Game Dev Battle Match 1: Troctzul Vs. AngelAlderedge

[CraftGeek]

Alright so here we go, both games were great in their own way, considering they were both different styles of games it's hard to compare them but this is what I have to say about them.

@Troctzul The game was surprisingly simple and not simple in a bad way it was just easy going and not a daunting process. The mapping was fun I really like the looping effect you had if you keep going to the right or down etc you just end up back in the same spot, very cool it added that dreamworld/nightmare effect to everything I definitely felt like I was in a place of the recently deceased. As for the story, it was simple yet again, not too much and not too little, it was a basic quest and I knew what I had to do, so you kept me entertained throughout. The hardest part was the last couple questions, ie: how many windows, how many blue torches etc, I was like" he's really going to make me go back, son of a bi***" lol but it was all good I completed it and I had fun. I still feel like I was missing something, or there could have been a bit more detail but I can't complain considering a game in a week is not a game with a lot of substance, you had more gameplay time than my game.

@AngelAldredge The beginning is interesting, it started off very simple, here's a quest that no one else could accomplish and I believe you can do it because you're a hero. Then after speaking to the peeps in the first town I had a clear idea of what was supposed to be accomplished but unfortunately I could not do it lol. So a few things I had troubles with was the battles, the main world battles were fairly simple but as soon as I got into the forest I died every time, those damn hornets are just too strong for me. Then I figured well eh, a bit of grinding won't hurt anyone but I was wrong lol. Anyway I really don't need to go into much detail considering it's a game in a week and you got a lot accomplished I was really impressed to see every house with their doors unlocked, and every town was visitable, so you had lots to do but unfortunately nothing to motivate me to explore it all, although I'm pretty sure I found every treasure chest in the game.

So in the end I voted for @Troctzul game because it was simple enough to accomplish, it had a quick story, some decent maps and I finished it.
Overall you both did a great job making a game in a week and both of you had much more dialogue & substance than I had in my game, so good job guys & girls and I hope you will take part in the next contest so I can play more of your creations.

Thanks for the feedback. Balancing enemies and characters is one of the things that I get stuck on. I'm trying to learn how to have a balanced battle, but I'm not quite there yet.

 

[LTN Games]

Thanks for the feedback. Balancing enemies and characters is one of the things that I get stuck on. I'm trying to learn how to have a balanced battle, but I'm not quite there yet.

I'm in the same boat, the game I'm currently developing "Sock Quest" is my first game with RPG style battles and I have a hard time balancing myself. A quick suggestion is to try it without all the extra plugins you use, like the JP costs and learn skill system, I believe if you get a better grasp on the default battle system you may get the hang of things quicker. What I did was play some older games that I remember being fairly easy when I was younger, like Super Mario RPG, and Final Fanatasy 3 - 7 etc I found these games had great balance with the story progression and the enemies and you may learn a bit as you play. What I did for my game Sock Quest was start with low numbers, the main character Tyree starts off with 20HP and 15MP, and all enemies had 20-30 HP and low MP, it's easier to calculate the numbers in your head as well as remember them.

 

[Troctzul]

@Troctzul The game was surprisingly simple and not simple in a bad way it was just easy going and not a daunting process. The mapping was fun I really like the looping effect you had if you keep going to the right or down etc you just end up back in the same spot, very cool it added that dreamworld/nightmare effect to everything I definitely felt like I was in a place of the recently deceased. As for the story, it was simple yet again, not too much and not too little, it was a basic quest and I knew what I had to do, so you kept me entertained throughout. The hardest part was the last couple questions, ie: how many windows, how many blue torches etc, I was like" he's really going to make me go back, son of a bi***" lol but it was all good I completed it and I had fun. I still feel like I was missing something, or there could have been a bit more detail but I can't complain considering a game in a week is not a game with a lot of substance, you had more gameplay time than my game.

Yeah, I wanted the final questions to feel like a chore so I suppose it worked! I hope you liked the ending, because I thought about it for a long time and decided on something subtle and simple like the rest of the game lol

So in the end I voted for @Troctzul game because it was simple enough to accomplish, it had a quick story, some decent maps and I finished it.
Overall you both did a great job making a game in a week and both of you had much more dialogue & substance than I had in my game, so good job guys & girls and I hope you will take part in the next contest so I can play more of your creations.

Thank you for your vote! I was looking at what everyone else was doing after I turned in and was really worried that maybe I made it too simple... but I had a lot of fun making it, no matter what the outcome! :D

 

[Companion Wulf]

I've just finished playing both games, so now I'm ready to vote and comment. @LTN Games has echoed my sentiments, but I also have my own thoughts as well.

@Troctzul The concept for your game is simple but workable. I liked the subtleties of the humour, notably the [female] skeleton and its reactions. Nice touch. Having the maps loop added a lot to the game, especially after the feeling of deja vu passed. Now, I'm quite an observant person, able to quickly scan something and memorise a number of details, but when you started asking how many torches and windows, etc., there were in certain areas, it threw me off a bit (I got most right first time though). I found the characters relatable as well. They've all been thrown into this predicament together and are determined to escape it, so right from the start you know what to do. Overall, the game was easy to get into and easy to play, and I particularly liked the "twist" at the end.

@AngelAldredge I kinda felt that I was thrown into the deep end at the beginning of the game, without any real clue on what to do. (I actually like games like this, where you're finding your way around - just a wanderer or sword-for-hire - and then the plot and purpose is slowly revealed throughout the game.) And, of course, I like talking to everyone I can and entering as many houses as I can to check for loot, so that part was really well mapped out. Eventually, however, when venturing out further, that's when it all fell through. The battles! They were not balance or fair at all. Even with stocking up on healing potions rather than equipment, they still pounded my butt, and too many times I couldn't just escape them to get through. I actually rage-quite a number of times because of it. And unfortunately I couldn't continue the game to the end. That to me was the clincher.

Hence, I voted for @Troctzul. And that's the main thing: You had fun making it! :)
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Balancing enemies and characters is one of the things that I get stuck on. I'm trying to learn how to have a balanced battle, but I'm not quite there yet.

I'm in the same boat,

Balancing enemies is tricky, and I'm not too good at that either. A friend of mine once told me, however, to divide your map into "regions" based on your level (and the level you're anticipated to reach through grinding). Especially early on, give your enemies much lower HP/MP so that after a few hits you'll still have a battle on your hands and derive some sense of achievement. As you progress through the game, you'll EXPECT that the enemies will become more difficult, so it follows that you'll equally expect to get your butt pounded! Look at the Exp and Parameter Curves (in Classes) for an idea of how to "grow" your enemies with your characters' levels.

 

[MistyDay]

Well well well. Both games are nice and quite long.
Although you are looking at may be most silly member here (just one month has 28 days :D) I like puzzles. I was shocked by cool endless map! You have to share how to do it!
In Inbetveen adventure shopkeeper stole my money for bow what I could not equip! And guess what, that evil vasp killed me just by one strike baypassed my new shinny armor (may be that shopkeeper tricked me too!) but it was easy to play for me.

hmhmhm hard to decide I say. I like both. but just one can have my vote.
This time it will beeee ..... Inbetveen :)

and now hurry to see last ones!

 

[CraftGeek]

Thanks for all the feed back on the game. I'm going back to it at some point and making some changes so that it will be more enjoyable game. This was why I entered the contest to begin with, to get better at the things that I'm not that good at. Just a quick question, how do I balance the eneies ATK and MAT and not just their HP and MP?

 

[LTN Games]

@AngelAldredge Yea feedback is always very helpful, especially if you can handle it. I'm glad you're listening though, it's the best way to become a better game developer. When it comes to balancing attacks it's a bit more work because if the enemies or actors use skills then there will be a lot of skill formulas to be manipulating, if you want some good answers I'd recommend opening a new topic in Theory & Development because there are many different ways of balancing battlers and you may get many different answers & opinions, a bit too much for the contest topic. I'll be looking forward to your post.

 

[CraftGeek]

@AngelAldredge Yea feedback is always very helpful, especially if you can handle it. I'm glad you're listening though, it's the best way to become a better game developer. When it comes to balancing attacks it's a bit more work because if the enemies or actors use skills then there will be a lot of skill formulas to be manipulating, if you want some good answers I'd recommend opening a new topic in Theory & Development because there are many different ways of balancing battlers and you may get many different answers & opinions, a bit too much for the contest topic. I'll be looking forward to your post.

Ok, so I posted a new topic. I appreciate all feedback. Without any feedback or reviews, we wouldn't get any better and we would still keep making the same mistakes. It's at least how I learn and I try to push myself to get better at whatever I'm trying to do.

 

[Troctzul]

Well well well. Both games are nice and quite long.
Although you are looking at may be most silly member here (just one month has 28 days :D) I like puzzles. I was shocked by cool endless map! You have to share how to do it!

It is actually quite simple, within your map properties you will find the Scroll Type in General Settings. You can choose if you want the map to loop:


You can use this method for a variety of things and will give that endless map feeling. It is mostly used for a "World Map", but I find it is quite helpful in puzzles as well!