Thanks so much for the constructive feedback! I really value your input and how much time you spent in the game to develop it.
(Obligatory spoiler warning.)
- Graphics. I’m glad you enjoyed their addition. I love them too. Future updates will continue to develop them in other areas. A good side effect of having them is that it will help me visualize and solve issues with world generation and sound cues in new ways.
- Collisions. I’ve also gotten stuck in the terrain a few times. This was part of the inspiration behind the fast travel system. I’m sure there are some optimizations to make here.
- Performance issues. I’m aware and sorry about the issues you’re describing. Unfortunately they happen with a lot of my games. I believe it’s OS-agnostic and related to Web Audio. I intend to add some audio performance options in the next minor release. This will include render distances, object limits, and the ability to disable reverb post-processing. It’s possible there’s a memory leak in there too.
- Surface gameplay. I agree that it’s light on things to do. My roadmap currently includes adding creatures and weather effects to the surface in an upcoming release. Personally I get a lot of joy from the simulation and just jumping around, but I’ll think about this more.
- Story. I’ve hesitated to add story to any of my games because there are so many good narrative experiences out there and sometimes I just want to chill. Treasure is an excellent example of emergent storytelling. Your suggestion has me thinking, though, that there could be more explicit stories told through certain treasures, or the occasional underwater landmark or encounter.
In other news, fellow No Video Jam participant Lone Rabbit has updated their submission, PRESS 0 FOR OPERATOR. Very pleased with their progress. Check it out!