Thank you so much for the deep response! It's great to get this feedback.
I was the one who worked on most of the level design, and I do think it could have been better in a few areas. We were trying to squash more bugs than push the level design. And believe me, we had a few problematic bugs.
I'd love to take another crack after thinking more deeply about the mechanics and how to push them further, but I think the best way to do that would be to add more scope, which our team just couldn't handle in this game. Maybe in the future, we can revisit it. I know I had a bunch of mechanics that I also wanted to add, that also did more to push the balancing act (one was a 'tongue' grabbing action, that we actually got the art for, but didn't get coded in time); but would require more assisting parts as well.
But that's part of the jam experience, no? Trying to manage the scope, learn about your team (since our teams have never worked together before), and get experience making something new and fun.
I appreciate your response, and thank you for playing!
Viewing post in Captain's Last Croak jam comments
That makes a lot of sense. If the choice was between polishing the level design further or spending that time keeping the build from falling apart, I think you made the right call. The level still communicated the mechanics clearly enough that I could see what you were going for.
The tongue mechanic actually sounds like exactly the kind of addition I was imagining. Not just another ability, but something that could create another tradeoff depending on how it interacts with oxygen, enemies, keys, hazards, etc.
And yeah, that’s absolutely part of the jam experience. Scope is hard enough with one person, let alone a team that hasn’t worked together before. Getting something complete, learning how everyone works, and coming away with ideas you’d want to explore further is a pretty good outcome.
Thanks again for making it. I had a good time with it.