Post by Arthur Fenix in Their Eyes comments

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I waited a lot before writing this, i played a lot also, cause i wanted to test it more,i wanted to be sure..

This game sure have a very cool atmosphere and probably a nice story too, wich i'd love to know!

but the gameplay ? geez this game suck!

this game is not hard to give a challenge, is hard and unfair just for the sake of it! where do i even begin?

You always run like you're on ice, and with the multitude of obstacles and different terrains: you can be sure that running means corner your self or be stuck on something!

Combat is not an option either, the reload mechanic is just convoluted, and the hit-boxes(although i'm not sure is on purpose) are NOT on the monsters, but (usually) in front of them, even when they are still. Broken a door is also strange, that's why i'm not sure is on purpose.

the thing in the pond? the "spiritual brother" ? or just the fucking tree(the fairness there is just...wow, why not also a rock falling on my head there?)! Am i hitting them or not? Am i doing damage? who knows?

that would not be so bad if sneaking was something you are allow to do. Too bad monsters are on your way all the time and can spot or smell you wherever you are (i really thought at the beginning that in tall grass i was hidden..the game over correct me so)..so no sneaking either

And dont let me start talk about the cat! Cat lover here, so when a huge pig killed my cat i was mad! But i get even MORE mad when the cat returned as an UNKILLABLE monster that follow me wherever i am on that map, attacking me and basically attracting the other monsters! wow.. really Fair!

The menù is looking cool..but it has little to no use. hovering the mouse on items and get some little info would be better,why is that? here:

First time i get the lock pick i read how it work and i was ok. 2 days have passes before i played again and i forgot HOW to use it, i get the lock pick again but i accidentally press space and dont read the instructions... i tried using it for 5 minutes....nothing! So now my only options is either waste my ammo on doors, or reset the whole game... (i found the axe after wasting all my ammo so i get to keep plaiyng, but was a lucky strike)

the doll? i found immediately what it was for...but i dont get why sometimes it work and sometimes it dont.

i can go on and on about this problems, but i also want to say again that i think the idea is cool, and i really would like the explore the game more...but the mechanics just DONT allow me to do so, even when plaiyng "casual mode".

black_and_noir2 years ago

Hi Arthur!
Thank you for the time you took for testing my game and writing such a thorough comment to it. I truly appreciate your remarks, with most of whom I quite agree.

You don't like the inertial movement of the player? Neither do I.
At first I thought it was a nice idea, and it would add realism to the difficulty of running in environments dense with obstacles.
Now I find it just slightly annoying, and in fact I didn't implemented it in the second videogame I'm currently working on.
If I didn't remove it from Their Eyes it's only because that feature was present from the very first moment, and I'm almost positive you are the first one complaining about it. But, who knows?, I might reconsider this point.

Combat is not an option, you say.
Actually, although it's not possible to beat the game without shooting a bullet, you can theoretically avoid most of the enemies.
Pigs and cows attack only if provoked, as you know; bugs and darkmen can only see before themselves, and only if they have a clear line of sight; hounds can smell you within a certain range, regardless of obstacles, but will not stray too far from the starting point. Not to speak of worms, which are basically harmless if you deal with them with a little cold blood.
Most of those enemies can be killed with a single hit, if caught unaware, and they never respawn - with few exceptions. Furthermore, bugs can be removed permanently from the game.

As a general idea, sounds are of great help in understanding whether you are dealing damage to someone or not.
Bouncing (i.e. ineffective) hits produce a sharp sound, while damage-dealing hits produce a very different, deeper sound.
The graphic effect is pretty different too.

On the other hand, I didn't implement sneaking mechanics on purpose (sorry for the ambiguity represented by the tall grass! I didn't think about it, but you're perfectly right).
I like them a lot, as a player, but I felt it was definitely beyond my reach to implement an interesting sneaking mechanic in my very first game.
Furthermore, I wanted to prevent the protagonist from becoming too comfortable in a place that was meant to be uncanny and inherently unsettling.

I'm surprised about the issue you encountered with hurtboxes.
They are supposed to be aligned with creatures, and even to change shape accordingly, wherever the vertical and horizontal sprites differ substantially (for instance, the pig's). They actually do, as far as I know. They appear to behave correctly also in the playthroughs of my game I've watched on YouTube.
Nevertheless, as a newbie developer mostly familiar with MacOs, I can't exclude weird bugs I'm not aware of, maybe on some versions of Windows? Would be helpful if you could post a short footage of the problem.
Conversely, I have to admit I don't really understand what you are saying about breaking a door. You mean the door's hurtbox feels off too, or something different? Please explain, I'm really interested.

What you say about the menu is so true!
Would be very helpful to somehow recall the functionality of each object. Since, as you remark, once you miss the tutorial popup for any reason you have no clue whatsoever on how to use items!
Thanks, I'll work on that - and I'll implement something similar in my new game too (future players will be grateful to this post! :D).

The doll is not working always? That's weird, again.
I assume you are conscious that the doll is a disposable item, correct?
With that said, I'm not aware of any bugs concerning it. I'll look into it.

In conclusion, I'm not trying to persuade you that my game is good and you are wrong! :D
I'm sorry if you had too high expectations because of some positive comments: Their Eyes is just the first experiment of an amateur, most real programmers would have done better in almost all respects.
Some people did like the game, some other didn't, but I reject the accusation of making the game unfair just for the sake of it.
I did my best, trying to make something tough but entertaining.
I really hope I'll do better in the future, and this also thanks to detailed reviews like yours. :)

Arthur Fenix2 years ago

I didn't want to sound too harsh, again i found the concept very cool and i'm intrigued, but its just to stressfull keep restart the game, im not very fond of rougue like games in general, i found the concept of "keep resetting!" quite annoyng.

By the way i have not read the comments in this section, i just saw some picture and a short video a friend of my suggested and i was already "count me in!"

ill' try to keep it short since i already made what i suppose is a boring text wall in my first post :)

Doors: i need to be DEAD center in order to hit them, few pixels off and im hitting the walls. and if the door is sideways, is even worst.

Dolls: yes i know that, but it happen with the FIRST doll you find on the ground on "casual" mode. I pick it up like usual, run on the second map, ignoring the left sides (the witch house ) cause i know there is another doll there and i con only pick one. Try to run past the tree, get stuck betwenn the bridge and water(thats why i found the slippery walk infiuriating) get killed and get a game over screen. Than i thought i needed to touch the totems or the monk statue in order to activate some sort of chek-point but i havent tested...

Combat: i dont know what to tell you, dogs chase me forever, darkman can hit me from their backs..and exploding worms...yes they are actually not a problem once you discover the trick.

Hit boxes: i keep my statment. I'am keep playng and shoting in FRONT of them anbd keep hitting them. i dotn know if is machine related. im using a pc with windows 10 pro, if its any help

Sounds: you right, but with multiple monsters chasing me is hard to distinguish the correct sound between "monsters roar", dashing, hitting, me get hit, and my own voice sayng "wtf! wtf!"

tall grass: was not an accusation, since one of the prompt says : you dont have to fight them" i though i could just hide somewhere, and the tall grass seems nice since i can barely see myself, i figured the monster would not see me either. but that was JUST my hopinion, i used to mark the fact that is quite difficult to avoid combat.

I said i will have keep it short...but as you can see im not good at it -_-

itch.io

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