puzzle style gameplay in itself, and the levels do get challenging as they go on. I played for a while, however I hit a level where this type of block would always appear, which would freeze the player controls other than still being able to use the pause menu:
:thinkEyes:
Ooh boy, I said I'd play it, but this was rough. I found the division of what you're doing to be not great. If it was me personally, I'd look into playing Henry Hattsworth on DS. That game had it where normal gameplay was Mega Man Zeroish and it switched into a puzzle mode at times too. I honestly think trying to move pieces and the knight at the same time is way too much to ask of your player.
This is definitely a good game / concept but as others have mentioned, it takes a while to figure out. In my first game I went to clear a line as quickly as possible, because the 'tetris side' of the game is most prominent / obvious at a glance. Of course I ended up killing myself because I was standing in the cleared line. In the next game I died to a monster because I wasn't paying attention to my HP. Basically it took a while for me to figure out the 'dungeon crawler side' of the game to keep myself alive.
I guess that's the challenge of combining two completely different games into one, how do you marry them together so that it feels like one game instead of two?
Maybe an in-game reason why the cleared lines are dangerous? (like if they flooded with water or something before vanishing) Maybe as someone else suggested, a build phase where you take turns between a block falling and moving your knight? I played with the move-separately control scheme.
You did a really good job with this, and it might just need a good tutorial or introductory level to help new players "get it". Love the art style too by the way.
Not my cup of tea but seems like it could be a neat mobile/Switch game. I thought the default controls were very intuitive and easy to pick up though. I didn't realize I could break through walls so I thought I got stuck and retried a few times.
Very cool idea for your game. My thoughts are similar to the other 2 comments.
Overall its a cool idea for a game.
Pretty fun, but takes a lot of time to wrap the head around.
I played with a controller.
Thanks a lot for playing and the feedback!
I get what you mean. In the fist prototype I had it so you had to hold down a separate button while moving to use the hammer to avoid this kind of mistake, but I removed it because some people found it unintuitive.
this might not be what you want, but in the options you can make the tetris pieces not fall automatically. if you have suggestions for how to make the switching less awkward I'd love to hear them.
that's odd, as I set up the code so that you have to let go of the button before being able to drop another piece. what platform were you playing on? maybe it's a specific issue to the web version... still very odd and definitely unintended.
hmm I tried to make the first level easy and short but I guess I failed. I should revisit the idea of a tutorial mode.
that's fair. originally I did it like this because I didn't want the players to only look at the projection of the piece, but I'll do something about it
true. I'm not sure where I could put them as the UI is already pretty busy. this is another thing that a tutorial mode would help with maybe.
hehe that's fair. this used to be the only control scheme in the first few version. I added the new control scheme a while ago to simplify the controls and the game itself since with 'unified' controls, you only have to focus on one part of the game at once.
again thanks a lot for this, and I hope you'll look forward to the finished game!
The concept of the game is quite interesting! It's quite fun too. I think the design could use some polishing. Having to switch from using the knight back to tetris mode at the same time is a bit awkward. Maybe you could fix this by doing phases? Example: Place three or four blocks THEN only use the knight. And then repeat.
Aside from that:
How much time did this take you to do? If you fix these small issues the game isn't far away from being to ready to sell.