Nice work on this, Its pretty tricky. I normally don't play many puzzle games but this one has its own charm, and after following a few of your devlog videos on youtube, I'm glad to see you finished it and even took the time to learn composing music for your project. An interesting concept.. and I'm relieved to see the cats butthole is not in the final build lol. Bravo, Ive started a few games and i always get stuck redesigning the graphics till I'm tired of whatever idea I am working. Well seeing this has rekindlde a fire in me, so thanks :)
Author Comments
Can you get to the top of the tower?
Hello! Thanks for taking the time to check out my game.
This is my first game and escapade as a solo dev.
[ - Controls - ]
SPACE : Absorb Energy
Z : Grab/Pet
R : Restart
[ - Curious how this game came to be? - ]
It’s been quite the journey to get here! For anyone interested, I made a video devlog series while working on this game. The perspective is from my experience on developing a game for the first time. Might be interesting for anyone who’d like to make their own game or like to see behind the scenes stuff.
Devlog : [ Link ]
♥
-Phil
PhilllChabbb responds:
Haha, no cat butthole! That's for my next game. ;) lawl! Glad you've been checking out my devlog videos, their purpose was, in a way, to inspire. Happy to hear the fire has been rekindled. It's not easy to finish a game or idea, but.. it's really worth it. Dunno if you know about it, but there's a great article by Derek Yu (spelunky) called Finishing a Game. Totally worth a read, it helped me a lot. All the best on your future projects! :)
Cant get it to load :(
PhilllChabbb responds:
It's a unity game, maybe that's the cause? Sorry it's not loading up. :(
I've tried it on a couple of friends computers and it loaded OK.
strange game. not sure I understand what is going on.
The game concept and puzzle mechanic is great, but there are problems, specifically with the challenge.
Problems
- In many of the levels, including some of the last ones, the difficulty is way too easy (I was able to just walk straight to the door on some levels). now, if you were required to bring the cat with you, then the difficulty would go up, but as it is now, the cat is expendable and I can drain all the life out of it I want to beat the level (unless there is an alternate ending that I am missing).
- The story seems like it would be interesting, but it is not explained. Is the character in a retirement home? (that would explain all the old ladies). Is everyone a ghost and is that why they can absorb my energy? Why can the cat absorb their energy yet I can't take theirs? Am I actually a ghost or do I only become one with my energy taken away? Why do they seem hostile toward the main character? Why is the bus at the end flying? What was with that weird tongue monster? Is this all taking place in the afterlife? All questions I'm still unclear on.
- This one goes back to the unexplained story. The controls and goals themselves are not clearly explained. These can be figured (although everything seemed very odd at first with the door in the wall closing up) though I thought the "petting the cat" mechanic was only for entertainment. I didn't connect it with the fact that the cat would follow me if I only petted it ONCE.
- The game was also short, but this isn't a huge problem (I know this is your first game). I was more so just disappointed that it had too end so soon.
- The tongue elevator was a good idea though the guy wiggling his feet while it is going up just looks weird. It seems like it would be controller if he stood still, but that's just me.
- I'd encourage a menu screen and pause button in your next game for access to instructions and credits among other things. Not really necessary for this game though.
Good
- The controls and environment were great. I loved the perspective for the over world and for the levels (it reminds me of old school 90's games).
- The graphic are pretty good (especially the distortion used for ghosts) and although I already said something along these lines, I really like the concept and gameplay.
- The music was also fitting. It had a nice spooky yet techno feel to it. The sound effects were also good.
I do like the game despite my complaints and I look forward to your next. Good job!
PhilllChabbb responds:
Hello Plasmarift,
First of all, thanks for all the feedback. It's really hard to accurately change your perspective to what someone else might see, and you've given me just that. A crucial ingredient to grow. :)
So many issues you've bring up did pop-up in my mind. I can't use "it's my first game" as an excuse for all of them, but it did affect my design process in a way. The unknowing part of it. Only realizing now some of the issues.
The difficulty curve is really out of whack. It's true some levels were easier, like the one where you could just walk to the exit. This was an experiment in letting the player chose what to do without rewarding the action. Maybe the action itself was the reward? Most of them was bringing the cat to the exit or not. I'm a big fan of letting player choice be worthwhile and meaningful. Not just a static do this (maybe) meaningless action to get a reward. I might of not executed those levels well, but it's a little level up in that area. :)
For the story aspect of the game, you are 100% correct. You've actually made me think more about it and what ended up in the game. Since it was my first game, learning to program, to play piano, to compose music and trying to design a game for the first time kinda took more energy and the % of my time. So the story did in fact lack a lot. My only knowledge of story telling is the pace and "show don't tell". So it's something I must work on for the next games. Once I'm more comfortable in an area can move in the next to improve the skills (hopefully!).
And I feel the same way about the game length and menu/pause options. Glad to be on the same pace.
Overall it's been a great experience working on this game. And, again, a huge thanks for playing and helping me grow with your feedback. :D I'm also looking forwards to my next game! Haha. :)
Phil
I'm stuck on the third room... I can't push the plant far enough to be invisible, they get stuck on the shadow...
PhilllChabbb responds:
*hint alert*
Are you able to bring the plants near the middle of the room area?
Credits & Info
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- Score
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4.21 / 5.00
- Uploaded
- May 5, 2014
- 1:12 PM EDT
- Genre
- Puzzles - Other