WIP Game - Thoughts Appreciated

Hey guys,

I thought I'd post my current work-in-progress game and see what everyone thinks. It's a kind of bizarre top-down shooter, I was trying to create a strange world, with a retro vibe. I guess I set out to make the Jet Set Willy of top-down shooters.

I'm happy with how it's going, especially the music I wrote, but I'm not sure if it needs more in terms of gameplay. It's definitely not finished, but I'm trying to decide how much more I want to do with it. I wanted it to be a simple thing that I finished quickly so I could move on to other small projects. So yeah, any feedback is appreciated.

It's called The Void and a current playable version is on our website here: The Void

LOL, not bad, it's like a cross between an old Colecovision game (see "venture"), and ZZT. ;)

Ok, some feed back: I feel like I'm sliding on ice, and the character speeds up too fast, so he's hard to control while sliding around. Also, the shots are TOO fast (and they should be destroyed on impact instead of bouncing off). Finally, there's no mentioned goal, so I have no idea what I'm doing. ;)

I gotta say, I'm diggin' it so far. The controls are tight and the visual style is very unique. Like Loaded meets Grim Fandango on an acid trip! I was impressed when I found out the music was an original piece by you as well. Well done I must say!

As far as any suggestions, I have to say I like the idea of randomizing the enemies and such, but I don't think it's a good idea to randomize the weapon every time. I found myself getting attached to a weapon and then getting stuck with one I didn't enjoy a few seconds later.

Maybe you can have random weapon drops through out the level instead. Similar to how you did the enemies, have more of one weapon spawn than another every 30 seconds.

I think this is really cool. Just like RandomFellow, I feel that you should not randomize the weapons. I liked the music too, it goes really well with the atmosphere of the game.

Thanks guys, the weapon randomisation is kind of left over from my original plan for the game (a plan which changed a lot). Also, I think that once you have an awesome weapon then you'd never go and get another one. I thought about having drops that increase your firepower, but maybe one of the enemy type reduces your firepower when they hit you?

As for goals, I think it's just going to be a high score game. Not sure if you noticed but your multiplier shoots up when you're not shooting, so you can sort of farm the enemies into a certain area and then blast them. Still, I've not totally dicounted throwing some goals in there.

The controls feel OK to me, perhaps they should be a little tighter. But I definitely know the collision detection is slightly off in places, so I'll tweak that for sure.

JoyfulDreamer got my attention when he mentioned Venture - man, I loved that game when I was a kid. I love the visuals you have going for this. Very strange, but in a good way :) I'm sure you'll be tweaking the artwork still, but I personally would try to keep the pixel sizes consistent. That will of course mean more unique sprites, but I think the extra effort will pay off.

Gameplay wise, I really liked the countdown telling me what was coming, and you could get some pretty cool random scenarios (like Giant Things and small guns, or something like that). The bullets were crazy fast, but you probably already know that.

Looking forward to seeing where this goes :)

SecondDimension

I'm really liking your game! You wrote the music too! I like it great retro feel. I also really dig the simplicity of your design.

Hey, I've played through the game a bit more thoroughly now, it's really cool. I agree with some of what has already been said in the thread but I'll reiterate.

I like the feel of the game as a whole, the environment and enemy designs are great, the different waves are interesting and it is fun and fast paced. I do agree that the weapon randomisation is a bit frustrating but I also understand your design dilemma. Typically this would just be resolved by having a weapon for a limited time (e.g. ammo or just timer limited), it's always worth experimenting with different approaches though.

I don't mind the bouncing projectiles, they seem to fit with the quirkiness quite well. However, what I'd like to see is a bit more feedback as they seem to bounce harmlessly off of enemies. I think it would help the feel of the game if you seemed to be harming your enemies, there isn't really that sense of feedback/reward when you take down a big enemy.

The controls feel good to me (I had no trouble navigating the world), and it's an individual and interesting take on a classic genre. With a touch more feedback it could feel really satisfying to wade through the weird and wonderful enemies. Good work.

My first thought was Berzerk !, The mouse to fire killed that feeling quickly however, it's ok for a FPS, not a retro arcade game, a button to fire would be nice, but I do like the music and the overall retro feel of the game...

SecondDimension

hi; love the 'Kraftwerk' style music; even more impressed that you worte it.

like the simple graphics and layout seems to give the retro feel.. thought the controls work well..