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Skateboard's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Innovation | #32 | 3.136 | 3.136 |
| Overall | #42 | 3.045 | 3.045 |
| Visuals | #42 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Fun | #49 | 2.636 | 2.636 |
| xkcd-ness (how well it matches/interprets the comic) | #51 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Audio | #68 | 1.136 | 1.136 |
Ranked from 22 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Link to xkcd comic / 'what if' article the game is based on
https://xkcd.com/1608/
Please list any pre-made art/music/other assets that you used.
xkcd font (CC BY), Corgi Engine (licensed).
Team size
1
Team's social media links:
http://racso.itch.io
http://racso.co
Anything else you want players to know before they play?
UPDATED: I've recently completed the game! I would appreciate any comments on the finished version! Also, you may find the game's leaderboard here: http://racso.co/skateboard/
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Comments
I don't think I have anything new to add that hasn't already been said. The controls were a bit weird, somehow stiff and floaty at the same time. I never find it comfortable (and I know for sure I'm not the only one) using up as jump. Well, at least I could use arrows for control and W for pseudo dedicated jump button. Didn't quite feel like skateboarding at all. More like just walking and jumping.
Anyways, mad props for pulling off a multiplayer of this scale and a short jam like this!
Thanks a lot for the feedback!
I don't know what to say about "Up" as a jump button. Before, I had set Space as the jump button, but changed it based on another comment. Each person has its own taste, I guess. Anyway, you can change the controls when you run the game in Windows.
Could always just add both as options. Space wasn't used for anything anyway. Good to know that you left them as configurable though. Many people just straight up ignore Unity's pretty decent input manager and just hard code the keys.
Yeah, the thing is that I didn't know how to map 3 keys to the same name (afaik, Unity allows 2), and didn't bother to look for options about that because I thought 2 options were enough. I've learned my lesson :)
By the way: Solmir (just below) took every geocache in the game and hid them quite away from the starting point. Because of that, you may have lost the gameplay of searching and finding caches. It's obvious that I need to think how to deal with this kind of scenarios, but, for now, I've left some extra caches in the world, just in case anyone (or you, again) takes a look now.
Haha, you're quite right. Indeed I did not find any caches at all (besides my own ones). Pretty much just stashed my caches as high as I could get and then explored for quite a bit.
It's super easy to add more keys. Just duplicate the row and slap on some different keys there. As long as they have same names, GetButton/GetAxis etc will match them all.
Hi,
the game was really nice, i just spent way to much time on it.
finding people's geocache is very fun.
my only complaint would be that you cant really play with the compass open since it take a huge part of the screen.
good job :)
ps: there is no ground after (10k , ~600) to the right only platforms, i went very far down and havent found it , there must be a problem with the procedural generation(didnt go -10k left to check ).
Woa, you really did an incredible job finding everyone's caches! I'm happy you enjoyed the game this much!
About the floor: you got me! The floor isn't really infinite because it was the first thing I made in the game, and at that time I wasn't sure on how to handle its real-time generation. Therefore, it isn't procedural, but it spawns from -10k to 10k. You actually discovered the end of the world! (well, the sky is infinite, and since it grows in every direction, the world itself is infinite too)
Apart from the floor issue, you've left me with some improvements to do. First, I need to implement a "Max score" system to record each player's best score, as he may lose it if another player steals his caches. Surely, the score that counts is the current one (which goes up and down), but having a souvenir of the best score a person ever had would be nice. Another thing I need to define is how to deal with every cache being too far (like they are right now), as new players won't be able to find anything at all unless they put a lot of effort into it.
About the compass: yeah, that's difficult to handle, specially with screens being so different. I have some ideas for improving the UI (and also for the compass itself) that I may implement in the future.
Thanks a lot for playing and for the feedback!
hi,
some later thoughts about the game.
Is there a protection against someone who would steal all the geocache and disconnect without putting them back or would the world be empty of geocaches until new players came with new ones?
Also a confirmation before teleporting or quiting the game would be nice, i pressed 'q' a lot since its right next to the jump.
No, there's no protection. I've been thinking about that since the beginning and have some ideas, but nothing implemented yet. What I do right now is to put some more caches myself.
And yes, confirmation would be nice. Or requiring those actions to click a button instead. Thanks!
Great job with the (procedural, I assume) layout! The challenge level of reaching high areas was just right for me. FYI I think the P/I/L/J instructions on the game page may be backward. I was confused for a little while.
Thanks!
What do you think is backward?
The instructions below the game:
Are backwards, while these in game are correct:
Nice catch! Thanks again! :)
It's really cool. I like it. It's very unique and I think the only multiplayer game in this jam. One thing I have to say that the controls are finicky and it's hard to get into some places. Apart from that it's great :)
Hello everybody! I've finished updating the game! Now it actually plays like a real game!
I know that a lot of you already checked and rated the game. Still, I'd appreciate any comments on the updated version, even if you don't change your rating. Thanks!
Ambitious idea for such a short jam! Enjoyed exploring and hiding caches, though I'm not sure how I feel about the goal being "get as far away from your caches as possible". I do like the idea of hiding them and trying to find them though. Not all games need a score/win component I guess.
Odd bug, but at some point I somehow managed to fall through the floor and found myself in an endless sky with some blocks floating in it. So there might be a cache stored at like -1000 somewhere...
Thanks for the feedback!
The idea behind the goal is to try to make people to get as far as possible, but at the same time try to hide their caches so they don't get stolen by other players (as they can't be close to them to "protect" them because they need to maximize their score). The problem of the game being incomplete is that some things don't really make sense right now :(
Sorry about the bug! Indeed, I can see that player "Yirggzmb" last position was (1162, -1035). You explored a lot :)
Hi again! I've updated the game, and now it's actually playable. If you have some time, I'd appreciate your feedback on this version. Oh, and I had to reset the database, but I preserved the old characters of two people, including you :) I moved it way above the surface, though. Cheers!
I recommend watching this
Sorry if rude but I think you have potential like already knowing how to code but study some design and youll be set! Anyway one thing I do want to mention is I'm doing a review of design on the games in this jam so here's a shameless plug to my channel if you want to be notified of the vid when released: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Vj46GGL9VMUvd4YTMtjXg
No offense taken!
The thing with the giant world is that I imagined people exploring it a lot, as far as possible, and leaving their geocaches hidden there. But you're right: the game needs more meaningful content. It's not that way by design, but the time was simply too short to finish (my problem wasn't on the game design, but on estimating the developing time).
Anyway, I'm working in the game right now. I hope I can improve it before you finish editing your video :)
Sweet! Please reply to this comment when it is edited so I can be reminded Thanks!
I think it's done! Now the game actually makes sense as a game. If you have some time, I would appreciate honest feedback on this new version. Regards!
So sorry looking back I was extremely rude! It was 2 a.m. you were one of the last and I was trying to finish. I see the point and it makes more sense now . It is impressive that you make an online game this fast and I hope the best for it! Now I hate to be blatantly honest again especially after being rude but if you want honesty I'll say it. NOTE this is not the fault of your own but looking for caches isn't fun... Because there are no hints no AHA moments when discovered, because players (even I) make it near impossible to find them that being the goal after all. The game is impressive but imagine that this was minecraft the goal would then be for the players to hide their geocache on the surface of an infinite world and try to find them with no direction of where the player put them. By then it just goes down to random chance and thats how I think this feels. Maybe a system where both sides have to show skill would work better.Like lets use minecraft again as an example how about everyone knows where each others geocaches are and its up to the defenders to build defenses hard enough to deter players. In that scenario both players can show skill. First the builder who shows skill in making hard defenses and also the attacker if they get through said defenses. So my suggestion is maybe next time keep this idea but find a way to make a skill vs. skill system and try to leave chance out entirely. But again I am impressed! and sorry for earlier
Hi! About finding the caches: it's not impossible because I put a compass! You probably missed it as it is new. When you press Esc to see the information, in the upper right corner there's a compass that shows you the amount of caches in every direction and the distance to the closest one. That means that the players always have an idea of where to find, but they don't know how the path to the caches is (for example, you can hide a cache in an isolated spot that requires you to arrive from the top, so players trying to arrive in a straight line won't be able to reach it).
ohh... well then I just wasted 10min writing and revising a paragraph XD
Sorry about that! I appreciate you taking the time to review the game, even if in the end you don't like it.
Btw, your comment seems to be duplicated.
My XKCD game jam analysis is out!
(I ran into myself on my second playthrough--thought that was nice, and I'd share it with you. ;] )
A online multiplayer game for a weekend game jam--that is superbly ambitious, and I must congratulate you for actually completing it! :) I also love the poem joke with the controls at the beginning--that's hilarious!
The gameplay is . . . ok. Moving on the ground is kind of fun. But everything I did outside of that felt . . . off. Double jumping feels stiff and awkward. And trying to land those jumps was not fun. I tried to reach the top of the screen, but I could never feel confident I was going to land on platforms that were only one square--and most of the platforms are that length. I fell a lot, and eventually gave up.
Here's the weird thing: during my first playthrough, I somehow missed the fact that you could double-jump, and single-jumped the whole time. One-jumps feel good to do, even if I didn't really get anywhere (most platforms were just out of my reach!).
Speaking of that, the controls and overall design of this game are both quite odd to me. I check out the xkcd comic games are based on before I play, and I liked the fact that the game that inspired Skateboard can be controlled with just one hand (arrow keys) and that the level is structured like a 3d skating arena (because it's for a hoverboard). The fact that you made it a skateboard is totally fine, I have no problem with that--but it's all designed like a platformer, with nothing to do with skating at all; take away the skateboard, and is the game really that different? And the controls are a bit obtuse, though the ideas behind them are great: the ability to put down your own checkpoints, and the goal of exploring the area to maximize your distances & put down geocaches are all great ideas with odd controls to go with them. Though I do have a question: what button do you have to press to return to your checkpoint flag?
Another thing I liked in the original xkcd game is that there's a goal: get the coins as fast as possible. As it stands right now, Skateboard doesn't really have a goal--yet. I can see in the description that if the game was fully finished, other players would be able to take your geocaches after you put them down. I really like this idea; it's a shame it wasn't implemented. Maybe after the jam is over?
I like the stats screen. Though typing in "NorbezJonesv3" (the third time I opened the game) made me put down a balloon when I pressed "3". Also please add the controls to either the stats screen or the description; they're easy to forget and strange enough that I really did forget them.
Overall, this is an ambitious project--I must restate how awesome it is that you made a online multiplayer game for a weekend game jam! I want to see the post-jam version of this, because it could be really fun. Nice job making this. :)
Wow, thanks a lot for the review and the encouragement!
I take note on the issues you mention. If I allocate more time to the project (which will probably depend on my morale after reviews, but your comment is quite encouraging!), I'll probably take all your suggestions into account. Some of the issues aren't by design, though, but because of time constraints. The most important is that, as you say, the game doesn't have a real goal other than toying with the exploration. While that enough generates some fun and satisfaction (like you encountering yourself!), I know that it's still missing most of it. Sadly, the time hit me hard, and, as you also said, the project was quite ambitious (as hours passed, I noticed that it was too ambitious!), so at one point I needed to sacrifice a lot so I could actually send something.
In order to climb more effectively, one should use the checkpoint a lot, with "p" (to put it) and "i" to return to it. It's written on the poem; I hope that in my desire to make it funny, I didn't make it unclear.
Thanks again for the feedback, and for playing the game!
Hi again! I've finished the post-jam version of the game! Now it actually plays like a real game! I had to reset the database, but I preserved the old characters of two people, including you, as a souvenir :P
Anyway, this is just a head-up in case you've got time to give it a try :) If you do, please don't hesitate to provide your honest feedback again.
Regards!
That's awesome! & thanks for preserving me. ;) I'll definitely give it a look after I've commented on all the other jam games.
Interesting concept for an online game, and kudos for doing an online game for a weekend game jam. Getting to the top reminds me of doodle jump somehow. The scoring mechanism is a bit obtuse, and it would be cool with more players online.