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Block Rotation Prototype - Is it Any Fun? (Playable in Browser!)

A topic by Ryan Kampmeier created 7 days ago Views: 148 Replies: 4

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https://ryankampmeier.itch.io/untitled-block-rotation-game-rotation4

I've made a simple prototype where you rotate a center block and combine it with surrounding pieces to make squares. Here's the summary:

Rotate the middle piece with Q/W and press a direction to combine it with an outer piece. Each square you make increases your score.
The higher your score, the faster the music gets and the faster the outer pieces move inward.
The music is dynamic. New layers of percussion are rolled in as the beats per minute increases. Background effects also get more intense.
It's game over if two pieces combine that don't make a square. (including outer pieces closing in on the middle piece)

I'm looking to see if it's any fun. Also, I'm hoping it's super intuitive where people would be able to figure it out on their own without too much info. Thanks for taking a shot! Any suggestions are appreciated :)

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koreanois6 days ago

I really like this prototype and I think it is very unique. At least I have never seen this concept before.

I am aware that this is a prototype at a very early stage - I think it has a lot of potential for additional extension. You could start the game out with fewer directions (2 instead of 4) or the number of segments a piece consists of, just to name a few ideas.

One thing I noticed while playing was that by intuition I did not expect the arrow keys to move the blocks right away. Instead I was expecting the arrow keys to only set the direction and afterwards requiring a confirmation (for instance the Space key) to be moved eventually. I was hit by surprise a few times when the arrow key immediately moved my piece. But this might just be me...

Generally, great concept!

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Ryan Kampmeier6 days ago

Thanks a lot for the feedback! I agree starting with four and ramping up the number of blocks, as well as the complexity of the shapes, would be a good way to progress. It's on my list of things to implement if I continue development. I'll see if anyone else has that same idea for the controls. Maybe I could add different control types in the future.

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Ichit6 days ago

Neat idea thus far.

Some initial feedback I got:

1. Add a more crunchy sound when you make a connection

2. Backgrounds are fun, but I think the colors of the BG shouldn't overwhelm or make player lose sight of the blocks

3. I think if you had the beats go to BPM of a song or something I can see it having a chill or atmospheric kinda vibe.

Not related in anyway to mixoluma, but an example of the potential vibe I was thinking!

Anyways. Happy devving!

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Ryan Kampmeier5 days ago(+1)

Thanks for checking it out! I really appreciate the feedback. I'll definitely take some time to fine tune the block and background color selection to prevent visual issues. The BPM fueling a song is on the to-do list. Hopefully I can figure it out.

And thanks for letting me know about mixolumia. It looks like it achieved some of the goals I have for this project.

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