Home
Hey there. Sorry I've been gone so long.
First of all, there is a clear improvement in the visual quality of the game with this version. It's in another class level above the previous ones and I only see it improving with each version. I noticed the tapestries on the walls and the mountains in the distant background, along with the new aura for the girl's amulet and the purple aura when the enemy robots are destroyed. These all make the game look excellent.
What I noticed most though were the changes in sounds. For example, I noticed you changed the robot's walking sound, added a "click" when the girl lands from jumping, and changed the elevator sound effect. I suppose that means the end of "the phantom." ;J I also noticed the sound effect added for when the amulet is active. It actually sounds kind of...unsettling to me, like it's not completely safe; like it's radioactive or is going to put the girl into some kind of suspended animation or something. Is that the effect you were going for
Most of all though, I noticed the change in the music, particularly with the "first meeting" cut scene. This new music sounds kind of sad and lonely to me, and its "beat" didn't seem to fit as well with the movements of the characters as the old one did. I notice this new theme is played throughout the castle and it seems to retain some elements of the old theme. The old theme for the first meeting sent a message that sounded to me like, "This is going to be the beginning of a magical friendship and a great adventure." I think the music is very important to games, especially ones like this that are intentionally designed to tell a story without dialogue or text. Are you sure that "sad and lonely" are the things you want to communicate, and if so, are you sure you want to reveal to the player that this is what the story is going to be like, right off the bat? I also noticed a change in the music for the amulet puzzle room; this one sounds kind of mournful to me. In contrast, the previous theme sounded more like "we're entering an ancient puzzle room, and there's treasure inside!" almost like an Indiana Jones treasure hunt in an ancient crypt. I kind of miss the old music, but I am also known for holding on to things that are familiar. Just think about it.
Concerning the architectural look of the game, particularly the new village area, it's quite amazing. However, I did notice that some of the architectural themes didn't seem to match well together. For example, most of the building looks like a medieval castle, but it also has Greco-Roman pillars in it that don't really seem to fit. The flowery patterns I see on things like the tapestries and gold blocks look almost French to me. The yellow coloration of the bricks, particularly in the village area almost seem Italian, combined with the narrow, winding streets and compact, irregular city layout. The bicycles were a nice touch too; very Miyazaki-esque. I'm just saying that the surroundings look a little confused; like they aren't sure what time period or location they are set in. A lot of these different themes kind of go well together I think; it's just a few of them that make, if you will, a "funny taste" when put together.
Concerning gameplay, I like the new puzzle element: the crawlspace, and I can imagine it being used in a lot of future puzzles. On that note, I noticed there is a small black hole in the wall near the fountain in the village that looks kind of like a crawlspace and I tried to go in it. Maybe you will consider hiding an Easter egg in there later? I also noticed that the "transition" animations seemed to be sped-up, such as switching between the girl and the robot, and the girl being picked up and set down. In fact the set-down animation is so fast that it almost looks like it might hurt the girl when she is set down, and they don't seem quite as smooth and realistic as the previous speed for these animations, though I can see how they would be useful during combat. Speaking of combat, I couldn't miss how the bow crosshairs were removed. That definitely makes using it more challenging and thus more interesting, on top of the fact that you usually only get off one shot before the enemy robots raise their shields.
Finally, I never noticed this before now for some reason, but when the girl is pushing on the levers, it looks a lot easier than when she is pulling on them. Is that on purpose, or do you think that it needs to look a little harder, like she needs to push with her shoulder or something to make it move?
Overall, the game looks great and is growing by leaps. Keep up the good work!
First of all, there is a clear improvement in the visual quality of the game with this version. It's in another class level above the previous ones and I only see it improving with each version. I noticed the tapestries on the walls and the mountains in the distant background, along with the new aura for the girl's amulet and the purple aura when the enemy robots are destroyed. These all make the game look excellent.
What I noticed most though were the changes in sounds. For example, I noticed you changed the robot's walking sound, added a "click" when the girl lands from jumping, and changed the elevator sound effect. I suppose that means the end of "the phantom." ;J I also noticed the sound effect added for when the amulet is active. It actually sounds kind of...unsettling to me, like it's not completely safe; like it's radioactive or is going to put the girl into some kind of suspended animation or something. Is that the effect you were going for
Most of all though, I noticed the change in the music, particularly with the "first meeting" cut scene. This new music sounds kind of sad and lonely to me, and its "beat" didn't seem to fit as well with the movements of the characters as the old one did. I notice this new theme is played throughout the castle and it seems to retain some elements of the old theme. The old theme for the first meeting sent a message that sounded to me like, "This is going to be the beginning of a magical friendship and a great adventure." I think the music is very important to games, especially ones like this that are intentionally designed to tell a story without dialogue or text. Are you sure that "sad and lonely" are the things you want to communicate, and if so, are you sure you want to reveal to the player that this is what the story is going to be like, right off the bat? I also noticed a change in the music for the amulet puzzle room; this one sounds kind of mournful to me. In contrast, the previous theme sounded more like "we're entering an ancient puzzle room, and there's treasure inside!" almost like an Indiana Jones treasure hunt in an ancient crypt. I kind of miss the old music, but I am also known for holding on to things that are familiar. Just think about it.
Concerning the architectural look of the game, particularly the new village area, it's quite amazing. However, I did notice that some of the architectural themes didn't seem to match well together. For example, most of the building looks like a medieval castle, but it also has Greco-Roman pillars in it that don't really seem to fit. The flowery patterns I see on things like the tapestries and gold blocks look almost French to me. The yellow coloration of the bricks, particularly in the village area almost seem Italian, combined with the narrow, winding streets and compact, irregular city layout. The bicycles were a nice touch too; very Miyazaki-esque. I'm just saying that the surroundings look a little confused; like they aren't sure what time period or location they are set in. A lot of these different themes kind of go well together I think; it's just a few of them that make, if you will, a "funny taste" when put together.
Concerning gameplay, I like the new puzzle element: the crawlspace, and I can imagine it being used in a lot of future puzzles. On that note, I noticed there is a small black hole in the wall near the fountain in the village that looks kind of like a crawlspace and I tried to go in it. Maybe you will consider hiding an Easter egg in there later? I also noticed that the "transition" animations seemed to be sped-up, such as switching between the girl and the robot, and the girl being picked up and set down. In fact the set-down animation is so fast that it almost looks like it might hurt the girl when she is set down, and they don't seem quite as smooth and realistic as the previous speed for these animations, though I can see how they would be useful during combat. Speaking of combat, I couldn't miss how the bow crosshairs were removed. That definitely makes using it more challenging and thus more interesting, on top of the fact that you usually only get off one shot before the enemy robots raise their shields.
Finally, I never noticed this before now for some reason, but when the girl is pushing on the levers, it looks a lot easier than when she is pulling on them. Is that on purpose, or do you think that it needs to look a little harder, like she needs to push with her shoulder or something to make it move?
Overall, the game looks great and is growing by leaps. Keep up the good work!
