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Corfaisus Reviews: Save Your Mother

This review is going to read like a Let's Play because I took 27 screenshots and by God I'm going to use them. Let's GO!

Save Your Mother
I couldn't pull it off.


Everyone deserves to have their games played and reviewed properly, so I approached the creator of Save Your Mother about giving some much needed feedback. After taking a moment to get myself situated, I fired it up.


Oh goodie, a scrolling text intro.


Why there couldn't be more information per paragraph during this unnecessarily long sequence is beyond me. The long short of it is this: you're a girl named Alice who is rather scholarly and who has grey hair and that gave you a nickname-


Yes, there it is.


And now as an adult, you're faced with the greatest dilemma of your adult life: whether or not to Save Your Mother. You being the good daughter that you are would do anything for your mother and so you set out over rough terrain and climb perilous mountains to reach a tower where a mysterious and all-powerful cube rests, one that grants incredible power to whoever wields it.

The quest begins...


Already having mixed thoughts.


You see, this game was advertised to me as being of professional quality, but one glance at the mapping seems to say otherwise. A majority of the game consists of you worming your way through these straight passageways, battling monsters and collecting items from hidden chests.


Shroom Battle!


The battle system is pretty straightforward and is actually pretty fun once you get used to the real-time nature of it. You see, you're not given time to think your actions through, so if you're not quick on the clicker, you'll be dying rather quickly. What occurs here is that you're put in a position where you have to come up with your tactics on the fly and essentially mash enter until the enemy falls. I did, however, gain the most fun out of these encounters by the way the monster drops loot instead of it instantly getting sucked into your inventory, so you have the chance to run up and pick it up if you want. That small touch adds a lot to the battling process. You can also interact with certain objects in your travels that do certain things, such as...


I'm sorry, but who's talking to me?


This strange, chanting altar that demands a blood sacrifice in exchange for teaching you a new spell. If you choose to sacrifice 10 Max HP, you'll learn a fire spell that deals significantly more damage than your physical attack, making it essentially a must-have for your journey.

So you'll spend some time fighting shrooms and reaching pits that seem to prevent you from getting more treasure or exploring more of the cavern. Oh well, moving on.


A sliding arrow floor puzzle...


This part takes forever. While you can hold shift to run in this game (which auto-run should be a default setting or at least a choice for any game), this particular puzzle reduces you back to a crawl while you slide every which way to where you need to go. There's also a locked door on the other side so you'll have to ride it a few times in order to find the switch that opens the door that you need to go through to get to your next location... a spooky spiderweb cave with a hidden chests next to a guy who's a little wrapped up at the moment.


How unfortunate... Five dollars? WOOOOO!


There's a save point on the other side of this hallway, but that's about it.


UGH! HIDEOUS!


That is until you reach this friendly fellow, the first boss of the game. Spam Attack or your ever-useful fire spell to chip away at his massive health bar and he goes down, leaving you to explore his hideout.


Ralph, I hardly knew ye.



Quest Complete!


You also get an achievement for besting him, a bonus to selling your game on Steam. Let's proceed and meet up with our in-game rival.


Umm...


Who immediately makes judgment calls on us as an individual and our... endowments.


Smell ya later, Gramps.


Not a very memorable or necessary exchange. Anyway, this woman wants the cube you're after because she wants to sell it for big dollars. Clearly the game dev couldn't come up with another reason like Save Your Mother for the rival to have and instead does it for strictly selfish reasons. Okay. Bye.


Didn't know I was being graded.


Let it be known that I turned this place upside down in search of treasures and this is the best ranking I could muster. Second guessing myself I went digging back through and found nothing. Guess I'll have to come back later.

P.S: The fog gets away from you if you sit here long enough, but then becomes conscious of the fact that it's breaking immersion and runs back into place. Something to look into for the next game. Onward!


That's a pretty cool idea.


Interact with the crystal in the center of the map and you'll be swept away to a Stage Select screen. I thought this was pretty neat. So on we go into the depths of Hell.


SQUARE!


Once again, professional level game design on display. Little pillars of fire shoot up out of the ground around here, which you can avoid by waiting them out or wading through the lava, which deals significant damage to you with every step (eventually killing you instead of allowing you to remain at 1 HP, which I found out the hard way). After this you'll find your way into the Hell Cave proper.


Looks kind of familiar.


New tileset, same old level design. Make your way through the cave spamming fire spell on enemies and push a few rocks around to find out the special password that you'll soon be needing. But before that: hospitality.


What's that supposed to mean? D:


Turns out the Demon King here needs help to rescue his daughter while he's off fighting a duel to the death against someone who wants his crown. "Onward!"... is what I would say if there wasn't a demon in the way that we needed to move. Speaking with the people here, we're given a special poison that can be given to the chef to mix into a soup to feed the demon to kill him (because diplomacy is something foreign to demons).

"You're all the same", indeed.


Consumable... Dare I?



DARE I?!


Turns out, it doesn't work on me, but it does wonders for the other guy who chokes on his own vomit and promptly bites it, leaving the passageway he lived solely to protect wide open for your journeying pleasure... until you come face to face with another of his kind.


Is it "Poison Soup" or "I Killed Your Brother", perhaps?


Give this guy the password you got before and work your way past him to the new passageway you've killed just for the opportunity to explore.


And, turns out, I already hate it.


Avoid the cannonballs and proceed to the prison. Try to convince the guard to let the king's daughter go (I had to kill him) and obtain a new temporary PARTY MEMBER!


Achievements!


Turn out the duel to the death that this woman's father is taking part in is happening in the room directly south of the prison. You'd think she would've seen him walking by and shown some sort of concern, but no such thing occurs. Okay.

So you find the king just in time to distract his opponent from their duel and allowing the king an easy murder victory. He's overjoyed to be reunited with his daughter and you two (that is, Alice and demon lady) continue on your journey.

Next, you must cross a lava pool by use of the "Hell Casket", which results in my least favorite part of the game yet: controlling an auto-scroller. Needless to say...

It's infuriating.


Once you've reached the other side (no small feat), you reunite with your rival who offers you some delicious soup to help you not only regain your lost strength but power you up for the journey ahead. It's too good to be true!


IT'S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!




So you start tripping balls and have to work your way out of a nightmarish hellscape of hallucinations and taunting rival heads. Completely normal stuff. Nothing strange going on here. Let's keep moving.


WHY DO YOU KEEP SAYING THAT?!


Once again, despite all my best efforts, I still get a measly 1 out of 3 secrets found. I think I'm starting to see a pattern here, in that it's not physically possible to find every secret on your first time through.

Then there's a scene between the boss of the next location - an Ice Queen who rules over an Ice Hell - and a little girl who might very well be a doll who rules the entire underworld you've found yourself in. I'm assuming all this because I start skim reading everything during this exchange because I FORGOT TO SAVE before shutting down for a minute and had to redo the entire lava pool minigame again.

So you wind up in Ice Hell and suddenly every monster is insanely difficult... like really, really difficult.


Am I supposed to be grinding?


Assuming I was probably just being careless, I started up my game again and explored the caves a little more (found another picture) and fought another ghost again. I died.


I repeat: am I supposed to be grinding?


Nothing up to this point gave me the feedback that I was supposed to be going out of my way to level up, and nothing up to this point gave me the impression that monsters would suddenly start casting Heal on themselves and draining my HP (further healing themselves) every turn, making every battle a struggle against a massive wall that's slowly encroaching on your bubble.


That's not right.


So squishy me hits a point where I can't proceed, which means Game Over, man.


Probably couldn't hurt.


========
Post Review:

It's my personal opinion that "Save Your Mother" isn't of the professional quality it totes around, and is, in fact, rather amateur. There are secrets to find and interesting hand drawn graphics for sure, but it doesn't amount to something we haven't already played before. As it is, the budget that went towards the custom assets of this game, I feel, could've been better spent elsewhere.

However, if the game dev went back and improved the mapping of the areas around the game, changed the enemy AI to make them a little more manageable, and removed/simplified the lava casket minigame, it could be something worth spending money on. Right now, it's just poor-to-alright quality.

Gameplay notes are as follows:
• The intro text could scroll faster.
• It doesn't make very good use of the tileset's capabilities.
• Auto-run should've been an included option.
• The battles are pretty fun when you've made a blood sacrifice to the God of Destruction. Also, picking up items is interesting.
• The Arrow Sliding Puzzle took far too long.
• From the first sight of the spider boss, you know where most of the effort for the game went to.
• "You've found 1 of 3 secrets in this level." Time to go looking.
• The fog rolls away but slides back into place afterward... as if I didn't already see it and let it break my immersion.
• The brightness of the mushroom in the Lava Pit makes it look like something you can pick up... but you can't.
• We went from sliding on floors to pushing rocks. What next? A switch puzzle?
• The bartender used to be an adventurer till he took an arrow to the face.
• I can't use the Poison Soup on myself. What a letdown.
• I'm sure there were a million witty remarks that I missed trying to convince the guard to let the princess go... but NEW PARTY MEMBER!
• The duel probably could've been slightly more cinematic, but I guess it'll suffice.
• Jump in the Hell Casket! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!
• I hate, hate, hate, HATE how poorly the Hell Casket responds. Please don't do this again for your next game.
• Drugged soup... I don't like where this is going.
• Still 1 of 3 secrets on this level? I'm pretty sure I turned this place upside down.
• I FORGOT TO SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE!
• I'm back and ready to tackle this Ice Hell.
• I'm sorry, but am I supposed to be grinding for levels in order to whittle down enemies that heal themselves? No, I'm not about that life. Game Over man.


EDIT: It's April 10th and I just found out a thing about the game by watching an LP. Turns out I got a fire sword at some point and I just completely forgot (either that or the game never told me). We're back on.


Seriously, when did this even happen?


I wander out into the frozen cave with newfound determination.


Ice sliding puzzle with death spikes to get impaled on.


This room is extremely dangerous. I got myself killed the first time I went through here, and the strange thing is, the game remembers you dying but kills you twice for it; once when you actually die and again when you reload. Strange things.


Nah, I'm sure he'll be fine.


Further in the cave I find a dead guy (or at least soon to be dead). I should probably go alert his wife and next of kin.


Yep! Sure wish I could help ya, lady. *walks away whistling*


Turns out she knows just the thing to help: her world famous "Cold-go-Away" soup. Not the name I would've chosen, but that doesn't matter now as I'm instructed with going out to get a fish.


Stick!


So I go off in search of a place to fish. I find one later in the cave and equip my newfound stick and some bait and cast out. Turns out the fish don't like what I'm throwing to them so I have to try again, this time with something else. They bite but the line snaps. I try again and the line snaps again. I become increasingly frustrated because there's no stress gauge indicating that I'm doing something right. I give up.

Further gameplay notes are as follows:
• Watched an LP and apparently I got a fire sword? When did this happen? Whatever, guess I'm starting again.
• Found Bella's husband who's too hurt to carry back but could die of hypothermia any minute. I'll just leave him here. I'm sure it'll work out for him. (R.I.P)
• "OH MY GOD!" says Bella. Nothing says I. Now I'm off to get some fish for her world famous "Cold-go-Away" soup. Not the name I would've chosen, but I'm not the author of this Greek tragedy called life.
• Got a stick.
• No stress bar = no way. Game Over again.

Posts

Pages: 1
Seriously, when did this even happen?

What? The king explictly said that he gave you the sword in the scene where you meet him with his daughter. He makes a huge deal about how it can cut through anything and everything too.


You also don't technically even need to get the fish to beat the game, although it helps. The game told you how to fish too, you need to watch out where the fish is going or their struggle may break the line, when they're coming to your direction is when you should pull to tire them out


I'm sorry, did you turn off the tutorials or something?


This is a game that requires no grinding at all to beat it. But it helps to equip the items that you have, such as the sword and the ring of honor if you have it.


Also you saying spam attack on Ungolia is false, your boomerang does literally no damage at start to her.
author=Tuomo_L
Seriously, when did this even happen?What? The king explictly said that he gave you the sword in the scene where you meet him with his daughter. He makes a huge deal about how it can cut through anything and everything too.


You also don't technically even need to get the fish to beat the game, although it helps. The game told you how to fish too, you need to watch out where the fish is going or their struggle may break the line, when they're coming to your direction is when you should pull to tire them out


I'm sorry, did you turn off the tutorials or something?


This is a game that requires no grinding at all to beat it. But it helps to equip the items that you have, such as the sword and the ring of honor if you have it.


Also you saying spam attack on Ungolia is false, your boomerang does literally no damage at start to her.


Sorry for barging in here, but the OP made a lot of other really good points other than the things you addressed, and from the look of their review, they took a lot of time and effort to write it. Taking some of their advice would probably help your game out a lot. Maybe you have and you just didn't acknowledge it in your reply, but if I got a review this detailed I'd at least thank the reviewer for their time.

Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
author=Tuomo_L
You also don't technically even need to get the fish to beat the game, although it helps.

I was under the impression that you should talk to NPCs when you find them and help them out when they send you off on quests. I didn't have to go out of my way to find the woman who told me to rescue her husband, so I assumed it was necessary.

author=Tuomo_L
The game told you how to fish too, you need to watch out where the fish is going or their struggle may break the line, when they're coming to your direction is when you should pull to tire them out

Or you could add a stress line like every other game that implements a fishing minigame. That, or make it so the line never snaps and the fish just wastes a lot of your time by fighting back.

author=Tuomo_L
I'm sorry, did you turn off the tutorials or something?



Both you and I know that's not an option (like auto-run), so I'm not sure why you'd bring it up.

The bottom line is this: in the 107 minutes I spent playing this game (thank you, Steam), I didn't have anywhere near as much fun as I was hoping for. I felt like this game probably had a lot of promise that was going unnoticed by everyone and their grandma refusing to acknowledge it. Trust me, I pushed for this game, but it left me high and dry on both accounts.

I know you're working on another game starring your dragon persona, so maybe you should let this title go and put your eggs in that basket? Take some hints on what constitutes "professional quality" from this review and others around it and improve on what you've got until it truly reaches "professional quality".

author=Pancaek
if I got a review this detailed I'd at least thank the reviewer for their time.

Nah, he doesn't need to do that. However, if he's unhappy with the review and would rather it not exist (which would once again leave his game page with an astounding 0 comments), I'd be more than happy to remove it.
Sorry for barging in here, but the OP made a lot of other really good points other than the things you addressed, and from the look of their review, they took a lot of time and effort to write it. Taking some of their advice would probably help your game out a lot. Maybe you have and you just didn't acknowledge it in your reply, but if I got a review this detailed I'd at least thank the reviewer for their time.

I read it all but I didn't reply to everything since last time I did that I was blamed for being too defensive.

author=Corfaisus
author=Tuomo_L
You also don't technically even need to get the fish to beat the game, although it helps.
I was under the impression that you should talk to NPCs when you find them and help them out when they send you off on quests. I didn't have to go out of my way to find the woman who told me to rescue her husband, so I assumed it was necessary.

author=Tuomo_L
The game told you how to fish too, you need to watch out where the fish is going or their struggle may break the line, when they're coming to your direction is when you should pull to tire them out

Or you could add a stress line like every other game that implements a fishing minigame. That, or make it so the line never snaps and the fish just wastes a lot of your time by fighting back.

author=Tuomo_L
I'm sorry, did you turn off the tutorials or something?



Both you and I know that's not an option (like auto-run), so I'm not sure why you'd bring it up.

The bottom line is this: in the 107 minutes I spent playing this game (thank you, Steam), I didn't have anywhere near as much fun as I was hoping for. I felt like this game probably had a lot of promise that was going unnoticed by everyone and their grandma refusing to acknowledge it. Trust me, I pushed for this game, but it left me high and dry on both accounts.

I know you're working on another game starring your dragon persona, so maybe you should let this title go and put your eggs in that basket? Take some hints on what constitutes "professional quality" from this review and others around it and improve on what you've got until it truly reaches "professional quality".

author=Pancaek
if I got a review this detailed I'd at least thank the reviewer for their time.

Nah, he doesn't need to do that. However, if he's unhappy with the review and would rather it not exist (which would once again leave his game page with an astounding 0 comments), I'd be more than happy to remove it.

Nah, no need to remove it. I just wanted to correct you, I found it weird how you had so much trouble with fishing and such, the guy who did LP was able to catch the fish immediattely when they just did as was instructed and how you missed the sword. Just reel in when the fish is trying to make its way towards you and you can easily catch it. Seriously, it's NOT that hard and it's optional sidequest. It's a bit weird reason to stop playing.

It's too bad you didn't meet Glamour or any of the other fun NPCs that were literally next to the fishing spot, you may have liked them.


Honestly, I've never heard of stress lines in a fishing mini game before. I don't recall ever seeing that in Zelda.


By the way, that name is not correct any more; you can name the dragon and choose their gender too in the new game. Can't select a species because it calls for the main character to be a dragon. :)
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
Ooo! I just thought of something relevant to the Sword of Kings that you could do to ensure that others like me who might start skimming over important details actually get a hint when stuff that's vital to the game happens: You could throw in a message box that tells you what you got along with a jingle or a chime that lasts a second or so. This may seem like it's throwing stuff in the player's face that's not entirely necessary and might be an open detriment, but when changes occur to the player's inventory that have such a profound affect on their play style (such as making the self-healing ghosts a manageable enemy) you'll want to make sure no one misses out on that info.

That's the whole reason I quit the first time around and why there's such a strange break where I had to edit in everything up to the fishing mini-game later. I wish there was an easy way to also display the item's graphic as well (sort of like using the $ tag in RPG Maker 2k/3), but maybe just having color-coded text for the item would work?


It's primitive, I know, but it gets the point across. Also, I know RPG Maker VX Ace includes some big victory fanfares that temporarily take the place of the current BGM (I used it once back when I was working on Tales from Zilmurik II for RPG Maker VX for the Treasure Chests you could randomly catch while fishing). They'd probably be better if you really wanted to get your point across.

You could also just auto-equip that weapon when you get it.

I want to see you improve moving forward and little things like these would help you in any project you work on.

=======

I'll also admit that knowing the fishing thing is optional really negates the critique I have about it (granted, the people who would go out of their way to experience it might still have trouble)...

BUT!

I noticed I kept missing out on secrets pretty consistently over my journey. Are these things that are kept from the player until they return much later in the game or am I just going blind? Going in, I knew (from the Steam achievements and the pictures menu) that there were things I should keep my eyes peeled for and it was sort of annoying to feel like I was missing out on so much. I like the satisfaction of totally clearing a place out before progressing if at all possible.

I had a problem like that with Banjo Tooie after completing Banjo Kazooie. If played properly, you could get all the Jiggies and Musical Notes of every level in order if you got the abilities when they first appeared in Banjo Kazooie, but Banjo Tooie actively went out of its way to make the player backtrack and I found myself taking a break from the game (as opposed to powering through it) just because of it. It was only because I had an expectancy that I had a goal to meet and being unable to reach it that I felt that way.
author=Corfaisus
Ooo! I just thought of something relevant to the Sword of Kings that you could do to ensure that others like me who might start skimming over important details actually get a hint when stuff that's vital to the game happens: You could throw in a message box that tells you what you got along with a jingle or a chime that lasts a second or so. This may seem like it's throwing stuff in the player's face that's not entirely necessary and might be an open detriment, but when changes occur to the player's inventory that have such a profound affect on their play style (such as making the self-healing ghosts a manageable enemy) you'll want to make sure no one misses out on that info.

That's the whole reason I quit the first time around and why there's such a strange break where I had to edit in everything up to the fishing mini-game later. I wish there was an easy way to also display the item's graphic as well (sort of like using the $ tag in RPG Maker 2k/3), but maybe just having color-coded text for the item would work?


It's primitive, I know, but it gets the point across. Also, I know RPG Maker VX Ace includes some big victory fanfares that temporarily take the place of the current BGM (I used it once back when I was working on Tales from Zilmurik II for RPG Maker VX for the Treasure Chests you could randomly catch while fishing). They'd probably be better if you really wanted to get your point across.

You could also just auto-equip that weapon when you get it.

I want to see you improve moving forward and little things like these would help you in any project you work on.

=======

I'll also admit that knowing the fishing thing is optional really negates the critique I have about it (granted, the people who would go out of their way to experience it might still have trouble)...

BUT!

I noticed I kept missing out on secrets pretty consistently over my journey. Are these things that are kept from the player until they return much later in the game or am I just going blind? Going in, I knew (from the Steam achievements and the pictures menu) that there were things I should keep my eyes peeled for and it was sort of annoying to feel like I was missing out on so much. I like the satisfaction of totally clearing a place out before progressing if at all possible.

I had a problem like that with Banjo Tooie after completing Banjo Kazooie. If played properly, you could get all the Jiggies and Musical Notes of every level in order if you got the abilities when they first appeared in Banjo Kazooie, but Banjo Tooie actively went out of its way to make the player backtrack and I found myself taking a break from the game (as opposed to powering through it) just because of it. It was only because I had an expectancy that I had a goal to meet and being unable to reach it that I felt that way.

No, I can't use messages because using messages would grant the user invincibility so they can stand in spikes or fire trap and not be hurt while having the "gained item!" notification. This was a problem in the old freeware version and therefore messages like that were removed. It was exploit that you could just not push away the "gained this and this" and had invincibility during that time.

Besides, there IS a notification already that shows you the stuff you have gained, which appears at bottom left. The King already did literally tell you that he's giving it to you and made a huge deal about it. This isn't really a game you can skim through details and then later complain they didn't teach you, when it literally did. There's even a guy who will tell you a randomized code ONCE and he says he'll tell you only ONCE. If you will skim through, you may miss it! Aren't you as a reviewer supposed to pay attention to detail anyway and not skim through? With all due respect, hearing that relevation makes me not want to give you any more free copies of my games ever again in future. Which you should totally mention that I gave you one, since you asked me and promised me a fair review if I'd give you one.


The secrets aren't kept by you, you just haven't looked through thoroughly enough. Some have some subtle visual cues like a faint glow at some of them in the mine level.


Hellcasket minigame's problem is that RPG Maker uses 32x32 grid so that's why when you move, if you're already moving past grids it may cause delay because of the engine limitations. The only real solution would be to have a complete pixel precision movement but it could have caused problems with the rest of the game. I scrapped that idea fairly early to production.


Stuff like that are what makes Save Your Mother pushes RPG Maker VX Ace to its very limits, along with the giant, massive bosses that display a lot of emotion. (Literally, engine kept many times telling me that I had reached maximum ammount of possible events) Anyway, this game's also kinda meant to be hard. I'd love to see you try and beat the Final Boss, they're really tough.
Oh no - the developer's comments have totally turned me off from even trying this.
There is no reason at all why a 'Gained Item' notification should grant any immunity. Done as an ordinary event, it will not allow the player to move or do anything until the player hits the action bar/button, which then removes the notification.

I see you have not directly addressed the comments about mapping, which is very much entry level standard imho. Better mapping would also have solved the problem with your hellcasket minigame - you map to take account of what the engine can do (more than you seem to imagine) not what it can't do. I have seen very competent and enjoyable side-scroll sequences that have not required pixel movement scripts. Neither did you address e.g. the lack of autodash.

Responding to a point does not have to equal justifying why it is the way it is and being all defensive. You could say, for example: - good point, I'll include autodash in my next game; or - I'm sorry you didn't like the mapping, I wanted to keep the layout simple because the secrets are hard enough to find without having to navigate a complex map (though in passing I would say that interesting does not automatically mean convoluted). There are a whole lot of different ways of responding.

And I may have missed it, but despite prompting by another poster, I didn't see you thank the reviewer for taking a considerable amount of time and trouble to give you the feedback you said you wanted. This looks ungracious on your part, and will not help getting people to give feedback in the future.
author=IAmJakeSauvage
Oh no - the developer's comments have totally turned me off from even trying this.


Why?

author=littlebro
There is no reason at all why a 'Gained Item' notification should grant any immunity. Done as an ordinary event, it will not allow the player to move or do anything until the player hits the action bar/button, which then removes the notification.


Exactly. So when standing next to a chest that was next to the fire trap, even when the fire trap was going off the gained item notification was literally making you invincible during that time and acting as get out of the jail for free card. People DID abuse this, that's why I did not have these sort of text boxes but instead small notification popups at bottom. In fact, it was one of the very first things I fixed. There ARE item notifications. They just don't stop the game and give you immunity frames.



I see you have not directly addressed the comments about mapping, which is very much entry level standard imho. Better mapping would also have solved the problem with your hellcasket minigame - you map to take account of what the engine can do (more than you seem to imagine) not what it can't do. I have seen very competent and enjoyable side-scroll sequences that have not required pixel movement scripts. Neither did you address e.g. the lack of autodash.


Yeah, mapping is my low point, that's why I paid another person to do some of the better looking maps. I'm mediocre mapper at best. Not much I can say about it, I try my best.

However, mapping really had nothing to do with Hell Casket minigame, it really was due to the grid system. It's also not side scroll sequence, the casket moves downward along the stream even when you don't move which creates the issue that I mention. Making overly complex Hell Casket part (which another reviewer LOVED by the way and listed as a good thing) could potentially even lead the player becoming stuck, which is why it's mostly straight path with enemies, rocks and fireballs.

Really, the only thing that could have made it better is the pixel precision because that'd fix the movement feeling delayed at times. (Because game was already moving down the grid when you pressed left or right or such)

Responding to a point does not have to equal justifying why it is the way it is and being all defensive. You could say, for example: - good point, I'll include autodash in my next game; or - I'm sorry you didn't like the mapping, I wanted to keep the layout simple because the secrets are hard enough to find without having to navigate a complex map (though in passing I would say that interesting does not automatically mean convoluted). There are a whole lot of different ways of responding.


I'm not being defensive, why do you guys keep saying that? I don't have autodash because it would make things really hard to navigate, you'd be running into lava, into spikes and getting tons of damage, plus running into walls constantly. Plus when you have the Winged Hat you'd be dashing everywhere making things really hard since it more than doubles your dash speed.

You can just hold SHIFT or other button to dash whenever, I personally prefer having the option when you can dash instead forcing the person to dash all the time. It makes especially navigating tight corridors easier.

And I may have missed it, but despite prompting by another poster, I didn't see you thank the reviewer for taking a considerable amount of time and trouble to give you the feedback you said you wanted. This looks ungracious on your part, and will not help getting people to give feedback in the future.


But the guy reviewing literally said it wasn't neccessary already few posts back?
If the player finds that they are taking too much damage by dashing, then they can choose to turn it off in the Options Menu - that's the point of giving the player choices. I personally don't find this to be a problem except very rare instances where ultra precision is needed, usually only during mini-games.

I think you need to check out what 'defensive' means. If people keep on saying to you that you are being defensive, you might at least consider what it is you are doing which consistently creates that impression.

As for not thanking someone because they said it wasn't necessary - that doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. It's considered politeness, and shows that you are grateful that someone has made a significant effort on your behalf. Too late now, of course.
author=littlebro
If the player finds that they are taking too much damage by dashing, then they can choose to turn it off in the Options Menu - that's the point of giving the player choices. I personally don't find this to be a problem except very rare instances where ultra precision is needed, usually only during mini-games.

I think you need to check out what 'defensive' means. If people keep on saying to you that you are being defensive, you might at least consider what it is you are doing which consistently creates that impression.

As for not thanking someone because they said it wasn't necessary - that doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. It's considered politeness, and shows that you are grateful that someone has made a significant effort on your behalf. Too late now, of course.


Hm, I see.


Thanks Corfaisus for checking out my game. It's too bad you didn't want to finish it, I think you may have liked the stuff that was about to come.
I agree with Jake, the creator´s reply to this turned me off from playing the game. (my game´s been out for almost an entire year and a 3 star review with 20+ pictures would make me jump for joy! Well, maybe not jump... but definitely do something to show how thankful I was)

Take this game as a learning experience in both game making and PR. Anyways, good luck on your next project! (I just followed you on and Twitter and I look forward to its progress)
author=lianderson
I agree with Jake, the creator´s reply to this turned me off from playing the game. (my game´s been out for almost an entire year and a 3 star review with 20+ pictures would make me jump for joy! Well, maybe not jump... but definitely do something to show how thankful I was)

Take this game as a learning experience in both game making and PR. Anyways, good luck on your next project! (I just followed you on and Twitter and I look forward to its progress)

What do you mean my reply turned you away? What did I say? I mean, I'm sorry if I offended you but I really have no idea what I said that angered you.


I also never ever said anything about the score?


Thanks for following me on Twitter, I need to update stuff there more.
Well, obviously it was the score. If he gave you 5 stars, you wouldn't have typed all that you typed.

It´s like this, critics are not perfect. You can point out one, MAYBE two things incorrect about a review, and that's it. After that, it comes off as being touchy or defensive. Not saying it is, just saying that's how it works. When it comes to PR, perception is reality.

If your critics are wrong, let them be wrong. If your game is good enough, then you´ll have other critics down the road, and some may even passively criticize or compensate for the earlier critics. (this can also work in the opposite direction if your game becomes over hyped)

Long story short, you´re gonna be making games for years to come. Hell, you may even create one of the best games ever made for all we know. Point is, take your hits and keep on moving. I look forward to your next project.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from Tuomo_L
What do you mean my reply turned you away? What did I say? I mean, I'm sorry if I offended you but I really have no idea what I said that angered you.
It's because your explanations sound very dismissive. Like this:

from Tuomo_L
However, mapping really had nothing to do with Hell Casket minigame, it really was due to the grid system. It's also not side scroll sequence, the casket moves downward along the stream even when you don't move which creates the issue that I mention. Making overly complex Hell Casket part (which another reviewer LOVED by the way and listed as a good thing) could potentially even lead the player becoming stuck, which is why it's mostly straight path with enemies, rocks and fireballs.

Really, the only thing that could have made it better is the pixel precision because that'd fix the movement feeling delayed at times. (Because game was already moving down the grid when you pressed left or right or such)

...sounds like you're just explaining why it's stuck the way it is instead of thinking about how it could be improved. The other poster mentioned side-scrolling because it's easier to dodge obstacles coming from the right or left than it is coming up from the bottom of the screen.

Even if you're taking this critique to heart, the way you're explaining makes it look like you're stuck in your ways and unwilling to consider alternatives.
author=halibabica
from Tuomo_L
What do you mean my reply turned you away? What did I say? I mean, I'm sorry if I offended you but I really have no idea what I said that angered you.
It's because your explanations sound very dismissive. Like this:

from Tuomo_L
However, mapping really had nothing to do with Hell Casket minigame, it really was due to the grid system. It's also not side scroll sequence, the casket moves downward along the stream even when you don't move which creates the issue that I mention. Making overly complex Hell Casket part (which another reviewer LOVED by the way and listed as a good thing) could potentially even lead the player becoming stuck, which is why it's mostly straight path with enemies, rocks and fireballs.

Really, the only thing that could have made it better is the pixel precision because that'd fix the movement feeling delayed at times. (Because game was already moving down the grid when you pressed left or right or such)

...sounds like you're just explaining why it's stuck the way it is instead of thinking about how it could be improved. The other poster mentioned side-scrolling because it's easier to dodge obstacles coming from the right or left than it is coming up from the bottom of the screen.

Even if you're taking this critique to heart, the way you're explaining makes it look like you're stuck in your ways and unwilling to consider alternatives.


I'm doing updates and changes to the game and do listen to the feedback. I read every review and comment given to the game. You know it too dude, I mean I did do the changes to the description and this game page based on your feedback. I value all feedback greatly as it helps me improve.


I'm not some big time business guy sitting in ivory tower, I'm a simple guy and I wanted to respond to people taking their time and showing their support for my product. I had no idea that could be seen as negative thing, I wholeheartily apologize for that. I guess it's just that, I used to be a game reviewer on a website that had RPG Maker reviews too, you know? I got so many stock replies from devs that made me wonder if they even read my review, that's why I'm responding in detail to show that I do, in fact care deeply.


Hellcasket was inspired by a stage in one of my favorite Arcade games.



Originally I was going to have it more like this, one continuous long path like this but RPG Maker VX Ace limitations with event numbers was literally getting in the way so I had to cut it up into segments.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from Tuomo_L
I'm doing updates and changes to the game and do listen to the feedback. I read every review and comment given to the game. You know it too dude, I mean I did do the changes to the description and this game page based on your feedback. I value all feedback greatly as it helps me improve.

I do know it. It just doesn't come across that way, and that's why you're getting responses like:

from IAmJakeSauvage
Oh no - the developer's comments have totally turned me off from even trying this.


Basically, just make sure you acknowledge good aspects of feedback. Saying things like "Here's this and that reason why it ended up this way, BUT that's a good point and I'll work on a solution." is important so we know our critiques are getting through. ;3
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
I know you've said time and time again that the game works the engine to its limits, but one thing I thought of that might help with the Hell Casket mini-game is having a scrolling panorama of a lava cave with events on the side as collision detection and have the obstacles be objects that move towards the player as opposed to having them be stationary objects on the map. You'd probably have to scrap the wall of lava that starts up on the final map, but with obstacles and enemies you have to dodge, I think that's enough.

You could also have less than 20 events for the whole map if you space out your obstacles well enough and have them reappear at the bottom of the map when they've reached the top and are no longer in use. Then once the player reaches the intended end, remove their ability to control the character and have the casket be moved to the bottom of the map by an event with a victory handler.

I'll see if I can't whip up something like this in RPG Maker 2003 and share it here as an example, because I feel like working within certain limitations will actually help you realize your game's full potential.

EDIT: Includes increasing difficulty.
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