itch.io

thank you so much!! it's inspired by a similar table in the Thirsty Sword Lesbians system, and i always find it super helpful when running games :)

very cute! the forest took me a bit to figure out, but wasn't too bad once i realized how it worked the pattern with the flowers.

and the game reminds me a bit of this pigeon pit song :)

> why do you think that most jams participants are not game developers?
they're not jam participants. there's people who go play games from popular jams since they hear about them/know about them. you can tell by looking at where your views are from on your dashboard.

> I have seen beautiful, magnificent covers for unpopular games, and terrible covers that shot to the top.
yeah, but it drastically improves your odds unless you already have a following

> what is the average and maximum CTR that is considered normal on itch and steam?
steam idk. 2-3% is average for a game that's doing well on itch i think

> But you have 5000 views
the game is 2.5 years old. we got a huge amount of views during the jam rating period (especially the first week) and then ~0-5 views a day since then. this is likely because we moved off new and popular and because we're not actively updating it

beautiful and powerful. you cover a lot really effectively and engagingly. 

there's a lot of players who look at/play larger jams. the bump in views from jams also helps you stay on "new and popular" which attracts players. my entries to the git hub game off jam have gotten ~5k and ~1k views respectively, and most of these views were not from devs.

other things you can do to make more people play your game is invest in a really great thumbnail and game page. these matter a lot for whether people give it a try when they're choosing between the thousands of games on itch.

5-10 players a day is a massive amount, and honestly pretty unrealistic. most indie games on steam only get like 20 wishlists a week, nevermind 5 a day, and itch is a lot smaller than steam.

in terms of improving based on what people want, you're not going to get a good game that way. it's important to filter feedback through your own design goals, otherwise you'll end up with game that doesn't feel cohesive or have a clear direction.

> No, after death, control of the unit is lost, but if there is a white unit nearby, you can switch to it and control it.

my comment was in reference to during the game (before death). you need to explain the nearby units/unit switching thing somewhere more clearly.

this is really well done and looks amazing!! i really loved the relationships between the characters and how they grew/changed over the course of the game.

this was a lot of fun!! the story is great and i loved figuring out how to get into the silo.

my only notes of feedback are that
- i entirely missed the prompt to plant the bomb and headed right to the train. maybe the interaction text could be a bit larger or the "aren't you forgetting something?" text could pop up a bit sooner.
- it'd be nice if you mentioned e was for interacting -- i tired enter and space and clicking a bunch of times before thinking 'oh duh it's probably e' haha

> itch stopped giving views to the game
if you want to have views, you need to promote your game and cultivate an audience. this can be done by posting online about your game, entering jams (especially large ones), and putting out other games. unfortunately, lots of games fade out from "new and popular" on itch very quickly and get basically no views again.

> there are no users to get feedback from ordinary real players (not developers)
developers also play games. while it is good to get a diverse set of playtest opinions, developer opinions are still valuable and can provide helpful insights :) 

> is the problem with my game being really bad or the lack of traffic to the game?
i think part of the issue is that you don't have a tutorial and that player's goals are really unclear. additionally, the controls all feel a bit sluggish / non-responsive.

> Does it make sense to do something with this game ... or abandon it?
i think that's up to you. do you find this game fun to work on? what are your goals for this project?
i can imagine a really cool version of this if you continue working on it, but whether you want to continue investing in it is up to you.

other notes:
- the game crashes after i die. the first time, my character popped up again but i couldn't move/nothing was happening. the second time, the screen froze on the scene as it was before my character died.
- i think you can't move when other circles are moving? this feels a bit odd
- what are the other white circles for?
- quoting yourself is a little pretentious haha -- you can just leave the quote and not attribute it. people will understand that you wrote it since it's on your page

ETA: sorry, meant to leave a gaming but the jam closed before i could.

even with the tutorial, i found this game very confusing. what is locking? how can i tell if an enemy is dead? i thought they were dead but then one seemed to kill one of my characters? i entered my first combat and thought i downed all the enemies but i can't leave... looking at the codex, i think you're introducing too many ideas too quickly.

aside from that, i think there's a lot of good parts to the game. i really like the interface for moving and attacking. i think the map exploration is cool (although it might  show too much at a time). the art and animations are fun. i think with some more polish and playtesting, this could be really great !!

this is a fun and interesting game! i had a good time playing it :)

> Did the game hook you from the beginning? Why or why not?
Yes, since the concept was interesting and the controls were easy. I think it would have hooked me a bit more if the difficulty increased a bit more quickly between the first bunch of levels and the boss.

> What elements of the game you like / don't like?
LIKE
- when the controls were very simple (just WASD & mouse clicks)
- the level up options between levels & how it impacts the player and enemies 
- the animations 

DISLIKE
- when i needed to start hitting more keys with my left hand
- the difficulty spike between the first boss and the level right after
- the items introduced too much complexity too soon

> Which aspects of the game do you think we should invest into
- polishing controls to be a bit more responsive
- better contrast between map/characters
- simplifying gameplay, especially earlier on
- more enemy types, earlier on
- really ironing out the difficulty curve

> Are there any features or mechanics you would like to see added to the game?
remappable controls maybe?

> Do you see potential in the game / is it worth to continue investment in that?
yes, definitely !

this is really really great. i really like how directly the players have to engage with the content by saying everything aloud (often repeatedly). i'm a big fan of thinking about different kinds of play and that not all play is fun (or needs to be). and i especially appreciate the endnotes and detailed list of sources. this is both an excellent game and an incredible resource.

thanks for the feedback! what you played is actually a few scenes from a much larger game that's planned.

making money isn't always a bad thing, it's more about how you treat people that is negative. characters will respond to you differently during conversations depending on how you speak with them -- this is how we show the consequences of your choices.

something the last scene, were ocean returned, was trying to show was that some decisions and interactions will have longer term consequences. how that scene plays out depends heavily on how your previous conversation went. 
this is something that will be explored a lot more in the final version :)

thank you so much for the feedback!!

we're trying to create a really responsive experience and i'm so happy that came across! 

a brand new UI for the textbox will be coming in our next update, so glad to hear we're prioritizing well haha
we'll also be releasing more scenes with new clients, returning clients, and coworkers as we go on, so if you're interesting in revisiting the world, there will be more to play :) 

these ideas/changes seem really great! i think adding them in would really improve the solid foundation you've built so far 

excited to see future updates :)

everything in this is so spot -- it's so good it hurts

(as a small note, you call the first score "public opinion" and later call it "public perception." i'm probably the only person who was at all confused by this but just wanted to let you know haha)

this is a really interesting idea! i like how it promotes/encourages certain play and makes you consider how and what you consume in the game world. great way to bring certain ideas closer to the forefront of your day to day considerations.

this is an interesting game! there's a lot of good ideas here.

my main note is that it felt too easy.
- you just kind of go until you finish it. there isn't much real friction (which is fine if that's what you're going for, but i'd remove the combat entirely in that case).
- the entire map of the area you're in, including which rooms have relevant items/enemies is all shows from the get go. this cuts down on exploration or discovery as part of play.

my other note is a small QOL thing:
because there are so many objects on larger maps and a lot of the are very similar looking, i did a lot of backtracking to check if new things i picked up could be used at earlier places. this sometimes grew tedious. 
i think you could address this by indicating rooms for which you have all the items you need in a different colour (once you've uncovered the room) or having a notification pop when you pick up items saying "x is now available"

it is fun! but it also becomes repetitive after a while.

i think you can remedy the feeling of repetitiveness by adding more obstacle/enemy types or increasing the speed of the game gradually over time. these kinds of things would create a shifting landscape the player has to adapt to.

additionally, i think the feeling is impacted by the fact that jumping is the only thing that's actually difficult -- you can spam space to shoot and hold down to duck endlessly. the only thing that needs timing is the jump.
(and speaking of the jump, i feel like it could be a little higher.)

i like a lot about this game -- the style, the reactivity of the controls, the sfx -- it all fits together really well! i think some small tweaks could make it a lot more fun and a lot less repetitive :)

this is a fun and cute little game!

> Does the game work on your phone?
it does! but it feels laggy and there's no sound/music

notes/feedback
- the speed of the ghost vs the background vs the flames all feel a bit off. if the flames are moving that quickly, the background should be moving faster and the ghost's jumps should be longer.
- the ghost's jumps feel a bit short compared to the height of the flame.
- if the game gets harder or faster the longer you play, it's hard to notice. this would probably be good stuff to work on next if you want to add a bit of depth.
- if you try to put the game in fullscreen, it just zooms in really close and escaping back to the itch page will keep the zoom. this can be resolved by refreshing the page.
- the art and music are really great :)

overall this is a cool game with a unique concept/theme!

here're some of my thoughts

TUTORIAL
- very helpful and good! a lot of this may seem basic, but it really opens your game to a wider audience.
- the tutorial should explain that there's no floor in the game itself and falling will result in a game over. possibly removing the floor at some point would be helpful.
- the tutorial should provide a basic enemy for you to fight.

PLATFORMING
the jump feels a bit odd and floaty. i can cover really huge distances in a way that makes some of the platforms feel meaningless. this also makes the character hard to control since their movement is hard to predict.

COMBAT
- too many buttons/options in my opinion. especially adding in the stuff with the mouse.
- if you want to keep the combat options as varied, i think left hand movement, right hand combat could work, with attacks mapping to arrow keys or something like that.
- a lot of enemies just float across the screen and there's seemingly no point in killing them? this feels a bit odd.

this is a really fun and interesting game! i had a great time playing it.

here're a few notes from my time with it

TUTORIAL
- a popup window with the tutorial and a "skip" button upon game start would be appreciated it. i didn't spot it until fumbling around a bit.
- you can get rid of the "okay got it" button. it's the same as the "x" button except for i kept thinking it was okay/proceed and closing the tutorial by accident haha
- the instructions themselves were clear and had a good amount of detail. the gifs were very helpful.

BUILDING
- all the shortcuts and controls are great!
- i ran into a bug where the camera become uncentered after a test -- is there a way to pan left/right as well as zoom?
- it would be helpful if your money increased/decreased as you removed/added components to your creation.
- it would be great if the fact you can click on the pieces you can buy to get a description of them was in the tutorial. 

BATTLING 
- ran into a bug where the camera remained zoomed in after a match and i couldn't see my opponent when betting. the camera remained zoomed in during the next battle and also up too high (couldn't see the floor). i think maybe i didn't have an opponent? i lost from going over the far edge.
- the betting system is a lot of fun, and it's really cool to see other player's creations!

POTENTIALLY INTERESTING ASPECTS
i think more options for things to add to my creation & different kinds of matches (with different goals) would both be fun additions if you're looking to add more stuff :)

overall, this was a fun even through i didn't really follow everything that was going on!

TUTORIAL
yes. i had trouble understanding the game / what everything did. a tutorial would be appreciated!
there's already a lot to understand/many moving parts now, so i think it's better to polish what's in the game currently. maybe additional units could be unlocked as part of progression later on?

SINGLEPLAYER vs MULTIPLAYER
i'm biased since i only play singleplayer games haha

OTHER FEEDBACK
when enemies appeared, i thought they were my creations. having them in another colour would be helpful.

this was a lot of fun! one of the most enjoyable defence tower games i've played for sure.

some notes
- the font is a bit hard to head for longer paragraphs. i'd recommend a different tutorial / mission debrief font or a settings option to change it to something simpler.
- i think i accidentally clicked through two tutorial slides at some point? having clear "next" or "okay" buttons would be helpful!
- a pause button/menu would be appreciated.
- balance needs to be adjusted. i was coasting (game felt to easy) from difficulties 1-3. i finished a level 3 difficulty really easy and tired 4, and was absolutely demolished. all my soldiers died, lost all my ore haha. 
- i'm a bit confused about how the contract options are chosen? i would sometimes get a lot of repeat maps.

bugs
- sometimes i encountered a bug where my ore count wasn't increasing properly. one round, i upgraded it and it didn't count up again for the rest of the round. the rounds after, it increased a few times and then stopped again.

other suggestions
- it feels like the part that's the road/not the road should be coloured oppositely (with the not road being textured). this is because the textured areas are very busy-looking, so the single colour sections stand out in comparison.
- it would be nice to make enemy and ally hp bars different colours. sometimes there's a lot going on and it's hard to differentiate them.

this is a cute game that seems like it'd be fun to play! i like the focus on improvement and moving towards a better future, and that the wizards bring a little silliness to the story.

some aspects are remind of The Quiet Year. whether intentional or not, i think you applied a lot of its strengths into a simpler format while keeping the heart of building something together with friends :)

note: i played until the hamster level

i'm usually pretty bad at these kinds of puzzles, but the way you laid out the levels made learning the mechanics and techniques really fluid! 

i feel like there could have been more exploration of the rope/pushback before switching over to the portals. it felt like more could be explored there. 

also, the enemies suddenly showing up and the game becoming turn based combat felt a bit sudden/not well tutorialized. if that's something you want to include in the game, i'd add it more progressively and give it greater focus / more levels to develop.

in the first few team levels, it felt like i didn't really need the dwarf. i think it would be great to focus more immediately on their synergies / how they work together. 

OVERALL
this game is a lot of fun!! i had a great time playing it 

TUTORIAL
- i don't think the tutorial buttons showed for me on my first play through. i only saw the buttons at the top so i just clicked through it there. this made for a really weird experience haha (i'd recommend maybe removing the top buttons.)
- playing through the tutorial properly, the instructions themselves were clear and concise. the tutorial was well paced but could maybe combine a few steps together.

DIFFICULTY
- before i retried the tutorial (and played it properly), i tried playing 5-7 times and lost them all.
- after finishing the tutorial, i won three games easily.
- so i would say it's fine as is or could have more difficult option if you want to add another level.

COLOUR SCEME
- colours are nice but a bit more contrast would be appreciated (especially with text)
- i'd check some colour accessibility sites to make sure it's alright for colourblind people 

this game has a lot of interesting ideas in it. i like a lot of the stuff in creating a scenario!

i did encounter a few balance issues that would make it difficult to play, namely
- rolling a d4 for each attribute can create really unbalanced characters
- a player has 1-4 vitality but a weak hit can deal 1-6 damage, meaning it can take a player out entirely
- boss enemies have 1-10 vitality but a strong hit can deal 2-12 damage, so same problem

aside from that, some of the layout decisions for your document made it hard to read on a computer. most people aren't going to print what you put on itch (especially a 16 page, full-colour document). trying to design something to be read on a computer would help your readers/players out a lot! 

(going to avoid commenting on the AI art since many have, but let me know if you'd like some links to free resources you can use for art. also, jams are a great opportunity to parter with others, so in the future, it could be worth seeing if there are any artists who'd want to team up with you.)

this is really great, and almost too real in some ways. it's the kind of game that i can imagine getting dark fast if i played with my friends haha 
i deeply love the ending.

this is a great honey heist hack! very silly and fun, and i adore the layout.
excited to give this a try with some friends :)

this was interesting and thought provoking! it took me a bit of time to figure out how to move between scenes, but once it got it, it was great.
would have appreciated it a few of the slides were a bit higher contrast, but everything was really striking and looked great :)

an interesting game with a lot of promise! i think the difficulty ramped a bit too quickly (oh boy, the logging haha) but i had a lot of fun! i'm excited to see where this goes in the future :)

this is a cool concept and really fun to play! 

as a small note of feedback, because the instructions on the main menu appear to be the same as on the itch page, i actually missed the line at the bottom on my first go through. i'd recommend moving it to the top (or at least before "Don't run out of gas.") or maybe highlighting/bolding it. it's pretty integral to gameplay and i'm sure there are others like me out there haha 

a really silly and fun game! feels almost like a reverse incremental/idle game in some ways? cool stuff!

does what it says on the tin! very fun haha

while it wasn't super clear how your decisions impacted you (the player character), i did enjoy reading the thank you letters and seeing how my decisions impacted others in the story. i also really liked how the AI/business analyses contrasted with the personal and recommendation letters! 

this was fun and thoughtful! it was nice seeing the possibility of a better future :)

i also experienced the bug with not being able to scroll on the page with advice and so couldn't finish the game, but what i did play was great! 
my only note is that large paragraphs can be tiring to read at times and i sometimes struggled not to skim a bit despite being really interested in the content. i'd recommend adding a few more paragraph breaks to split things up (particularly the electronics section while shopping and the restaurant while eating).

this is really well made! i'm quite bad at playing this, but i had a lot of fun running around and dying haha 

poignant, fun, and really well made!

this is great!! loved the story and writing. i also really liked the irony that coffee actually dehydrates you, oh man

horrifying! really well done! not enjoyable but i loved it haha