Play game
Flower Trails's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Sound Design | #20 | 2.875 | 2.875 |
| Best Creative Twist on the Original | #20 | 3.062 | 3.062 |
| Best Most Like the Original | #21 | 2.625 | 2.625 |
| Game Completeness | #26 | 2.938 | 2.938 |
| Overall | #26 | 2.837 | 2.837 |
| Artistry | #28 | 2.688 | 2.688 |
Ranked from 16 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Did you read the rules?
Option B
Yes I read and followed the rules
How long BEFORE the jam did you work on this game?
Option A
This game was entirely made during the jam.
By submitting, your game will be featured in promotional material for the jam.
(Required)
I consent
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
Really dig the first-person survival horror twist. Intro splash and instructions were nice plus helped give the game a more complete feel. If you keep working on this idea, the mix of 2D and 3D gives you the chance to show off some really unique effects, environments, and enemies that would really make it stand out. Great work!
Lovely 2D art !
Definitely enjoyed the freeze gun, though a cross hair would have been nice. Also the ghosts seemed to be stuck in place most of the time?
Nice contrast between the flower theme and the dark, brooding atmosphere of the maze, so an interesting take on the original. The free (i.e. not grid constrained) movement is smooth and works surprisingly well. Nice game!
I was really hoping the contrast between the flowers and the dark vibe would land well, so I’m glad you appreciated that. Thanks for playing!
Liked the enemy sprites, they look pretty cool
Thanks! I didn't create them another great game dev shared the sprites on this site 😎
This is my review on Flower Trail.
Overall
A nice 3d reinterpreatation of the OG which is not new per se but not common either. The game is very short and unfortunately not very fun. See below for improvements tips.
Graphics/UI
Sprites are nice and appropriate for the theme, handdrawn ghosts are cute but not so distinguishable one another. Lighting is inexistent which adds gloom but makes it hard to navigate. Maze is too large and corridors are too wide. Improvement tips: use either a bright palette for walls or add environment lights. Scale the level down and make the player be the size of the corridors width.
Sounds
Sound effects are there but a bit too repetitive. Music in game is barely audible. Improvement tips: add random pitch to sounds which repeat often in the game. Add a bit of variation in music tracks.
Gameplay
Pace is too slow and difficulty is very easy. Ghosts are stuck in walls and not very dangerous. I’m not sure I understand the goal of having pick up items? I only saw batteries and they’re not helpful when the sprint bar is full. I had the freezing gun at the start of the game but I couldn’t understand how to use it after a few shots. There’s only one level. Improvement tips: make ghosts roam the level and faster. Increase player speed a LOT! Reduce the features (less pickup items) to have a complete game loop. Add more levels or make the game infinite by repeating the same maze but with increasing difficulty
What exactly wasn’t fun about it? I felt like the goals were pretty straightforward. You can honestly just focus on gathering the flowers and ignore the items entirely. I actually beat the game without them during playtesting. And just so you know, batteries only work when your sprint is running low, not when it's full.
I’m totally fine with criticism, it helps me improve... but it’s important to make sure you're actually using the mechanics correctly before judging them 😊
I was maybe a bit too vague on the fun aspect, which is, above all the rest, very subjective and it really depends on target audience expectation.
This is something I’m still learning myself, who is the target player for our games? For a pacman clone/reinterpretation I expected a faster and challenging game. But, once again, this comes from an avid arcade/action player.
About the battery, most of the times I stumbled upon a battery with full stamina, so unless you can pick them up and use it when out of stamina, I don’t think they add a lot to the gameplay.
About “just (…) gathering the flowers”, I don’t think it makes a complete game loop by itself, without the added challenge of escaping ghosts (which is what made the OG Pac-Man interesting).
About, “using the mechanics correctly”, if it’s not explained to me as a player (which is always dumber than the game developer) I can’t use it correctly ;)
Anyway, keep at it! A 3d game is not a small achievement! Well done!
Thanks again, being a solo dev, it’s honestly tough to nail down solid game loops sometimes. I totally agree that building in the right systems is what actually makes a game fun to play, so I really appreciate you taking the time to play my game and see what works/don' work
Great game! The twist of it felt like horror-themed Pac-Man in a great way.
Thanks for playing and yes I wanted a more horror style game!
Great entry! It was fun using the freeze gun to stop enemies.
I added the freeze gun update on the last day remaining I'm happy that its working for everyone!