itch.io

I don't think I've ever played a game like this before. The single frame movement was very unique! I liked it. :)

I've already commented on the jam page, but this was a very well thought-out strategy game! I left you some feedback here!

https://itch.io/t/4018547/vortexia-a-small-turn-based-strategy-quest-game?before...

The game was very unique! 

General Thoughts

• Every button being the same color as a background made me have to stop and think about what was a button and what was not.
•  It took me a few tries to figure out if I was moving or not.
•  I would maybe have a dot in the Square to show that the player is actually moving.
•  This game has a lot of potential!
•  I really like little information pop up boxes,  when you hover over objects and equipment.
•  why are “orbs” called “orbs”? 

Overview

This is a very interesting strategy type of game. It almost reminds me of a game like monopoly, where every step you take has a boost or detraction effect. 

(⌐■_■) I hope you find this feedback helpful! (⌐■_■)

╰(*°▽°*)╯Please give me a Follow if you could! thank you!  ╰(*°▽°*)╯

In response to your reply to the other commenter, I think it's unusual to share source code ( anywhere in tech, not just here ), for two reasons:

1. Exporting all that code would be difficult

2.Some people spend years learning their craft, and how to program functions, they might not see it as fair to give it away for free. 

3. Beginner programmers ( especially self-taught ones ), probably don't have to best code to begin with. 

If you want to learn to code, I recommend purchasing a book that will teach you your game engine, and/or watch some YouTube tutorials.

Follow Me , please btw. Trying to build a following! :)

What kind of lizard? o.o

What do you mean by indiepocalypse? I thought that was a game jam?

Also, I haven't been on this site very long, but before I started game deving I used to get very overwhelmed by all the games on the front page. 

Virus-chan strikes again.

I had no idea Doki Doki started on here! 0.0

I've never heard of Baba is You, so I'll have to look that up.

Fun game! I posted feedback for this here:

https://itch.io/t/4007028/play-and-give-feedback-for-cat-and-girl?before=4#post-...

Store Page

• Choose a font with more personality if possible.
• The ⇔  is a little confusing on the store page.
• When you first enter the game, I would take out the initial flash of the “CAT AND GIRL”  logo. it's unnecessary if the next screen has the exact same logo.

Title Screen

• The title screen makes me initially feel this game will be about a mystery.
•  I like the flashing effect on the “New Game”  button, although I would have gone with text with more personality.
•  the game logo is very nice, I like the colors.

Settings

• What does BGM,BGS, ME, & SE stand for? Why are they percentages?

Intro Sequence

• I would choose more flowery words.
• There are a lot of spelling mistakes. Example ( “Young girl liked cat” )
• I don't think the two cat images you showed (  The realistic one and the non-realistic one ), work together.

Here is how I would rewrite the intro:

“The girl adored the persian, matted fur and all.”

“ she picked it up and tucked it under her arm, using her sleeve to wipe the mud from it’s pristine coat.”

“You're coming home with me, she whispered in it’s ear.”

With a simple Act of kindness, a whiff of affection, her fate was sealed. “

I couldn’t get past the first level so I didn’t get very far in the game.

I hope this feedback helps!

Follow me and post whenever you need more feedback!! :)

I've never purchased an asset pack before, but if I ever do in the future, I would look for what ever asset matches the look of my game. ( tropical plants for a jungle game  )

I will check this out later, so expect a critique soon! RPGmaker style games are my bread and butter. ╰(*°▽°*)╯

A turn-based life sim ( kind of like the Sims ), expect open world and multiplayer.  Maybe include online features.

Dang, I guess no one knows. . .

This

Type of asset/look, and licensing rights.

Any news?

You're asking mostly developers what kinds of games they like? Are we your target audience?

I posted my review here:

https://itch.io/t/4007922/rush-village-platformer-2d-game-feedback?before=4#post...

General Thoughts

• I like how  the text was framed under an image of the level during the introductory scene
•  For  browser players, I would change the “ up & down “  movement from the arrow keys to”AWDS”. For Windows computers,  the arrow keys scroll the page up and down.
•  I wasn't informed anywhere that it was possible to double jump.
•  there's a tiny graphical bug on some of the ledges. I can see the alpha of your Sprites.
•  How will you  make this stand out from other Platformers with a similar look?

Story Questions

•  was there a story?

• What do you think of the itch.io page?

It was decently designed. I liked all the pictures you included. The text was a little hard to see though, maybe give them a slightly darker background to fall on, while leaving the far left and right as it. I think the design of the background fits the theme you're going for perfectly.

Also, it's always a good idea to try to get a GIF thumbnail for your game icon.

• How do you feel the developer feels (beginner or professional, intermediate and so on)?

Definitely not a beginner vibe, I think intermediate for this platform. Your store page is leagues ahead of any of mine. . .

My general thoughts ( as a player )

I was going to download but I decided not to because of the warning you posted in the description ( about virus ). Even if it's just a part of the story / a game mechanic it still might alarm other players. 

I was also a little confused about the premise.  I assumed at first, the game would take a "haunted education" route ( Baldie-like ), but then I read about a marriage?, and then mention of a virus? ( Doki Doki Literature Club - like )?  These genres/troupes work well independently , but I have yet to see someone pull them off all together.  I would recommend master each genre individually then trying to talk them altogether.

I will definitely follow you, since I think you have a lot of potential if you keep at it. I

I want to see you make the next "Baldie" or "Amanda the Adventurer"!

It's really late where I am, so I will have to leave you a more detailed critic tomorrow, but I have to say, the art is very beautiful. I'm also glad you made it browser playable. :)

The only one that comes to mind is the studio/people who made "Among us". I' sure there are more though.  

What were their games?

Ok. Your profile picture is unironically funny. Made me laugh when I got this reply notification lol

My poor sheep died dozens of times. :(

I love the art direction! :)

What drew me to this game:

• It was the first and only entry to a game jam, so I had to try it.
• It was browser based so it was easily accessible.

 General thoughts

•  Why does the green flag mean play?
• Is the UI supposed to be like a video player type of UI?
• At first glance it looks like the graphics were just picked at random, but the assorted PNG aesthetic grew on me.
•  I didn't hear any music, and I believe that was a missed opportunity. especially in a VN.
• With the campfire, there was a big missed opportunity for some kind of “campfire crackle” sound effect. 
• When the “select a camper” screen pops-up, it would have been a good idea to give each PNG an outline when a mouse hovers over them.  so people can tell that they're clickable at that time.
• The text scrolled a bit fast to read and there were a few grammatical mistakes. like a lot of missing punctuation.
• After I finished each character, the text bubble disappeared. I didn't know if I was supposed to click on another character at that time.
•  I wasn't sure if the visual novel was done or not after completing the final character.

 story questions:

•  Was there a storyline?

•  Were the characters' stories related/connected?

 Overall

 I liked the mixture of different textures. I also found this to be a unique take on the format of a visual novel. It’s  format being it's number one selling piece. The typical format of a visual novel typically includes a large dialogue box at the bottom, with one character sprite to one side. This game presented the complete opposite of that format in a good way!

If the dev continues with visual novels, he should build on this format. I think it's a unique concept!

ty for the warning. I had no idea this was something that could happen?

I feel like instead of asking people what they think, maybe the original poster should make a game about it. 

Positive or negative, game design/development is a great medium of expression .  .  . 🤔

both games look beautiful! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

Why not just study real-life weapons for your  art instead?  I'm sure the artist of those games had to do that in order to design them in-game. That's a much more enriching learning experience imo

Overview

 This game had a nice environmental setup. 3D with pixel art characters has always been something I found fascinating. If the devs lean more into the Five Nights at Freddy route gameplay-wise and they keep working on this, this has a lot of potential. The environment has a similar cartoony feel to a game called “Toon Town”, which definitely sets up a creepy/quirky environment. 

My story questions . . .

• If there's a monster, and we're standing in a hallway, why can't the protagonist move?
•  Where in area 58 are we? Why are we there?
•  storwise, if this is area 58, where are the military personnel? Are they dead? Did they escape? 
• ( I think it would have been a good story piece to have some alarms going off or warning lights, so on so forth . . . )

My  General Thoughts

• The text on the initial warning page could have been smaller and more centrally located.
•  The yellow on black on the warning page was very readable. :)
• The text for the controls, the warnings, and scenario explanation would have been easier to discern from each other  if they had different colors or section headers pointed them out.
• Personally, I would have made the scenario explanation into a tiny cutscene, if possible. Think “Five Nights At Freddy”
•  In game, the screen roll using the A&D button could have been faster.
•  There was a small bug at 3:00 a.m., the text reading “Error, please wait “ and “ Movement Detected” Both played at the same time.
•  I really like the 3D perspective and angle. It made the player feel small compared to the monster.
•  I didn't hear any sound or music, I was playing on browser so I don't know if the music was set for that or not.
•  I kept seeing the monster, but he never attacked me. I don't know if that was intentional.
• I don't think I understand what the function of “power” was, or “camera 2”.
• The environmental art style is endearing. It has a cartoony vibe similar to a game called “Toon Town”, (which I will go over in the overview section).
• I like the small visual effect that occurs when you move the camera with an arrow button.

What attracted me to try the game. . .

• The game was browser playable, so it was easily accessible for me to try.

• The game had familiar conceptual imagery to another game called “SCP Containment“. images like that might attract other players who are familiar with that brand.

I just kinda have that feeling lol.  ಥ_ಥ

My strategy for this game jam is to go small and focus on perfecting one programmatic feature, instead of going for a variety in puzzles. ( which is what I usually do ).

 I also might learn Inkscape, and throw some vectors into the mix, just to make it interesting. . . 

I'm always so excited for these jams!

See you all in Septober.  .  . and may the odds be ever in your favor.  (⌐■_■)

Overall:

I think the game was going for a sarcastic/ comedic route. I was cued into this by the garage levels music and the conversation with the NPC on that level. I feel like the game could have lean more into that route earlier on (  maybe during the intro scene ).  The musical cues worked well when used in this game!

My General Thoughts:

• The game had a visually pleasing art style in places. I can clearly understand what almost everything is supposed to be.
• I like the dithering effect on the set pieces in the dark room.
• The garage area had a very visually pleasing color scheme.  the green NPC stood out really well against the background.
• Player isn't told they have to press “enter” to start game in browser, also “J”  is an  awkward button to be the select button in my opinion. why not have it be “enter” as well?

• The font is a tiny bit hard to read, which makes it hard to understand the intro scene. especially with no cinematic to go along with it.
• There isn't any sound during the intro,  I think it would have been nice to have some music there.
• The introduction Exposition was very long without a fast forward or skip button.
• Blue doesn't strike me as an “alien”  color,  unless you add some planets or star imagery to the mix.
• There wasn't any full-screen for browser play.
• There wasn't any in-game indication that the “J” button also meant next, during dialogue sequences.
• I didn't really understand why the doors and bathroom were so large compared to the player.
• The roads in the garage scene were a little bit  visually  confusing to follow. They were thin in some places, and large in others.
• I was able to climb up objects before the game informed me that was possible and how to do it. That  just made me a little confused.

Personal Preference: 

There were certain words that I feel like should/could have been censored. Such as Mas***** and S**, during the conversation with the first NPC. In my opinion it's important to keep in mind that a little kid might stumble across your game one day. 

Question:

Story wise, why did the showering save progress?

Not a baldi. That's for sure.

I really like the school'ish vibes of the game so far, and the jovial music!

I don't really understand the buttons on the first page. Also, I keep dying on the don't touch the blue page whenever I move my mouse to press the ready button.

Music was nice, but I didn't really understand the controls. I also didn't know what was an obstacle and something I needed to collect.

(⊙_⊙;) ba-ba-ba-ba . . . . Baldie????

This game was really cute, I also like that you included the input map early on. It reminds me of flappy bird. I did find some bugs while playing. There wasn't any sound playing, I don't know if that was intentional or not, and when you jump all the way up you can see the end of the Penguins texture.

From a gameplay point of view, what's to stop a player from just keeping the penguin in the air to avoid the ground obstacles?