"Baby Mummy's Curse" Retro Platformer : Feedback Much Appreciated

mazeon

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  • Posts: 140
Hi there,

I am new at the Stencyl community and would like to say "Hello" to you guys first! ;)

Feedback is much appreciated from some "Stencylers" and "gamers" for my little platformer called "Baby Mummy's Curse":

http://www.stencyl.com/game/play/19043

It's a fully playable 10 level beta version.

I am interested in following aspects especially:

- Players control (What about player's physics? Too sluggish/stiff or OK?)
- Gameplay (What about the level design so far? Too difficult/easy?)
- What is good - what is bad in your opinion?

Thank you in advance & cheers!



rob1221

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  • Posts: 9473
Hi, welcome to the forums.  I played a few levels and was annoyed by those bats because their movement is unpredictable.

mazeon

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  • Posts: 140
Hi, welcome to the forums.  I played a few levels and was annoyed by those bats because their movement is unpredictable.

Thanks a lot for playing and your feedback, Rob!
The bats follow a random path and should annoy (but not scare off) the player ... there are some spots the bats do not pass.
Maybe it's a good idea to make a mixture of a random and predictable movement.
Guess I'll try something out ...

dtrungle

  • Posts: 1938
Yeah having random movement for the bats may sound good but it's too unpredictable. There are times where I have to wait for unnecessary durations for no purpose. Another thing I noticed is that if you jump near the 'falling rock' pieces you die anyways, before it even drops.

As for the movement it was good, I feel like the jump could use a bit of horizontal velocity though.

The lives feature doesn't have a purpose, I think it should be removed or reworked. Considering you can choose a level it doesn't make sense to force you to the menu after losing all your lives. Another thing, it depends on taste, but 'game over-ing' the player and sending them to the menu is generally not a good thing to do. While I was playing it was just annoying. Others would probably not consider continuing.

The game was quite polished, I came in not expecting something like this. Nice job.

mazeon

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  • Posts: 140
Yeah having random movement for the bats may sound good but it's too unpredictable. There are times where I have to wait for unnecessary durations for no purpose. Another thing I noticed is that if you jump near the 'falling rock' pieces you die anyways, before it even drops.

As for the movement it was good, I feel like the jump could use a bit of horizontal velocity though.

The lives feature doesn't have a purpose, I think it should be removed or reworked. Considering you can choose a level it doesn't make sense to force you to the menu after losing all your lives. Another thing, it depends on taste, but 'game over-ing' the player and sending them to the menu is generally not a good thing to do. While I was playing it was just annoying. Others would probably not consider continuing.

The game was quite polished, I came in not expecting something like this. Nice job.

Thank you very much for your detailed feedback, dtrungle - just perfect!

Bats:
Yes, the movement needs revision - I agree now.
I'll try something out and hope to find a good solution. My "coding" skills are limited though ... but the result can't get worse, eh?

Falling rock:
OK, no problem to change that.

Movement:
Cool to hear that ... I am still not 100% happy with the movement. It seems to be inaccurate, mainly by trying to do just one little step, at platform edges e.g.

3 lives:
Sorry, I forgot to mention it in the description - the levels are unlocked for beta/testing reasons.
The levels are locked in the final version of course.
In addition, there are plans to do more levels like "Chamber 9" including a checkpoint / camera switch etc.
As soon as you are playing this kind of levels, a live counter matters imo.
(Well ... and I like the 3 live thing for traditional reasons! ;) )

"Game Over-ing":
Nice hint! I'll include a "Try Again" button ...

"Quite Polished":
Glad you like!

Your Feedback was very helpful, dtrungle!
CHEERS!!!






QwertyB

  • Posts: 52
First of all, I really really like the anims and general visual style.
The falling bricks could do with some sort of ground impact animation.

Re; the bats, there are places where their movement sort of makes the level unwinnable (I had this on level 2!) which isn't good.

Something like this will naturally draw comparisons to Spelunky given the visual style and setting. Maybe look at how the bats move there. One way to do it might be that when the player enters a trigger region, the bats check every x seconds and then wait and push (slowly) toward where the player was. So they hunt you, but in a delayed/escapable way.

mazeon

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  • Posts: 140
First of all, I really really like the anims and general visual style.
The falling bricks could do with some sort of ground impact animation.

Re; the bats, there are places where their movement sort of makes the level unwinnable (I had this on level 2!) which isn't good.

Something like this will naturally draw comparisons to Spelunky given the visual style and setting. Maybe look at how the bats move there. One way to do it might be that when the player enters a trigger region, the bats check every x seconds and then wait and push (slowly) toward where the player was. So they hunt you, but in a delayed/escapable way.

Hey QwertyB,

many, many thanks for your very constructive feedback regarding the bat movement!
Exactly what I need now ...
First I was thinking of a predefined path for the bats, changing the lane occasionally.
But your tip sounds great/better: I'll try it with a trigger regions!
I will check Spelunky's bats in addition ...

So glad to hear that you like the visual style! :)
There are still details missing and I wish to have more time for the graphics ...
Would like to revise the climbing animation as well and polish some enemies and so on.
But currently I am focused on the gameplay generally.

Greetings, QwertyB!!!




QwertyB

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Might also be worth experimenting with letting the bats pass through certain platforms (you'd have to use actors for platforms to differentiate their collission from the tiles) so they don't get stuck? I don't know. Keep experimenting though; they should block an area so that the level becomes unwinnable just by fluke.

Also, more collectables never go a miss in a game like this. Humans likey collect shiny things.

mazeon

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  • Posts: 140
Might also be worth experimenting with letting the bats pass through certain platforms (you'd have to use actors for platforms to differentiate their collission from the tiles) so they don't get stuck? I don't know. Keep experimenting though; they should block an area so that the level becomes unwinnable just by fluke.

Also, more collectables never go a miss in a game like this. Humans likey collect shiny things.

Howdy QwertyB,

I will do some experiments regarding the bats ... there are hidden barriers for the bats, already - Maybe I should expand them.

"Collectables"
hehe ... yeah, I like collectables too. But I guess this would go beyond the scope of this game: I would like to keep it simple and just bring it to a satisfying, finalized result. (If I would have more experience/practice, I would do it probably.)
But maybe some simple puzzle elements would be fine ...

Thanks again for your cool reply, QwertyB! Much appreciated!!!


h1rnz1lla

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pretty solid stuff you have here! but whats up with the name?

QwertyB

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hehe ... yeah, I like collectables too. But I guess this would go beyond the scope of this game

Oh, I only meant shiny coins that go "ping" and rack up - standard platformer fare, not some kind of inventory system.

mazeon

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  • Posts: 140
pretty solid stuff you have here! but whats up with the name?

Thanks for your positive feedback, h1rnz1lla!
My plan for further levels is to integrate a little "Baby Mummy" which is the host of the pyramid.
It's a working title I haven't changed so far.
The name is based on an animated GIF I did some months ago ... 


mazeon

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  • Posts: 140

hehe ... yeah, I like collectables too. But I guess this would go beyond the scope of this game

Oh, I only meant shiny coins that go "ping" and rack up - standard platformer fare, not some kind of inventory system.

aaah ... I see!
OK, that's something for finishing. :)

mazeon

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  • Posts: 140
Hi again,

I updated the game and improved the following:

- Bat movements are now more predictable. They follow a predefined path, but if the player gets too close to those bats, they get funky and will attack.
- Pimped and added several graphics.
- The rock inflicts damage by falling only.
- Added an impact animation for the falling rock.
- Chance to reload the chamber after Game Over.

I hope the gameplay is better now ...

Thanks again, especially to dtrungle and QwertyB for their great hints!