I've been playing this for twenty minutes and I have to give up cause it's too addictive!
Got 21 blocks. All the polishes that you've suggested on that page would be good but
other than that it's a great little web game!
Yeah, thanks for that Yaloopy. Try to beat 22 blocks ;-)
In a world of bland match 3 puzzle games this is a great original concept!
I've made a few games so perhaps you might like my thoughts.
First the simplicity is GREAT. I do feel that some of the best concepts are things you can
pick up and play, things that one does not need a 14 button controller to play.
That's right ... I think a game like that should be as simple to control as possible.
I feel that right now this feels like a test concept. It would help the player immensely
to add a graphic wind direction indicator because otherwise it feels that the player does
not have enough information to make the drop decision. Provide the information to them,
the game should lie in the reflex and decision making with all information known.
Yup, that's true. Any ideas on how I could improve the visualization of the strength and
direction of the wind ? I am quite unhappy with it, too - don't have any idea how to
improve it though right now
...
Ideas to further the concept.
Why limit the game to a single trial? How about a timer that counts down for each level?
This way players will always be able to improve while building their ability to process the
final resting place. Now the players can almost always get better. When the timer is finished,
all blocks are destroyed in an exciting way. Giving the player pleasing feedback via sound or
explosion graphics is a nice "good job" and pat on the back. Perhaps you have a series of
levels, maybe each level plays a bit faster than the last increasing the challenge. The nice
thing about faster falling blocks is more time to improve score for each further level. In this
way the game has a natural difficulty and reward level. Perhaps the player has 3 or so lives
and a life is lost when a block tumbles off the table. This rewards accuracy and developed
skill. The game can end early now. Does the player have a chance to get an extra life from
score every so often? Having well defined chances to recover is also a very nice thing. It
might also be neat to have a special block that deletes the first block it touches, this way
you can get rid of the ones that did not land right. The catch would be having the skill to
drop this deletion block where you need it. Perhaps the game evaluates the blocks and if
there is a block that has landed incorrectly there is a 1 in X chance that a deletion block
will appear.
The rewarding mechanism is a
very very good point. That's a fantastic idea and this re-
flects the most feedback I got so far. My girlfriend (usually doesnt play computer games) asked
me:
- What is it about ?
- What happens if a block drops ?
- When have I won the game ?
I had no answers to those questions because I haven't at all thought about them. You made some
good points about them. Now I wondering what would be the best way. Limiting
time and/or
the
amount of blocks. Adding a level system to it might also be a good idea, although that
might extend that game a lot.
But I really have to think about that rewarding stuff you talked about.
Thanks a lot, I really appreciate your ideas.
