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Swimarrow's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity & Theme | #3010 | 2.067 | 2.067 |
| Seriousness | #3208 | 1.933 | 1.933 |
| Enjoyment | #3240 | 1.533 | 1.533 |
| Visuals | #3305 | 1.600 | 1.600 |
| Overall | #3320 | 1.627 | 1.627 |
| Audio | #3354 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Game Engine
Unity
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Comments
you've gotten a lot of criticism. but look, your game is obviously incomplete. but the loop of catching and killing goldfish and piranha is very addicting! it's an easy loop to complete and the piranhas definitely add more of a challenge. maybe work on the physics? and get some more levels and visuals going a bit. this is a fine game! this is very fun, you rank low but have amazing ideas. make more games! this was a great jam submission.
Thank you very much for such kind words! Yep, I'm treating this game as a prototype and build upon it by adding levels and new game mechanics, while fixing pre-existing issues.
I just recently added a new lock & Key idea, whereupon exits are locked and players need to find the key for the exit, which may be on a different layer from player. The mechanic at play here is of spitting out the consumed goldfish, so as to lose weight and float upwards (if the exit is in any layer above the key).
I will keep building and making it as a better playable (even replayable) experience as possible. :)
Unfortunately was not able to make it out of the tutorial. Played for 10 minutes was not able to absorb a fish to gain weight. Read all the comments here to see if I was missing something. I wonder if this is a browser issue? There were definitely no colliders on walls, so I wonder if that also breaks the mechanic. Gave it a good try, sorry it didn't work out. Seemed like an interesting take.
Yes, the missing wall colliders is on me entirely. I forgot to implement them in the final build. My bad, really.
But sucking goldfish in didn't work? I play the game after every comment I read, to verify the mentioned issues (yeah, sorry about missing audio cues, btw) but that always worked for me.
Could you, please, try just once, getting close to a goldfish and using S-key for suctioning? The goldfishes also try swimming away from you when you get close.
If it works for you this time, then I am pretty sure the problem is with lacking UX that explains the mechanic fully. Like, having fishes light up when they are within action range.
thank you for playing, btw. I really appreciate it.
Gave it another shot, same result. It doesn't help that the fish are the same speed as you, so there is no way to ever catch up with them. I chased one all the way off the map. I can sometimes "trick" them by moving a different direction then swinging back, but never once has the S button worked. The movement of the arrow is too imprecise as well, it's tough to get a perfect angle on the fish. Let me know if you plan on updating after the jam, I'll give it another go.
I don't know what else to do.
Here's a gameplay footage I recorded from itch page for LinkedIn. The goldfishes are only half your speed, so that you struggle to catch up to them, but you ONLY need 1 goldfish to sink anyway.
Besides, the goldfishes need to move, else if there's a piranha underneath you while you consume a goldfish, you may land on piranha.
.
I failed to explain that which is my fault, but the core gameplay loop works exactly as i intend, on my end at least
Thanks for the video! That is not at all what is happening on my end. The fish swim at the same speed, and if you do manage to get near them the S button does not work. Again, only thing I can guess is it does not work on Mac for some reason.
Hey there Collider! I have just uploaded an updated version of the game with fixes that (hopefully) translate well through itch. Plus, a brand new lock & Key mechanic and 3 new short levels. If you get time, do check it out. I'd truly appreciate it.
I feel like the people saying they werent able to "catch" the fish did not read the tutorial propperly, I had no issue at all, skill issue ig lmao
I liked the concept, something different from anything I've seen, the fish models look great and it all works as intender
That said, I felt like there's missing something, no music or SFX really take from the experience and it didn't really feel Fast Pased as you said, the whole world just pausing while you turn makes it feel weird, maybe it would have benefitted strongly by having a turn like a driving game just a little more torque
Edit: I went and replayed to see what the issues other people were talking about but, the walls have collision vs the fish and the harpoon moves faster than the fish so Idk what they were on lmao
Oh My God, Thank you so very much for this! I kept replaying the game time and again to see if there was any glitch stopping players from collecting fishes. But this reassures me that that main game concept is not the problem.
I do recognize a major reason why others may feel this way: I failed in explaining stuff properly. Someome UX stuff, like fishes lighting up when player is within it's range could massively have helped other understand.
Yes, you're absolutely right about the missing BGM/SFX thing. I will make sure to update the game with proper sfx and a copyright free bgm at-least.
Oh yeah, the world pausing when player turns was supposed to create a bullet-time effect like Max Payne, but the driving and srifting mechanic could be a much better fit, i agree. I'll surely experiment with that
Hey there DarkSamAki! I have just uploaded an updated version of the game with fixes that (hopefully) translate well through itch. Plus, a brand new lock & Key mechanic and 3 new short levels. If you get time, do check it out. I'd truly appreciate it.
Others have mentioned the wall colliders. I gave it a few tries and I couldn't get the fishes to get near even whilst pressing "s". Maybe adding a sprint button or "shoot" mechanic as you're kind of a spear just so you don't move at the same speed as the fish.
Actually, goldfishes are scared of you, so they try swimming away from you
You need to be close to them, Then suction them with S key
You use W key ONLY to kill piranhas
I've put everything in levels itself as tutorial 🙏🏼
Hey there Standby123! I have just uploaded an updated version of the game with fixes that (hopefully) translate well through itch. Plus, a brand new lock & Key mechanic and 3 new short levels. If you get time, do check it out. I'd truly appreciate it.
It's not a fishing game. You need to gain weight to move down. It's in the initial tutorial text.
You have to suck in the goldfish by getting close to them, so as to gain weight and sink deeper or drill-kill piranhas before they kill you.
the harpoon always falls short
That's actually by design. If it were longer, it would've been less challenging for players to suck in the goldfish or drill-kill the piranhas.
Hey there Ham! I have just uploaded an updated version of the game with fixes that (hopefully) translate well through itch. Plus, a brand new lock & Key mechanic and 3 new short levels. If you get time, do check it out. I'd truly appreciate it.
I think a good start at your game making career.
Stuff i noticed:
But catching any fish was not the objective of the game, as explained in tutorial.
You have to suck goldfish in with "S" and gain weight, or drill-kill piranhas with "W" before they kill them.
Gain enough weight to reach the bottom and exit is the goal.
But I do agree about your point of BGM and walls. I will keep that in mind and fix those.
Thank you for your feedback :)
Hey there JulytheMonth (cool alias, by the way)! I have just uploaded an updated version of the game with fixes that (hopefully) translate well through itch. Plus, a brand new lock & Key mechanic and 3 new short levels. If you get time, do check it out. I'd truly appreciate it.