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John Goblin's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Overall | #1 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Creativity | #1 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Aesthetics | #1 | 5.000 | 5.000 |
| Enjoyment | #3 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Theme | #4 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
Ranked from 4 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the "Don't Stop" theme?
Every 4 seconds a bomb will drop above you, requiring the player to constantly be moving in order to not get hit while also attempting to kill enemies.
The levels also must be completed before Gnolan appears, a gnome that can be seen running towards you in the background. The level gives you little leeway on its timing, so you must constantly be progressing in order to clear it on time.
We had a few more level specific ideas such as a tower level where you were being chased up it by hundreds of gnomes, but they were cut out due to time.
Which game assets, if any, did your team borrow from external sources?
Our friend Tom assisted in making one of the songs, and we used a royalty free sound. Dripping in Cave Effect - Free Sound Effects with an Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)
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Comments
I don't think I have to say how impressed I am from the aesthetics of the game. I could tell just from the animated and interactive main menu that both of you cared a lot about presentation. Owen, I love the OST you made!
Your gameplay is complete, and I was able to beat both levels after a couple of tries. I can tell that you are talented gameplay programmer, Clancy. My largest mechanical comment was that it felt frustrating that I couldn't run and shoot at the same time. I know that the theme is Don't Stop, but it would have felt better to me if left-click caused me to stop moving for a moment, rather than clicking while running and not understanding why bullets weren't leaving my gun.
I also get the impression that there wasn't much time for playtesting, because Gnolan's speed is very unforgiving. It made me nervous during the live presentation that the developers themselves could not beat the levels consistently. Making games too difficult is a design problem I am infamous for struggling with as well. If you, as a developer, think your game is a little too easy, you're probably doing it right. Otherwise, consider reigning it in a bit.
If you two have an interest in platforming games, I strongly recommend checking out this project by GMTK: https://gmtk.itch.io/platformer-toolkit. I think that if you incorporate some of those ideas into this and future projects, you can create platforming characters that feel and play much nicer.
You two made an awesome game, thanks for submitting!
Hey this is Clancy! This was actually my first time making a platformer, so I really appreciate the feedback. I'll try to tackle each point one by one. I can't speak on behalf of Owen, so I will only be speaking on my own part.
I want to continue to move forward with this game beyond the jam, so the first thing I want to do is get rid of standing still to shoot and rework the movement and bomb mechanic. I think I might just make the bomb thing an enemy type. Maybe if you are in the line of sight of a wizard gnome, it will put an exclamation point over your head and it will have the wizard do a summoning animation and then drop a bomb on you. Again, thank you for the feedback!
go to https://goblagool.itch.io/john-goblin to view the full page!