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A jam submission

Into The Well (unfinished)View game page

Submitted by nullstudios — 9 days, 18 hours before the deadline
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Into The Well (unfinished)'s itch.io page

Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous.

  • GDD: The document seems to be short on description, and I would love to see images but I do see that you have added "placeholders" for that so perhaps you already are aware of that. The checklist is good, so well done on that. That is a good way of keeping track of the game's state. Since you are going with Gameboy route, perhaps add a section that expands on the concept of how it would be possible to transfer the game to GB cartridge. It doesnt have to be realistic, but just a concept outline, so investors (aka "readers of the GDD") can get the sense of value for why it should go into that route for both art and game development style. You have to think of GDD as an elevator pitch. Short is good but not too short, but stand out is best. So perhaps the GB port section could make it stand out a little bit. Game: The game feels good at the start, but as soon the player get into the mine, the mine maze starts to confused the player as the maze levels goes into ring and fewer enemies shows up compared to the start of the game. It was less about the theme (as in you are the weapon) and more focused on platforming that is what I get a sense of feeling from the short session. So perhaps added more enemies and different kind of enemies so it has various types to use the weapon against them? It might be a good idea to introduce the player to an map of some sort, like a recording map, so the player can see if they have been in the room before and perhaps have a sense of direction. Bug: * found a room that allowed me to fly around slowly. (it is the room with the big crystals) * couldnt attack after have been in couple of rooms deep, but there were no enemies around the player anyway, so that is fine, but it is weird that I cant do the attack animation.

Link to your Game Design Doc on Google Drive.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ctCtWUQrebsFqG1ylpfGVx70_tKP295Fx1_OT25xWVE/edit?usp=sharing

Have you checked that your GDD is publicly accessible ?
Yes

Is your game set to public on itch.io so we can see it?
Yes

Summarise your game!
A metroid vania for the game boy were you fell down a well and now you need to fight your way through the dwarven mines

Please explain how your game fits the theme:
when you fell into the mines you became enchanted and now your punches are magic

Is there anything you'd like the judges to pay particular attention to?
the low rez art style

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Comments

Submitted

I saved this and another GB Studio game for last in my testing queue so I could play them on hardware. So I was sad to see there was no download available anywhere I could find. Nevertheless, I thought this was a neat start to a metroid-like game. The pico-8 style graphics are particularly attractive. I couldn't find much to do here but jump around and explore, but I see the vision!

Bugs & other notes:

  • The "you got scammed" disclaimer on startup has a typo.
  • The animation / reach for the players attack could be a little bigger. You have to get mighty close to enemies to do any damage, risking damage to the player.
  • I think with some of the tight platforming, some adjustments to velocity and the ability to affect the height of a jump would be useful. This is something I'll be incorporating into the next update of my game.

Great work though! I love to see new GB games!

Submitted

Nice visual style. I think you need to tighten up the level design a bit. I didn't know where I was going or why. Nice job tho! Keep making games!

Submitted

The concept of the game is really fun with a solid aesthetic theme to match it.

However, I do wish we could change the keybinds for jumping and attacking on keyboard.

Submitted

Retro GB style is so cool. I do notice that after you leave the second room your UI goes away and I think your attack gets disabled. I think having a larger attack it box to allow the player to stay further back from the enemy would be helpful.

Really glad to see GBStudio getting some representation!

Developer(+1)

Yeah didn't get to putting the ui in all the rooms and I have  to fix the hit boxes

Submitted

I hope you get the chance to update after the jam and keep going! I plan to keep an eye on your game! Thanks for making it.

Submitted

I like the use of checkboxes in the GDD!

Combat in the game is difficult, I would suggest increasing the attack hitbox to make it easier to damage enemies without taking damage.