Scratch Game Jam #3

This was an excellent, and very literal, way of expression the game jam theme, Opposites Attract! I love the gameplay, it's pretty satisfying when I get the magnets to fit in their spots. I wish there was a way to get hints or something, because the game gets hard fast! I got stuck on the second level lol.
The Game Was Very Fun However The Difficulty Curve Needs Adjusting In Any Future Games
Probably my favorite project so far (I'm a bit biased as a puzzle lover and developer myself, though, lol)! The variation of puzzles that such a small number of mechanics can offer is great, and I loved playing though this game (couldn't beat level 16 though! argh!). Collecting the hats was cool (i got 3!), although I wasn't sure what I had done to acquire them. The graphics are simple and cute, and the music was decent. I would say, there are a few puzzles in here that you could have done without that affected the overall quality of a game. Many puzzles don't have any 'eureka' moment or catch to solve, but are rather just a process of figuring out the correct movement steps, which can be done through trial and error. I solved a few by pure accident this way. Overall, the quality of the puzzles got better as you introduced more mechanics, so perhaps the beginning section just has a little too much fluff for the limited mechanics present. The last section was certainly my favorite. In fact, the last level in the game was probably my favorite level. It introduced a red herring by lulling the player into the incorrect placement, provided a catch to the correct solution by blocking the easy route, and the eureka came when I figured out how to push the first box in and lure the second after. An ideal puzzle. All in all, this is a fantastic game, and I think you could work on this more to make it an even higher quality experience, even one you could monetize (you're allowed to do that with scratch projects btw). I would suggest to research the components of puzzle design and what makes puzzles great. I already mentioned it briefly, but the 'red herring, catch, eureka' model is often referred to as the ideal design for puzzles for the satisfaction it brings players. By adjusting the levels, adding a couple more mechanics, and culling what doesn't fit the criteria, I think you could have a 10/10 puzzle experience with the mechanics you've designed. As a final thought, I do think the interactions felt a bit frustrating at times. I think perhaps a 'neutral' polarity (that doesn't interact with the magnets) for the player would be great to incorporate into your puzzle design, as I often found myself slipping into a cascade of errors from moving pieces on accident, which would often be quite frustrating (especially once I already knew the solution and just accidentally moved a piece). Of course, many puzzles would have to be redesigned, but with more mechanics I think you could still design plenty more problems to solve and 'catches' to design, all while drastically improving the user experience. Also, as far as user experience goes, you may want to 'stage' the player movement. Many levels can be cheesed by quickly moving in and out of a magnet's range to only move it part of the path it should have taken. Staging the players movements with the game mechanics is often found in puzzle games like this for this very reason. To put it simply, when a player walks in front of a magnet, there should be a brief pause in their movement as the magnet moves until it stops. This will not only prevent the cheesing, but possibly make the magnet interaction feel more responsive. I hope my insight was valuable. Overall, I rate this project a 9/10 (i was gonna say 8.5 but the hats were so darn cute <3 )
I like the game, you made an excellent job in developing the game, I like the concept of magnets, magnetic field, and magnetic barrier. ( am I correct?). The interaction between all of those elements is perfect, you are good at doing puzzles but as always there is a lot of room for improvement like, you could put the computers in a separate room, I also hate looking at a lot of levels, it will be nice if you could add walls that lock rooms that you have to unlock by completing all of the puzzles in the room you are currently in. I believe this could give the player more sense of progression and will be more rewarding instead of stressing. Fath11: 3/5 try again in the next game jam👍 🐢: 5/5 Add me MORE