On the first round i was already able to go for 100.000$ bosses. Needless to say, this lead to every boss from this point on being dead within a few shots.
Concept is good, but yeah- it's just too easy.
Reviews for "Boss 101"
DarkTimmy responds:
Yeah - in hindsight the game is a pretty easy walk on the early levels for a decently and high skilled player. I hear yah and mos-def this will be addressed on a sequel. As I was making the game I had it tuned so hard at one point that you would get one shotted or rammed and be done. Needless to say I cranked that way down and spread out the ramp up over 101 levels. Hard mode does address some of that but yah - can't argue that a good guy will burn through 30 levels easy. Thanks for the comment and the play though! Best, -Tim
First the positives: Neat idea to mix up bosses. The dialogue was witty enough to start off with. Very smooth controls. Nice pixel graphics. Music was okay. Upgrades are always fun. Overall the concept is great - however
(the negatives) I found myself really bored with the game by lvl 34. sometimes brevity can be a good thing. Instead of having so many levels to play - think about only having 40 or 50 and increase the difficulty. I know you made a more difficult mode, but at this point I have no interest in even trying it since even on simple I haven't died once but don't want to spend the time to see 101. Also there is no reason to need so many upgrades. With this concept I'd think maybe 5 upgrades in each category would be sufficient; same thing for the hats.
You have talent, that's for sure! I hope I don't come off as too critical but this particular game lacks replay-ability for me.
DarkTimmy responds:
Completely valid points and it might not surprise you to know I agree about the game length. I think when I was making it I felt all smarty pants about 101 levels matching the game title (Boss 101). In the end I should have err'd on the side of concise versus lengthy and shortened it down to 30-40 and made the progressions smother. Thanks for the comment and the play! Really appreciate it! -Tim
This is an original concept, and I do very much enjoy it. There are a large fistful of things that stops this from being a high-calibur product though, in my eyes. I'll list some bulletins, and I'm sure some people will agree with them and some people won't.
-Powerups and health don't last very long in the air. Additionally, many kinds of exploding munitions or minions seem to have the explosive effect make the powerup invisible until its last split second of lifetime.
-Many of the powerup weapons are ill-explained and TERRIBLY balanced. I am aware that some powerups seem to be rarer than others and some enter the game later on, which should make them more powerful. The being said, the flintlock looking pistol was useless, the scattershot weapon was so puny you can hover next to minions shooting them point blank and the puny minion won't even die. The charge up laser was pretty awful IMO. The sound was loud and high-pitched, making it annoying. It's fire rate was very low, its stopping power equally minimal, and its multi-penetration ability sometimes failed for unknown reasons. Additionally, the rocket launcher was alright earlier game but got tedious and the iron fist is outrageously overpowered, but on the plus side it does keep me grabbing for powerups in an attempt to get one.
-Powerups have no way of indicating their ammunition or how long they last, which is somewhat counter productive.
-The music, while nice and cinematic, didn't seem quite suited for the action scenes and really got annoying in addition to not getting the blood pumping. Seeing how this is bullet hell-like in gameplay, lots of gamers are probably looking for an energy-filled soundtrack they can get into while shredding their foes in a hardcore battle to the death.
-Hats were really, really cheap and their effects weren't really clear in magnitude as well as some of them being uniquely present to the hats family and not shared in upgrades. This really leaves the player unsure what "+2 health and +16 money" does in its full magnitude.
-Although there was definitely a large variety of parts later on, the total pool of enemy variety does feel stale at some points, and especially after playing through 40 or so bosses. I'm sure you're already hard-pressed to find lots of original ideas for parts, so I'm not really counting this one against you. This unique game has that at the center of its concern.
-Dialogue at beginning of fights would've been something I'd prefer an option to skip. Maybe there is one but if so I haven't found it.
I don't want to seem like a dick or just sit here and bag on this game. My underlying opinion of this game is rather positive because it is new and fresh and experimental. However, these aspects also provide lots of new areas that could seem worth polishing or developing, and I hope this feedback helps or at least gets the gears turning for the next project you ensue, though I'm sure other people (more and less literately than myself) have pointed out a number of these points previously.
This is a solid product, but is still not in the "wow" zone for entertainment. I applaud the unique ideas and new concepts being employed.
7/10, 3/5 (borderline decision, sorry. I just sat back and sighed in my chair contemplating this one pretty hard) ~WCCC
DarkTimmy responds:
First off, thank you for the review and the play. I know it takes a lot for you or anyone here to take a bit of their time and write something down not knowing if it will fly off into the ether and never be read. I do read all the comment and make a hearty attempt to reply thoughtfully to people. I figure – if YOU put in the time I will too.
OK – there is really nothing I disagree with in your comments. All fair points and I completely realize that Boss 101 (for me) was a huge learning experience. I love the game and the idea. It took me about 4.5 months of intense labor to make it and most of that was learning programming since I’m an artist by trade. Tons of fun and if I had to do it again it would probably take 2 months and be a lot tighter. To your points (in order)
Powerups – yep. They do get occluded by the explosions. In retrospect that was a bad call on my part. What that means is I didn’t even think about it at all and during my games times I kinda didn’t get bothered. That was a little shortsighted but you are totally right. They should have lasted longer and been more visible.
Powerup abilities – I think you are hitting on a good issue here and arguably bigger than the one above. The weapons are cool in theory but all over the place in terms of power. They actually do scale with your abilities and upgrades but the basic points you are making are valid. They could all use a pretty good tune to make each worthwhile in its own way. For instance the pistol was always the money gun with low damage. Doesn’t get explained well (except through the use of dollar signs instead of coins when it hits). Overall though this one along with the others all have some design weakness that prevents enjoyment at various times. I do agree with you about the fist gun. Even I will grab away at guns hoping that thing shows up! HAHAH! It’s just too fun to use even though it deals a ton of damage and nearly every time will end the round before it goes away.
Powerup timing – yep on that. I know in a sequel I want to address this.
Hats – I had to really think about this one cause what you are saying is exactly right and it is completely by design. I think the main thing is the price is too cheap. The abilities are all ‘shrouded’ by generic terms and that is intentional. I can’t say that was the best decision but I really wanted the player to experiment and also have some easy comparisons to make (2 versus 3 as opposed to stats like in Borderlands guns). I think a more robust hat system is called for in the next game. Hats were one of the last things added and done so in somewhat a rush. That’s no excuse, just a fact. Good point you made though.
Boss parts – yes! I know. I actually re-tuned the game about 1 hour before it was put up on the web. Originally you were selecting from boss parts from a narrower pool. There were ‘sectors’ and each was themes (like animal robots, samurai robots). The thing there was you would ONLY fight those type for 20-30 levels. When I realized how boring that would be I opened it up to all robot parts at any time. I think it made it better but it didn’t address the whole issues. Again – that is something I would love to come back to and adjust!
Dialog – yeah, that is a great idea. Didn’t even occur to me that might get grindy. I mentioned elsewhere about the fact I had implemented a bunch of checks to keep it fresh and even then I myself would see repetition. HA!! DANG IT! Again – good point and yep, that can be address in a sequel. Doing it in Boss 101 might be more trouble than it’s worth sine the system would request an overhaul.
All in all – good stuff man and thanks for the nice review. It’s really something I enjoy since I’m making games for YOU and the others here. I work within my limits but where those limits overlap with your taste in games is where I want to be!
Best,
-Tim
Love this game! Great job! But, it does get boring after about 40 minutes of straight through playing.
DarkTimmy responds:
Well, I do appreciate you playing for any amount of time - especially 40 minutes. I agree I might have balances the game a little better 101 levels sounds good for a title but if I was to do it all over from scratch I think I might cut it down to 30 or so and smooth out the progression over that amount. When I was done with the game I was so proud of the whole giant sprawling thing that I believe I missed the forest for the trees! The lower levels are so easy and the later ones are so hard. It's a little nutty. The hard mode somewhat addressed that with giving you 30 levels and ONLY the hardest bosses and putting you at a pretty high disadvantage. I do appreciate the play and the time to make a comment you took. Thank you and best, -Tim
#StencylersSupportingStencylers
DarkTimmy responds:
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! How did you know!?!?! Are you on the forums there! Yep, Thanks for that and I appreciate the play! Best, -Tim