I went in open minded, but I struggled to like this. It felt very AI-generated in a negative way: wordy and with weird UX. It starts off with dialogue to read on the left and buttons to press on the right. It goes into a very lengthy description of the combat rules, and before you can grasp them, gratefully, it offers an automatic option, where the voice narration can't pronounce the gladiator names. The combat itself is clean, which is... fine, I think, but there's no real difference that I immediately detected between a hit that connects and one that doesn't from the swinger's perspective. So now I'm trying to follow the sword combos above, the result of the fight below, ignore the voice, and... that's kind of where I gave up. But as per the comment below, it's clearly someone's cup of tea, even if it isn't mine. Sorry I don't have more to offer, but I do suggest cleaning up the UX which has all that intro dialogue so far from where the clicking happens, with separate text to read on each half.
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Thanks for being so honest and taking the time to explain everything! This is exactly the kind of feedback that makes a difference.
I'm completely new to game development, so I really appreciate the lesson, haha.
At first, I focused so much on the combat and the reels that I didn't give enough attention to making the menus and introduction clear. Now I'm working on a better tutorial and making the whole experience easier to understand, but it seems the actual fighting needs some catching up too, haha. I enter into the jam just to find people to test this, i know this has potential if i can polish it well.
Maybe this still won't be your kind of game, and that's perfectly fine. But I hope you'll get a chance to try it again when the next update is out!
I'm curious about one thing, though. Do you think the core concept has potential? Could you see yourself watching and betting on fictional gladiator fights if the experience were more polished?
Thanks again for being so frank with me!
A game where you bet on outcomes? That is absolutely my jam.
As a kid I played Hot Dog Vendor, a text based game on early PCs where you buy supplies for your stadium hot dog cart guessing based on weather and if it's a big game day or not and stuff like that, and you make or lose money each guess. No fancy UI, mostly just luck, and I loved it. I remember if decades later.
I also think your game suggests something else going for it: plot. The woman who gives you the money initially suggests a wider story and something more than just betting. I wouldn't drop that even if it's not part of the core mechanic you're exploring first. It is some of what initially pulls me in.
Haha, that's pretty close to what I'm looking for! And Lady Luck is staying! She's at the heart of this world, along with chance and luck. I want the characters and stories to bring the world to life, but the battles should be fun on their own.
I'm a bit ambitious, haha. I'd love to have people watching the same gladiator fights and betting against each other, almost like a fictional sport.
And like you said, I don't need a fancy UI, but it definitely needs to be understandable, haha.
Once the jam ends, I'll release the new update. Hope you get a chance to check it out!