Post by AlphaBetaGamer in Antarctica NWYD Demo comments

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The new build is great! A few little suggestions:

It might be a good idea to allow the player to run as there's quite a bit of backtracking.

The text size is a little small.

Some way of highlighting all interactable objects in a room would be handy.

The melee combat is pretty bad (repetitive and easy). I'd recommend scrapping it and finding some other way to do it. Such as introducing more stealth, adding a gun (that you aim with the mouse) or making the encounters more like Another World (insta-death, puzzle-like encounters where you use the environment to your advantage, etc).

These are just my opinions. Feel free to ignore them! It's a very cool game with a lot of potential. Keep up the great work! :)

Barely_Games293 days ago

It is truly an honor to receive your feedback!

Thank you for taking the time to share your opinions and suggestions.

I have been pondering many questions about how to balance a retro experience with the needs of modern gameplay, and I will likely need to reflect more deeply on some aspects. Many of the dynamics present in the game are not deliberate choices, but rather the result of a compromise between what I would have liked to achieve and what I am actually able to program.

Regarding running, sliding, highlighting interactive objects, and implementing more complex enemies, these are elements I was already considering for the next release, and I believe I can implement them without significant issues. However, the issue of the gun is more complex, given the hybrid nature of the game offering two types of gameplay: platformer and top-down.

Initially, the idea of having melee attacks stemmed from potentially lacking projectiles, but lacking a clear idea of how to handle shooting with the gun, melee attacks remained the primary type of attack. In the current version, I included the gun at the end of chapter 2 to hint to the player that in a hypothetical definitive version, there will also be firearms.

Your suggestion of controlling the gun with the mouse opens up interesting perspectives on a question that has been troubling me for some time: should the game be designed solely for keyboard or for keyboard and mouse? In your opinion, would it be strange to play with the keyboard and use the mouse only for shooting? Perhaps I should reconsider the entire game, integrating mouse usage.

In conclusion, I am unsure if and when I will have the time and energy to continue the development of this experiment, but I will definitely take your suggestions into consideration.

Should I perhaps abandon my current job to dedicate myself 100% to this project? I look forward to hearing your opinion XD

I would greatly appreciate it if other users also expressed their opinions on the topics you raised!

It's not every day to receive feedback from Alpha Beta Gamer ;)

Thanks again!

AlphaBetaGamer283 days ago

Hi! Thanks! Glad you like the feedback! Please bear in mind mouse controlled aiming is just an example of something you can do, not an explicit suggestion. I just think you need to do something to make the combat more interesting or remove it altogether. The insta-death if caught method might be better for your game, so every monster encounter would either require stealth, running away or puzzle solving. It would also make the encounters scarier. I'd recommend replaying Another World/Out of this World (or the recently released Full Void) and examining the enemy encounters in there for some good examples of how to do it.

I do think your game has a lot of potential and could be a big success, but I wouldn't recommend giving up your job yet, unless you manage to find a publisher who will bankroll you.

And again, all of these are all just my personal opinions. Feel free to ignore them all. It's your game, you know it best! :)

itch.io

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