well damn...i thought the r button would restart the room in case you get stuck as i imagine could happen, well i just screwed up a block pushing puzzle and was too lazy to die and retry so i hit r and restarts the whole game T_T
Reviews for "Seedling"
great game so far, really well done! but some things are just a little too buggy. i couldnt get a creature and some orb seperated on an a simple button. i had to quit here after my 100th try!
The game was good, with some slight issues as others have said, like loose controls on making some platforming sections more difficult.
SPOLIERS
My main complaint is that I realized about halfway in where the story was headed, but I don't think there was a true pacifist way to complete the game. Can't get the red key without killing the Shieldspire nor can you get to the last chamber without killing the Owl. The first two dungeons also have one room each you have to clear to unlock the door. Other than that, there isn't a reason to kill most of the bosses. They don't give you anything, and you can exit the dungeons after getting chests and items. I killed the first four bosses without realizing i didn't have to, but after I did, I tried to avoid it. I failed though, because once you enter a boss fight, there's no way out, since it reloads you in the fight if you die.
With some minor changes (way to get the red key, change how those two rooms open in the first two dungeons, add a way to just to run past the owl, reload just outside the boss room if you die) one could complete the game without a single kill, but that wouldn't be immediately obvious because Zelda is so ingrained in the player psyche, most people will kill all or most everything before they see they missed a cool way to play and they'll want to play it again.
I really enjoyed the game. It's nicely laid out and the levels are very well designed. But themes go beyond coding or level design, making them easily the hardest part about making a game.
Don't get me wrong, the theme get's across fine to me, but it feels forced, without much behind it that would actually give it /meaning/. More dialogue between the watcher and you would be a nice start, and maybe not having all the boss killings be required, or more importantly, in /self-defense/.
But back to the substance of the game, the items and their uses in each level was nicely done, bosses were simple enough to be beaten by everyone, even if some logic is ignored in a couple (tentacle boss, the light. Why would severing the ends of the limbs kill it, and why is "The Light" and aggressive and slow group of ball-shooting bugs?). Seriously though, the one thing that I really dislike was the Watchers judgement on the Seedling being so one-sided. Why not just give him the dumb seed in the very first place, anyways? And of course, killing the giant lava monster throwing rocks at you while you're trapped with him in a room is murder...
Basically, more variability to how the story can go, be sure to maintain logic in the characters' dialogue, and keep up the gameplay design, although badder bosses and more character durability would be appreciated. Thank you for your contribution, and have a nice day.
ConnorUllmann responds:
Well, I wouldn't say that the boss killings are in self-defense--remember, they're "Creatures," not people. You are poking around in the dungeons, actively trying to find them/their items, and that's why you're attacked. As the man in the forest says, "the other seven remain in their place, safely out of our hair!" basically meaning that "we stay where we are supposed to be, and they won't cause us any trouble." You break that and end up killing them as a result, and that's why it's "murder."
As for the Watcher not giving the seed in the first place, he didn't do that because he's supposed to be an "observer." He sometimes does a little bit (like drop the sky rock over the first dungeon), but it's only during extreme circumstances, in this case being that you'd killed a Creature of the Relic. Also, he mentions that he thought this would stop you, but it didn't. At this point, he ends up finally confronting you and, being an observer, this is very much out of character for him.
I'm glad you enjoyed the game, and I hope that sheds a little light on why I had things happen the way they did :)
As good as this game is, it should really have a save feature. Also, Esc doesn't seem to work in the Newgrounds player.
Edit: For some reason it saves on kongregate, just not here. Too bad I can't get the medals there.