***Note: played updated version ^^***
I love the art, the music is great...until it isn't. It just isn't long enough to support the whole thing and I had to turn off the music to be able to think through the last round. It's a good song it just either needs to be longer or have a different song swap in at some point.
The concept is solid. I completely disagree with the person who wasn't sure of the concept. Basic programming games are great. When you get the right set up you feel like a genius watching your guy carve though the game like an action bad-ass. When things go wrong, they can get hilarious with how catastrophic the failure can become. Many a good story comes from well crafted failure. Even in your simple game I thought it was funny when my mouse walked right past the chest he needed and refused to open it. He had 2 keys and everything, but was like "nope, grandpa said only if I have an open hand and my hands are full of keys"
One big criticism is the blind start for every round. First try is ALWAYS failure and often just at first check since I have no idea what even exists in each round. Some vague clue to start would be helpful like "Be careful of floods from the rain last night." That would key me in that I need a stick at some point and I can try to work out a starting build for first attempt. Every round has me clicking through menus as quick as I can to start so I can see what's ahead. clicking menus is boring, planning strategy is fun.
That's pretty much everything I have to say. I saw the words demo at the end, so I'm actually excited for the next version to see what you guys add.
10/10 would send my only Grandchild blindly in the woods again with only vague advice that probably won't kill him...probably...
Viewing post in The Fantabulous Adventures of one Maus comments
Hi Mashama, thanks for playing the updated version!
As the programmer of the team, I'm extremely happy to hear that someone actually liked the gameplay and concept and not just the art of the game. The feeling you describe is exactly what we were aiming for, so I'm definitely relieved that we managed to get it right.
I have to agree with you on the "blind start"; on one side, I didn't want to give the player too many hints from the beginning; on the other side, the current version is definitely too "random". Maybe better hints and the ability to see at least the first 1-2 tiles could be a solution.
For the music...the lack of composers is strong in our team. That's definitely something we will address in future updates (as soon as we decide what to do with this demo), but for now that's all we have.
Just out of curiosity: how long did it take for you to see the final screen? It's difficult for me to give an estimate, as I know the solutions by heart.
Thanks again for playing the adventure of Maus and for your nice and helpful feedback. Please remember to give your grandchild at least a Stick and a Rope.
i think it took me 15-20mins. Probably less if i had read the manual right away rather then blindly using items on problems until i found what worked.
One thing you can try if you don't have a composser is ambient sounds. I just tried that concept in my jam game. I didn't use any music just rain and wind and i think it worked pretty well. It puts a little more stress on the art team, but if done with minor random weather effects it would go a long way. So like have a default happy forest sound, birds chirping, and randomly on a restart it rains with a slight effect. Then you could have a wind one with just the wind swirl, a leaf blowing left, and the character moving slightly slower right and faster left. It keeps things fresh if you are stuck on a puzzle and kinda pokes a little fun at all the in world time you are wasting on restarts.