itch.io

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback! I could have done a lot better if I managed my time better, but I'll try to remember that going into the next jam!

I love the game's artstyle, as it's really nice and easy to see. I felt that the game was too easy, and I didn't really have much of a challenge at all ( I beat it on my second try after learning how to play ). I did enjoy my short time with it though!

Thank you!  I am glad you liked the art style, as I've been improving my art and animation skills for several years now! I wasn't sure what difficulty I wanted for the game, so I tried going somewhere in between casual and challenging. I also made it so there can be multiple ways to win in some levels, to balance out the difficulty.

I didn't playtest the game with anyone, so I didn't know it was so difficult. Sorry for the oversight... I hope it didn't ruin your time with the game!

Oops... I didn't spend much time on the sound effects, since my brother usually does them for me. This time he was too busy, but I am glad you liked it though!

I am glad you liked it! I wanted to add more levels to the game, but all the other stuff took too long for me to do. I had to pull two all nighters, but I also could have just spent my time better...

Thank you!!! I tried to make sure the game looked nice.

I submitted it on time... Just accidentally did the wrong project. https://idrawcubes.itch.io/moon-herder

Thank you for the kind words, I wanted to add a story and a clearer indication as to when the cubes scare each other ( since no one in the building trusts each other ), but I ran out of time. If I ever turn this into a full game, I'll make sure to add both!

Thank you. I like coming up with simple and weird mechanics!

Incredible story and gameplay, the effort and expertise on display is incredible! The 3D looks amazing btw. Although: the game is quite short, controls feel jank, artwork other than the 3D looks like they were whipped up on microsoft paint and then edited in photoshop ( not good ). Overall 3/5 stars.

In all seriousness, the art actually looks okay because you tried to make it look crappy ( I assume ) on purpose.

This game was actually fun, but I wish it was longer and had more polish. The cookie idea is really sweet ( no pun intended ), and you could easily make a full fledged game if you added more content and gimmicks.

Quick Warning:

If you're laggy and have high ping, some of the puzzles may be much harder ( due to the game being physics dependent ).

I would try to fix this problem to the best of my ability, but I can't update the game currently due to the Game Jam's voting period.

Sorry for any frustration that may occur.

Thank you! I hope the levels were the right difficulty. 

I like making games with simple controls, so that they're easy to pick-up but hard to master.

It's ok and I enjoyed it, but I wish there was more gameplay ( as in more choices and talking to NPCs ) and story ( it's really short and the ending is unclear and unsatisfying ). 

Also, I wish the areas you visit in the game were even half as good looking as the main characters.

Finally,  the camera is way too zoomed in- these types of games usually have a zoomed out camera ( which looks good ). If you were to have the camera zoomed in, you need a good gameplay, story, or design reason.

Thanks, I assume you're talking about the pallete. I put a decent amount of into the colors for people with color-blindness.

Thanks, I tried to make the game feel and look like an actual finished product. I will say I didn't really have time to put something in the background, but I thought the sound effects were enough. I'll continue working on this game after the jam though!

Fun game, but it's really really really simple. Like UNBELIEVABLY SIMPLE. I beat the game three times in a row ( first try ), and I wasn't trying to win the first time. Other than that, I liked the art and GUI.

Thanks! I'll make sure to check out your game and leave a comment.

Thanks for the nice words!

Nice game! I had a decent amount of fun with it despite the simplicity.

For me though, the music in the background was kinda annoying, so I just muted the webpage...

It fits the theme really well, and I like the bird statues making the rules for the level ( and you twisting them ) in order to find the solution.

The character also plays really well, and the physics feel fine tuned ( to me ).

I like the minimalist artstyle, although I feel the feathers don't really match how the game looks, and the text ( while ok ) feels off/incomplete as well ( maybe some proper GUI could have helped ).

Overall, I really liked it and had a good time.

This was super fun, although I found the trial and error part a little annoying and unfair, but makes sense. Short and sweet!

Sorry for this being really late, I got my hands tied with a lot of other things as of current. I wanted to finish the game before writing this, but I wasn't able to...

From what I saw of the first few levels however, THIS IS WAY BETTER THAN THE OLD VERSION.

It's much easier to traverse levels now that the UI is smaller, and I like a lot of the new level design! The levels feel more structured ( I didn't have a problem with the old level design, but it's now far easier for me to memorize level layouts ).

The newly added crystals ( I don't remember them in the older version ) make it easier to know when you need to time travel, and the level design gaurantees you know where to do so.

I have just one small tiny little problem though... The clocks add 1 second, and are usually huddled up... The reason this is a problem, is that if you spend even 1 second to get a watch, it becomes a waist. But since clocks are huddled up, this isn't a problem, since it's always give you a bunch of time when collecting them at the same time.

What's the problem? You don't have time to collect every since watch, and if you left a few behind the first time, the time you get isn't worth the amount of time it takes to get those watches.

But that's just about it. I like the new art, menu, UI, and just about everything else. I can't tell, but I think the player's physics are slightly better than before ( I have no idea )?

Anyhow, I am extremely glad you updated the game, as this had some of the most potential of a game out of this jam!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BETTER THAN HALF OF ALL PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM OVER THE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Thanks, if I have time I'll check it out!

Amazing! I found the game concept fun, and original. A gem in the rough, compared to a lot of the games in the jam!

I would give a proper review, but I am far too tired right now ( and probably wouldn't do it justice anyways ), but just know I have basically no complaints. ( I may give a more thorough review if I have the energy/time, as you most certainly deserve it! )

Yeah, I'll update the game thoroughly after the Jam ( hopefully ). Other than that, thanks for the kind words!

This is three days after I've played, so I may miss a few things... But this should sum up ( most of ) your concerns with my first comment:

Bugs:

The sign randomly rises the level count many more times than it should, which makes it unreliable ( it jumps up randomly, e.g. from 0-14 ).

The coins get extremely loud when collecting them consecutively or in large groups.

The shooter ( cannon or whatever you may call it ) shoots many bullets stacked over each other ( which may be intentional ), but my main problem is that it lingers after hitting the floor ( and stacks on-top of each other ), and if it is above a switch platform, it will continue moving afterward ( leading to it catching me off gaurd ).

Eye-strain:

Gray-scale is important when making artwork, especially for a video game ( since people will likely be looking at it for longer ), since it shows the contrast between colors ( making them easier to differentiate for people who are color-blind/have bad vision ).

For long play sessions, it can be hard to focus on the player as the background is as distracting as they are ( in grayscale, the default green player is the same complexion as the background ). This makes the game harder to play for people with bad vision ( a small fix for this is outlines, but it's more important to first get the colors done right ).

The small checkered background when moved also causes eyestrain, since at fast speeds ( while moving rooms ) it causes a stacking effect... This is a little hard to explain, but: When moving a small repeated texture quickly, it begins to appear as if it is slowing down ( instead of moving with all the other objects ), despite the fact it is moving at the same speed, which can cause my eyes to focus on too many things ( as they are moving separately ). ( this one is the least out of the other problems though )

One last thing:

You don't have to update the game if you don't want to, my feedback is just for you to try and evaluate your future work to see how it may be improved.

This is an okay game.

The player doens't feel too responsive ( as the animation stays the same regardless of input ), but this is honestly really minor.

I feel the camera should be zoomed out, as it feels cramped during gameplay, but once again this is also minor.

The player falls down too fast ( be careful if you ever change this to not make it floaty ), making it annoying to angle your jumps properly.

All of this isn't too bad ( except for the last one ), and are forgivable in my book.

The game has a lot of different mechanics, which ( could ) lead to interesting setups and level design.

But, what is the main problem with the game? Sadly, Level Design.

There are many times were you hit your head while jumping, have a lot of mechanics introduced at the same time ( causing confusion and leading to the lack of experience making easy sections harder ), jumps that need perfect timing and precision, random spike placement, and a lot of other problems that stem from this one aspect.

Quick examples from the first level:

I wanted to beat the entire game, but this was too difficult to do because of the random spikes ( both literal and metaphorical ) in difficulty and unfair level design.

I thing the art is okay, and works for this type of game ( simple scaling platformer ).

I like the fact this game is ( mostly ) in grayscale, as not many games ( if any ) in the jam have tried this style.

I think you did a good job with making the player know where everything is: 

Thanks to the darker backgrounds, simple style, and lack of clutter ( too many things on screen trying to grab your attention ). Unlike a lot of games in this jam, this didn't hurt my eyes!

I wish some of the graphics were more consistent ( double outlines used only in certain places, some things having slight color ) but this is forgivable.

Some of the graphics are unclear ( like the player, not sure what most of the lines on his face mean, nor his outer body ), and could be described better ( through using clear shapes & symbols that people are familiar with ).

Some objects ( like the moving platforms/spikes ), could have been given unique visuals to show the fact that they are different from they're normal counterparts.

Overview:

Nice work, you showed a lot of skill in many aspects, but the level design and graphics could definitely be improved!

WARNING:

Do not take all advice people give you, as it may be biased or simply just not work for your original vision.

Please look through what you may feel is important and is genuine for the game you wanted to make, and any you may make in the future.

You do not have to update your game if you do not want to, I just want you to take any valuable advice I might have given with you for any projects you make in the future.

I noticed this long after I had already published and polished the game on Itch.io, so I sadly couldn't fix it. I can easily fix this by simply making so the chick has a bigger hitbox. I am sorry, as I was far too tired at the time to notice ( due to the deadline of the jam ).

I appreciate you for coming back and giving the game another try, and I will do my best to improve the project ( as I was planning to ) as much as I can. I am terribly sorry for any and all inconveniences.

Also, when it comes to the atmosphere, me and my brother worked tirelessly to make the game feel as good as it does. I think adding in a background, visual effects, more sound, and changing the level design ( to be more open ), can give it a better feeling of what we were going for.

Thank you for the honest advice, I too hope you can one day become a master of "Growing Up North"- my first attempt at a large public project with a deadline... ( oddly specific, but that's because I've made a couple large games before- although none of which are as good as GUN )

Yeah... I made sure to remove every softlock, but since I pulled an all nighter just to finish day two and make the entirety of day three, I was too tired to notice this. From what I am aware of, it is the only softlock in the game ( and it being at the very end makes it all the more devastating to me ).

I will fix it once the jam is over, but thank you for playing the game!

Sure thing, I am busy right now so expect to see it sometime tommorrow ( hopefully ). I've been waiting for somewhat to give me a real detailed review so I can improve my game, so I don't want you to wait so long for yours!

You still did really good with everything else in the game, and considering how you made the last few levels/sections in 3 hours is really impressive ( I had to pull an all-nighter just to make sure my game was complete, and rushed the last few puzzles in the game ).

No problem, I am just happy to see so much work put into the project considering just how much slop was submitted for the jam... I'll definitely check on this project in the near future.

Great job! I left my main views on the itch.io page, but I genuinely congratulate you on making such an amazing game! This is exceptionally better than a lot of games in the jam, considering all the great one's I've played today.

Very nice, this game definitely stands out as one of the best games in the jam ( and I've seen quite a lot of good one's recently )!

The game is smooth: The player is snappy and responsive ( no wonky physics or delay ), and the dash and ground-pound were fun to use! The game is a bit challenging, but nothing felt too bad ( more on that below ).

I kept on forgetting the theme while playing this, as I feel that there isn't much here to do with "To The Top", but stand alone this game still feels great and almost like a finished project.

The game has a lot of interesting gimmicks ( e.g. breakable crates, levers, spikes ), but they should have been spread out more through the game. Other than that, they are extremely well made and fun to interact with, but I didn't see them being used with each other effectively ( combining and matching together gimmicks to make new ones ).

The game in some ways feels like the levels could have been split up more with shorter sections, and that mechanics could have been first introduced in seclusion before mixing and matching them together.

A lot of the level design feels repeated or random, but the gameplay feels so good that this isn't too much of a problem ( since this is for a game Jam ). I also feel that some of the design was kinda unfair ( e.g. random spike placement ), but nothing felt too out of pocket.

The artstyle is an extremely bold choice for a game jam ( 3D assets despite being a 2D platformer ), but I believe it payed off- as the game looks gorgeus! The sheer amount of original 3D assets and decorations is amazing, and looks even better with the extra 2D assets as well. The main character is nice and greatly constrasts against the background, making them easy to see.

Overall:

This is absolutely well made and polished to it's finest. No bugs, no glitches, it's playable, and even has a menu! I am extremely impressed with what you've made, congrats!

WARNINGS:

Please don't follow all the advice people give you, as sometimes it's just not right for you or completely bogus. Try taking everything with a grain of salt and try to see what works and doesn't for you.

Really well made.

I feel there are a lot of things you did right, and things you did wrong, so congrats on making the game within the time limit.

I left a comment ( one of the longest I've made ) on the itch.io page... Sorry if it comes off as mean, I was just trying to give constructive critisim where it's due. You don't have to listen to all of my advice, just pick out what works for you!

This was a fun time for the short amount I played, and the game looks absolutely stunning! I liked the dialogue, and the enemy designs were fun.

This game looks almost exactly like "Mina the Hollower" to the tea, but with infleunce from "Undertale" and "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening... Not the most original, but still definitely interesting (  can't really be too based off of Mina the Hollower since it hasn't released, but it's all I could think of while playing ).

... But I kept getting softlocked which really sucked.

Overall really good though!

I didn't find any bugs I am pretty sure, but  despite my attempts I could not beat the game!

This is an ay-ok game:

I wish the player didn't fall down so fast, as the very snappy movement can sometimes be hard to predict/time.

And I am not sure is this was intentional or a bug, but the checkpoints don't work ( which makes it really annoying when you die ).

The difficulty is good, and the ladders work nicely ( they gave me a feeling of safety, as I could use them to rise up extremely fast ). But, I feel maybe just one or two more gimmicks could have added a lot of depth ( a falling or switching platform, spring, etc. ).

I am glad you controls are properly listed in the description and actually has a breifing ( making them easier to see), although I would recommend using bold for and centering it, usingt it as a header to make the control list even clearer.

The graphics work for this type of game, nothing hurted my eyes here unlike some games in the jam, and the player character is very cute!

I do feel that if the graphics matched the player this game would look way better- but it's definitely fine ( games like Dadish and Super Cat Tales don't look too good, but the consistent style really pulls them together in terms of visuals ).

To explain this a little further, if a game uses thick outlines for the characters, then the tiles should also have the same thick outlines, and even the backgrounds but to a lesser extent ( more advanced artsists don't always use this limitation on all assets, but they still take it into consideration ).

Overall:

For your first game jam game, and having it only made in two days, you did really well!

Don't follow all the advice people give you, just make sure to check and see what works for you ( not all advice give is for you, but rather it might be for the people making the video ).

I've seen a lot inexperienced, and insincere people giving advice online, so be careful ( if a video/post says something like "You need to do this", "You're doing everything all wrong", or "This way is worse" then stay away from it. )