A brainteaser indeed.
Stranded on "words too big!!!" and gave up - which isn't the game's fault.
Nice idea all around, retro feel and honest frustration.
Reviews for "Uirdz"
I just read jonbro's review and couldn't disagree more, though i think it is a good, reasoned review.
first of all, as he already mentioned, the concept is very original and turns the basic jump and run into something... larger, which is innovative but carefully thought out and fun to play.
but i don't think that precise mouse control corresponds so badly with fast arrow key movement (just take call of duty, battlefield etc. for example). in this game, just a little reorientation is necessary, and i am truly sorry if one can't manage that. i din not find the controls too slippery or sensitive, i made it through each level without any control-related complication (though it took me some tries) and did not even come across one of the mentioned bugs.
the overall game and level design really pleased me. the colors match really good, the comments at the begin of each level are hilarious and the secret levels are hidden quite intelligently. keep it up!
paste42 responds:
I feel as though this review is by someone who really "gets it". I understood when making Uirdz that the control scheme was pretty new and different, and that some people would be resistant to it. I'm glad when players are able to appreciate the novelty and find them intriguing enough to adapt to. Reviews like this one remind me that the design choices I made aren't necessarily flaws, but opinions that players may agree or disagree with. Thanks!
After playing up to the last level and finding myself too annoyed to complete it, I have mixed feelings, and unfortunately most of them are negative.
The concept of the game is original and well utilized. The dialogue and the captions are clever, the puzzles and level design were very carefully made. The music was catchy enough, and there was a lot of content.
But those controls... Goodness gracious. They're far too slippery and sensitive for a game with as many precise jumps as this one does. The game is clearly meant to be pretty fast-paced (or else you wouldn't have had all those practically impossible 'target times'), yet the character takes an unnaturally long time to turn around both in the air and on the ground. The three-tile-high jump is capable of avoiding the spikes thrown by the boss, but only by about a pixel or less. Speaking of jumping, it's also not easy to jump, then jump again as soon as you land on the ground, which I think is a serious oversight.
Those were all cases of when the game does too little, but there are plenty of times when it does too much, as well. The character would always move farther than I wanted it to and jump higher than I asked it to anytime I lightly tapped the keys to do either of those things. There were even a number of times where the controls glitched and I kept moving one direction even if I wasn't pressing anything.
While I'm on the subject of glitches, I might as well also point out that there were multiple times when I was using the word "FLIP" while jumping past some platforms, and everything froze. Only the Esc key was still working. Also, if you die while the boss is roaring, the sound of the roar persists forever until you go back to the level select, enter the last level again, and watch the entire pre-boss cutscene again.
The reason I've brought up the boss so many times is that while nearly all of this game's issues are present throughout most of the levels, they really shine when you reach the end of the game and suddenly ALL of the difficulty is comprised of these awful design flaws. Was this game just meant to be challenging by any means necessary, even if it meant bad functionality? That's the kind of vibe I get from the insane medals attached to this game, none of which are even as simple as "Beat the game for 100 points." I haven't even bothered bringing up the dragging-the-text mechanic, but as many people will probably tell you, exact-placement mouse controls and fast-paced gameplay don't really go well together if you're trying to make a game that isn't frustrating for all the wrong reasons.
This whole game just feels unresponsive, which wouldn't have been as irritating if this was entirely a puzzle-based game without any ludicrous jumps or near-exact timing, but it almost feels like you pieced all the levels together and then programmed the character at the last minute. The game starts out being enjoyable as the mechanics are introduced to you, and then it became overly difficult in a way that's not actually satisfying, because the only challenge the player is really dealing with is the artificial challenge of flimsy maneuverability... which is sad. There was so much potential here.
I didn't have much fun. I think you'd be better off making a platformer with some good basic level design than relying on the text dragging gimmick and frustration. :/
this is the best game i ever played today