itch.io

Oh, it feels much better! Now that I've played with both, I'm certain that was the issue. 

Coming back to try the new control scheme also made me realize that the roll ability actually makes you invulnerable for a short time, which makes the Triangle's spiral bullet attack make a lot more sense. I did manage to beat it the first time without knowing that, though, and I'm just a little bit proud of that, haha.

I think a lot of indie devs let the size of more mainstream games intimidate them, and I fully understand, but games like this are proof that sometimes all you need is uncomplicated fun. I can see myself coming back to play this quite a bit in the future, actually.

Kudos!

Very good! I'm not normally a fan of racing games, so my input here may not be especially helpful, but I enjoyed the game!

The torus shaped track creates very interesting drifting geometries, and having to stay close to the track to keep your vehicle powered keeps the player from simply flying laps, but without feeling too restrictive. I also enjoyed the Low-poly art style, and the colors really stood out to me.

Ah, I was playing this just a second ago, but the page disappeared before I could leave a comment! 

It's very good! It feels satisfying to play, and all of the sounds and visual effects are well chosen and well placed; you have a very good understanding of game feel. Movement, for the most part, felt fluid and responsive.

I would note, however, that it isn't immediately intuitive that the player has a Dash Ability, which certainly confused me for a few minutes. Even if I had known that, I wouldn't have thought to try the right mouse button, since that doesn't strike me as an appropriate place for the ability, although that's admittedly very subjective. Showing the player the controls near the start of the game would solve both of these problems handily, making explicitly clear what the player can do and how.

As for the dash ability itself, it does feel restrictive in a way that is dissonant with the rest of the game design. The player and their enemies can aim freely in any direction, but the dash is limited to eight directions. This may be a limitation of the input method, but I will say that it felt fluid and natural to move normally, while dashing felt comparatively clunky. 

There are a few ways I can think of to address this. one is to increase the speed and/or distance of the dash ability to the point where it feels justified that it locks you into a straight line. Another would be to remove that restriction, and allow the player to influence their direction during a dash or cancel a dash by moving in a different direction. It might also be addressable by moving the ability to a button on the keyboard; since this game uses both the keyboard for eight-directional movement and the mouse for aiming and firing at precise angles, it might be that the dash feels clunky mainly in relation to the mouse's other functions, and moving it would improve the feel. That is, if anyone aside from me even thought of it as clunky- it is, again, very subjective.

Overall, I appreciate the mechanical and visual simplicity, and it's supported by excellent game feel.  Very good work!

EDIT: I apologize, I wrote this comment based on what I played before the page was updated; the controls being listed in the game's description certainly helps! I think that solves the communication issue, at least.

Hello! I'm a hobbyist writer who's been looking to join up with an existing project so I can build up my portfolio. I'm also familiar with Godot, and I'd be willing to take a swing at UI design, but be aware I've never made a serious attempt at doing so before.

Can you tell me a little bit more about your project and what you need from a writer? What do you already have written, what can change, and what has to stay?

Hello all! My name is DeeDee, and I've wanted to make things for as long as I can remember. 

Every day, almost every hour, I'm generating ideas for impactful scenes and character moments, and I'm certain that if I could only get them out there, there would be an audience that would grow to love them. I've dabbled in prose, in game development, in animation, and in countless other mediums with the intention of finally honing my skills and executing on the potential everyone says they see in me. 

However, the only one I've had any success in so far is fanfiction, and I think there's a reason for that. I have some difficulty coming up with completely original worlds and concepts- and, as a result, I find it hard commit to projects where I'd have to lay all of the foundations for a new story from scratch. I'm not confident enough in my original characters and settings to feel like anyone would appreciate the effort. I'm my own worst critic, for sure, and it's just easier for me to bail on a passion project before anyone has an opportunity to be disappointed. Or worse- bored. I set completely unrealistic standards for myself, and I judge my work too harshly to ever meet them. Try as I might, my attempts to become a writer always seemed doomed to fail.

And that's a very disheartening realization to come to. It's especially disheartening to come to it repeatedly, as something in my heart still yearns for the opportunity to bring a story to life, but... Over time, I had started to come to the conclusion that I simply couldn't do it.

Now, though. I've been doing some thinking, and it makes more sense that, maybe, I just can't do it alone. The day where I bring all of my own precious, personal stories into the world may yet be a ways off, but I still want to write. I want- more than anything- to make something real, to make something knowing that it will reach people.

This is- if I'm lucky, at least- where you come in.

If you have a concept- a game, or a world, or anything- and you need someone like me to help you execute on your vision, I would love to hear from you. I would love to help you make your ideas a reality. It's clear to me now that trying to make a masterpiece while locked inside my own head is never going to end well- I need something else, someone else, to give me direction, criticism, and support.

Thank you for reading this. Please, if you have an idea, or a question, don't hesitate to leave a reply.

- DeeDee

tl;dr: pretentious fanfic author discovers the power of teamwork, begs internet strangers to boss them around

My aforementioned AO3 account.

Nice work! It's very cohesive, especially for a game jam. I do have a few notes, though.

You respawn far too slowly. Moving around in a bubble is fine and all, but I got very sick of it very quickly. Especially in the level where you're supposed to jump into a pit and onto the target (with the "Hold Jump to go farther" text) It was incredibly aggravating to miss the tight jump and have to wait so long between attempts.

Other than that, it's a very interesting concept you could easily turn into a full game, with some extra polish. Very good work!

I got 1:54 - I could probably get that higher if I kept at it though.

Nice work! Things get hectic quickly, though, and that can feel frustrating, especially with the player's slow movement speed. 

Very buggy! Sometimes throwing or holding your projectiles doesn't work, and even if it does, trying to predict what will happen if you throw them is very difficult. The game is also very dark, with no Options menu to be seen. I played the version with no raytracing. 

This game has good ideas, but it will take a lot of work to  get them into working order. Don't give up, okay? I'd love to play a game like this once it's more finished.

The game can't be played. There's just an options button and an unlabeled slider. If I zoom in and out, I can see other options, but I can't start the game. Make sure everything is set up to be sized and scaled properly before you export.

I was going to rate this 2 stars before I saw that you made this in three hours (!) and had to revise my thinking. It's entertaining, and it's the only game I've played on itch.io today that had sound effects- huge plus! I think it would work better on a touchscreen than a mouse, especially if you don't play in fullscreen like me. :p 

Solid work!

It's alright! Okay concept, and it's fun to mess around with for a few minutes. However, while I'm all for simplified graphics, some shading and texturing would do wonders for this game. Especially in levels like #9 and #11, navigating that complex geometry can be difficult without a way to distinguish between objects. It would also help with theming: if it weren't for the game telling me so, I would have no idea I was playing as a newt/frog.

I think this game would benefit from a 3rd person perspective. Especially as the frog/flying frog, it can be difficult to figure out exactly where you'll land. There is a reason 1st person platformers are so rare.

The final three levels are far too easy. The game design doesn't really put all of your abilities to the test. Especially if you're going to be giving your player every ability in the game, you have to make sure they'll need them.

Nice work! I will say that controlling the character feels quite sluggish; there's a lot of buildup and momentum for quite a low top speed, so the character doesn't turn quite as fast as I'd like.  The graphics- which are amazing, by the way, very detailed and colorful- are also quite large, making it difficult to see what's around you. This combines with the sluggish controls to create a somewhat frustrating experience. Zooming out the camera and increasing the character's ground speed would make the game more enjoyable, I think. 

Overall, good work! You look like you have great things ahead of you.