XBUSTER'S PROFILE

Game developer and multi-content creator. Most works are Wonder Boy-related. Make your dreams into reality!
Shantae and Asha:Dream F...
A Monster World 4 sequel and crossover

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Concern: Is my project difficult to understand?

author=Pancaek
Honestly, whether your game is actually good or bad, I probably wouldn't listen to a word of what they said in the video. These guys are trying to be entertaining. The criticism they gave is to benefit themselves rather than your game.

No, the video doesn't emulate how a person first playing your game may act, because usually your players aren't going to try and entertain anyone but themselves. Some lets players often do stupid things in the game and whatnot on purpose for the sake of trying to be funny.

Criticism is extremely important, but don't get it from these guys. Look for actual playtesters and reviewers and get feedback from them.


You have very strong point. I realize now what this was meant to be, though as Red_Nova suggested, their reactions and overall feedback are valuable in a sense. I watched another youtuber play it for the first time and they had a perfect run on the 1-1 stage. No damage or issues whatsoever. It goes to show that there are different leagues of gamers out there as well as people who are new to the series.

Sometimes, making a game is like the ultimate tug of war. You have people that say one thing, and another person has the opposite feeling. Its very challenging trying to create a balance that will feel natural.

Concern: Is my project difficult to understand?

Very helpful feedback. The screen options can easily be done by pressing F4 or changing them in the start menu that can be accessed both in the options menu and the main menu. I probably should have had made that clear in the previews before starting the game. I also forgot that F1 opens the game's information and all controls. That also would have been useful.

But here is a video that displays both option screens. Pause at 00:32. or 00:56

As for the controls, This is how the Monster World games(except Monster World 4) usually begin. You have a set speed at first, but you accelerate very quickly to your max speed.By equipping certain items, you are able to upgrade and freely control how your character plays. If your character has a max speed of 4, they will accelerate by 1 until they reach 4(which is much less than a second).

If you were to equip the stop boots with the accelerate boots, you will create in instant stop/fast acceleration game play similar to that of Mega Man. You'll almost instantly reach your max speed and be able to stop on a dime. Also, the feeling stuck thing must be the friction value I set. In order for your character to stop rather quickly, they have to have a force that stops them as you let go of the directional buttons.

And yes, the escape button is supposed to close the game. However, I can set that function off and leave it to the (X) in the upper right hand corner. The main buttons for everything are explained in both the control section and the manual that came with the game.


Concern: Is my project difficult to understand?

I couldn't agree more. Though, even though this specific level wasn't included, there was a tutorial level that was in a previous demo, but was removed because the game was going through some severe changes. In the video below, fast forward to 11:36 and that is the true fist level of the game. Although, It still seems to have a bit of content in it. World 1-1 as seen in the other video is technically 1-5 in a sense if you count the introductory levels that are shown as Stage 0-X.


I know its strange to have a world 0, but I didn't know what else to call them at the time. When the project continues, I'll try to create a introductory level that consists of several training rooms that teach you how to do several things specific to that room(like a puzzle platformer). Of course this would be optional and could be played at any given time.

Thank you for the awesome feedback!

Bonus points for the first sentence as well XD. I'll do my best to cater to both platform veterans and newcomers.

Concern: Is my project difficult to understand?

Oh! Sorry for the confusion. There are tutorial levels that have flat planes and only weak monsters. The tutorial I was speaking of is the text dump you mentioned. I did have a level in the past that had you read optional signs on how to play similar to the text blocks in Super Mario World.

As you mentioned, they did learn a lot of what to do simply by playing the game. This is the kind of feedback I've been waiting for in this specific release. Developers will continue to do things a certain way until they are corrected or given direction on how to improve. Oh, and thanks for mentioning the hitbox thing. The character uses a short sword, but I do think it could be lengthened just a tiny bit.

Learning to balance everything is a challenge. I've learned that there are lots of new people coming into every genre of game daily. Not everyone will react like developers think they would. Seeing this put me into a whole different perspective of players' minds. I'll use this to improve on level design and all that surrounds it.

Concern: Is my project difficult to understand?

author=Red_Nova
Their feedback is incredibly valuable, and you should not ever, EVER, dismiss it. If you don't want to listen to their words, look at their actions. What they DO in your game tells you way more than what they say, even though they said a lot of helpful things.

I watched the video. You've definitely got WAY too much going on for the first level of the game. Before the player even knows how to play the game, they are confronted with pits, an enemy that takes almost half your health in one shot yet needs 4 hits to kill, and an open level with plenty of potentially missable objects. These are things I would expect out of, say, level 1-3 or 1-4. Not when the player is still trying to figure out what they're doing.

Yeah, they struggled, but I promise you it's not because of them. This is a terrible, terrible first level for any player, regardless of whether or not they played the games you're paying tribute to. You need a new stage 1-1 that's more linear and presents a single, easy enemy type to allow players to get acclimated to the controls. Otherwise, expect way more reactions like this.


Indeed. I felt what they said was incredibly valuable as well. One of my mistakes for this demo was letting them experience too many stages they aren't supposed to be at yet and reduced the initial HP from 100 to 30.

I also noticed some glitches where the player could jump or attack even before the stage began. As for stage 1-1, I see there are some tweaks that need to be done here and there as seen in the video, but World 1-1 isn't the first stage. There are more a few linear tutorial stages before this one. I guess the problem with that was trying to make stages have more layers and be more open early on.

Its like the other users said in a different topic, what is easy to someone else may be difficult to another. This was very helpful because it gives me the views of people who are new to this. The things they did and said were very helpful. .

The only think I can think of doing now is adding a tutorial level that will stop you and tell you how things work in-game. I can add a manual and control views all I want, but not everyone is going to read those.

Thanks for the insight Red_Nova



Concern: Is my project difficult to understand?

author=Necrile
No, honestly it seems like they were complaining about your game to be 'funny', you can tell they are trying to emulate game grumps even down to their intro. I wouldn't give their feedback a second thought, to be honest.


Oh! I see what you mean. Even so, when watching, it emulates what a person who has never played it before may act. Of course its impossible to please everyone when it comes to challenge. Good catch too. I wasn't even thinking about the Game Grumps thing.

Concern: Is my project difficult to understand?

Hello everyone, I have a serious question and its recently been bothering me. Is my project difficult to understand?

Recently I came across a video seeing how an ordinary person would come across playing it and was a bit dumbfounded on why people fail at learning how to play something instead of diving in expecting to know what to do and getting yourself killed.

When this topic was made, everyone had some great pointers on difficulty in several areas. They suggested lots of good stuff to the user and gave lots of possibilities. However, I'm not sure how much clearer I could make my project. I've included a Manual that teaches you about most of the game up to this point and also included a controls viewer in the game. How much lower should I go? Make a "No Damage" Mode for players?

People today complain about games including Tutorials for you, but now I realize, those should be a requirement because some people need to have tutorials fed to them. Of course optional tutorials are always the best. Now, the video I'm about to show you is one of recent. I've already picked out everything I believe should be addressed, but I'd like to hear what you guys have in mind or would like to say as well.


Feedback is what curves out every developers' road to success even if it was in a comedic matter or a serious one. If you have played the recent demo, were there any issues in any category you would like to address? Thank you:)

Back on production!

author=ZombieMonkey
Glad to hear your Hard Drive was ok, I just played your demo, Wonderboy in monster world is one of my favourite games of all time so this was a pleasure to play!
I've been trying to build something similar in gamemaker myself but I'm having a nightmare with it, enemy AI has given me a massive headache!

I'll look forward to playing more of it as it develops! :)


That's great to hear:) Its one of my favourites as well. I've beaten it so many times just to learn everything about it. If you need help with anything in game maker, I'd be more than happy to help. I have every resource from every game in the series including the Dynastic Hero.

However,as of recently, the hard drive failed and I'll be getting a brand new one soon. I've had the laptop since my first job back in 2013. I guess it was time for a new one anyways. Luckily, everything is on my flash drive so all is safe.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the game. The hardest part about building this is trying to combine 4 genres into one all while bringing the best aspects of the franchise and my favorite series into one. At heart its a platformer, but adventure, action, and RPG play a huge role as well. The content seen is this demo however, is about a good 5% of the full game.

If you are having any issues, let me know what you need help with. MWL has over 15 enemy AI agents. Monsters that fly, walk, chase, attack when near, block, etc.

By the way, how did you enjoy the demo? Did you run into any issues, bugs, or difficulty balances?

Back on production!

No kidding XD I wasn't expecting it to even fix itself. Not going to mess up this time. Backups are being made now as we speak. Its like you said man, taking a break was a good thing. It helped me become stronger in the development of the game.

While it was on hiatus, I developed parts of it in my head and was actually going to write down a lot of things right when it fixed. More artwork is planned to be shown as well. The main villain is in development, characters, and the overall story of how everyone ends up meeting each other.

I hope you will all like it when new concepts are revealed.

Sonic Generations: The Lost Zones

Indeed. All the stuff is backed up on a flash drive. It's the personal stuff I'm upset about. Music, games, family photos and all that good stuff. Luckily, i work from a flash drive. I always knew this thing would die one day.