Simply beautiful game. I think the ending has a bug somewhere (crash log appears at the "end") but it returned to the title screen so I'll assume it was something minor.
Visually stunning, and very serene. The only criticism I have is using the spacebar as the confirm button took some getting used to, and the isometric angle made walking through the fencing a little touch and go, but that last gripe has more to do with the engine's collision than your game design.
All in all a worthwhile experience and definitely shows what RPG Paper Maker brings to the table when compared to other similar game makers. Kudos!
Gonna have to post an incomplete review, as I couldn't finish the game.
Mini games were pretty fun and very imaginative! Sand castles was very enjoyable and creative, but the fact that the fish kept moving while the characters were talking could be seen as unfair (at least I think they kept moving, it might have just been their animations playing on loop).
The jet ski was super interesting, but the game mechanics need a little refinement. I found trying to move up or down sped up the ski regardless if D was pressed, so I basically had to cheese the event by holding down A the entire run. However, couldn't play the 2nd phase as an error popped up saying image 0002 or something was missing. This caused the crash log to force the game into windowed mode and the ski was stuck in the "boost" animation and I couldn't move.
The "death" events were a little jarring, but I assume they were thematically relevant to the story you were telling. The counter at the top was a little confusing, and seemed to overlay with a previous game's counter, maybe?
Regardless the sprites and models were well made and you made good use of the realistic water plugin. 👍
Short, creative, and overall fun; a true pleasure to play!
My only criticism: Due to the small resolution and the camera being so close to the player, disabling the [Move camera on block view] might have helped. At least it would have helped me; I paused each time the camera did a close up, thinking I triggered a cutscene of some sort. However that is more an engine issue and less of a game design issue. You have a knack for comedy/slice of life games! 👍
Glad they were of use to you! Many are becoming outdated as the engine gets updated but it's good to know they still serve some use. Looking forward to trying yours out! 👍
Nono, it's totally understandable! I had a feeling your were placing each element by hand with models but I figured it was at least worth asking. Your asset pack contains so much already that I can make do with what's there.
Thanks for taking the time to reply and I look forward to future updates!
I'll be sure to credit your work and leave a link once I've got my demo in a presentable state. 👍
I've left a rating as thanks for making this excellent asset pack!
If I could make a request for a future asset; I'm in need of an arcane/magician's study. Nothing too fancy, but something with bookshelves and maybe a pile of tomes or two. I'd greatly appreciate it!
Oh, and a suggestion for the potion shop: could you make an alternate version without the candles/orb that includes a cauldron, mortar and pestle, alembic and retort? Right now it feels more like a shop for magic users rather than potions. You don't have to, this is just something that my ADHD mind won't leave alone unless I ask. Thanks for humoring me!
Edit: Nevermind! Turns out it was my fault all along; apparently I've been using my headset wrong all these years! My Turtle Beach P11 headset has a USB cord and an Audio cord. I've only ever used the USB because it simply worked out the box like that. Seems that if I want a stable recording I NEED to use the audio cord. Go figure 😅
So your program is fine and works wondefully! As soon as I get some extra income I'll be sure to pay you for your work!
Alright so I haven't finished the game but this feels like one of those games that's going to take me a while (in a good way!) so I'll just post my thoughts so far:
The quality of the game is just fantastic; the art style is unique while also feeling familiar (I get PaRappa the Rapper/Mega Man Legends vibes). The concept is wholesome and refreshing. Like Animal Crossing mixed with Stardew Valley; very slice of life!
The music was spot on; calming when out and about but very lively when cooking in the kitchen.
Story-wise, it was simple but effective. You're backstory is straightforward and your goals are easy to understand. Open a business on a boat in the hopes of paying off student debt. A modern tale for the ages!
The mechanics are a little daunting at first but once you take it all in, it becomes very intuitive! Is the refrigerator the only way to check your inventory?
Overall, it fits the theme of the Jam like a velvet glove! It has the right amount of flair without going overboard (bad pun intended!).
My only nitpicks are as follows: the controls were... counter-intuitive at first. Movement was binded to qa/dx for some reason, so I re-assigned them and then made the interaction key E instead of Enter. In addition, some Touch events that were intended to stop the player and have them move back the way they came were a little delayed. In one instance I turned around before the event triggered and kept going in the previous direction. Finally the collision on the deck of the boat is finicky; I got stuck in place in one area and because I didn't know where to interact with the Octopus I ended up outside the boat and couldn't get back in 😅.
However, this was made in a short amount of time for the Jam and I can't fault you for not anticipating every little thing that could go wrong. Your game is a great example of the heights Paper Maker can achieve in such a short amount of time!
The animations were silky smooth and really well executed (better than anything I've ever made). The dashing, lunging and book animations were really top notch!
Sound effects were good, though the crafting book gave me horror vibes rather than survival/adventure. Made me *not* want to open it to craft. 😣
Graphics were solid, though the grass kind of messed with my depth perception. I can see that it's stylized, but without a border along the edge it kept making my eyes hurt. Also the exit's being *exactly* where the maps end broke my immersion once or twice (seeing the skybox *under* the floor tiles and all), but it's a game jam and I can't fault ya for that.
I think we need to change the music category to "Sound Design" so I can give you guys a higher score. Your guys sound design was effective, but as is I can't give full marks for music that isn't there.
The story was... there? I can assume game design took precedent over story development; fun as hell for the Minecraft generation, not so much for the bibliophiles. P.S. Dramatically revealing their name to be Jack but leaving it as Lucas in the menu was hilarious.
Overall an amazing display of your design prowess as well as the potential of Paper Maker, kudos!
Thanks for the reply! I've never used MV before (but I've owned it forever). Did you use *just* the core plugins or did you use all the extensions listed in that post? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm *seriously* interested in trying my hand at a tactics RPG soon and the more info I have the better. Thanks again!
Alright so I managed to plow through the fps lag and found myself enjoying the game overall.
Was confused as hell in the beginning about saving/leveling, but I managed to figure it out and found it rather charming. Instead of money/coins though, might I suggest scrap as the means to upgrade? Kill other robots and take their parts to upgrade yourself (or was that what your currency was?).
Not sure if it was due to lag, but the collision for re-entering the garage to save/upgrade was fickle at times and I would have to constantly go back and forth to get it to work.
Aside from those minor criticisms (fps may have been due to my end, so beyond your control) a solid game with a bit of humor to round off the edges and provide a good time.
A charming game with a likable protagonist and a touching story. REALLY creative with the glitching gameplay and world design. Totally believable that the game was bugging out on me.
