WALL OF TEXT FOR COOL GAME DEMO
Played through this the other day. (SPOILERS) I like the secret area, even if it wasn't the most well-hidden (I saw the platform go up without me the first time I played Mainframe, and I instantly remembered it when I read the hint). I love the idea of "knowledge is power" (Outer Wilds is one of my favorite games, possibly top 5). The story is vague, but intriguing, being a museum curator in a dying universe controlled by an intelligent god-like being is pretty unique.
GRAPPLINGS HOOKS IMPROVE EVERY GAME THEY'RE ADDED TO.
There are some fun mechanics, I've seen the grappling hook/magnet mechanic before but you used it really well and made it fun so good job. Overall the controls feel pretty good. I like how momentum can be used off the grappling hook, and how you can use left or right click for different styles of grapple. I was starting to pull of neat stunts with it towards the end there. Kinda wish there was a big, open, easy level where I can just play with it. Maybe a bigger hub area will help fill that job?
THE ANNOYING LITTLE THINGS
I definitely agree with some of the gripes I've seen about the difficulty. There are some tiny platforms and really bizarre laser timings. I didn't find the demo incredibly hard having played a lot of twitch platformers before and I liked it, but not everyone will find it accessible. I imagine a longer game would have a better difficulty curve where you could introduce some of this stuff farther into the game. There were a few things that were difficult in an annoying way though, instead of a fun challenging way, and that's what I want to discuss.
I think the most annoying was having to precisely aim at the grappling hook targets. They're not bad until the camera moves. For instance, I'll be at the side of the level and aiming at a target, I'll jump causing the camera to move a bit and then I miss my target and die, which sometimes feels unfair. I'd make the hitboxes on those much larger, so it feels like you can more consistently use the one you're trying to use (if their hitboxes overlap, and someone clicks 2 of them, pick the closest one to the mouse). It would reduce difficulty a bit but it gives the player more control and takes away some unfairness.
Oh yeah and dropping down from one moving platformer to the other was weird because you have to move forward, but juuust the right amount, or you miss. Very awkward until you memorize the timing on it.
THE HINT AREA:
OH MY GOSH This was difficult, but do-able and I only had to come back after a break twice since I got frustrated. I think you crossed the threshold into "this is a bit too long without a checkpoint" territory. There's a point where I start to think "I've proven I can beat the first half, give me a checkpoint. The first half is becoming something I need to beat just to attempt the second half, which means I don't get as many attempts on the second half and it's going to take longer to beat. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's harder, just gonna take longer. GIMME CHECKPOINT BRO". On the other hand, it stopped just before it became a serious problem, and I felt good after beating it, so perhaps it was about the right length. This is a controversial topic with some developers, I'm sure
IN SUMMARY
This is my philosophy when I make platformers:
It's usually okay to make a change that makes the controls easier to use, or makes the main character more powerful. You can always make the game harder to balance something that made it easier (and improved controls will make increased difficulty more fun). Muahahaha-*ahem*
Overall though, this is a lot of nitpicking and I really did enjoy your demo immensely. I know it's a huge project going from a prototype to a complete game, but I would love to see more games from you (even if they're more prototypes like this) because this was super fun.
p.s. For the movement feel, personally I find the Super Meat Boy style movement to be the most fun and precise-feeling, maybe look into how steering worked in those games. To summarize, you speed up gradually but slow down way faster than you sped up (more force is applied if you move opposite the direction you're already moving in).
The advantages of this are:
- If tap the button you move slower for precise moves.
- You can reach a high max speed after by holding a direction down longer.
- The high max speed doesn't hinder your ability to suddenly change direction.