TUOMO_L'S PROFILE

I have been making games since the year 2000, in this time my games have won numerous awards and many of them have been critically acclaimed. I have performed many different roles in game making; from making sprite art, audio editing, beta testing, coding, designing and being a team leader.

These experiences have led me to develop my skills as a videogame developer and it’s an ideal job for me, one that I had always dreamt of ever since I was little. Recently, I have ventured into releasing commercial games including updating my older projects into more commercial and presentable. My first commercially released game is called Save Your Mother.

Despite making games for long, I try and learn a bit something new every time I start new project and love to experiment on new areas and go away from my comfort zones.
Scarred Stars: Traumatic...
Enter amusement park from hell and escape with your sanity - if you can!

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Three Ghostly Roses Review

author=CashmereCat
I had completely gotten tired of the game's grindy nature of its progression by the time I was halfway through the Garden Tower.
This makes me think you didn't get past the Garden Tower at all? That's super early in the game. I doubt it's a good representational review if you didn't get past that early stage.


I am aware but I really didn't like having to fight so many monsters, sometimes literally two steps apart from each other without any way of skipping them even if I'd want to. It really killed the game entirely for me since there were just non stop battles that you had to do one after another.

Save Your Mother Review

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.

Save Your Mother Review

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.

Save Your Mother Review

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.

Save Your Mother Review

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?

Save Your Mother Review

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.

Save Your Mother Review

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. :)

Save Your Mother Review

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.
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