AsterMiner - 10 levels and Core mechanics - Indiegogo

Hey guys !

I'm working on this game about a space miner who works Asteroids in zero-G. It's a physics based, casual game about gathering and exploring =)

I'm currently campaigning for funding on indiegogo

in any case, please play the prototype, you can play the Web Version, or you can play the Android Version.

You can share your ideas and suggestions on the indiegogo coment section, here or send me an email to

Hope you like it !!!

Please contribute with anything you can! if not money, even a share somewhere can be of great help!

And please keep in mind this is just a demo with placeholder assets =)!!! and that the game is actually intended for mobile devices!!

In my opinion the controls aren't intuitive enough. I spent the first 2 or 3 minutes going in circles. When I finally was able to get a bit of control and move around I still felt that the side thrusts were too powerful. If it were me I would work on making the ship more easy to maneuver. It could be the best game in the world but if I can't figure out how to control the player in the first few minutes I will turn it off (I'm not referring to your game specifically, but any game in general). I'm referring to the keyboard controls above. I also tested the touch controls and had no idea how to even move using them. I just kept having the mini-map thing pop up.

I agree about the controls.

I can see where you were going with it. You activate one beam to push the ship one way, and activate the other to push to back that way.

The problem is that it takes getting used to. I think a control scheme where pressing D always made the ship turn right, and A always made the ship turn left (and this was true regardless of where you are facing) may be more natural.

I also ended up going in circles more often that I'd like. What is disorienting is that the controls sort of switch based on direction. Fly straight down and you can turn right with D, but fly straight up and you go left. With the ship constantly changing direction, it's hard to keep up with what direction the buttons will make it go. I have to keep a very close eye on where the beams are.

If I keep in mind that A always makes the ship rotate clockwise, and D makes the ship rotate counter-clockwise, then it makes more sense, but it is still a bit disorienting.

Anyway, it's just a suggestion. I think good controls can make a game more fun to play, so there's no reason not to fine tune it a bit as you go.

I player it on android. You should mirror the controls left and right.

Guys, really, Just make an effort. I know the game must be accessible and all, but I tested these controls extensively among dozens of people of several backgrounds and ages, and every single one of them picked them up easily after a couple of minutes.

I'm thinking the problem is not the controls themselves, but rather how they are presented to the player. The "test players" had me to explain how the controls worked, and they got tips on how to use them properly. Currently there is a brief explanation at the beginning of level 1, but 99.9% of players seems to completely ignore it. However, this version of the game is just a prototype, and the final version will have all this solved. I will make a fun tutorial out of the 1st level, that will get even the laziest of players from awful to pro-pilot.

Please try to get used to the controls a little bit instead of dismissing them as "not your preference". It's not an action game.

I'm really starting to get annoyed by posts like these, and they are coming up more and more often. You post in the feedback request section. You ask for ideas and suggestions. You get 3 posts in a row (which is 100% of your responses so far) saying that the controls need work, and your only response is that we are lazy, the controls are not the problem and that we need to make a bigger effort... Really? You said yourself that your "test players" needed tips on how to use the controls properly, that should be your first indication that something probably needs to be tweaked since you're obviously not going to be able to be there in person showing everyone who wants to play what they need to do. Don't get me wrong, you can make the game however you want. It's your game, if you like it how it is then that's great, don't change it. (This next bit isn't specifically for the OP but for everyone posting to the feedback section in general) But PLEASE stop asking for feedback if all you're going to do is defend your game rather then take what is being said into consideration. We are giving our time to help test your games for you. Have a little respect. Thank the people who are trying to help you. If you don't like their ideas, that's fine, if you do, that's fine too. Take what you want from the comments and leave the rest on the table, but don't just defend your game and treat the people who are trying to help you like they need to try harder to figure out how to play your game properly.

I'm pretty sure I did say the controls need a better explanation. And it was me who said that with the test players it worked because I was there giving instructions. It's not like I'm denying the feedback.

I read the topic after trying the game. Took me about 15 seconds to see what you were going for - controlling the thrust - but it doesn't make the controls any better - an explained annoyance is still annoying. Very few games can get away with annoying controls (Like Resident Evil series - there you grow into the controls and that improvement has a tangible effect on the gameplay - which is neat), but even they don't just invert the standard controls.

If all that's special about a game are awkward controls then probably there's a need to add something else instead.

Other than that - the presentation seems decent, but in this case the low res pixel look feels unnecessary - few games of this style existed when those resolutions were popular and most of them very quickly jumped towards higher resolutions as they became available. Might as well do the same.

When i turn around my tablet it is easier to play. I don't wanna invest more time to learn these controls. I don't no why your game scoll down.

Burvey DrewMelton JamesXXXYZ Somebody

I thought about it, and you guys were right, I did make this thing with the controls inverted, and for some reason it never bothered me xP, I guess I got used to it, and since i tired the game mostly on casual players, they didn't find a problem with it either, since they didn't have a background in gaming to feel there was a problem.

So, I inverted the controls (and in the pc version W is forward now, used to be S for some reason...) and I added a "tutorial" on the first level, based on the explanation I give people on person. So Thing should be a lot better now! The Web version is already up, but the Android version should take a couple of hours to update. Please try it again.

Btw, sorry If I came along like an ass before, I'm really stressed with this indiegogo thing. And thanks for the help!

Thanks Sargas, and I'm sorry if my post seemed too harsh as well. I was just really annoyed because it was the third time in a week or so that I had replied to someone asking for feedback which ended up (at least in my opinion) not really being wanted. So, I kind of let it all out in this thread and I'm sorry about that. I have no doubt that you have put a ton of time into making things work exactly how you wanted and then to hear feedback that it might not be quite as perfect as you thought can be hard. I'll give your game another try when I have a few minutes. And good luck with your campaign. I would love to see the game updated with real graphics and such. I agree with Somebody as well that I hope you will decide to go the route of high-res graphics for it. I think a game of this type could look amazing like that, especially with the different depths that you could come up with for the backgrounds etc.

I just tried out your game again and in my opinion it's 100% better! The controls are much easier (if it were me I would decrease the side thrusts slightly but hey, maybe you're going to have something later in the game where turning tight will come in handy). The tutorial at the beginning is wonderful. I didn't even know that you could reverse before and I really like that. I would maybe add something about how to get the map to show up. I finally figured out that it was clicking on the ship that was making it happen. Before I thought that it was just clicking on the screen and it just wasn't coming up half of the time.

Burvey Glad you like it ! The 2nd level explained how to open/close the map =P. There are a few additional mechanics on the successive levels as well ^^

Nice work so far! I played through levels 1, 2, and briefly 3. The controls are, IMO, easy to use; and I ignored the instructions to see if I could get the hang of them without guidance. ;)

After about 10 seconds I was flying pretty carefree. :D

I think that perhaps a turn-thruster setting would help. Just a simple slider so more experienced players can increase the turning ability of the ship. :)

I also am not entirely convinced of the current graphical style. It is good for now, however, I think there is a whole lot of potential in your game. As for the animations and particle effects, I think they are perfect.

Again, nice work, keep it up!

Sargas oh cool. I did make it to the second level, but then the game froze up so I thought you had the demo set up to only play the first level. Could be a bug maybe. I'll test it out again and let you know.

EDIT: ok, I got through the portal that time so it's likely not a bug. Not sure why it didn't work before, but level 2 was even more fun. Keep up the good work!