it’s a very interesting idea, but I have trouble seeing the full potential of it with such a small sample size. if someone doesn’t read the game page they will be very confused. this idea could go places though!
Viewing post in Stop hitting yourself jam comments
Thanks for the comment.
Yeah, my execution of the concept is effectively as basic as physically possible. I was kinda struggling with the engine for various things during the Jam. Originally I intended to do multiple levels with different kinds of scenarios that could crop up with these mechanics, but I had to skip on that.
To make this a properly functional game, I'd at the very least add another mechanic. My idea was to get something like a potion or other limited use healing effect, which would allow you to have much more agency over your actions than always stealing heals. It would also have the tradeoff of also healing your currently linked enemy.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to brainstorm a sensible implementation.
The healing enemies also turned out to be more lame than I originally intended. As a player you have a lot of downtime when you wait for a heal that you can steal. I guess an enemy type that pressures you more directly might offset that, though.
A self-harm effect effect for the player, maybe through terrain features, might also make the gameplay more interesting. In general, I wanted to have terrain in the original concept, but the finished prototype wouldn't actually profit from having platforms added, due to how basic it is.
If I was doing more work on this game, I'd either make it much more complex or release it for the Atari 2600. It might actually be a decent gameplay fit for that platform.