itch.io

I am trying to assemble a collection of free Gameboy assets, targeted at new developers. If I give you credit, Would it be okay if include this?

I am trying to assemble a collection of free Gameboy assets, targeted at new developers. If I give you credit, Would it be okay if include this?

I am trying to assemble a collection of free Gameboy assets, targeted at new developers. If I give you credit, Would it be okay if include this?

I am trying to assemble a collection of free Gameboy assets, targeted at new developers. If I give you credit, Would it be okay if include this?

I am trying to assemble a collection of free Gameboy assets, targeted at new developers. If I give you credit, Would it be okay if include this?

I am trying to assemble a collection of free Gameboy assets, targeted at new developers. If I give you credit, Would it be okay if include this?

I am trying to assemble a collection of free Gameboy assets, targeted at new developers. If I give you credit, Would it be okay if include this?

I am trying to assemble a collection of free Gameboy assets, targeted at new developers. If I give you credit, Would it be okay if include this?

I like to give in-depth, critical feedback. Take everything i say with a grain of salt. I can tell a lot of work went into this, so good job. Here's my feedback.

Additionally, It's not much but if it helps, a quick video of my playthrough can be downloaded at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Smdkw9zZGefuihAiYR92zLWBtEiSDu0G/view?usp=shari...

The Intro/Story/Instructions:

• intro is very long. if you can, i would find a way to maybe spread it across a beginner intro level.
• the intro story music has a weird pause in it when it loops
• instead of "fly arrow", i would suggest "Shoot arrow
• select restarts the intro, is that intentional?
• maybe the intro should show "press <something> to skip"

General Gameplay

• i don't see a pause screen. This would be good for also re-showing instructions and controls. Maybe start+select could go back out to the level select.
• I think, in my opinion, down + A is a bad (and sometimes confusing) interact key. It should maybe just be the shoot or jump button.
• jumping is very stiff. Since it's a platformer, you might want to work on this. Look into sub-pixel movement in GBDK samples. DM me if you need an example.
• door controls (up) seem weird to me, experiment with binding it and the interact buttons to maybe the shoot or jump buttons. Or, use up on the d-pad to jump and A to interact
• It's not easily apparent what the green interactable things are. My initial thought was a green skull. I only realized after the 3rd playthrough, it's a speech bubble. Maybe, when nearby, show "press <button> to interact on the window"
• When damaged, i would give the player a 2-3 seconds of (blinking) invulnerability

First Area

• There's not much to do on the first level except jump around. Which seemed off at first, until i reached the second level and started getting snakes.
• On my 4th playthrough I finally experimented shot the little square thing at the start of the level.  I'm not sure what it does, but i didn't think to do it initially.
• I think the green hanging prisoners are missing the little interact speech bubbles?

Second Area

• I can't get past this area. A snake spawns out of nowhere after the spike pit and moving platform . i usually have low health, so it kills me. If not there, then it's usually somewhere else.
• Snakes shouldn't spawn mid-screen. Maybe they should make a warning noise when spawned.
• On the second area's door pressing up takes you back to the start of the level. is that intentional
• When the snake hits you near a wall or solid object, the player moves funny

General

• i would allow start or A interchaeably on the menus or splash screens.
• Sometimes i linger at a screen, thinking it's gonna auto go away, but then i realize i need to press A or start. Maybe make some screens auto go away after a certain period of time.

Audio

• I like the different tracks for the different game states
• The Jump sound could be louder.
• I would recommend: Shooting sounds, landing sounds, sound when arrows hit something

Nice Work. These are all of my thoughts for playing the game on March 13th, 2022. Some stuff you'll probably already know and have on your mind, others maybe not. This is also not meant to be condescending, i like giving critical & complete reviews. I try to just explain what's in my head. So Take everything i say with a grain of salt, in the end it's your game and your vision. 

Menu/Start Screen/Library

• Start Screen music is short. Could be a bit longer. 
• I like library and "menu" screens. They add to the depth and polish of the game.
• Should the "menu" screen maybe be called "options? As the player, i would think the menu was the screen that had "start game, menu, and library".
• Just a user experience thing: I would allow the user to go back with B on the "menu" . You should consistently accept A and/or Start for selecting or going forward.  I default want to press the A button to go forward for things, and B to go back. 
• I would add a little "beep" when changing menu items. Making the menu cursor bob left and right would be a nice subtle touch too.
• It took me a second after playing to understand the "enemy armor damage" table(?). This is after playing even.  The damage column isn't apparent unless they have played and understand to "protect the fleet". There's limited space, so you might have to do pages?  Also,  if I'm correct in assuming it's a table, maybe you should have some bars "|" between enemy, armor, and damage. 

Gameplay

• Often, i get a white space background for gameplay. Sometimes it's black. I'm not sure the scenario to reproduce.
• Gameplay Starts relatively difficult. I would give the player some breathing room earlier on. Maybe enemies shooting less frequently and flying slower. 
• There should be some feedback that enemies have been damaged. usually this is a flash. Maybe you can simulate that by setting the color palette to all white for a second. The damage sound is good, but visual confirmation helps with the feedback loop for players.
• I would definitely give the player more "lives" it sucks to go back to the menu and have to go through that process. Maybe the player could slide up from the bottom when losing a life and the game continues (would want to wait until enemies have all cleared or problems will occur). 
• Explosion Effects would be nice. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, it helps the player feedback loop.
• A nice touch would be a little inertia. Making the player not come to a complete stop when you're not holding a direction. It doesn't have to keep going on, it can be a fast stop, but stopping instantly feels odd.
• Background variability would be nice. Large stars, planets, moons, asteroid fields.

Gameplay - Side Interface

• The side interface wasn't initially intuitive. There's not enough time early on in the game to become familiar with it before enemies start coming down.
• Distance should be inverted, rising instead of falling. 
• Maybe you should experiment with a top/bottom oriented game hud. The player's eyes will always be on the top or bottom of the screen, looking at the enemies or player ship respectively. To get an idea of things, i have to switch my attention more to the side. Which can be distracting.
• You have limited space in the current interface. However,  a counter would be nice for  # of enemies killed (or score, as i'll mention a couple of times in this review)
• The "B" being for that other weapon was not intuitive. I didn't understand what the "B" meant at first.

Mission Complete

• It took me a couple of playthroughs to complete a mission
• I like the fleet flying out animation. 
• You should implement score, and increase based on how much health the fleet has left.

Game Over

• The Game Over screen say's press start, but i have to press B.
• Using high-score values might better help the player feel better about themselves. instead of 12 kills, 120 points feels a lot more gratifying.
• I was getting about 10 kills for a while before dying. Again, i would turn down the difficulty earlier on.

Nice. Reach out when you want me to try it out again. I understand it's a small game. TBH i should take on small projects like this too, they're great learning tools.  I like the idea though, Playing it has inspired me into wanting to make one too....eventually.

• If the game has time-based events/endings, you want some sort of visual about that.
• An idea: When checking your watch, maybe show " i probably have XX more minutes until that door gives." 
• When playing, i assumed that the TV area was just for show. Maybe there should be some dialogue hinting at it's usage. I'm still not sure of what that is.
• other areas would be nice. 
• Maybe adding side-tasks like "finding batteries for the radio" or "finding the key to the radio room",etc..

------------------- First Playthrough

• the 'left' and 'right' options are inconsistent. it's left/right when at the door. when in the tv room and radio room, instead of right/left, it's 'hallway'. you probably want to be consistent.
• the 'watch' option should maybe be 'check time'? The word 'watch' can be confused with meaning 'Observe' also.  Although I didn't find a purpose for it yet. If there isn't 
• the 'exit' option should maybe be greyed out if you can't leave
• the 'check' option should have better wording. maybe this should be specific per object/area?
• Music might help set the atmosphere. Composing music for gbdk isn't the easiest, so maybe check out some music from here https://github.com/DeerTears/GB-Studio-Community-Assets
• Maybe showing at the top of the screen where you are
• Got stuck after going in the radio room - took me a bit to find the 'affirmative stand by or extraction' response. Maybe there should some sort of hint as to which station that happens on?
• It would be nice to have a hint as to what to do next. 
• A couple minutes later I think i stopped paying attention (i was writing these notes) and maybe accidentally tried to exit or check the door, and died. I'm not entirely sure what changed.... Is it time based?
• A trivial aesthetic: making the cursor bob back n' forth.

------------------- Second Playthrough

• Not sure how to get the radio response. The numbers cycle through, but i haven't seen it yet. Is it time based?

Tell me if there is anything you want me to elaborate on. Keep me updated if you make any significant changes, I'll replay for you.

I figured the 7 day restriction was a big thing. But i also figured, if you want to go forward with it more, it'd be good to have more input. If you go forward and make some more progress reach out on twitter, i'll give it another test run.

I like it. The gravity could be a bit more forgiving though. Some of the jumps are sort of difficult, and seem to be very precise. A timer of some sorts would be nice. It should tell you how much you have left till you wake. You should tell the player how to run. I found myself thinking "this jump is impossible!!!" at first. Some coins to collect might be a nice to have also. Or, some way to increase time. I like being able to jump on the names on the credits. Reminds me of some of the newer Mario games. Some indication of where the teleportation things (???) lead would be helpful. 


Great Job!

I don't completely understand what's going on, but i'm sort of catching on. I like the graphics and the simplicity. Nice work.