JUDE'S PROFILE

Thanks for playing.

author=Pizza
The only section of the game which disturbs this smooth pacing is a prolonged lava crossing which forces the play to backtrack several times in order to build a bridge out of rocks.

I agree. This part feels like a chore. It's actually a vestigal puzzle that got scrapped, but instead of replacing it with something different I just added more throwable stones.

Originally, I wanted the sacrifices to scramble back and forth when tossed into the lava, using the same behavior pattern as the birds except with little chat bubbles that exclaimed, "Help Me!" because I'm a horrible person and think that's funny. I wanted to have an area where you used a sacrificial virgin's head as a platform while she runs across the long stretch of lava--again, because I'm a horrible person--but this created bigger problems with puzzle solvability that I didn't think I'd be able to hash out in a short amount of time. It was easier to just make the virgins accept their fate and be static objects, rather than add new features/code and complicate the level design process that I'd only allocated a few hours for.

By the way, you can grab stones that you're standing on top off too, if you hold Down while pressing Grab, which can help mitigate the problem of throwing too many stones into the lava. Some control stuff was never really introduced adequately. I think a small puzzle where you would have to grab a rock below you in order to proceed would clarify that idea, probably.

author=Pizza
The apparent lack of i-frames on the player character is sometimes a problem, as you can get stuck between an object/wall and a bird quite easily if you aren't careful and lose a lot of health very quickly. This is mostly due to player error of course, but a slight invincibility might have been nice.

Yeah, the only invincibility window is also a period where you don't have control of the player character... I think like 16 frames, I forget. An invulnerability period after that would be useful.

author=Pizza
Even though the game is a puzzle-platformer hybrid, there aren't too many platforming challenges included other than jumping across boulder bridges through lava and one tricky jump in the temple area. This seems intentional, but even so, I think the inclusion of a few more platforming specific challenges could have been interesting.

Yes, there's not really any platforming challenge. There are a few ways to make platforming challenging. One of them is with the controls/physics, like in a Sonic or Mario game, where the player uses momentum to reach distant platforms, but that momentum also reduces your timing window to make jumps and quick decisions, so the game is about mastering your control over the character.

However, I was going with more of a Mega Man feel, since in my mind this game was going to be designed more around the action. This means really tight controls and physics, where friction is really high and acceleration is almost instantaneous. However, there's obviously a big problem there: this game is really light on action. There's only one enemy type and it's really dumb/slow. The only trap is lava, which is largely non-threatening. The level is just very static in general, so there's no timing-related decisions that the player has to make, like having to time a jump between two moving platforms or between hostile projectiles or whatever. This is something I should've recognized very early on, knowing that I wouldn't have time to code and draw art for a variety of enemy types and traps and moving platforms, while also still trying to make the puzzles compelling enough to exist, but over-scoping is always a problem for me when it comes to making games. After all that, the only space left for challenging platforming is with pixel perfect jumps where your toes barely reach the next platform, but that's something I actually despise about old platformers and actively seek to avoid. As a result, I kind of tilted my commitment to the puzzle side of the game instead, but it was too late for too little, I think.

author=urano23
Why do people think that in this game you are meant to play as an NPC?

Probably because the game description reads:

Feel what it's like to play as an NPC behind the scenes!

Beardless Riker is a better character. The beard was just compensation for role minimization. A pretty good trade, from that perspective.

author=Ashes of Emerald

author=Jude
Well, at least based on one of your screenshots you used the Minish Cap pine trees. The overwhelming majority of it looks original, though.

I submit for you comparison.

<a href="http://s1048.photobucket.com/albums/s367/ashes-of-emerald/?action=view&amp;current=TreeComparison.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s367/ashes-of-emerald/TreeComparison.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

This is not a battle you want to get into. I am generally okay with your use of an edited tree when so much of the artwork is original, I was just highlighting a minor inconsistency in your claim. But now you are just being deceptive, which I -do- have a problem with. Do not take me for a fool by posting a deceptive example. This is the tree you edited:

What is interesting is that you mirrored the left side of the tree when painting over it.

Review seems harsh since in my mind a 1/5 is a barely functional RTP romp with unintelligible grammar (I haven't played it, but I suspect Journeyman is better than that), but you present its faults with clarity and maybe they should be considered. Edit: Plus, Emmy did the appropriate thing and withheld an official score due to it being a work-in-progress.

On the subject of circle-jerking and popularity... I'll admit to disliking Max McGee and it probably affects my opinion of everything he does. Deal with it...?

Max, something to consider: Everybody who follows your games will see your bitchfest essay and will likely react unfavorably. To mitigate fallout you should save the knee-jerk reactions and diatribes for smaller, more insulated platforms. Obviously it's better not to overreact at all, but as an impulsive overreacter myself I understand it's easier and more fun to irrationally breathe fire in a 360-degree motion. Granted, I also get over it within an hour and (internally) admit they might be right (but never publicly), but if I find their house within that hour I will burn it down and dance in the ashes. So, what I'm saying is... don't do it on an immortalized review that will be here as long as Journeyman has a game page. It pushes people away from you and your games and often invites even more ferocious attacks.