Hey! Thanks for playing and your great feedback!
Like I described in the post, the movement mechanics serve as a prototype to give you an idea of what Chester could feel like to control. There simply wasn't enough time to polish it out and make it feel perfect. The camera special perspective however was intentional, as it is meant to slow down the pacing of the game and make player actions more thoughtful, as it should be in a stealth game. Hidden passages and secrets would further enhance this aspect while also giving the player rewards (feedback loop, perfect!).
Playtesting has shown that there is a large difference in how well players pick up the targeting. Some seem to prefer the camera controlled one (as it is in the build) while others would expect movement controlled targeting (had that in an earlier version but it did not feel right to me). A combination of both would be ideal I believe.
The pots are not supposed to deal any damage, they are there to distract guards. The explosion effect is a pure placeholder (not the most intuitive, but the only one we had at quick disposal). I had some interesting discussions about how to overhaul the guards though:
- Guards are only eatable when unaware or stunned
- They can be stunned with a pot if shot at directly
- Gives the player a better escape tool and guards are more threatening
Of course this would have to be tested, but I like the idea a lot.
Ahh! You caught me on my cheap animation transitioning! Evidence of how much of a crunch time project this was, especially since it was the first time using external animations for me.
There are exactly two locked doors in the prototype. One of them requires a key, the other one is opened by the guard when the player successfully hides in the tutorial area. Are these the ones you meant or am I misunderstanding?
Collider placement and player constraints is one topic for itself. You can spend days making sure the player mechanics, object placement, state machines (or anything really) allows for no loopholes, and players will figure out an obscure way in seconds, I guarantee it.
Again, thank you for your feedback and I hope you found our insights interesting!