itch.io

Hi,

@TENEX, is this a game design question?

Hey,

Just a reminder that this board is primarily for support related to my releases.

Thanks,

TheMetalCarrotDev

That sounds interesting.

My “bad game design mechanic” contribution: Action moves require a pick-up item from items scattered across the level. Some pick-up items are big, some are small. Those pick-up items are always one-time use without nuance, and they only enable the same action.

Hi, good to see you!

First off, I have to say I like the concept and all the detail on your page.

I’d also like to say that for a game like yours, I think the overall look of the UI will be important. I wrestled with similar decisions in my game Broken Transcendence, before deciding to keep it simple (although, I did end up with the beta version looking just a tad different than the release version).

Other than that, I’ll say that for myself, I tend to take more of a market-focused, experimental, or intuition-driven approach to game design. That said, I might have one possible tip when it comes to game design, too: there are a lot of games that don’t necessarily go for scale, but gameplay polish. For some games, scale may be worth it, but on the other hand - I wouldn’t necessarily make that decision based on pressure, either.

Hi!

Sure, I would love to give feedback!

So, your tool seems like a novel concept. I think in this case, I’d really want to explain what it does for the average user.

Generally, from a readability standpoint, I think it helps to sum up what something is in a single sentence on the page, then go into the other details. The other details can be technical, but the goal of the one sentence is generally to keep it simple.

Of course, you can improvise (there’s something to be said for going by intuition), but at least - I consider it a pretty good starting point.

Kind regards,

Hi, thank you so much! It’s good to hear from you and I’m glad you enjoyed it.

Occasionally, I do have promotions on my works, as a way to help with economic differences. That said, any payment or donation does help support my work, allowing me to grow, improve existing works, and make future ones.

Either way, I really appreciate your interest and support. Thanks!

Thank you so much!

Hi there!

Apologies. For some reason, I never got a notification for your post.

If a project isn’t searchable… sometimes, there’s just waiting. That said, I think it’s still a good time to focus on building an audience, since the pages can still be shown to people.

That said, since I’m just another creator, any input I have on it is unofficial.

Hi, I appreciate the message!

If I recall… my game Clash On Cue can be played to the majority of songs. A lot of my games are open-ended, allowing the player the element of choice.

All this to say… you’re absolutely right!

For me, I’ll say that the factory on the opposite side of the windmill created a sort of ‘mixed’ environment, reminding me of early open-ended games where there are two levels placed right next to each other.

If that wasn’t the intention… I’d say it could look a little out of place.

Hi,

Really good job on the page. And communicating what the game is about in the first sentence is an added bonus.

Hi,

The new UI feels like an improvement to me. To me, it has a more consistent overall appearance.

On the subject of whether the new UI would get me more interested in the game (vs. the old)… I’ll go with yes. I like it.

My best theory here: I think it’s an action game.

Hi,

I think your page design may work for the style of your games. Sometimes, you don’t want to go too complex unless the complexity makes things easier.

If you’re looking for feedback on the thumbnails, the title that says “Melinda’s Life II” has a lot going on for my eyes. But it’s just a suggestion.

I remember when the ogg format was promoted a lot in certain circles. But these days, there appears to be a lot of competition between formats, especially with game engines seeming to diversify.

Hi Trisani,

Cool game!

I agree about MIDIs. To me, making MIDIs that both sound great and translate well while sounding different across machines… can tend to require a certain oldschool knowledge of music production and techniques (usually that’s beyond just pressing “export” in some program, but maybe mileage can vary).

Cool stuff.

Listing some possible tips as well:

1. A proper options menu can go a long way. (Like with buttons to adjust or turn off sound/music.)

2. Consider the art style you want to use before starting. (Note: Might be more of “me” advice for myself, but I thought I’d list it anyway.)

3. If you use a software framework, see if you can test that framework separately for bugs first. (Because bugs in the framework may show up in your game.)

Looks really cool.

It kinda reminds me of classic PC games.

My opinion:

Releasing small projects before a big commercial one can make sense, because it tends to increase experience of both what works from a game design standpoint and what might potentially be commercially successful - without having to spend many months on a large project just to find out it’s not what people want.

But if a lot of those projects involve simple reuse… the learning experience might not be exactly the same, possibly.

I’d say that if the story to a Visual Novel calls for a combat system… it could make sense. I think that the art style and UI style of the combat system looking cohesive with the rest of the game can help, too.

I really like Ren’py. I’d say the biggest positive and negative to it is that for a Visual Novel engine, it’s a little on the manual side in how it works.

If you can find the page to the product you purchased, it may tell at the top of the screen right below the Download button.

(Note: This might not work for PWYW items, but for those, there’s a different section in your library that lists donations - though, it’s a bit more difficult to find.)

In regards to making games for multiple platforms… I have. I’m not sure whether the problems were engine-specific or not, but they had to be resolved by including the sounds in more than one format.

Hi. My answers to the questions:

• Making sure the sounds are in file formats that work across platforms (where the game is multi-platform).

• Nothing I can think of.

• No answer there.

• Clear labeling of the sounds / the sounds available in multiple file formats.

(Generally, I also like it when it’s labeled whether a sound is looping or non-looping.)

Hope this helps.

Hi. I think Ren’py is a good start. But for my recommendations…

(3d) I recommend Unity or Godot.

(2d) I recommend GameMaker or Construct 3.

Hope this helps.

My personal opinion:

It sounds like you’re doing it well. Focus on the basics/fundamentals first, then take a much deeper look at the amount of content and how it affects the final presentation later.

Edit: Wanted to add - I like the emotion of the illustrations.

Fantastic game. 5/5 stars, all around.

Sharing sounds like a pretty good idea, too. (Some complain about reach.)

By the way… just wanted to say personally, thank you for this thread. Because it asks a lot of interesting questions.

I think my answer would be: besides the possibility to pay for a work, there’s usually going to be that social aspect too - where a creator will probably still enjoy people playing their games (even if it’s the free ones).

Plus, I think things kinda cycle around, where not everyone’s going to be able to afford to support creators at any given time, but the ones who have money and are able to… do. And even some of the ones who can’t pay immediately, might still do it in a couple of years.

For me, I like the idea of seeing games as art.

I think, looking at things from this perspective, you tend to see different qualities in a work.

After all… art can be as simple (or as complex) as an object positioned cleverly where it creates an abstract mental/visual distortion.

It’s really just a small tweak, but maybe a second screenshot?

From what I can tell, some creators who handle payment themselves don’t have it set up to accept card. So, it might not be something site-wide, but rather something that has to do with specific creators.

(Note: I’m also not sure how one would set up card.)

Hi. Just wanted to say that if a game is marked as using AI, it doesn’t always mean it uses AI art, because it can be marked as AI for using AI-assisted code, writing, etc.

From what I’ve noticed, some might also use the tag on the side of caution, like if they make their own art but use a photo filter that could use AI.

From the screenshot, it looks like you’re on a forum profile. If you click “view creator page”, it will display the page in the way intended by a specific creator.

Probably not the hardest, but my immediate thought was Sigma from Mega Man X coupled with all other obstacles.