Reviews for Flow Runner

[Coolseth321]

super game, thanks for making it. the momentum feels really enjoyable when you get a good rhythm going. i get a head rush from going really fast and skipping a whole hill of procedural shit only to land into a green launcher and keep it going.

both characters were charmingly written despite the small wordcount. i accidentally clicked on something to buy it without the money necessary and the old man put it on the house. thanks old man. i think that was a really well-thought out addition and it conveys that you know how to bend typically rigid rules on games like this when necessary, that is a really good quality to have as a game dev i feel. jumping over him when you don't want to buy to keep your speed up was also satisfying.

the birds are a good enemy. they're telegraphed and you can probably dodge them on the first try (important) no matter what your momentum level is as long as you have some juice in the tank. good job on the birds. i don't know why i like them so much but they made an impression on me lmao

the slimes are comparatively not good for a few reasons. they come with no warning, and sometimes nothing you can really do but get hit by them. a visual indicator before they are a threat, like a "heads up" ping on the right or a wooden signpost showing slimes ahead would do it. i felt like i saw fewer of them as we leveled up which was nice, and helped with level 3's pacing. in addition, in level 1 the issue is sometimes you're doomed to lose hp to the slime no matter what you do if their jump cycle is perfectly in synch with the jump you would need to hop over them.

here are two things i would do to fix this:
1. the slime warnings would let you know that you need to jump up high and potentially double jump over them
2. implement some way to combat them when your character is on level ground with them. maybe a Crash Bandicoot-like slide kick could punt them off into the distance or slap them into the screen when you press the Dash button on the ground.

you mentioned you probably aren't revisiting this. bummer!!! i would like to see some specifically crafted levels with this rig, because if procedurally generated/random slices of platforming in this style feel good i'm interested in what you can do with hand-crafted levels that introduce concepts slowly. i don't have a twitter but if i make one i'll crawl back here and follow you xoxo

Amni3D responds:

Haha! I didn't think anyone would notice the haggle mechanic. That's actually a left over of how the leveling system existed a while ago. It used to be (SPD, HP, STA, LCK, ABL). Then it got shortened to (SPD, HP, STA), then it just got shortened to (Level). As you can imagine, the shop used to have more emphasis. And yeah, they were specifically designed as breaks as well, and as a way to take a break if the game got a bit hectic. I should really make a post talking about this game's development...

I didn't expect the slimes to be this difficult. They were intended as a level 1 enemy. I'm planning another update, so I suppose what I can do here is lower their frequency or speed. I'm very apprehensive of fiddling with the game's core design here since I think it makes more sense to work on something new (the code base wasn't too hot- was learning Unity in the process)

Micro updates are things I might do. I don't mind the idea of beefier content updates, but the specific format of what I made didn't lend itself well to a kind of long-term development deal. I'd love to make a game with steady post-release content, but I think at least this version of this idea didn't suit itself well. I have a different view of what I think I can make Flow Runner play like, and I think it's a kind of 3D endless runner we haven't seen before. I really want to pull it off one day.

But really, thanks! You did well explaining what you liked and why, what you disliked and why. You guys have been pretty good about this. And I'm really glad you enjoyed it so much.

EDIT: Game has been updated. Slimes are easier to predict now.

[FinalSaber]

Is it just me, or do the slimes always jump up when you get close to them? This wouldn't be a problem, if I wasn't running full speed, and they didn't jump at the moment I react.

Amni3D responds:

Oh, it's more or less random. They've actually been slowed down from what they were originally.
I do think that at a point you get used to knowing whether you should just let them jump to get through or hop over them. I often think avoiding birds and slimes the safe way is trading your stamina. Dash is pretty helpful here.

[Reign2018]

not bad just a bit clunky 5 minute time waster

Amni3D responds:

Yeah, there's a lot I could've done better here. Not enough time spent making the game in general feel good. My mistake was being too laser focused in specific parts of development, and didn't see the big picture. Part of that is probably my lack of experience. I roll with the idea that making something new is the best use of what I learned here. To turn this game into what I want it to be now would require way too much to be redone.

I'd be inclined to agree that it's a "bit clunky". I'll try to do better next game. (but keep in mind it does help to be more specific with your issues with the game)

[Notchine]

Holy shit dude this is amazing! the level of polish you've put into this is actually pretty amazing. It feels really good to move about and the game runs super smooth on my shitty laptop, and that says a lot. The graphics for the items you purchase are really cool and the prices are pretty fair. It's a little jarring not having a pause button but i don't really think it's nessisary considering the checkpoints. The music is really nice too, but a little repetitive. Still, I'm super impressed with this. Good job!

Amni3D responds:

Holy crap, thanks! There actually is pause functionality coded in, but used only for testing. I'll think about implementing pausing functionality in a new update, maybe have a timer to it? There's the issue someone might make a tool to spam pause to play the game in half speed, which isn't fair considering there's a scoreboard.

Really though, thanks. I'm glad people like the game.

[Webzcowboy]

Solid game with nice style and polish.
My head hurts though.

Edit: Removing fish eye effect makes it more playable, but may take away some of the style. Still looks excellent though.
Keep working on it, experiment with different intensities of it.

Amni3D responds:

Geez, on second thought, the fisheye is that bad, huh?
I'll update the game.

EDIT: Thanks! The input is helpful. I'm trying different ways to make the camera work better.