hey, really liked your game!! cute art and cool level layout.
Had a lot of fun playing it and controlling the cute puffer fish. 🐡
You made a great job making this game feel like a classic retro with the "secret" optional buttons, felt good to unlock those and get extra lifes.
feedback:
- the game, as it is, is a bit hard. it is kinda hard to grasp the controls of the puffer fish. it has acceleration, you have to inflate with momentum and it also has a kinda large cooldown. this "kind of hard" make players feel unskilled 😥. my suggestion is to simply buff puffer. make him easier to control, make him accelerate faster. I would also make him completely invincible during super size mode but making inflated mode last only about 1 second (it has a cooldown, so it would be fine).
- try to avoid demanding players to inflate at the right time, people (like myself ) are usually terrible at timing. here is the thing, youve got a great design decision with the buttons. they are kinda hard, but optional. this makes them feel very good to conquer. reward players that inflate at the right time with a "perfect parry" prompt or something like this. things like this make you feel super pro 😎
- if you can, always try to blend UI info in your design. you can make puffer change colors to show how much hp he has and make his cheeks full to show that he is ready to inflate. you can also make the cooldown bar appear above his head and do not show it if the cooldown is full. this way we players can focus in your amazing art.
- always treat players as kids lol. make it unbelievably informative. make big red letters showing us what to do. info like: "jellyfish wont die just avoid it"; "buttons arent mandatory"; "try to reflect the boss bubbles to kill him", etc.
- nitpicking, but make him inflate smoothly (it can be fast, but gradual). this can also avoid bugs like getting stuck on walls.
sorry for the big text, dont get me wrong, I LOVED your game and think your design is amazing!
congrats on your entry!! 🙂👍🏼