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Sorcerer Vs. Swordsman's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Originality | #520 | 3.819 | 3.819 |
| Fun | #627 | 3.514 | 3.514 |
| Overall | #652 | 3.611 | 3.611 |
| Presentation | #1101 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
Ranked from 72 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?
You must connect blocks in game to either apply debuffs to your enemy or buffs to yourself. You can sever those connections and remove the buffs/debuffs with your sword. Hence, the dynamic of the game changes depending on which connections are active.
Did your team create the vast majority of the art during the 48 hours?
No
We used pre-existing art
Did your team create the vast majority of the music during the 48 hours?
Yes
We created the vast majority of the music during the game jam
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Comments
nice art, very interesting idea. You developed game mechanics very well. I liked this game. I will wait for the next polished releases. Good Job :)
Thanks for letting me to play your game! My comments:
Things I like:
Things I didn't like:
Overall it was still pretty good though, good job & keep up the good work!
Hi gladgib!
Oh wow, such detailed and extensive feedback! Since we are definitely moving this game forward, feedback like this is invaluable. I am treating it as an extended playtesting period, and comments like yours really will help in the future. I will be revisiting this as we move forward for sure!
I agree with the majority of your critiques.
Thanks again for all this feedback. I am going to put everyone's feedback in a discord text channel and meticulously go through and address each concern as we move forward. This is endlessly helpful and I really appreciate the time you took to review our game. Thanks again!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
This has a lot going on for a jam game, which is awesome! The controls are pretty hard to handle, and as far as I could tell, you had to actually right click on the blocks, not just be standing by it. (I don't think I ever figured out exactly when and how you can connect blocks. Sometimes I could, sometimes I couldn't.) I would recommend swapping the characters, since in videogame shorthand, the player is usually on the left, and enemy on the right.
Very solid tight animations and overall really well done!
Hi BlackOpsBen!
"Videogame shorthand" - A true scholar of GMTK! I love it!
Yes I agree the player and enemy are a little backward. It was honestly just how I put together the UI (arbitrarily) and I essentially just ran with it. I think if there is a scene like this in future iterations I will definitely consider swapping things around.
The block mechanic needs to be more intuitive. I have a lot of ideas on how to fix that thanks to the wonderful jamming community. Rest assured it will be overwhelmingly obvious in future iterations ;)
Thanks for the feedback!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
I like the game but I feel like the the tutorial could be shortened or replaced. I know a lot of people playing jam games will just skip yours after having to download it and read 3 pages of text. You could try programming in an interactive tutorial but I understand there probably wasn't enough time for that. Cool game though!
Hi Break!
Thank you for understanding the limitation with the time constraint. In future iterations I could definitely program an interactive tutorial and absolutely plan to do so. For the jam, unfortunately, I just couldn't think of any other way!
And thanks for the game jam tip. Unfortunately I have never been able to get WebGL to work for me so I avoid it at all costs. I understand the startup-cost to playing my game is relatively high now that you mention it and will definitely consider it in future jams.
Thanks for the feedback!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Yeah exporting to WebGL really helps, over 95% of the people that have played my jam games played the WebGL version. Also, I can't remember if you used Unity but if you did you might be having a common issue where it gets stuck loading which can be fixed by disabling compression
Oh wow, thanks for the tip! Yeah I use Unity. And the issue was definitely when its loading. Next time around I will give that a shot, thanks again friend!
Cool game and some really tight controls! I really enjoyed seeing all the abilities play out and honestly just moving around the map in general, everything felt really good :)
One issue I bumped into on my first run is that the sorcerer ended up getting stuck and I was able to endlessly wail on him to an easy victory which led to a really fast win. That's something that could definitely be tuned up post-jam though, doing AI like this for a jam game can be really ambitious and I think you did a great job in the time you had!
All in all, good job!
Hi Zombiedance!
Wow that's some really high praise! Yes the AI is super basic in this iteration due to the time constraint and I really appreciate you understanding the simplicity due to the time constraint. We will definitely be tuning AI up in future iterations. I am glad you enjoyed the game!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
I would have only liked for the swordsman to stop moving left / right if I release A / D in the air. Apart from that, really great idea! I love the setting, graphics and how you implemented it, feels great. Good job!
Hi CroSnake!
Interesting! I didn't consider the stopping mid air aspect. Honestly, I don't remember explicitly coding that particular behavior, and I absolutely agree that motion should be more controlled while in air for platforming purposes. You can expect a fix in future iterations :) Thank you for the great feedback!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Would be delightful to play it again in the future if you continue development!
Definitely drop us a follow here on Itch and we will keep you updated :)
Thanks for the kind words!!
Really cool idea, and controls feel great!
Unfortunately I wasnt able to link the boxes so my only option was to run around, break sorcerers links and trying to hit him with a sword, so I was keep loosing all the time 😂
Hi Radium Polonium!
I am glad you like the character controller! I have updated the game's Itch page with screenshots that show how-to-play. I have been getting a ton of feedback saying that there were issues with that portion. Perhaps taking a look at the screenshots can help you get the connection mechanic down :)
Thanks for playing!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Oh, I just didn't got that you have to first select swordsman or wizard block :)
After that I finally beat my nemezis :D
Thanks!
Awesome! Glad to hear :)
Super interesting idea! I played a couple of rounds to get the hang of things, but the AI kept on beating me :' ) You did a great job getting that into the game in just 48 hours!
Hi Gallsy!
I am glad you enjoyed the game! AI is definitely a struggle for me so I am glad he gave you a bit of a challenge! Thank you so much for your kind words!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Great fight game and cool character animation !
I won 2 times and won 1 time, it would be really cool if there was another mode where we could control the sorcerer :)
Hi Matteo!
I really wanted to include character select! I am glad you think that would have been a good idea! Unfortunately it got scrapped. Don't worry, my team and I will be bringing this game into full production where there will definitely be character selection (and multiplayer)!
Glad you got a chance to play and thanks for the feedback!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
I loved the art!!!, It's an amazing effort for 2 days game Jam!!
I really loved the game by the way I think I will play it all night 😂
Hi NourTech!
Thank you for your high praise! I hope its not too disappointing when I tell you we used pre-existing art. Links to both artist's pages are provided on the game's page. You should check out their work they are both super talented!
I am glad you found it engaging! We are going to expand on this game quite a bit over the next few months and try to make it a commercial project. We will be making our own art for it too which is very exciting!
Thanks for the kind words!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Cool presentation, unfortunatly sliding didn't function :< Interesting loopy fightsystem you've made!
Hi Niilo!
Yeah sliding/dashing were two methods of movement that I was on the fence about including. I put time in to reducing the hitbox of your player during crouches/slides so I decided to leave it in there, perhaps as an error. In case this was your issue - you have to be running to slide, otherwise you will just duck quickly!
I apologize, if I wasn't going to fully integrate the move I should not have left it in. Glad you still enjoyed playing though!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Hi Niilo!
Oh dear I just realized why you couldn't get the slide to work... For control levity purposes I changed the slide button to E instead of middle mouse :O and never updated the how to! I am so sorry!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Just with a little bit of polish, this game is on to something great. I really like the idea. With the timed changes to the connections coupled with my attacks being able to sever them, I found myself tiptoeing in adrenaline while focusing on killing the enemy while managing the connections. Good job!
Hi CyberPRDX!
Thank you for the kind words! When I came up with the idea of breaking connections, I immediately loved how careful the player had to be when they are finally established. I can imagine there being way more crisscrossing lines for the player to navigate while taking down the enemy. Glad you enjoyed it! We are excited to move forward with this project.
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
nice game and nice art! i really liked the take on the theme.
Hi VAJL7!
Thanks for the compliment! Glad you enjoyed!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Feels like a really well put-together game. I would like there to have been more time for level design and perhaps a bit more polish on that end as well. Generally speaking, it was a really intuitive game, and I think this could be expanded into something more in the future. Great job!
Hi Sephazon!
Thanks for the tip! The level design was left to the programmer (me) on this jam due to the time constraint. I know I am no expert! In the future I will consult with our artist/level designer. I am glad you found it entertaining and yes, we are excited to expand this project into something bigger. Thanks for playing!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Very cool game! I love the variety of strategies for different play styles. I was bad at platformer fighting so I burned the Sorcerer to death.
I feel like you shouldn't have to click on the blocks though since the Swordsman is already there. Also, changing the font would be an easy yet significant visual improvement.
Overall amazing game!
Hi ExplosiveJam!
I know! I am so regretful I slotted in the text changes with TMPro and even had a new font picked out, but unfortunately it just slipped my mind before the submission :/. 48 hours and all that. Also, others have commented on how the physical aspect of the block connecting mechanic should work, and all of it is well received. I can't wait to improve on this game! Thanks for the feedback!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Clever idea, and it's great to make the decision to attack, sever connections, or make your own. However, I had a lot of difficulty moving a character this fast (end up flying over platforms instead of on them), and wall-sliding hurt me more than helped. No-one else is saying this, so maybe it's just me?
Hi metabloxer!
I am glad you think the idea is cool, and I am sorry you had trouble with the character controller. I wonder if I can make it configurable somehow... Off the top of my head I can't think of a way where slowing you down wouldn't bestow a significant disadvantage on the player. I will take your input into consideration as we push the game forward, and I look forward to coming up with a clever solution to your problem.
No worries if it was just you that experienced this - Everyone is different and games differently. I want to include as much of an audience as I can, so this is a problem I will surely tackle.
Thanks for the feedback!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
Great idea and execution. All the essential feedback FX was there which is something I regretted not having the time for in my jam. My main critique's would be that the wall jump just feels a little too sticky. Hard to describe but it just feels off. Also it would maybe be cool if you could transition to either side of the map via the edge of the screen! (maybe with a cooldown or something to balance it)
Hey ryancross!
Thank you so much for playing! I do like the idea of a packman style screen-wrap. Maybe a block you could connect to to get that power!
I'm glad you still found it playable with the sticky wall jump! Character controllers are super tough. We will definitely revisit it in the future and sharpen it the best we can! Thanks again!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
A neat game with some cool mechanics. I felt the controls were a little tricky and overall I felt the overall difficulty was a little high. Also some of the blocks felt mostly un-impactful such as the speed up or down. The idea that you can give either yourself or the enemy buffs / debuffs was cool but took away from the focus of the game so much that I tended not to go for it. Overall very polished game, nice use of the theme, and I was able to eventually win when the enemy got stuck lol.
Hi JoshuaPelican!
Thanks so much for the feedback! Yeah this game didn't really make it to a balancing phase and I am deeply regretful for it. I'm glad you still enjoyed it even though you found it pretty tricky! Thanks again!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
I was a little confused about how the different powers work, but I still had a good time running around swinging and hacking at the sorcerer! The AI works nicely too. Good job!
Hi atolbertsmith!
Thanks for the feedback! AI is very difficult for me at this stage in my game development career, so to hear that you thought it was good is an awesome compliment. Glad you had a chance to play and enjoyed it!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream
I really like the responsiveness of the controls, although I feel like an interactive tutorial could definitely do the game wonders, aside from that the game is amazing
Hi fishyladerino!
Thank you for the feedback! Interactive tutorials are definitely something I need to work on, so I didn't have time to put one in the jam. Rest assured the game will have a much deeper tutorial system when we ramp up production in a few months! Thanks for playing!
Best,
Brandon from TheIndieDream