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The First Step's itch.io pageResults
Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
Presentation | #7 | 4.667 | 4.667 |
Overall | #50 | 4.152 | 4.152 |
Fun | #149 | 3.909 | 3.909 |
Originality | #186 | 4.091 | 4.091 |
Ranked from 33 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
The movement of the hero is out of control. All you can do - select the right starting point for the hero.
Did your team create the art for this game during the 48 hour time slot?
Yes
We created all art during the game jam
Did your team create the audio for this game during the 48 hour time slot?
Yes
We created all audio during the game jam
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Comments
I'm a little late to the party but wow! This game was so much fun! I hope you make more levels or something.
Holy moly, I love this! I almost can't believe you did this in 48 hours, with how well everything comes together. At first I was a bit irritated because I thought you forgot to include a tutorial, but as I played more and more it became clear to me that the process of discovery was part of the experience itself, and that victory feels much better if you've figured everything out yourself! The one tip I would give you is to get rid of the heart system entirely. If you're game is really about relaxation like you say, and experimenting with what everything does, than the player shouldn't be punished for playing the game like you intended it, right? I know the heart system stressed me out pretty hard, I would have rather just relaxed and tried to get the puzzles right in my own time. Anyway, this is a super cool standalone little game and I hope you get more people to play it! Very cool!
Ok. For starters - we are huuuge fans of your tiny traffic. Well done!! Second, lives stops you just from blind clicking, but I will def think about it more. Third , may be we can cooperate if you want and make some puzzle game all together ;) let me know - my twitter is @KatKuskova
Ahh thanks for the compliments! Have you tried the newly updated stable version? What what I would say about blind clicking is this: because you didn't implement an instant restart button it already kind of feels like a punishment to just blind click, it would take forever! I've followed you on Twitter, I'm currently a bit busy with getting my bachelors degree, and am actually planning on making Tiny Traffic my main project after that, but who knows what the future holds ^^ If you ever need playtesting for your game(s), hit me up!
The fun thing about this game is that the tiles don't indicate what they do.
If you added arrows to the tiles, I think the game elemnt of this game would mostly melt away, becuase the arrows would end up highlighting the path the ball would take.
The jumps and the portals add much needed complexity and I think further levels could use some more tiles that further extend this idea.
Tiles that rotate the current dirrection of travel maybe?
Thanks for the idea about rotation! will use it!
This game has an amazing feel to it! I agree with several of the comments below that indications of what the panels do would help, and I don't think it would break the game, especially if the mechanics keep evolving. To me, it was more fun finding the paths through the puzzles than remembering what each panel did.
Alternately, or maybe even in addition, removing the lives system I think would be nice. If someone wants to spam click options to beat it, that's their choice, and they won't get anything out of the game anyway since they're not really playing it as intended. Especially as an otherwise relaxing game, i think the lives ticking down adds a little too much tension. You could always try all the different ideas out and have people playtest to see what they think, now that there's not a time limit.
I wanted to give more feedback than usual, since this is a game I could completely see doing well on mobile. Really good job!
Thank you, VogonCF !
Thanks for playing, thanks for reading comments below, thanks for your honest opinion, thank you!
I understand your suggestion about adding the directions, but it will break the riddle of make and make it more like random clicker. But! We def will add some hints :) Lives - the live system was supposed to be different with a nice and encouraging logic but it was too complex for the jam timeline. The choice was to do a music or to add complex live system which push a player but not too much. So, we decided to make music and I think it was a right decision to make - as music means a lot in puzzle games, especially when all the work is a mental one and not mechanical.
Thank you once again, it's really such a warm and supporting community here!
One of the nice things about making puzzle games for game jams is that they aren't often subject to the same problems that platformers and action games have, namely that they require more art and are often buggy/have bad 'game feel' due to time constraints. However, puzzle games are challenging in that they often must be very simple for the audience to understand intuitively and each level is often short, requiring several levels in order to feel like a more complete demo of the idea the game is trying to convey. This game does both those pretty well, with 15 levels and a premise that is almost immediately picked up on. It is also easy to see where the game can be challenging in a full release. Since it seems like the team is considering doing a full release, I would like to point out a two things that would help make the game easier to pick up and play.
-Icons on the squares. The option to include patterns is very helpful for colorblind folks, but the patterns don't disclose much about what the tile actually does. A simple arrow pointing in a direction would not make the game much easier, especially if the levels continue to include more types of tiles in much larger quantities. It is simply too difficult to remember colors alone when trying to pair it with its function. Also consider what would happen if someone were to play for a while and then come back at a later date; they would forget what all the tiles meant and have to start over. The ability to pick-up-and-play is a key factor in mobile game success.
-Resetting. Sometimes you notice that where you put the dot isn't going to work and so your options are to either wait until it fails or to go back to the main menu. A button dedicated to this would be convenient.
I hope your full release goes well, don't forget to think outside the box of this jam for inspiration.
HI, Swills18! Thank you for a detailed comment! Thank you for playing our game, for thinking about it and spending your time for such long review. It's amazing! Now to the points you mentioned:
1. Arrows - no way, the whole concept of the puzzle-riddle disappears then. But we def will add some tips that the Ornament doesn't add any mechanic itself. However! I'm considering making hints option with a timer so some of the tiles will be revealed or reminded. ;)
2. Returning users. I'm 100% with you to remind these returning users what's what. I hope I can design smth more elegant than just arrows or a pic with an instruction. Btw, we will add a proper tutorial - 5 super easy levels + all jumps and portals will be added more smoothly. I had to cut out learning curve as I wanted to show different mechanics during the jam.
3. Reset - was on the list during the jam, but we crossed it out due to a little bit complex logic connected with lives and animations. But it's still on the list! Thanks for a reminder about it.
4. Thank you! your comment really shows interest in our game and it matters so much for us. Thanks!
I really like this game... Such a soothing and calm experience!
Then only thing I would suggest is that the tiles' paterns gave you a hint about what they are doing... I can understand that it is on purpose, as it is out of your control, but game-design-wise, when the jump tiles were added a got a little confused...
I finished all levels anyway!
Good Luck!!!
Wow! Yay! Congrats! Thank you for your review! We are planning to work more about clear learning curve :) Totally agree with you!)
Nice, simple concept with great art and music :) Could easily imagine this as a professionally released mobile game. Good stuff!
Thank you for playing it! We are considering atm to make it in a full game ;)
Very good and simple game, art and sound design. I like it. This game relaxes me. Nice work! It’s a pity that after losing the game starts anew.
True, it was a fix for jam. The lives system will be def reworked in the full game)) After all of these comments we just need to make it in a full one. Thank you so much for playing it!
Great art, great music, can't believe that it's done in 48 hours! And the concept is very interesting and fun. This game makes me go YES! Great Job!
Thaaaanks!!! It was an intense first jam for us! But due to your comments - a productive one!! Thank you for your warm review!
I was about to go to sleep when I saw a cover art for a puzzle game. I could not resist!
It is very pretty and the music complets it well. I did finish it though Im not 100% clear on the path rules (I don't know if the sigil on the tiles had a signification). I whent mainly by trial and error (seeing which tiles weren't passed)
Fun experience none the less!
Oh, thank you so much for playing it!! Pattern is a little helper for people who can't differentiate colours. It doesn't add any mechanics, thank for pointing it out. We will communicate it more clearly once we continue working on it! Thanks!
As a colorblind I can't thank you enough for that feature then!
Neat puzzle game!
Thanks!!
The game looks astonishing and provides a relax and chill atmosphere!
For game design: without the portal tiles, the puzzle will become much less interesting, since every other tiles can only have one tile to come from, making it easy to find the solution once you figure this out, and it gets boring quickly. So I'm glad they are there!
Should I call you the Ambassador of Portals now?:D
You could easily make this into a fully fletched puzzle game (well it already is, but you know what I mean). I really want to see this as bigger game with more levels. Even without more mechanics, there are a lot of possibilities to create new challenges just by adjusting the level layout.
I'm not sure if this would break the balance, but maybe you could consider adding the option to look up, which colors corresponde to what movement. A player doesn't need to use it, but they can if their memory isn't so great.
Nooo, they all should struggle! I'm kidding)) Thank you for your ideas and a nice review! It means a lot as we are considering of making a full version out of it. One of idea, for an easy mode - to have a timer with the hints you mentioned. But otherwise it doesn't make so much sense, as a puzzle supposed to train you logic/memory. It's like imagine a maze, where you can see arrows where to go - the whole concept of the maze breaks. So, may be some small hints if you really stuck and have already lost too many lives.
Once again - thank you!
A superb puzzle game with a pretty neat idea. I like how it feels and plays. It can be a really good puzzle game for relaxation.
Belissimo!
Thanks, man!
Make this into full mobile game, very relaxing and fun experiance. No bugs, no glitches and perfectly balanced. Love it!
Thanks! Your game is also stunning! We are considering of making a full version out of it. Stay tuned :)
The game is great! I would like more games from YOU. It is calming, somewhat reminiscent of old games, where you must understand how to play without "tutorial". The most difficult level I would call the last one. Learn from the mistakes & Enjoy :)
Oh, thanks! It's so direct and personal, love your comment! I was quite disappointed yesterday as most of GameJams' games are action-based and not relaxing/calming. I'm fond of Journey/Abzu and abstract games, but it you need a time to dive into it. Gamejam is not about diving in - there are more than 5k+ games, and for sure you want to play them all... These were my thoughts yesterday that I made a mistake doing a relaxing game and not an action one.
But your comment changed it. Thank you.
It means so much for me, that I'm so inspired by your comment. Grateful, thanks.
Your welcome! It`s only in my honest opinion
great game!
Thank you!
Great concept, loved the minimalist art. Simple sounds which matched the art. I didnt know what each block did at the start but I got the hang of it quick (im sure that was the intent). I didnt finish because I was ready to hop into another game, however, you can really expand this isnt a full game and add in more elements. Could be a great mobile time waster!
Thank you so much for a warm review! Moving forward with it!))
Very neat puzzle game. I love the minimalist design aesthetic. The sound design was great too, very soothing! I didn't realize that you could turn patterns on, so I was pretty lost with what each pad did, so maybe having arrows, jumpy arrows, a portal glyph, etc.. instead of geometric pattern labels may help (based on what I see in the thumbnail).
Mechanically, I found myself setting into the following strategy. 1. Pick a tile that I think might work. 2. See how far it gets. 3. Look at the tiles that remain and pick from those remaining tiles. If you follow this strategy, it seems to always converge to the solution. I think it has something to do with how every puzzle is a linear sequence of events, so if you start the chain mid-way through, only the pads earlier in the chain remain, revealing the solution. If that was the goal, then awesome! If that's not the case though... maybe adding some kind of ability to place certain pads where some may be missing... like start with an incomplete board and fill in the missing pieces to make the sequence work.
Overall, I had fun with it! Great presentation and a really chill puzzle game :-)
Thank you for your comment! Nice ideas there! For some lvls you can use the strategy you suggested.. However, it usually breaks on jumps. I wanted a user to show a path and give him an opportunity to remember, if you are looking for more difficult lvls - stay in touch, we have some more mechanics in our pockets ;)
Arrows and patterns which have direction are restricted here as we want a user to memorize tiles. With arrows it'll be not a puzzle anymore.
Special thanks for music, we tried our best there (not a pro in music so it ate lots of our time).
P.S. Checking you game ;)