*2/19/21 Updates*
Hey UnevenPrankster!
My thoughts on the updated version.
- I like that losing a level sends you back a level instead of a hard restart, this definitely keeps you playing the game longer. I think that's a clever solution to keep people playing, but at their own pace.
- It looks like you removed achievements entirely. Couldn't get them to work?
- Ratatan, I see she changes colors as the game progresses, You added more :)
- The background is still static. My thoughts on this and Ratatan's colors below.
Micro-Changes in game. I wasn't particularly bothered that the the background didn't change for the first 50 levels, because Ratatan was changing every 10-15 levels, it's a simple enough interface that that effect is enough. Here's the important part! What you do as a game designer are doing is creating an expectation, for me as the player, that this the standard mechanic in your game to show progression. Around level 70-80 I was waiting for something and when it doesn't happen, is when the little flag starts to go off in my head (boredom/there is no more). But I'm a patient player, so I kept playing for a while. Around level 105 is when it capped for me based on skill/reward payoff. A player thinks there's nothing else or no more rewards beyond what they've found, they get bored. With this thought, you've designed your game up through about level 60, and since nothing else changes, but the game doesn't end, it gives off a feeling of incompleteness. I have some suggestions for that, but I don't know how hard they would actually be. These are just my rough thoughts, you've very clever and get the idea across using your own methods.
1) Greatly increase the color change range of Ratatan well through level 200, or rather, some visual update to her. Whatever the actual achieveable limits are (right now, I think level 120 is the hardcore-skill-level player cap)
2) When Ratatan changes, the background could also change, so it feels like I'm in a different level/world/universe.
3) Make up a simple ending for each of Ratatan's colors. AND on the restart screen when you die/fail, have a button that asks "Would you like to see ending you've achieved?" Now, I'm obligated to play the game a lot to see all the different endings! If you go this route though, I think this is a good place to bring in the crashing as a sport plot, and you can give us plot through this method. At the end of the ending screen, ask if we'd like to play again from our previous position, or restart from level 1. I think people will figure out the endings are associated with that version of Ratatan they've unlocked pretty quick, or you just note it from the start, or through badges.
Coming full circle, There have been some significant improvements here, the game definitely scales in difficulty now, and feels like so much more polished than your previous uploads. I find the difficulty scaling around level 40, then 65, then 85, capping out at level 108 before I needed to take a break. This scales well. At level 90+ it becomes more about engaging engines as close to spawning as possible and maintaining it. I like the gravity feels progressively stronger, but it caps the game at just over level 100. If you design the game for more levels, tweak gravity by bit as well as fall momentum, and boosters so that all endings are actually achievable. I'm guessing at it's current design scaling, I probably couldn't get beyond level 120.
Great updates, and I look forward to more! At the very least, put in some endings for what's currently here. Badges are another good way to let players know how far into the game they have gotten. ^_^ I think with more levels planned for play and at least 1 ending, and tweaks to the BGM, it becomes a 4 star game, and with more levels, multiple endings, and more SFX and some fine tuning, 4.5 star, that, plus more plot/story, and VFX, 5 star for me easily.
Also, I just wanted to say thank you. I think it's really great that you're treating your games as works-in-progress and open to suggestions. It's great to see you getting excited about what this game was, and what it currently is, and where you can still go with it. ^_^
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*old comments below for posterity*
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My comments on your previous game were harsh, but this version feels A LOT more like a complete game than the previous version, the background is much less straining on your eyes, the small graphic of rocket booster helps a lot, and you added the score counter, and a change at level 10. Also, thank you for "X" as a quick restart, that single hotkey update makes this game 10x more playable.
Feels Good!
Some thoughts: I played up to a score 150, at about 6-7 seconds a game, that's about 18 minutes. Medals may be locked because the game is under review, but I've gotten medals from in-review games before, so not sure why here.
So, I got excited around level 10 when Ratatan changes. This got me thinking every 10 levels there'd be some additional change to the game, even if it's purely graphical and not actual gameplay differences. I didn't see any, so if the game gets pushed further, you could add a couple things to make this play longer, maybe every 10 levels as progression increment:
1) Score, currently the score is fixed no matter how many times I die. Which is fine, if you implement further changes, this makes sure that players get to experience everything you put in eventually. Or, you go the other direction, and add a hi-score, then reset the normal score upon death, making players earn those changes. Either way is good, it tells us if you're cruel or benevolent game designer. ^_^
2) after about 50 levels of the same thing, the game starts to feel a little stagnant. The visual updates you made changed this drastically, so perhaps the planet starts to move up and down a little more with each "progression increment" Or Ratatan has more changes, the background changes, and or the planets change.
3) If you opt to update backgrounds, Right now the planet goes through a set cycle of colors, maybe these colors get a little more restricted, or at least unique to a progression increment, and become how we identify the planets are different tiers of the game progression. I still think there's room to add some story here. Even a text cut screen every 10 levels of internal dialogue, orders, or something. I'd like to know more about the story of what Ratatan and why it or they (if it's a species) are crashing into planets. Revenge? Seeding Life?
I know this is intended as a short simple game, but honestly there's potential here for a lot more. I love the current updates, and hope to see more soon!
*Update based on response*
:"Ratatan is crashing into planets as a sport of sorts. A future further featureful game may build upon the consequences of that xD"
Awesome!
