My First Game Jam: Winter 2020

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My First Game Jam: Winter 2020 community

[ ! ] Mid-jam Playtesting [Sat-Mon] Sticky

A topic by ludowoods created Feb 01, 2020 Views: 868 Replies: 27

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ludowoodsHost4 years ago(+1)

Hi everyone! Having a good jam so far? We thought it might be a neat idea to encourage a playtesting weekend, meant to help everyone pinpoint issues and check out other jammers' work! It's okay if you don't have your game done— you can still show us what you have so far! To account for the lateness of this announcement, the dates for posting your games will be between Saturday through Monday. Doing this is optional, but we encourage you to post! We also HIGHLY encourage you to check out games with no feedback; let your fellow jammers know you're cheering them on!

If you'd like to participate, please post here with the following information:

Game Title/URL: Self-explanatory. Link your game here.

Pitch/Information: A short description of the game.

I'd like feedback on: You can put a list, questions, or description of what you would like critique on. Can be "anything!" if you're not looking for anything specific.

I need help on: Optional so remove if unnecessary, but if you have a specific problem or bug that you would like help or advice with solving, put it here!

Have fun, and don't forget to play each other's games!

ShushurikhinSubmitted4 years ago (2 edits)

Hello everyone! Today I want to introduce the development build of my game to you.

Game Title/URL: Snowballs (Cick to download from Google Drive)

You need to download the entire folder and run snowballs.exe

Pitch/Information: In this game you have to play snowballs against the friends of the main character. So far, these are 3 identical non-animated girls.

If you get hit five times, then the level will restart. Score as many points as possible! In the future I will add a rating table!

Control: WASD - Move; Left mouse - "Fire"; Right mouse - "Reload"; Left Shift - Run

To reload, go to such a snowdrift and press the right mouse button:

I'd like feedback on: You can give any comment about this "game". Write what you liked and what not really. Based on your feedback, I will correct certain moments of the game!

I need help on: In this build, grabboxing is done, and I need you to rate it. And the amount of "snow" and "enemies" that are at this level. Should it be reduced or increased?

nbe1233Submitted4 years ago

Hello, this is the game I have been working for in the past week.

Game/url: KALT https://nbe1233.itch.io/kalt

Information: A platformer where you leave your cave in search of firewood. controls are A - left D - right SPACE and W - jump

I'D like feedback on: The controls, I feel as if sometimes when I press space it does not work, I hope it is just my keyboard. And I would like to know if their are any bugs to be noted.

SonderfulSubmitted4 years ago

Hey, I just gave it a try, and I think it’s pretty good.

I did have some issues with jumping, mostly when already moving sideways. Total guess, but perhaps the keypresses are clashing.

I noticed that jumping when moving down a slope is not really possible, and I think that’s because the snowman is not directly on the ground.

I might be wrong, but that’s how it seemed to me, hopefully it lines up with what you experienced.

Great work!

knubbilitoSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

Game Title/URL: https://knubbilito.itch.io/antarctic , Antarctic - Top Down Shooter Game

Pitch/Information: The idea of this game is to escape from the icy island in a helicopter, but I have not finished that part yet, so far all you can do is kill penguins and die.

I'd like feedback on: Any feedback is appreciated!

I need help on: If anyone knows how to automatic pause a game if the window is minimized(I use Godot-engine). Also I would like to know if it's a bit laggy in the beginning or if it's just me using an old computer(maybe 30 seconds into the game everything worked fine).

butchlandSubmitted4 years ago

Hi knubbilito,

I’m also developing on Godot (also exporting to HTML5 like your game, except I host it myself).

AFAIK, there’s no need to control the pausing of the game when you minimize the window – it just does it automatically (at least it does in mine).

Best regards, Butch

knubbilitoSubmitted4 years ago

Hello butchland,

It's nice you also use godot, I like that engine.

AFAIK, there’s no need to control the pausing of the game when you minimize the window – it just does it automatically (at least it does in mine).

hmm...maybe I clicked somewhere by accident, I will try to look it up.

nbe1233Submitted4 years ago (1 edit)

Hello knubbilito,

I liked your game, and I feel that you could add sound, ie. gunshots, walking. Also I noticed as I walked southward it seemed as though I was not moving. I also noticed that as you fire towards the building you bullets pile up.

knubbilitoSubmitted4 years ago

Hello nbe1233!

I liked your game, and I feel that you could add sound, ie. gunshots, walking.

- Thank you for this, I will add this on my to-do-list :)

Also I noticed as I walked southward it seemed as though I was not moving.

- I agree now when I think about it. I think I will add a few more details to the environment, maybe a road or something so you can feel that the character is moving. Thank you!

I also noticed that as you fire towards the building you bullets pile up.

- I did not notice this until you told me. I will fix it up as soon as possible, thank you once again!

MindlessRuffSubmitted4 years ago

Hey there. I'm not sure if there is anything you can do on your end about this, but I was not able to run this game on any browser besides Google Chrome.

That aside it was quite enjoyable! I would appreciate the ability to control the character in a more seamless manner, such as WASD for movement and the mouse to aim.

The game was not laggy for me once I got it to run on Chrome, so no worries there.

knubbilitoSubmitted4 years ago

Hey there. I'm not sure if there is anything you can do on your end about this, but I was not able to run this game on any browser besides Google Chrome.

- Hmm..that is strange, if you don't mind telling me, what browsers did you try and what operative system do you use? Thanks for letting me know though, I want the game to be playable on most computers(mac/Linux/windows) so I am very glad you told me this.

That aside it was quite enjoyable! I would appreciate the ability to control the character in a more seamless manner, such as WASD for movement and the mouse to aim.

Thank you for this input, I will try it out.

SonderfulSubmitted4 years ago

Hey, just played it. It took 12 seconds to go from pressing Launch in the itch.io app to the main menu appearing. Pressing play took me to the game instantly. My computer is not particularly high-spec or anything, so it doesn’t seem too bad. Curious to know what it’s loading, though. :)

I enjoyed slaughtering the evil penguins, but I do wish I could shoot and move, or shoot and rotate. That would have made it a bit easier.

Your world is pretty large, which is cool, but I didn’t have a good idea of where anything might be. I happened upon a couple of buildings, but purely by chance. When you get to the point of adding a helicopter, you might want to give some sort of point to where it is.

Looking forward to coming back to this. Great work so far! :)

knubbilitoSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

Hi Sonderful!

Hey, just played it. It took 12 seconds to go from pressing Launch in the itch.io app to the main menu appearing. Pressing play took me to the game instantly. My computer is not particularly high-spec or anything, so it doesn’t seem too bad. Curious to know what it’s loading, though. :

Thank you for telling me, I think my game might not use the most efficient way to do things. This is because I prioritize getting it done until the end of the jam, but if I get the time I will look into making it more efficient, even though it looks like it does not takes to long time to load for you. Thank you!

I enjoyed slaughtering the evil penguins, but I do wish I could shoot and move, or shoot and rotate. That would have made it a bit easier.

Thank you for this valuable feedback, I think because I have mostly made games by myself, and also maybe because I am not very experienced in making games it is really hard to make it enough difficult to be a challenge, but not to hard so the game feels impossible. It seems to need some balancing(you are not the only one giving me this kind of feedback).

Your world is pretty large, which is cool, but I didn’t have a good idea of where anything might be. I happened upon a couple of buildings, but purely by chance. When you get to the point of adding a helicopter, you might want to give some sort of point to where it is.

I will add some more details to the environment, and I was also thinking about creating some kind of road to get to the helicopter. Thank you for telling me.

Thank you very much for your valuable feedbak!

butchlandSubmitted4 years ago (1 edit)

Game Title/URL: Snowflake in the Wind/ Playable here

Pitch/Information:

You are a snowflake floating on the wind, looking for a snowman to land on.

Click (or tap on mobile) anywhere on the screen to nudge the snowflake as it floats up and down. Avoid the pine trees. Guide it towards a waving Snowman as you float past the snow cloud flurries.

NOTE: It takes a while to load so be patient.

I’d like feedback on:

* Improving the game art.

* Improving the game play.

* Anything else you can think of.

* If you think it sucks, I'd appreciate it if you tell me and why (I have a thick skin, so don't worry about hurting my feelings :D)

I need help on:

* An artist who can help improve the game assets.

* Sound effects/Background music?

* Game design - help me improve the game play.

knubbilitoSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

Hi butchland, I tried your game and it looks like a good idea. One thing that was a little hard in the beginning was to see the play button(It's just as white as the snow).

butchlandSubmitted4 years ago

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll definitely try to get the buttons stand out more.

MindlessRuffSubmitted4 years ago

I had some difficulties understanding the controls. Some sort of indication to the player on how to control the snowflake would be very beneficial.

The game art actually looks very good! Only strange thing was that some of the clouds seemed like part of the ground, I guess it is meant to be a mountain high up in the sky which would make more sense.

As far as music goes if you have the time and inspiration you could always find some melody making tutorials on YouTube and put your own spin on it. Otherwise find some royalty free sound and use that.

butchlandSubmitted4 years ago

Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely try to figure out a way to make how the controls work in the game better.

MindlessRuffSubmitted4 years ago

Game Title/URL:

RuffTale: https://mindlessruff.itch.io/rufftale

Pitch/Information: Adventures of a silly puppy in an icy world. I have a simple prototype of my game with a main character and some enemies.

I'd like feedback on: What should I focus on for the end of the jam?

Refining the enemy AI, breath mechanics
Adding more levels, perhaps through procedural generation
How can I make the core gameplay more fun?

I know I should make it more clear how to interact with the NPC, there is no indication you have to press 'E' to advance the dialog box.

SonderfulSubmitted4 years ago

Hey, nice work!

I noticed a couple of little things when I was playing that seemed a little unexpected.

When you move down, the dog turns upside down. It made me laugh at first, but still seemed a little odd.
When you’re facing to the right and press F the breath comes out of the dog’s mouth, when you’re facing left it appears to come out of a different orifice…

I think the enemy AI is fine. They found me, they attacked me, and I destroyed them with my mighty breath. I took some damage, but I wasn’t too close to death after a 3 on 1 encounter.

It might be nice to have some way to regain health.

It seems to be coming along quite nicely, I look forward to seeing the end result.

MindlessRuffSubmitted4 years ago

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. I will need to program the breath to spawn in front of the character and fix the issue flipping upside down. Only thing I cannot fathom is how to allow the player to shoot while running away. Maybe the character sprite should turn in the direction of the mouse?

knubbilitoSubmitted4 years ago

Hi MindlessRuff,

This game looks nice. I think your story is good and the art is superb, did you do it yourself? My suggestion on how you can improve this game is:

Refining the enemy AI, breath mechanics:

1. The breath is not always pointing in the direction of the nose.

2. Another thing I noticed is that I did not die once the health reached zero, the health also displays negative numbers.

except that I cannot come up with any feedback, well done!

MindlessRuffSubmitted4 years ago

Thanks for checking out my progress. Yes I did draw everything myself, I spend some time before the jam learning pixel art from scratch! I will come up with a way to change the breath mechanic and allow the character to respawn when their health reaches 0.

SonderfulSubmitted4 years ago

Game Title/URL: The Last Glacier

Pitch/Information: Currently an infinite runner with the beginnings of a story, I have an ending in mind, but I haven’t finished it yet

I’d like feedback on:

The visual style of the main game (grass, trees, edge of the world, ice cube, feeling of emptiness, etc.)
Control feeling of the character
Would music be annoying? Some games like Ski Safari do repetitive music well, but I’m not sure I would :)
Should I bother with polishing the menus and dialogue boxes if I get chance, or just focus on making the game look better?

MindlessRuffSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

The controls seem very smooth! I would suggest adding some different obstacles, maybe some boulders here or there. The art style is really neat though!

Don't worry about the menus and dialogue right now, that just seems tedious. If you would have fun adding in music do that! Sound effects when the player hits a tree could be nice.

discoPiranhaSubmitted4 years ago

Hey! I uploaded my current build as HTML5 here: https://discopiranha.itch.io/the-first-flame

The details are all on that page, so roughly here: It's the prototype for an adventure game about using fire magic to survive in an extreme environment.

One weird thing: There are supposed to be two circles centered on the player, and they work fine in the Godot testing screen and on a Windows build I made. They're only screwed up in the HTML5 export, and I can't figure out why. Also, the HTML5 export is very finicky in terms of whether it progresses past a black screen on Itch.

I'll try to make some time to playtest the games that are posted here this week, but I wasn't able to make time over the weekend. I like the idea, though!

ludowoodsHost4 years ago

yo! i wanted to try this one but unfortunately i'm running into large black areas of screen when it loads.....

SinisterX5Submitted4 years ago

Hello everyone! Hope your game jam experience is going good just as mine :) Here's my game that I built in 3 days using C# and Unity :

GAME URL: VELOCITY - https://itch.io/jam/my-first-game-jam-winter-2020/rate/559982

INFORMATION: VELOCITY is a fast-paced, infinite side scroller, where you match your character's colors to that of the tile below you. As you score more points, the velocity of the game increases. Different pickups like Slow-Mo and Decolorizer can be found on the way to help you reach your highest velocity!

I'D LIKE FEEDBACKS ON:

Game Feel
Controls and Mechanics
Bugs
Lag or Force Closes
Main Menu

I'D LIKE SUGGESTIONS ON:

New Pickups and Upgrades
New Game Modes
New Mechanics
Controls

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