I really appreciate the option to chose a keyboard layout, and the different difficulty levels. I couldn't get better than a B, but at least this time I could finish the song. Like Wur said, there's nothing to be said. It's good. It's me who's horrible at it.
@Sinoc Thank you for explaining your concerns! I know that most side scrollers on the PC use that keyboard layout, but I never understood why. On consoles: left hand is for control, right for functions. Same for FPS games, and, well, most games I know: left for movement, right for special stuff. That's why I thought I would stick to WASD and JKL. Alt and Enter just switches to full screen, but I understand that using the items is a hassle. Thank you again! I really appreciate it!
@Wur Thank you for your feedback! Apparently, it's my fault that I didn't explain the controls well enough. You could collect orange flowers (L) and then use them (2) to refill your energy to run some more. Without that, it could be pretty hard, I have to admit. I'm really sorry about that.
I've uploaded the game play footage of your game. I sure had fun. Thank you for it! I can second what VampireDev said: amazing progress since last time. https://youtu.be/UvLcF3hbkYs If the link's not working, then it's still processing.
@Sinoc: Thanks for the honest feedback! You are right, maybe I'm overthinking sprinting. I don't want to be a special snowflake regarding controls, and I don't quite get what you are pointing at. Is using the number buttons for item usage is uncomfortable? I wasn't sure about that, so if it is, I really appreciate that you've mentioned it.
@VampireDev: Thank you for the feedback! I like the idea of introducing controls like that. I hope you don't mind if I steal that.
After I got the jet-pack and understand the overall maneuvering mechanism, it felt like a breeze. It was a good feeling to fly around, however it was kinda buggy for me. There were cases, when the dash dashed me to the opposite direction I expected it to. Keep it up!
I have to agree with Preece. The controls does not feel natural. If you are going for a humble concept with this graphics, more people will give it a try than you think. It's so sad to see when someone picks up a seemingly fun game, but they end up frustrated and stressed out because they don't understand how they are supposed to communicate with the game, or what the game want them to do.
The other thing Preece mentioned is the overall concept. There's nothing wrong with it, I think, however it's just so good to look at your world. The water, the people, the fish, the grass, everything is so nice and welcoming, that it begs for a bigger world than just an inn and it's surroundings.
Other than this, keep up the good work! The world is in need for more calm and relaxing games.
You're feedback is most welcome, and I'm glad you have enjoyed it. You have pointed to two things, which I was also thinking about. I was hesitating that instead of an introduction screen, maybe I should include some simple levels each with a new hazard or obstacle. I've also asked the question, if there should be multiple solutions for a level or not. With more open options, there's always a chance, that the player might just press the buttons until they find just happen to solve the puzzle. I'm still thinking which approach should I take in the two cases mentioned above. I'm happy that you have pointed them out, and have gave me some direction. I don't want to write a blog here, but basically this was the reason why I started this game in the first place. It has a pretty basic core on the surface, but it gives me a good opportunity to study and experiment with level design, player teaching, difficulty balance and so on.
I'm relatively new to Itch.io, so sorry if I can not find the feature which makes me reply directly to you. I've posted progress, and I've even used the hash tag on Tumblr, got some feedback and advice, which was implemented to the demo. However, as you can see, this is not the kind of game which you can post about every other day. That's why I'm really happy for Demo Day, since this is the only time when I can get feedback on the game play itself and about the puzzles. I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed the game, and I'm more than glad that you've liked the design. I'm no artist, so even this took a lot of effort, but it was a good lesson. Some anon also suggested a mobile port. I wasn't thinking about it before, but I'm sure I would earn a lot of experience with that. My plan for now is to add more levels, 20 in total at minimum, and then give it a rest and move to something else (maybe to something more progress post worthy).
Thank you for your feedback! The things you've mentioned were questions to me. I was thinking about implementing them the way you've mentioned (jumping, text, adding a weapon maybe), but went with this now to see how they work and how people receive them. Thank you for mentioning the crash! It's very helpful to know about that.
