Hello! For the record, I had stumbled upon your account during Brackeys 2022.2, and noticed this game; I was intrigued and thought I would play, which I am finally doing. :) I also noticed you were happy someone commented on the game jam page, so, here is a second playtester! :)
Semi-on-the-fly remarks:
Staying in the menu for the complete music: wow, it is at the same time soothing, majestic, and orchestral! And quite long!
small misspellings: ‘recived’ -> ‘received’, ‘goverment’ -> ‘government’, ‘they’ -> ‘They’… (I know this is a detail, but neat language can make a good impression!)
I really like the whole cinematic introduction, the dramatisation is great, with the little animations and the fades, and once again, the music adds a lot.
Starting the propre game: wow, nice other music!!
Wow, reading time! ;)
I like that the scene is presented through interactive objects.
Nice that the manual stays on the page you left it at!
In-game music is a bit loud (especially since focus is needed!); I think a volume option would be nice.
Checking the game over screen: nice choice of music too.
A thought: the concept of having a comprehensive manual is interesting, but I almost feel like having it printed and at your disposal physically would help (I see VincentFoulon thought about it too!). There is so much to read!
Checking the planets screen: nice names, did you invent them or use some name generator? :)
Computer clock: purely decorative? You could have the handles move as time passes by, for even more immersion. :) (later: spoiler: understood, but my advice still stands XD Although it could be misleading?)
I wonder if you could do away with the timer; there is already quite a lot to do, and I think the game would still be interesting and challenging without it. Or maybe have the timer for hard mode only?
I realize the music comes to the end of its loop right at the end of the timer! On purpose? Nice detail. :)
Size: I do not get how to perform the name->number translation step… :o
Air and water: got it by trying, but things are not that simple upon merely reading the manual beforehand! X) I also like how you inserted ‘useless’ details for the telescope report, and the latency for the results from top to bottom. :)
Cable(s): after getting the blue cable, I get no cable in my next run, and I think the ‘no-cable’ situation is misleading to players if you did not get where cables would be and what they would look like; I would suggest not having this situation. (Also: not found the lamp yet. X) Later: found it, but I was stupidly trying to click on it way before!! XD Silly me.)
Not obvious to distinguish light blue and light purple? May be just me.
Oh, the laptop code changes! :) I had the same one two other times, and so I thought it would not change.
Weird, only three numbers to enter instead of four, this time!
I notice the lamp changes too! I was unlucky before, it was always red, which is why I thought it was only a cosmetic detail. X)
Not so obvious on the planets screen to distinguish between some medium- and small-sized planets, I think.
Won! :D But on my successful run, I did not need the water and air property; maybe you could make it so that the player has to achieve the three sub-riddles?
Victory music is sweet, but less majestic compared to the other ones, especially the introduction. Still, I like that rocket!
Takeaway: agreed with VincentFoulon, the whole ‘figure-it-out-yourself’ spirit is great, although SOME explanations are unclear. And I also thought like him that converting the planets to numbers was a tricky one. I think the water and air part is the most straightforward, although some may think the lamp and cables one is (it depends on whether you notice the right thing, and if you do not get the ‘no cables’ situation!). Music was excellent and immersive! And I also loved the whole narration and setting with interactive objects, it makes the player engaged in what he is doing. Thinking about the timer, I think it IS useful in the end, because it makes sure through randomisation that the player has figured out each riddle for himself and can then solve everything (or enough :p) in a single run. (I expect almost no one would make it in the first run, I was puzzled then! X)) I forgot to say the graphics are cute, especially the planets (and starry background); they have a ‘flat 2D’ appearance that somehow reminds me of some mobiles hung to the ceiling. :) As a last piece of advice, I think putting sounds would add to the experience and immersive atmosphere.
Thanks for the brain-teaser, at first, I was like a deer in the headlights, but it ended up being manageable! :)
Thank you so much for trying my game! and for the well thought out comment!
You don't know how happy it makes me to see this old game of mine get played! I made it when i was just starting out as a developer (I think it was my third game ever!) and i felt really good about the end result, it was pretty fun and challenging, but unfortunately no one played it after i released it, which made me feel like i just wasted my time putting all of this effort into it, but thanks to you and a couple more people that stumbled into it, i don't feel that way anymore!
Like you said the game is far from perfect, but I still think of it fondly when I look back, and i'm glad you found it enjoyable!
which made me feel like i just wasted my time putting all of this effort into it,
Even without players, you still learn out of it. ;) But I understand it feels better to have someone play the game and appreciate the details, as a game lives through its players to some extent — although I tend to think the creator is the first player, so, the game will live through you anyway. :)
By the way, I did not test Hivemind (although I may! I have several games from several game jams I wish to play… ALL, in fact XD), but watching the animated screen captures, I think the concept reminds me partially of Sleepy Blocks (which I did not play either…). (Checking: it turns out this one has colour too, but uses it differently, apparently!) So, I may come by at some point. :)
It is similar, but I put a different twist on it, mainly the fact that they Always move together, and the fact that it used a hexagonal grid instead of a square one, which actually made a really interesting mechanic! and I had a couple of puzzles there that we really cool!
Its not too long, so it wont really take long (about 20 levels if you include tutorials and ending levels)I've got a lot of reviews there so don't feel obligated to try it out, but if you want its just as free as all of my other games! :)
All right, but it is on my list. ;) I may prioritise lesser known games and possibly make other people happy too. :) I have a list from Brackeys 2022.2 and other game jams… The amount is massive and deafening. X) By the way, I have noticed for some time now that the special page for entries with the fewest votes is still accessible after the game jam has ended through its direct URL, although there does not seem to be a link! ._. For example and to give the string pattern, here is the one for Brackeys 2022.2: https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-8/unrated
Godspeed! (Oh, by the way, I love the Q*bert style of the thumbnail for M.C and I also love M. C. Escher’s drawings, so I also wrote this one down. ;) And also Genesis because I sense yet another interesting twist on Snake. Oh, and I forgot to advise you to simply correct some taglines — except if you want to keep them this way for record purposes, which I would totally understand :) —: here, ‘to late’ -> ‘too late’, for Alien Infection, ‘Platfroming’ -> ‘Platforming’, for Devil's Game., ‘Agains’ -> ‘Against’, and for Genesis, ‘fliped’ -> ‘flipped’. I am somewhat obsessive, sorry for this! XD)
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Hello! For the record, I had stumbled upon your account during Brackeys 2022.2, and noticed this game; I was intrigued and thought I would play, which I am finally doing. :) I also noticed you were happy someone commented on the game jam page, so, here is a second playtester! :)
Semi-on-the-fly remarks:
Takeaway: agreed with VincentFoulon, the whole ‘figure-it-out-yourself’ spirit is great, although SOME explanations are unclear. And I also thought like him that converting the planets to numbers was a tricky one. I think the water and air part is the most straightforward, although some may think the lamp and cables one is (it depends on whether you notice the right thing, and if you do not get the ‘no cables’ situation!). Music was excellent and immersive! And I also loved the whole narration and setting with interactive objects, it makes the player engaged in what he is doing. Thinking about the timer, I think it IS useful in the end, because it makes sure through randomisation that the player has figured out each riddle for himself and can then solve everything (or enough :p) in a single run. (I expect almost no one would make it in the first run, I was puzzled then! X)) I forgot to say the graphics are cute, especially the planets (and starry background); they have a ‘flat 2D’ appearance that somehow reminds me of some mobiles hung to the ceiling. :) As a last piece of advice, I think putting sounds would add to the experience and immersive atmosphere.
Thanks for the brain-teaser, at first, I was like a deer in the headlights, but it ended up being manageable! :)
Thank you so much for trying my game! and for the well thought out comment!
You don't know how happy it makes me to see this old game of mine get played! I made it when i was just starting out as a developer (I think it was my third game ever!) and i felt really good about the end result, it was pretty fun and challenging, but unfortunately no one played it after i released it, which made me feel like i just wasted my time putting all of this effort into it, but thanks to you and a couple more people that stumbled into it, i don't feel that way anymore!
Like you said the game is far from perfect, but I still think of it fondly when I look back, and i'm glad you found it enjoyable!
So once again, thank you!
Even without players, you still learn out of it. ;) But I understand it feels better to have someone play the game and appreciate the details, as a game lives through its players to some extent — although I tend to think the creator is the first player, so, the game will live through you anyway. :)
By the way, I did not test Hivemind (although I may! I have several games from several game jams I wish to play… ALL, in fact XD), but watching the animated screen captures, I think the concept reminds me partially of Sleepy Blocks (which I did not play either…). (Checking: it turns out this one has colour too, but uses it differently, apparently!) So, I may come by at some point. :)
It is similar, but I put a different twist on it, mainly the fact that they Always move together, and the fact that it used a hexagonal grid instead of a square one, which actually made a really interesting mechanic! and I had a couple of puzzles there that we really cool!
Its not too long, so it wont really take long (about 20 levels if you include tutorials and ending levels)I've got a lot of reviews there so don't feel obligated to try it out, but if you want its just as free as all of my other games! :)
All right, but it is on my list. ;) I may prioritise lesser known games and possibly make other people happy too. :) I have a list from Brackeys 2022.2 and other game jams… The amount is massive and deafening. X) By the way, I have noticed for some time now that the special page for entries with the fewest votes is still accessible after the game jam has ended through its direct URL, although there does not seem to be a link! ._. For example and to give the string pattern, here is the one for Brackeys 2022.2:
https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-8/unrated
Godspeed! (Oh, by the way, I love the Q*bert style of the thumbnail for M.C and I also love M. C. Escher’s drawings, so I also wrote this one down. ;) And also Genesis because I sense yet another interesting twist on Snake. Oh, and I forgot to advise you to simply correct some taglines — except if you want to keep them this way for record purposes, which I would totally understand :) —: here, ‘to late’ -> ‘too late’, for Alien Infection, ‘Platfroming’ -> ‘Platforming’, for Devil's Game., ‘Agains’ -> ‘Against’, and for Genesis, ‘fliped’ -> ‘flipped’. I am somewhat obsessive, sorry for this! XD)