https://tdgperson.itch.io/the-magical-cave-adventure
A game about exploring a cave.
I'm revisiting the very first game I posted on itch.io because I'm planning to make a spiritual successor to it. The feedback I'm looking for is : how to make the game more interesting and challenging? I think that right now the game is a bit too straightforward. It's not very difficult or challenging.
I really like the idea. I agree the game is a bit simple and it can be hard to keep track of what I need and where. I really like the map it was super useful. Having a greater variety of puzzles would help make the game more interesting. Sorry I can't be more help. I am looking forward to the successor.
Your game actually reminds me quite a bit of two older games: "Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures" and "Yoda Stories" (built using the same engine). They're both mouse-driven, coffeebreak style, procedurally generated fetch-quests.
First of all, replace the weird mouse-based movement system with conventional keyboard controls. That will feel much nicer, and also allow for some other improvements.
Secondly, right now, gameplay consists of fetching items in order to either exchange them for other items, or to unlock portals. This quickly starts to feel repetitive. There needs to be some element of skill - typically, in top-down games, that means combat, with monsters that actually fight back! (if it were a side-view game, there would be platforming elements to provide additional challenge)
Zelda-likes and Metroidvania games are also full of more interesting types of gates/locks/keys/valves, which you could incorporate.
For example, the classic block-pushing puzzle. The player encounters some large immovable boulders blocking their path. The player needs to find a specific item, which gives them the ability to push heavy objects (including, but not limited to boulders - it's good to make items multi-use). They then need to use this ability to solve a Sokoban-like puzzle by pushing the boulders in a particular way.
The RPG "Golden Sun" has loads of magic skills which can be learned, and which not only help in combat, but can also be used to solve puzzles.
Another example, might be an enemy that is very resistant to the player's attacks. It could be either a single boss monster, or a particular type of monster that becomes very common in an area, but either way, they would effectively be forming a locked gate. If the player attempted to continue, they would be expected to die, so instead, they must first go find a particular weapon, which is more effective. Having said that, an extremely experienced player might be able to bypass that section of the game if they can defeat the monsters using pure skill (speedrunners love this). This is one of the areas where better player controls would be required.
In the game "Zeliard" (probably the best metroidvania there is), there are heaps of great examples. There are ice caverns, where the floor is slippery, making the tougher platforming sections almost impossible. It is expected that the player will seek out the special shoes which allow them to move normally on ice - but actually, a very skilled player can get through that section of the game without the shoes.
The other things I mentioned were valves. These are basically one-way shortcuts, and they make back-tracking much easier for players.
Thank you for the review. I wanted to put the concept that the game is based on (topological sort of a directed acyclic graph) front-and-center. I want to put in some of those extra features but don't want the things to "distract" from the main concept. This game isn't about block-pushing or sokoban, it's about topological sorting. How can I add those features without being too distracting?
I looked up the Indiana Jones game, and it is similar. Is that game also about topological sorting? Where can I find a visualization of the directed acyclic graph?
No game is "about topological sorting", because that, in itself, is not fun. Fetch quests in general (or chains of deals), are hated by most players. They're tedious, repetitive and arbitrary, with barely any connection to the central storyline (you'll notice the two games I mentioned earlier were both quite poorly received). If you google "fetch quest", the first thing that comes up is "Fetch quests are often considered the lowest form of RPG sidequest", and that's not wrong.
However, plenty of games make use of topological sorting, and if you already have some other kind of game that is fun, then these procedurally generated fetch quests are a great way to increase replayability or add extra content. It should absolutely not be the main concept though. Procedural generation is a defining characteristic of roguelikes too - but without monsters to fight, there would be no game there.
At the moment, there is no challenge. The only way a player could possibly lose the game, is if they get bored and quit. The easiest and most common way to add a challenge, would be to add combat. If you make it realtime, you have a procedurally generated Zelda-like. If you make it turn-based, you have a non-linear Roguelike (this would be the simplest). I'd play either of those. The other alternative is to add puzzles.
Ideally, though, try to avoid simple fetch quests to begin with, and make it so the items you find are tools that the player can actually use in some way, and not simply exchange for some other random item.
