itch.io

Hello,

It is nice to read you again. Thank you for your time and feedback whiwh we will atke into serious consideration as always.

Kindly I have a couple of questions for you. What sequence did you do? The usual sequence is: Fertilize and Vine Crook in any order, then Pollinate, then Tether, then Climb, then Sprout.

I included two sequence breaks. One allows you to skip Pollinate and acquire Tether directly. The other allows you to skip Climb and directly get Sprout. Did you find any of those sequence breaks?

Also, what did you find the small wodden boxes puzzle moments to be like? Did they break the flow? Where they too easy of cumbersome? Do you have any opinions on the last puzzle in the last room placing the boxes to float?

Take care,

Cheers

Hello again,

I really appreciate your effort and explanations. I will answer now for the sequence break only.

I still need to understand something. In fact, your last image is indeed the first sequence break I designed that I described in my previous comment. What you did there is intended by my design. At that point, you are skipping Pollinate to get Tether earlier.

The thing is that you are supposed to need both Fertilize and Vine Crook to get to that room. You don't need Fertilize in that room to perform the sequence break, but you need it before to get to that room. So your sequence break is not that one.

I have just tried all the previous rooms in the map and the only way I see for you to get there without Fertilize is by making the Jump I described. Do you remember your path to arrive to that room in your early game with only Vine Crook?

Best,

Joseph

PS: in our previous game, Meteora, indeed I wait longer before giving the player real possibility of non-linear progression, so I totally get your point.

Edit: and congratulations for finding a designed sequence break! You really try the gameplay and it looks like you play games deeply and get to find their mechanics and tricks

Hello Neopolis,

Thank you for your comment, it is very valuable to us. I have built the levels. I will clarify some things and also I would love your answer for a couple of questions.

In the version you played, indeed Sprout does not do anything without Pollinate. That was a bug. In case you are curious, this has been corrected post Jam in this new version here: https://eelshep.itch.io/kami-the-great-guardian-post-jam

Now, I explain the usual sequence, or game progression, regarding acquiring the abilities.

- Fertilize and Vine Crook are the two first abilities and they can be obtained in whatever order you wish.

- Then, the third ability is Pollinate.

- Fourth, it is Tether.

- Fifth, it is Climb.

- Sixth, it is Sprout.

Now: there are two sequence breaks that I have designed and included in the level design. One sequence break allows to skip Pollinate. The other allows to skip Climb. The fastest run would be: Fertilize and Vine Crook, Tether, Sprout, finish the game.

Of course, once you use the sequence breaks, you can still acquire those abilities that you skipped, later in the game.

Regarding your image: you are supposed to need mandatorily both Fertilize and Vine Crook to get to the room in your screenshot. You found a sequence break that I did not design and I would love your help to find it out. I think I have found your sequence break: you jumped on this column in my image below, from the left, by only using Vine Crook, right? Please confirm.

I did not intend for this and it will be amended asap. Seriously, thank you very much for flagging this out. You are the only one having found this.

I don't know when we will update the Post Jam version to remove your sequence break. But if you play this version currently and ignore it (meaning that you need both Fertilize and Vine Crook to perfom that jump), you should experience a way smoother non-linear exploration and game progression overall.

Cheers,

Joseph

Hello Dan,

All good? It's great to read you and see your valuable activity in a Jam once again. Thank you sincerely for the nice feedback as usual.

As with previous entries, I designed and built the levels. Indeed, I took into account your comment on Meteora regarding size. I have boiled Kami's map down to the very crucial steps for game progression with the objective of only having rooms with key purpose in the game, with a minimum amount of filler. I am glad that you saw this change.

Just curious, how much time did it take you to complete the game?

Did you record your playthrough by any chance?

Regarding that last seed, please try this: jump on the left leaf. From there, jump and throw your projectile to the leaf at right, so it will move down to become reachable.

Take care,

Cheers

Hello,

All good? We have participated in the MVM24 Jam Session. We have released a new game recently.

Would you like to play it? I was thinking that you may like it, if you have the time to try it out.

Thank you!

Cheers

https://eelshep.itch.io/kami-the-great-guardian-post-jam

Hello, all good?

Glad to read you again. Please give it a serious try once it works for you. I remember you liking our previous game Meteora from the last Jam three months ago. I would love to hear your thoughts,

Maybe give this version a try: 

https://eelshep.itch.io/kami-the-great-guardian-post-jam

Cheers

Hello,

All good by your end? After MVM23, we have taken part in the MVM24 Jam Session. We have just released a new game. I was thinking that you may like it, if you have the time to try it out.

Thank you anyway!

Cheers

https://eelshep.itch.io/kami-the-great-guardian-post-jam

Indeed you broke the sequence with those wooden boxes! So glad that you were curious and you gave that room a try. Thank you for letting us know about the collision on the final heart, it is already amended for future versions,

Cheers

Hello,

So glad that you gave it a serious try and that you like it. Thank you for the kind words! Sure, I will happily play and comment your game ASAP. If you wish to discuss these topics more in details from time to time, you can add me to Discord (joseph_mormar),

Cheers

Thank you so much for your nice comment. It really means a lot. Sincerely glad that you liked it.

I designed the levels. In what order did you get the abilities? The usual order is: Fertilize, Vine Crook, Pollinate, Tether, Wall Climb, Sprout.

There are two sequence breaks in the levels, which allow you to acquire the abilities in different orders and even skip 2 of them. These sequence breaks are in plain sight (not fake walls or hidden doors). Maybe you found them?

Also, what do you think of the last room? Was the puzzle with the box interesting enough to engage you to think a bit and solve it?

Thank you again,

Cheers

I am sincerely glad that you are liking it more now. Please give us a more complete impression once you move forward into the game; I really hope you enjoy it

Sure, just attack down on the enemy or the mushroom while you are in the air. We have already amended this for the next version of the game, thank you for the suggestion. Let me know if you don't get to do the Pogo movement yet

Hello,

Thank you for checking out. There are 7 abilities to find and 2 sequence breaks to acquire the abilities in different orders. I personally would love to know the order in which you acquire the abilities, if you get a feeling of exploration with the map, and if there is a good pace of progression overall.

I appreciate your interest!

Cheers

Hello,

Thank you for the kind words. Very much agree with those game strengths and weaknesses you describe, and we take note.

The power up to break the stone blocks is indeed not mandatory. You acquire it once you clean the three optional "Strength Nurture Areas" that you will find when exploring the map.

Just curious, in which order did you acquire the abilities? The usual sequence is: Fertilize, Vine Crook, Pollinate, Tether, Vine Climb, Sprout.

There are 2 sequence breaks to acquire them in different orders and even to skip 2 abilities. Did you find those sequence breaks? They are not "hidden doors" or "fake walls"; they are in fact in plain sight and you can take them by using the gameplay mechanics.

Did you solve the last puzzle to finish the game? I would like to know what you think of its set up and difficulty.

Thank you!

Cheers

Hello,

We really liked and sincerely acknowledge the huge efforts your team made to make Dreamweaver; it is a real piece of love and dedication and the result was outstanding. Congratulations for that!

Thank you so much for the kind words on Meteora, and most importantly for taking the time to play it one month after the Jam! We had a big scope in mind while designing it and we are glad you liked it. Of course, there is always room for improvement for games done in one month. All in all, your positive review and your impression of the game really means a lot to us.

Indeed I would love to see more of your work in future Jams or elsewhere.

Keep in touch.

Cheers

Hello Martin,

Wow, this is just simply among the most exhaustive, thorough, and honest reviews of Meteora so far. You really nailed it and dissected the game with very high quality, and I thank you sincerely for that.

It has been a pleasure to read your review. I mostly agree with all your points, and I will address here some of them that I believe deserve some discussion.

It is true that the game design and level design are heavily inspired by the games having defined the root of the Metroidvania genre. There is no checkpoint: if you die, you spawn in the last savepoint. So yes, when you die, sometimes you lose some minutes of gameplay.

Also, as the level designer of the project, I openly declare that I my levels usually lean a bit more on to the hardcore Metroidvania half of the genre, and less to the non-hardcore half. This means that I ask the player to focus on the game: I ask him to test his orientation, his spatial awareness, memory, and to try his current abilities. He should think critically in every single room, both the first time he enters the room, and the subsequent times he comes across with new abilities under the belt. Your criticism is totally valid.

Assigning Melee to "Y" was a difficult decision, but you can acquire long range shooting attack at the beginning of the game if you explore some rooms. This shooting will be used a lot by the player and it is assigned to button "X".

Thank you for your kind words on the "pros" of the game, specially on the level design aspect. The whole team is thankful for your great analysis.

I hope you get to finish the game. You still can acquire some abilities such as the shooting, also surfing on those wind tunnels and even Teleport! All this is followed by a Boss battle.

Hope you have the time!

Keep in touch,

Cheers

Hello,

I see the great value and potential behind this game. And art direction, visuals, sound, atmosphere are really high quality.

I wish to understand: at some point, I removed room 12 with the PC, and it looks like I got locked. Could i reverse that situation?

Congratulations on the entry!

Cheers

Hello,

This was a wonderful game. You took as nice mechanic, boiled it down to the most fun of it, and created a map to allow the player to enjoy it! I also appreciated the level design which is excellently done in my opinion. You know what you are doing. I also discovered several hidden paths and hidden teleports. It's pleasant to find a game that includes this hidden secrets and are implemented with good hints.

Yes, the game is difficult, but I see that it is difficult by good design, not artificially difficult due to lack of polish or due to bad desicions. You can be proud of your game and would love to know if you are developing this game further.

Also I realized that your cover image has a hint, and indeed grappling on the bats is useful!

I would be glad to keep discussing with you about game design and level design, either here or by Discord or email if you wish.

Congratulations for the entry!

Cheers

Hello,

Thank you for that wonderful review. We are delighted that you find quality in our game.

Just curious: did you get to finish it? Did you find the sequence break to acquire the Teleport ability earlier in the game instead of at the end?

Cheers

Hello Ryr,

Thank you! :D Glad you liked it,

Keep in touch

Hello,

Thank you for this great review, it is really appreciated. We are taking note of those areas of improvement. Did you try to use controller or did you encounter any problems with it?

Just curious, did you get to finish the game? How long did it take? Was the Teleport ability the last one you acquired? There is a sequence break to acquire Teleport earlier in the game, maybe you found it?

I appreciate your time and interest in our game.

Keep in touch,

Cheers

Hello,

Thank you for playing and commenting. As the level designer of the project, I sincerely appreciate that you enjoyed the lack of handholding. I also like that in the Metroidvanias I play.

I like to design levels where the player always has at least a couple of open routes from each ability to the next one. Did you get too lost? Was the intensity of the exploration feeling the right one?

Did you get the Teleport ability at the end? If you want to know more: there is a sequence break to acquire Teleport earlier in the game, and 3 out of 9 abilities are completely skippable if you find the right routes.

For sure, we needed to work more on the graphic and artistic part of the game, fair point taken.

Cheers

Hello,

Thank you for the feedback! Glad tou liked it. There are abilities such as bouncing on those clouds, riding on the wind tunnels, and also Teleport; which you may like. You may find a sequence break to acquire Teleport earlier in the game. And all this is followed by a boss battle.

I hope you get the time to finish it! 

Don't hesitate to rate the game as well :) It's useful for us

Hello,

You did a fantastic game. Level design is great, the niddle jump mechanic is brilliant, and the sense of urgency makes me want to explore more.

It is clear to see how much I improve every time I try, versus my previous self.

The timer plus the battery make the game quite roguelike in my opinion (without procedural maps). One question, just curious: what added value did you see in terms of gameplay to decide putting these two mechanics together?

Also, it is always nice to play 3D entries.

Congratulations!

Cheers

PS: please don't hesitate to try our game if you have the time :)

Hello,

Wonderful game, 5/5. I think that level design is particularly shining here.

The rest is also fantastic: physics, art, music. Even the hints the Boss give to anticipate their attacks, it's all great. You developed an amazing game with some of the most basic abilities in the Metroidvania genre. That speaks volumes of your understanding of the genre and its game design.

Congratulations!

Cheers

PS: it looks like you are meticulous and you understand the details of level design. If that's the case, please don't hesitate to play our game and let us know what you think :)

Hello,

You did great. I love this kind of challenge with high difficulty and good physics. You let me control MC nicely and you put me in front of good challenges to overcome.

Every time I died, I learnt something. That is good design, you can be proud of your game.

Every room was unique, every platform, spike, fireball and enemies were just perfectly placed.

You did a really good job, you were meticulous and gave attention to all details, and this game shows that you understand and know to design a good game.

Seriously, congratulations!

Cheers

PS: don't hesitate to try and finish our game:)

haha nice, it means that you had already identified this challenge, that's good! Everything under control.

Don't hesitate to let me know after you work more on the game, I would love to try it again after those adjustments.

Great job

Hello,

This is simply a clever game, with nice mechanics, intelligently designed, and put together to have fun through good level design. It is excellent, you know how to design fun games. You start with simple puzzles, then add the mechanics (Magnet, Dash), then you start mixing all to present some more complex situations to the player.

Honestly very well done.

Congratulations!

Cheers

PS: don't hesitate to try our game :)

Hello,

This is an excellent game! It really plays well. Parry feels fantastic. Tutorial and humor are nice. Even wall jump controls great. Level design is well done too for the purpose of the game and for its gameplay and mechanics. I think the game could benefit from adding a couple of branching paths to have less linear feeling and some more exploration.

It's great, congratulations!

Cheers

PS: don't hesitate to try to finish our game :)

Hello,

Wow the good old days feeling is really strong here. Outstanding work! I liked the level design, the art, the music, the difficulty.

As a subtle thing, I think that the charged basic attack is too OP and it has too much range. It is so good that it makes me want to slow down my pace quite a lot and wait for the bar to charge even in between two enemies. Maybe should it be less OP?

But it is so subtle that it didn't prevent me from enjoying the game. Congratulations!

Cheers

Hello,

Wow, thank you that great feedback, we feel honored! Hope you also liked the MC mobility, the gameplay abilities, the music and the level design as well.

We will take note regarding the analogue input for aiming.

Glad you enjoyed the time playing,

Cheers

Hello,

Thank you for trying!

Well, that is good question regarding game design philosophy. Usually, games would explain you how to use what you have, and not what you don't have.

You will be learning what the abilities do as you acquire them.

There is only one way possible to get the first ability: just go left and down for a few rooms, you won't miss it. It is indeed a nod to Metroid from 1986: your way forward is going left. Just be curious and try to explore!

I sincerely encourage you to try again! It looks like players are liking it quite a lot. You will find abilities such as bouncing on clouds, riding wind tunnels and even Teleport. You may also find a sequence break to acquire abilities in different orders. All followed by a boss battle.

I hope you have the time! Thank you for your interest,

Cheers

Hello,

Thank you for your comment! Yes, indeed, we uploaded a last build the last couple of days ago, just before the end of the 72h period that has been allowed. Indeed that must be the explanation for your controls problem, for which we are afraid we can't propose a practical solution.

I encourage you to try and finish the game. Even if you have to start over, you are familiar with the first half. There are a couple of abilities, quite far from standard, still waiting for you to find them in the second part of the game. Particularly the Teleport, which you may like.

Also, you may find a sequence break to acquire the Teleport earlier in the game, and even 3 out of the 9 abilities are skippable if you find the right routes! So you still have things to discover to motivate going back to the game, plus collectibles that increase your maximum health, melee attack and range attack, in preparation to the boss battle :)

Hope you have the time.

Thank you for your attention and your interest in our game,

Cheers

Hello,

We are glad that you played and you liked it. It is great when someone understands our inspirations :) The Boss attacks also has inspirations from Aeterna Noctis.

The last ability that you got was Teleport? There is a sequence break to acquire it earlier in the game.

Had the sense of exploration and progression the right intensity in your opinion? Did you get too lost, or was the map overwhelming for you?

Thank you for your time and interest!

Cheers

Hello,

Thank you for the detailed and nice feedback! Indeed, you have thoroughly analyzed the game.

Sure, as you said, feeling impatient followed by the feeling of satisfaction was an intended consequence through level design. Right after getting a new ability, you can know the main new opened routes to take if you have been paying attention. I am glad that you understood this!

And yes, I admit that sometimes I felt forced to build a couple of rooms that felt a bit filler to connect two more interesting parts. I hope that this did not pull you off the experience though.

And also yes, thinking the assassin is your friend is now something common among players :D We will need to amend this.

I encourage you to finish the game! You may find a sequence break to acquire abilities in different orders. And you will find abilities such as riding on those wind tunnels, and even Teleport! I think you will like it. All followed by a final boss.

Keep in touch,

Cheers

Hello,

Thank you for the nice feedback, we appreciate it! We agree with you regarding the background and we are paying attention to those other points for improvement.

Just curious, did you get to finish the game and beat the Boss? The last ability is Teleport, what did you think of it? Also, there is a sequence break to acquire Teleport earlier in the game, maybe you found it? 

Cheers

Hello,

We are glad that you enjoyed our game! We agree with you regarding the background, enemies and animation, for sure.

There are 9 unlockable abilities, of which 3 are skippable. So, do you mean that you finished the game with 6 abilities our of 9? If yes, that's great! It means that you used the sequence break to acquire Teleport earlier and then exploited that ability to blast through the whole map.

Also, it would mean that you finished the game just with no ranged attack (Thunder and its upgrade). Do you confirm that as well? Surely the game becomes more difficult if you skip the ranged attacks.

Indeed you did a very interesting and the least frequent type of playthrough!

Thank you for your time,

Cheers