Skip to main content

Browse GamesGame JamsUpload GameWinter Sale 2024Developer LogsCommunity
On Sale: GamesAssetsToolsTabletopComics
Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
CROW'S NEST2 years ago (2 edits) (+1)

A nicely put together shmup with a simple, yet engaging movement mechanic!

Some thoughts:

  • A lot of factors make the game feel quite a bit slow-paced (not in a methodical way, just “slow in general”), such as…
  • …the player’s relatively weak and slow-moving shot versus tanky enemies (though oddly enough it felt just right against the bosses) unless you really pointblank them
  • …the fairly long stages against said tanky enemies
  • …the first stage not having the swap mechanic at all
  • …the player’s slow movement speed versus how wide the screen is (which I assume is to encourage the player to swap often, but it still felt too slow nonetheless)
  • Could be more engaging if there were more mechanics like a scoring system or something to encourage the player to not just hold down the trigger the whole time

Reply
Old Dry Witch2 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

That’s some interesting feedback ! Concerning the player’s bullets, I’d say the damage of the wider cone is too low compared to the straight shots, which means you’re going to do almost nothing if you aren’t aligned with your target. The goal was to encourage precise placement, but that might have been too much ^^ You were also not the only one to suggest the game is too slow, that’s something that should be worked on then, if we expand on this, although I’m still not sure exactly what to do to improve… A scoring system might be nice, but we thought we would focus a bit more on the story aspect, and make the game accessible even to non-shmup-fans. Not saying they wouldn’t enjoy a scoring system, but it might not be the reason they would be interested in playing. Also we are not well-versed in shmups, do scoring systems typically penalise you for keeping shooting all the time ? That’s still an interesting possibility though.

(Also that screen of the credits is too cute XD)

Reply
CROW'S NEST2 years ago (4 edits)

For the game’s “slowness”, I’d say the issue lies in the enemies:

  • They’re somewhat tanky (long time-to-kill per enemy, even on smaller-looking enemies)
  • There is a lot of downtime between enemy waves
  • Most enemy types becomes stiff as a rock as soon as they get in position (only exception I can think of are the ghost enemies that fly from one side of the screen to the other), making them feel very static as a result

So if these issues were addressed I believe the game would feel faster.

// —

As for the need for a scoring system, they add depth beyond “just shooting and dodging” and beyond just playing safe/turtling the whole game, add longevity/replay value, and adds a gauge of player skill to a shmup beyond “how many lives did I end the game with / did I beat it without continuing?”. A scoring system often incentivizes players to play in a certain way, such as asking them to take risks by having decidedly “active” playstyles like chaining kills together, collect items before they drop off the screen, or killing enemies with special weapons. This especially is the case if the player can earn extra lives by scoring, encouraging them to play by the game’s rules to that can be rewarded.

Certain shmups have incentives for letting off the trigger (not necessarily for scoring reasons), such as charging up bombs, gathering items, or delaying kills to set up for chaining consecutive kills for a combo if the game asks for that kind of behavior (which would be a scoring reason).

Reply
AboutFAQBlogContact us
Copyright © 2024 itch corp · Directory · Terms · Privacy · Cookies