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JoeyAsagiri1 year ago

I normally love these kinda games but when you add in randomly generated maze like elements with backtracking with a harsh time limit it just falls apart for me, the actual platforming feels great (even if I don't like the mana system) but that doesn't matter when I end up getting lost a ton, and due to the way the time limit works based on collecting gold, getting lost and going through a room again basically just kills the run. I enabled a bunch of extra time seals which barely helps, so my only option would be the unlimited time option which guts income by a ton, but no pressure at all also kind of defeats the point of the game as well since otherwise you are just repeating the same rooms over and over again without anything to make doing them again interesting. A big part of it also seems to be the massive difficulty spike between baby steps+ and baby steps++ which doesn't make for a smooth transition at all. Maybe it can all work better when you ease the player into mastering the rooms so they can go through them super quick, but as the demo currently stands that easing doesn't exist. And even if they do master each room perfectly the player can still get lost in the maze anyway.

Honestly I'm just very confused on what the target audience for this game is supposed to be, it just has a ton of mismatched ideas that don't really work together at all, not just with the supposed lewd management content but just the dungeon gameplay itself has a ton of systems that don't don't make much sense; Why is picking up and throwing boxes a mechanic? Why do I need to stop to manually interact with switches? Why are there three additional jump types to cycle between when it never seems I need any of them? Why is there a random memory game I need to play between getting to the end and getting back to the entrance? None of these things enhance the speedy platforming experience, they heavily clash instead.

Additionally there seems to be a ton of text teaching you about systems or mechanics that barely matter at all, maybe keep that stuff out of the demo until that content is actually in the game, or just simplify them until the systems are in place to make them matter. The seal system is overly complicated when it should be easy to understand and use to help the player make the game difficulty right for them.

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WebCough1 year ago

Thanks for giving it a try.

I always wanted it to be a fast paced memory game, where players are rewarded for thinking quick on their feet. I find successful runs very rewarding when playing under pressure, because I know there are many little things that can make the difference.

You don't have to always aim for completing all main objectives. If you find the game difficult, it's fine to cut down your losses, and don't explore all dungeons. Eventually would would unlock seals that could be more useful to you.

I enabled a bunch of extra time seals which barely helps

the thing with extra time is, it is only good if you are good at collecting coins and destroying crates.

A big part of it also seems to be the massive difficulty spike between baby steps+ and baby steps++ which doesn't make for a smooth transition at all.
It adds a side path, which could in theory double the time needed, but the template description should give enough tips on how to recognize it. Unless you just got a seed with more difficult rooms, that's the only thing I can think of that could feel less smooth. How many runs did it take you to get to that template? Were you forced to increase the difficulty, or did you choose it yourself?

And even if they do master each room perfectly the player can still get lost in the maze anyway.

It's really hard to judge how much worse new players are. That's why watching streams is very important to me.

Why are there three additional jump types to cycle between when it never seems I need any of them?

The thing is, all rooms can be beaten without using any mana, but knowing how and when to use different abilities can speed up the process. The jump abilities that seem not important have their uses depending on rooms, and seals. There are many little decisions like bouncing on 3 mushrooms vs using power jump, or spending one air jump vs crouch jump with a ledge grab. Some of them are faster, others are less riskier, or they got mana cost differences, or seal interactions and more.

there seems to be a ton of text teaching you about systems or mechanics that barely matter at all

Like I mentioned above, things that appear small can make big differences depending on many factors.

The seal system is overly complicated

Any ideas on how I could make it less complicated? I don't think it is complicated, but that might be just me not doing a good job at explaining it.

Thank you for playing. I like the hard criticism I get.

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JoeyAsagiri1 year ago (1 edit)

I definitely like the idea of needing to execute things well under pressure, in fact I tried the game again after reading most of the tips in the loading screen and paying more attention to the description of the dungeon template. I now managed to get past all the baby step templates pretty easily with plenty of time to spare in most of my runs.

I think a lot of my issues with the game still stand, hell some of the more complicated rooms have some really annoying switch hunting which I absolutely despise, those wall levers really do not stand out at all and I highly recommend you make those way bigger or something else to catch the eye easily. The door tip is also extremely important and I would highly recommend teaching this to players in a better way.

the thing with extra time is, it is only good if you are good at collecting coins and destroying crates.

I think this is a thing that should be clearly communicated to the player, in my first playthrough I was trying to just get collect all the coins as I saw them, instead of spacing them out so I could manage the timer better. I think this is vital information that shouldn't just be told in a loading screen tip, but as a fundamental part of the game that should be explained in the tutorial because the game is clearly balanced around the idea that you have to do this. If the game is based around the timer, and a lot of design decisions are made around that timer, then why does the tutorial not have a timer? Why does it not teach any of the important information the player needs in order to play with the timer?

Some of them are faster, others are less riskier, or they got mana cost differences, or seal interactions and more.

Then I would like to see this properly shown to the player, the tutorial only shows use cases where they are required to use those jumps to proceed, but it does not teach how these maneuvers can be used to go faster in other situations. This creates a disconnect between the tutorial and the actual game because the use cases of the abilities in the actual game is different compared to what the tutorial teached the player to use them for.

Any ideas on how I could make it less complicated?

I still don't really get how the system works either, a lot of the seals seem poorly worded (I had no idea I wasn't able to collect more gold due to the gold cap seals, I thought that the gold cap would mean how much you could possibly obtain per dungeon run) and they are buried under multiple menus. Then there's the way you obtain new seals which just seems weird to me, not to mention the equipping of seals and obtaining of seals are completely different menus just make it confusing in general. But in general I think the game also does a poor job of telling me why I should use this system in the first place.

Overall I think I definitely enjoy the game a ton more now that I understand how you are supposed to actually play it, I still think a lot of the systems I mentioned in my original post still don't really match the game, but I now definitely have a way better grasp of the intended experience and with some tweaks I can definitely see this being a fun game.

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WebCough1 year ago

Thanks for checking it again. I did not expect you to do that, so that's very appreciated.

I'm happy you can do Baby Steps templates now.

some really annoying switch hunting which I absolutely despise, those wall levers really do not stand out at all and I highly recommend you make those way bigger or something else to catch the eye easily.
most levers are not crucial for progressing. As for visibility, You are given a seal which helps with that right after you unlock Sealing Chamber. I see lever placement as just another layer of room memorization.
The door tip is also extremely important and I would highly recommend teaching this to players in a better way.

I am not sure if I should be more "in your face" with all the text. There is a lot of reading, and the game ironically takes time to learn.

why does the tutorial not have a timer?

I feel it would upset even more people. You can do the tutorial in under 2 minutes, but I have seen people spending ten times that amount.

At the end of the day, I don't want players to succeed every run, and I want to reward experimentation. Of course I shouldn't discourage players before they can start experimenting, so I am trying to smooth the difficulty curve.

Then I would like to see this properly shown to the player, the tutorial only shows use cases where they are required to use those jumps to proceed, but it does not teach how these maneuvers can be used to go faster in other situations.
Do you think it should be something like an empty room requiring one jump, and a sign telling players different ways how they can do it? Telling that information would be against what I am going for.

I still don't really get how the system works either, a lot of the seals seem poorly worded

Did you hold right mouse button over seals? Holding right mouse button opens tooltips. You can switch to automatic tooltips in options.

But in general I think the game also does a poor job of telling me why I should use this system in the first place.

I see, I should re-write my explanations.


Overall I think I definitely enjoy the game a ton more now that I understand how you are supposed to actually play it, I still think a lot of the systems I mentioned in my original post still don't really match the game, but I now definitely have a way better grasp of the intended experience and with some tweaks I can definitely see this being a fun game.
Thank you, I very much appreciate you spending time playing my game and giving me feedback. I hope the core parts of the game you find mismatching are just things I poorly explain.
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