Post by Bedirhan_Adamm in Why so silent here?

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Hi! Congratulations on releasing your first game—that’s a fantastic achievement! For me, this was also my first time participating in a game jam.

I developed "Unit 404," a vertical-screen mobile platformer about a robot undergoing speed tests. I worked solo and had about 48 hours, most of which I spent fixing bugs. I only managed to finish the main menu in the last few hours. It was quite stressful, but I’m so happy I was able to complete it; a technical glitch almost prevented me from submitting it!

I’ve been checking out games from other participants, and I played yours too. I really liked the concept of a wall of blocks moving toward the player, as well as the mechanic for blowing up the green blocks. However, it did start to feel a bit repetitive after a while; perhaps adding some variety—like new types of blocks or gradually increasing the speed over time—could help keep the gameplay feeling fresh. Of course, that’s just my personal preference! You mentioned that you plan to keep working on the game; I’m really looking forward to seeing how it evolves.

By the way, have you come across any other games so far that really surprised you?

stinkyjimmy21 hours ago

Thanks for playing and for the feedback! Really appreciate it!

I've actually played around 10 submissions so far, and what I found interesting is that even though a lot of games share similar mechanics, there are still some really original ideas here and there. And sometimes the concept isn't particularly new, but the execution is really polished, like that pixel-art ninja game set inside an hourglass. I also loved the approach of whoever made that ridiculous game about pissing on spiders and stuff haha. Just pure chaos.

As for my game, I actually wanted to stay as close as possible to the original Kurushi (Intelligent Qube), but turn it into one continuous experience instead of separate stages. Unfortunately, I didn't have nearly enough time for proper playtesting. The speed does increase as you progress, though, and the later puzzles can get pretty brutal!

I also really wanted to implement a proper leaderboard system, but ran out of time. Would've been fun to see people competing for high scores.

And congrats on finishing Unit 404! Sounds like we all spent a good chunk of this jam fighting bugs rather than actually making games haha.

Bedirhan_Adamm20 hours ago (1 edit)

Ha, thanks! And sorry, I didn't play far enough to notice the speed ramp, that sounds like exactly the right direction. Staying close to Kurushi (Intelligent Qube) as one continuous experience is a cool idea, and a leaderboard would've made it even better. Maybe in a post-jam update!

The pixel-art ninja game in an hourglass sounds great, do you remember its name? I'd like to try it, and the spider one too haha.

And yeah, so true about the bugs. Congrats again on finishing, and good luck with the judging!

If you have a minute, you're welcome to try Unit 404 too, no pressure: https://bedirhan-adamm.itch.io/unit-404. It's a mobile portrait game, and I'd love to hear what you think!