Simple and enjoyable
That was a beautiful fun game. Quality animation, simple controls, a few challenging parts and a beautiful idea. I would like to see a more challenging level and maybe a few more animals.
Reviews for "The Illusionist's Dream"
This just didn't work.
There are plenty of great art games out there on the web. This is not one of them.
I can see that you are trying and I congratulate you for your effort. I regret to inform you that your effort bore no fruit. I would like to say that yes, the animation is nice and I like the way that the illusionist's cloak blows around him. But that's the only good thing I have to say about this game.
First, the gameplay is bad. It had a good idea behind it but it was still bad. You began with an interesting concept that you really could have developed into something great, but the problem is that you didn't seem to know what you were making and thus didn't execute it well. The problem is that you seem to think that this game is a platformer. It's not: the controls are clunky and unreliable and you explode into a cloud of smoke if you are less than two feet away from a fire. it's also almost impossible to hop on vines and hopping on platforms is no easy feat either.
This game should be a puzzler, but the animal interactions require no reasoning whatsoever. "Look, there is a vine: I should be a monkey." "Look, there is a key on a hard-to-reach ledge, I should be a butterfly." Solving the puzzles, if you can call them that, doesn't require much thought and thus the game becomes incredibly dull and at times frustrating, thanks to the controls.
But I shouldn't be criticizing this game for it's gameplay flaws, because its an ART GAME, and the art itself should make up for the minor flaws, right? Wrong. I've seen this all before: when some flash artists began doing work inspired by "Braid" at first it was kind of cool but now these games are just the same thing over and over again. A man goes on a quest for lost love in a 2D world and learns that you can't always get what you want. It's not a bad story, mind you, but you've added nothing to it and whats more the gameplay is dull and monotonous. What we are left with is a videogame that thinks it's much better than it actually is. I'm glad you're trying to be original, but you're not.
I have two words of advice for you: first, copying other original artists doesn't make you original. Second, If you are to make a videogame, focus on the gameplay part a little more. I'm sure you'll be able to do better than this. Just try harder.
Interesting concept...
The gameplay itself, however, could use a bit of brushing up. As others have said, the animal interaction slightly lacks in logic, and it's difficult to tell where it's possible to grab a vine. Also, I've found the jumping in the last level to lag slightly, and that some of the fires will burn you when you're nowhere near them.
Even with all the potential for improvement, though, this flash was still an incredibly fun play, with nice graphics and an intriguing story.
very nice
ah, what i said in the summary...
but, when i got to the monkeys, the game bugged out and turned black screen!
It['s a lovely concept though, very engaging and stimulating, intellectually and emotionally. Very nice! game play was a bit rough on the fingers though... and a bit too sensitive. tighten up the controls and fix that bug, and we're off!!!
Good
The game is good, but the music was horrible. If you're going to make a game with levels like the rage-quit inducing acid berry minefield, use music that's a bit more lengthy/diverse. I swear the repetitive music pissed me off more than stepping into the very last fire at the end.