itch.io

Fun little game, neat aesthetic.

• Niqle’s slotting fish idea is sweet
• Any plans to add more to the game? Could add powerups (fish magnet, faster/slower fish, multiple lines) or score reducers (picking up junk or something)

Repeating what others have said, it would be nice to have a bit more time to pick your weapon. I like the idea of pausing on new weapon pickup so you can decide if you want it (Vampire Survivors-style), or having the ceiling freeze after defeating all enemies and then be presented with new weapons as a reward.

Echoing SPECXHT’s comment, I’ve never played a game like this before. Not really my sort of thing, but the artwork is great. Consistent and charming. Looking forward to seeing more.

After viewing vignettes that zoom the camera in, it doesn’t zoom back out. Not sure if this is a bug, or by design to increase difficulty in finding the next thing. Giving the player control over the zoom level would be nice.

After I found the three items in the first level I wasn’t sure if I’d completed it or not. Some kind of win confirmation, even if it’s just something basic for these early builds, would be nice.

It’s a less violent Besiege.

• The simple, clean, low poly 3D is perfect.
• Water shader could be a bit nicer though.
• Level names as clues for the solution can be a bit difficult. I have no idea what an “ell” might be. Maybe this is some train nerd thing. And I’d call that “cross” layout a “figure 8”.
• On the other hand, I thought “chain” was a great descriptor
• So some other clue as to the solution could help on the more difficult layouts. A limited number of auto-placed pieces? You could put a badge of shame on the level select to show the player cheated and is small brained.
• A way to reposition the already-laid pieces would be handy (chain level fdfsff)
• UI (buttons etc.) needs polish, needs some nice chill BGM and SFX, but I assume that’s all on the to-do list

Not very clear what do do from the start. But otherwise an interesting idea for a puzzle game. Could be really good with a bit of polish.

Suggestions:

• Some more visual hinting might help, like displaying an outline of the shape you’re about to add on hover (rather than just enlarging the tile)
• Rather than have an instructions page, let the player learn the rules through playing the game.
• Tooltips could help with this. Have a little explainer when you hover over the other tile types like grass etc.
• Win/fail state not very clear. After a playthough I think the goal is to survive for as many turns as possible, and failure is when one of the shape types is extinct.

Possibly a bug or just an oversight:

• Once I clicked on a rotate button, I couldn’t exit that state. Tried right-clicking, Escape key, clicking the button again, etc. Playing web version.

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah will be putting in a sound slider, the toggle was a quick fix after destroying everyone’s eardrums with no way to adjust at DD50.

It seems the consensus on the big screen puzzles is that they aren’t fun. That “leap of faith” description hits the nail on the head. I’ll either figure out a way to have an overview of the level, break them up into smaller sections, or just get rid of them.

I’ve found it difficult finding a readable font that fits in the GB tile size limitations. Will hopefully find something better for the next demo.

Thanks for the detailed feedback!

I didn’t know about Z-undo. I’ll have a think about implementing a full-on undo system, but not sure if that will fit the overall game style I’m going for in the long run (it’s not exactly a pure sokoban).

Good idea with a secondary colour for ice streaks. I want the player to be able to see their previous attempt, but it does get mixed up with the current attempt. L-shaped streak added to the list!

I’ll investigate that movement bug too.

Fun little puzzle. Got frustrated with 1 Great Ball left on the 5x5 stage, I think I would have probably needed to reset.

It’s not a bug it’s a feature.

(I think I forgot to reset a sprite flip in one of my animations, thanks for letting me know)

Thanks for the feedback!

As you have have seen in other comments, SFX is top of the list for next time. Good to know the text is an issue for someone else, will sort that out too. The bigger puzzles definitely need looking at. I like your binoculars idea, reminds me of the telescopes in Tunic that let you zoom out and see the area.

Thanks for the gameplay vid! You missed that you could drop down from some ledges by walking off the edge, like where you get the second chest. Suppose that means it needs to be made more obvious.

Congrats for powering through. Lots of people had trouble with those large-screen puzzles. I guess they’re harder than I thought.

Your “longest solve time” stat won’t be accurate as the clock resets when you exit/re-enter the room. Someone in the thread pointed this out too, I’ll fix that for next time.

I haven’t properly implemented the chest system yet, so they both reclose when you go back to those rooms. Hopefully I’ll have the inventory sorted for next demo day!

Thanks for the great feedback! The title is long but like “Zelda” I’m sure anyone who cares will just drop the extraneous words.

Sound effects are next on my list! Wanted to have them ready this demo day but ran out of time.

Thanks for reminding me of my need of a respawn animation. One of those things that was planned but I forgot about before I started writing things down. Added to the list.

Someone else has mentioned the font. I’ll look for a better font or find some other way to improve legability.

Yeah I know what you mean about non-ice movement not being smooth. I think I might have to re-write the movement logic to get rid of the stutter. Won’t be a top priority for now but will definitely add to my to-do list as these small bits of jank all add up.

Others have mentioned not finding the large puzzles as fun. Maybe a pan across the room before you gain control might help? If I can’t make them fun they’ll go.

I currently don’t have a GNU plus Linux machine to test on but I’ll see if I can dig out an old laptop for next time.

Thanks for the feedback, Boku! Glad you like the music, it’s a bunch of old tracks I had lying around. I’ll eventually be replacing with original BGM that (if I can figure it out) adapts to gameplay. Sound effects is next on my list, was hoping to have them ready for this demo day but ran out of time.

I’ll be unlikely to add combat, but you never know. I’m not concerned about appealing to a wide audience or becoming a millionaire: I’m making a niche game based on a mechanic that most people hated. I’m making this game because I find it <spoiler>fun</spoiler>

Based on everyone’s feedback I got to fix something to make the big levels fun. Can’t zoom as I’m sticking close to Game Boy restrictions: the pixels you see are all I got.

Sound effects was on my to-do list for this demo day but I ran out of time. Main priority for next time!

Missing door was a dumb oversight. I forgot to put it there. Is fixed now.

Thanks for the feedback! I’m sure there will be a fun way to implement these big screen puzzles. If everyone finds them frustrating maybe I just need to design them better. If they’re still frustrating then they will go.

I’m guessing your missing book is in the secret room. Like in the last demo there’s an illusory wall somewhere.

I’ll be adding twists on the initial ice puzzles, i.e. adding more mechanics as the game progresses. Like in the later levels of this demo the pushable blocks start being used in the sliding puzzles. But so far the plan is to keep it the game scoped to these maze-like sokoban things.

I’ll look into a more legible font, or change the line spacing or something.

It works!

Macbook Pro using the default screen scaling from 3024x1964 down to 1512x982. The game seems to be detecting this okay; it’s the only option in the resolution settings.

Never mind. Still go for that vibe when you do get around to making your music, matches the game nicely.

Sometimes a bit hard to see what’s going on with the rainbow background. Without Lumines’s time line I found it a bit hard to consistently make combos but maybe I’m just a smooth brain.

Controls could do with some tweaking: moving and rotating with the arrow keys is a one-way trip to RSI, and I don’t know what “follow piece” does as pressing tab on a web game makes it lose focus.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed it! Just needs some catchy music and sound effects to really up the addictiveness.

Fun, polished, perhaps a little too easy. I’m no expert at card battlers so it’s hard to comment on balance, but clearing the first floor on my first clueless attempt didn’t leave me with much of a feeling of accomplishment. Think Slay the Spire: I think it took 2 or 3 runs before I beat the first boss.

One thing that I think is missing is some sort of visual of your opponent. Would add to the sense of progression to go from smashing lowly thugs/slimes/rats, to demonic chaos gods or whatever. Even if you just show a portrait before the battle.

Could see myself getting addicted to this!

Not sure if the Mac version was also fixed, but I’m getting a lot of screen cutoff in fullscreen:

Wow, a lot going on here. Controls are a bit fiddly, but after the first few tutorial levels they were starting to sink in. Tutorials felt a bit slow, but I can see why you felt they were needed with the sheer number of complex blocks.

I liked that in the first few tutorials you explained the controls/system then gave a small challenge so the player can demonstrate understanding. Maybe expand on the puzzle for that block/system rather than introducing the next thing so fast.

Graphics are generally nice and clear. A few of the blocks were hard to distinguish, like the ore refiner/that thing that glues metal together look nearly identical, and the various switches are hard to distinguish at a glance. Also could do with some nice chill music.

Unable to play Mac version, downloaded twice but the executable is damaged. Looks like it’s older than the other builds too. You going to update?

Edit: thanks for updating! I’m about 45 minutes in and wandering around a forest and having a lot of fun. Music is catchy throughout, and as a first time player the battle sting sounds great: I would have thought it was there from the start.

As most others have said: hitboxes are a bit of a mystery and weapons need feedback. You could also remember the last input direction so neutral attacks don’t always go left. Seeing as the bosses are big give them colliders to prevent the player walking through them.

I think the web version is a bit janky (macOS, Firefox). The killer whale battle didn’t work. It loads up but then freezes: player doesn’t move, enemy doesn’t move. Couldn’t damage the jelly. A couple of times the mushroom fight froze when it spawns the little shrooms. That sweet music continues playing though. Keep that sweet music.

Nice early prototype. Looking forward to seeing it developed.

Don’t know what changed since the last demo day but still feels polished and is pretty fun.

I liked this. Difficulty curve needs adjusting: goes from simple to overly complex in the space of a couple of puzzles. I’d suggest only introducing one new mechanic at a time. Give the player a simple puzzle with the new mechanic to teach them, then in the next puzzle test their knowledge.

^Originally wrote that for the first build. New build is better, but still maybe introduces things too quick.

• Monochrome graphics are sweet
• Decent music

• Text disguises the first spring
• Frustrating (but maybe that’s the point)

I couldn’t get past those spike boxes so gave up after the third try like an absolute casual. Felt strange that velocity wasn’t preserved when jumping on a moving platform, but I suppose that adds to the challengs. No problems with the camera.

Thanks for playing! And thanks for your ChunkySans font, it’s perfect!

Sorry, someone else had this problem. Will try to include downloadable versions next time in case of browser weirdness.

oh_gosh.png

I’ve tweaked the movement already, seems like everyone hated that turn-before-move thing. Not sure why I did it (aside from copying Pokémon). Also forgot to mark the Stay In Line door as an exit so it reset the puzzle. Fixed!

Thanks for the feedback! Glad I’m not the only sadist who enjoyed Ice Path.

I’ll make sure it’s possible to backtrack fully, will hopefully think of a way to link things up to make it worthwhile too. More puzzle mechanics are definitely planned. I’ll check out the E bug too, I think I have a rough idea of what’s going on.

That’s a bug! Someone noticed that one too. I forgot to mark the door as an “exit”. Will double check all the others too. Congrats on finding the secret book!

I will now play your game (again)

Nice (flipped) assets. Feels like a solid enough base. Hard to say too much at an early stage like this. How is levelling/upgrading going to work? New weapons/abilities? Same but stronger stats?

Nope, that’s a bug! I forgot to mark that as an exit door which records that you’ve completed the level.

Thanks for playing that far! Lots of others have mentioned the clunky controls, will be top of the my todo list for sure.

Thanks for playing and the feedback! Unfortunately to reach the final book you need the level its hidden in to be uncompleted. I’ll probably change that because as you say, I designed it so you can revisit most rooms.

Someone else mentioned the clunky movement. I’ll probably remove the turn-before-move as it’s not really needed, hopefully that will make it feel more snappy.

Yeah I need to update the music system too: I rushed it out in an afternoon for DD50. I’ll be adding actual crossfading (!) and maybe even make sure the different loops match nicely (!!)

Thanks for playing! Yeah I might remove the turn-on-spot thing to make movement more fluid. It’s not really needed and is only there to emulate the Pokémon tile-based movement feel.