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The Symmetry Hall Problem's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Accessibility | #6 | 3.095 | 3.154 |
| Controls | #7 | 3.510 | 3.577 |
| Originality | #8 | 3.812 | 3.885 |
| Overall | #9 | 3.429 | 3.495 |
| Theme | #14 | 3.812 | 3.885 |
| Fun | #14 | 3.284 | 3.346 |
| Graphics | #16 | 3.623 | 3.692 |
| Audio | #24 | 2.868 | 2.923 |
Ranked from 26 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Godot Version
v3.4.4.stable.official
Wildcards Used
N/A
Game Description
Symmetry themed puzzles, isolated and environmental, in a gloomy retro hallway setting!
How does your game tie into the theme?
Symmetric puzzles.. symmetric envorinment!
Source(s)
N/A
Discord Username
sporktank#7472
Participation Level (GWJ Only)
9
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Comments
The puzzles and graphics are really well made. Really cool game.
Thank you!
It reminds me of the Witness, but the puzzles are confusing, I still can't get why are there weird lines and numbers, and some of them are not centered? Nice graphics though.
I should have put a tutorial in-game. It is at the bottom of this page though: https://sporktank.itch.io/the-symmetry-hall-problem
Hope it helps, and thanks for playing!
I love this game it reminds me so much of the Witness. I'm a big Jon Blow fan. I feel like some of the logic could use different symbolic connections and maybe the use of outlines could hint to the player what the systems are doing. Also I reaaaaaally wish there was a save system. I need to finish but have to start over again some other time to finish voting on other submission. Great work!
Thanks for playing, and streaming! I just watched it back, didn't notice it was happening live.
It never dawned on me that people would want to come back to the game for multiple sessions. Silly in hindsight, and definitely something I'll be adding after the jam. The outline hint idea is really good too, thanks for suggesting.
Hopefully you do come back to the game, and get through to the end, you were making good progress. :) Lots more games to get through though, as you say..
I left it open and totally forgot then restarted my machine. Really great design and polish!
Oh… oh boy… oooohhhhh booooieeee… From a purely mechanical standpoint, the game works excellently. The controls are smooth and responsive, both in the FPS mechanics and in the puzzle mechanics. The graphics, while simple, are very pleasing and done in such a way that the work environment doesn’t distract from the puzzle solving and the puzzle elements fit well in the environment! Very nice!
Those puzzles though… Now, up front, I read the section that suggested that I don’t read the instructions on how to play, and, as of the time I’m writing this, I still have no read those instructions. I did have a group of people watching me play and giving me hints (or, I guess, outright trying to tell me what I was supposed to look for) and… I had a significant amount of trouble trying to wrap my mind around the puzzles.
The first thing that threw me off was the second and third puzzles. These were the ones with a [7] and a [7] with a line through it. Both had the same solution (my viewers were telling me the first one had two solutions, but still) this made grasping what was expected in terms of solving the puzzles extremely confusing, and this confusion comes nearly right out of the gate.
I vaguely came to the understanding that each number required a different color, but there were some puzzles that had two or three numbers but more colors available than there were numbers. I never totally understood this. Was the extra color a red herring? Was I expected to choose one color over another, and, if so, how was I expected to figure out which one?
Honestly, I’m not entirely sure if my issue with the puzzles is purely a me issue, or if the puzzles are really more trial and error than they are me not picking up the clues.
Over all, I find this a very well made and challenging game… but I worry it’s too challenging in its current form?
Firstly thanks heaps for playing on stream. Time zone issues didn't allow me to watch live but I looked at the replay.. it's always great to see people play your games on stream! :)
Cheers for the comments about the look and mechanics, happy that it worked well.
You make good points about the puzzles, certainly the [7]'s puzzles don't make the symmetry mechanic obvious enough. FWIW having you and some other people play it on stream (as well as comments) has really solidified that the intro puzzles are so important in terms of difficulty curve -- even more so that mid- and late-game. I'll fix them for this game, and be better "for the run" for the next jam, hehe.
Regarding the extra colours. Every puzzle *should* have the number of colours equal to the maximum number of colours with which it can be solved. Some puzzles can be solved with less, and some puzzles have extra colours for other reasons (later in the game, no spoilers). But yes, solving with the minimum number of colours is always a valid approach! You did.. however.. stumble on the one puzzle I believe which has an extra colour for no reason -- again sorry for this, definitely was confusing to find it at that time -- another thing for me to fix post jam. :)
If you decide to play again, do let me know if the tutorial helps? In hindsight, shouldn't have told people not to read it, and should have put it in game.
Again, thanks for playing. Your stream was entertaining as well!! Enjoyed watching the other games get played. 👍
I found that the rules of the puzzle are not at all clear, thusly making the problem about figuring out what the game wants you to solve rather than solving. I do like the art and sound a lot, very streamlined and satisfying.
Thanks for playing!
Hopefully the tutorial (bottom of https://sporktank.itch.io/the-symmetry-hall-problem) helped a bit, but I definitely should have put it in-game. :)
wow, the amount of content in that game was really impressive. i spent well over an hour going through all the puzzles, everything was really really well designed! well done! <3
Amazing, thanks heaps for playing it to the end! I'm glad you got some enjoyment out of it, and the main room puzzles were reasonable enough to be solved. :)
i'm still really impressed at how much content you managed to make in only 9 days. amazing.
and i don't think that spoils anything for anyone, but i can definitely say you got me with this one, haha!
Haha yes that one :) glad you liked it. It took me a while to convince myself that it was correct! :)
For whoever plans to complete this game, please use desktop build and spare at least 45 mins so you won't feel frustrated.
Despite the super-lengthy gameplay and my unfortunate browser crash, I really like the game idea and the puzzle design!
The tip is really to remember all the possible shapes according to the corresponding number and pattern.
Thanks for sticking it out and playing to the end. I'm impressed!
Hopefully the browser issue is unrelated to my game (as I have no idea how to debug it), but good idea suggesting the download version (and time allocation, lol) for others. :)
Now i get it! Yesterday i was too tired, but this is just genius. Very original. I also like the pixel art textures and the little minimap ;)
Haha, thanks for coming back to it with a fresh mind! :)
Okay this game is extraordinary. Unfortunately I had to stop after 30 minutes because its pretty late and I need to go to bed. This game would benefit from a save system!
This game gives me vibes of The Witness. Your hub area is so intriguing, and I really want to complete it. I love how unlocking a puzzle will unlock a new hall to go solve puzzles in. The puzzles are really challenging, but doable. I had to read your description to get what they meant, but I appreciated the tutorialization you tried to get the player through at the beginning. I think the visuals look really nice, and the audio was extremely satisfying.
My only feedback would be that it would be really nice to have a way to reset squares back to the non-color position, and/or reset the entire board at once.
I loved this one.
Thank you so much for playing and your review!
I agree about the save system.. it didn't even cross my mind to implement during development.
Yes that's a good idea about the reset button. I'm not sure if you used the "drag" functionality which is a quicker way to clear the puzzles, but not as good as a clear button -- I'll add it after the jam.
And yes I drew some inspiration from the Witness. I enjoyed playing that, but have memories of annoying frustration from it, perhaps I've caused that to other people with this game!
Regarding the "tutorialization", I tried my best to introduce the rules slowly, but after seeing yours and others feedback I think it misses the mark. If you have any suggestions I'd be very open to them. :)
Cheers!
I had frustrations with the Witness too, but I think that's expected with great puzzle games, and overcoming them makes the rewards even greater. I had no idea about the drag mechanic! That sounds so nice. I'll give it a try.
I think maybe the tutorialization needed to get across better that the number had to be in the shape, and that it did not need to be in the center. Additionally, I think the first two 7 puzzles might have required the same solution, which was a bit confusing and didn't get the symmetry point across to me to me. Maybe if that first 7 puzzle had the 7 at the top or off to one corner? I'm not sure. Or maybe introducing early a grid that couldn't be symmetrical at all, like a 5 with only 5 squares.
Regardless, the game was spectacular. I was very impressed with the amount of puzzles you were able to get done.
Yep the first two 7s could be done the same way, I was really trying to have one obvious solution without symmetry, then the same puzzle where you are forced to use symmetry. It didn't quite land!
Thanks again for playing and your advice. Cheers. :)
very interesting mechanic idea. I felt on the cusp of understanding but I couldn't quite grasp the concept enough to do the harder puzzles. super cool
Thanks for playing. There is a brief tutorial on the game page if it helps. :)
This game is so creative, I like it
Thank you for playing!
To be honest, I didn't quite understand. I got stuck on the left 6-/5-/2, I tried a few combinations but none worked. On the right I forgot the indicators, but I also got stuck. Despite that, it's an interesting game, maybe it just needs a little tutorial at the beginning (or maybe I'm really bad at it ^^')
No worries, thanks for giving the game a shot though!
I really wanted the game to be able to be learned by playing, so I didn't put anything in game. There is a tutorial on the game page though, if that helps :) -> https://sporktank.itch.io/the-symmetry-hall-problem
Oh, I didn't see the tutorial, sorry! ^^' Gonna try it again!
I hadn't pressed publish. :) Was refraining from doing so, but I think it's beneficial!