a little game with potential, but that is rather disappointing.
The art and sound effects were pretty good.
here are my problems with it:
1. the key UI text that you need to play the game at all is really really tiny and hard to read. It needs to be big and prominent (but still not in the way). A good place to put includes right underneath the character or right above, or in a corner somewhere. Also, the text is formatted in a hard to read way. It would be better if it was shown visually. A good example is the common visualization of the keys WASD. Just replace W, A, and D in the graphic with the key it currently is, and you already have a much better, much more readable, UI element.
2. Certain keys should not be in the pool. It's fine to switch up the controls and assign them to Z, 5, or [ for example, but NOT F4, Esc, or PrtScn (for example). You should limit your possible keys to assign buttons to to only those that print characters in a text editor. Some keys I just couldn't use, like F4 or F6, which were either unresponsive or used by an external program.
3. When to switch key assignments. Obviously switching after dying is ok. I didnt really see a problem with this, but Im going to mention it just in case. You shouldnt switch controls while the player is mid-jump, because it could cost them the run due to something thats completely random. Youd have to playtest this more, but Id say that when the player is on the ground or has not moved for awhile, its safe to switch controls. Or even better, give the player a warning before controls switch so they know not the make a perilous jump right before.
4. When controls switch, there needs to be more indication than just "oh, my buttons stopped working." The text suddenly changing is not noticable at all. There should be an animation or a sound effect (preferably both) that clearly indicates to the player that the controls have changed or are about to change.
I really liked that the platform sides were also platforms, making the jumps a little more forgiving. The jumps in this game are relatively easy, putting the focus squarely on the difficultly of finger gymnastics, which is where it should be for a concept like this. I didn't think it could be done. I didnt think someone could make a platformer game where the controls are random, but you did. And I actually liked it. I think you guys actually made it work.
I think you got the core concept of the game down, but a lot of the implementation details were subpar and rather disappointing. But you have the makings of a solid game. If you fix these issues, Id be willing to give this game a second shot.
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