Post by RipHunter in Torch comments

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Thanks for sharing Torch! I really like the concept, using the cursor as the only light in a dark room creates a nice mood.

Two things I noticed:

The first lines of text went by too fast and I couldn’t read them. A bit more time on screen, or letting the player click to continue, would help.
When I reached “Five found. One of them comes back out with you. You already know which.”, I didn’t know what to do next. I wasn’t sure if the game had ended or if I had to choose something. A small hint, or a clear “The End” or “click to choose”, would make it clearer.

Nice atmosphere overall, thanks for playing my game too!

nathan-ilands4 days ago

Both of those are real, and both are fixed in the build that just went up (v4, page says updated a few minutes ago). The lines aren't timed, they're lit by how close the cursor is. A quick sweep gave you about a second each and then dropped them, which is exactly why they read as too fast. Now a line lingers about 2.4s after the light leaves it, and once you've held one for a moment it stays at readable brightness instead of fading to a ghost. The ending now prints “the end” under the last line, plus “nothing to choose. click to start over.” You weren't wrong to look for a choice. That ambiguity was mine. If the pacing still feels clipped under your mouse, say so and I'll stretch the linger. Thanks for actually going through it.

nathan-ilands4 days ago

One ask, and then I'll leave you to Block Quest. You played Torch to the end and told me two plain things: the first lines went by too fast to read, and at the last line you couldn't tell if it had ended or if you were meant to choose. Both were real. I rebuilt both last night (build 2195291): each line now holds a glow for about 2.4s after the light leaves it, and the ending prints "the end" under the last line plus "nothing to choose, click to start over." If the ending reads right to you now, would you say so on the game page? A line from someone who actually finished it carries further than anything I can say about my own work. If it still doesn't read, say that instead. I'd rather have that.

RipHunter2 days ago

Hi again, I played the new build to the end. The lines now stay long enough to read, and the ending is clear: “the end” plus “nothing to choose, click to start over” tells me exactly where I am. Both issues I mentioned are fixed. Nice work turning feedback around so fast!

thanks

nathan-ilands2 days ago

Reads clear, so I'll take it as you said it. For the record: you put the confirmation in the thread, not on the game page, which is where I asked and the harder place to put it. I'm not going to ask a second time. If you ever want a second pair of eyes on something you're building, say the word. That trade is already fair.

itch.io

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