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cfasil

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A member registered Feb 20, 2023

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I'll be speaking for myself and my fellow who also playtested.

  1. What do you think of the puzzles? Too difficult or too easy?
    1. Neither of us figured out the puzzles. They're interesting and unique but aren't immediately intuitive for either of us so we died before figuring out what they were.
  2. How did you feel about the oxygen meter? (Balanced? Too slow? Dynamic with player movement and fire?)
    1. I think the oxygen meter was fine and balanced. It was reasonable for the meter to be affected more when too close to the fire, etc. It adds a neat touch of panic to what seems like a relatively calmer game.
  3. How did you feel about the fire/extinguisher? Were the fires a good enough distraction to keep you on your toes?
    1. Both of us had a general consensus that its hard to control and can waste oxygen being lost because of it being flimsy. It's silly and gave a good laugh, but was more panicking to try letting it go and it wouldn't.
  4. What did you think of the pace/length of the game?
    1. It has a good pace, while the length of the game is fairly short depending on your route.
  5. What did you think of the level design? Was it easy to keep track of the rooms given the constraint on the door charges?
    1. I think the level design is great and memorable, neither of us were getting lost with navigation.
  6. What did you like about the game?
    1. The design, artwork, use of gravity and the inclusivity of these choices that need to be experimented with.
  7. What did you dislike about the game?
    1. When panicking, the fellow would almost always end up doing the upside down spin where the POV is flipped, and it takes a while to fix.
  8. What could be improved or added to enhance the overall gameplay?
    1. The main improvements would be to fix the POV bug and have a more controlled grip on the fire extinguisher.
  9. What did you think of the overall feel/ambience of the game? Did the sounds and art mesh well? 
    1. The overall feel and ambience of the game is fantastic. This game is certainly unique with its own touch. The sounds and art styles give me a vague connection with Stanley Parable and other games of the sort.

For this review, I'll be speaking for myself and my fellow who also tested the game.

1. Does camera feel good?

The camera was much better in this playtest. I think for the style of the game it has an interesting immersion to the game; However, for people who prefer fast-paced games, the camera movement/rotation will always have much left to be desired since it's a slower attentive style.

2. How does the map feel to navigate?  Does it feel too big? Too open?

The map isn't difficult to navigate, I was easily able to make connections from my current location to the map. The size seemed feasible, especially because there are quick routes to take around. There is an implication of walls that aren't being accounted for either on the map or radar map, because even when avoiding some walls, I would look back at my health and have been damaged somehow.

3. What are your thoughts on the panel layout?  Does it feel easy to move through? Should things be grouped differently?

The panel layout is generally intuitive. The only thing that wasn't was the hide button, as it looks like a harmful button without context. I'm unsure of how games like Iron Lung handle this, but the placement of the manual doesn't evoke a natural response to interact with for people who don't know about the game. When my fellow played it, he casually overlooked it and in turn missed information that was integral such as the context for the hide button, etc. 

4. Does the monster feel balanced? Did it feel like a threat? Did you feel like you could escape?

I think the monster was very interesting, I watched it do some silly loops around and it looked more confused than I did with navigating the maze. It did feel like a genuine threat when amidst its pathfinding would suddenly come over to attack. I certainly utilized the hide button a lot more than trying to escape it through navigating away, however had a complication that will be addressed in the next question.

6. Thoughts on the hide button? Does it feel useful?

The concept of the hide button is great, however there were cases when it simply didn't work. There were times when the monster is running towards the ship, and even when pressing the hide button, damage would still be taken.

7. Did you use the window? Did the oxygen feel balanced?

The window was never used. It's immediately more intuitive to interact with the movement arrows and relying on the radar map over using the window.

8. How is the movement? Do you feel like you're able to move through the environment properly? Fast? Slow?

This is one of those games where the movement is more focused and slower paced, but it can be agonizing to hold going forward and rotate between radar and controls to press between buttons and be meticulous. There was a comment mentioning different gears and that would be an interesting concept.

9. How was the map? Did it have to many landmarks? Not enough? Was it useful?

The map was definitely useful. The landmarks were fine, there was just confusion about some walls not being accurately defined on it.

10. What does the big red button do?

Game over.

  1. What are things that you wished you could do/wanted to do but couldn't or was unable to? 
    N/A. I didn't have any thoughts that bore needing any specific mechanics. I was curious about how the fight system will be, but I'll be able to try it in future playtests.
  2. What would you add to the game to make it more fun or interactive?
    I personally enjoyed the puzzles in the tutorial as a form of interaction. Even if they're lighthearted, I still felt invested enough to see it through. I don't think it's intended but seeing commentary/riddles like the barrel would be interesting insight into what kind of person we are.
  3.  Do you feel that there were enough elements to the game that keeps it interesting? 
    So far I believe so, but I would need to see more of the elements for the game and how they play out together. I'm curious about whether the enemies will drop fragments or are a mechanism to block the objective. I think this can contribute to this intrigue.
  4. Was the camera working fine for you? Is the sensitivity too low or too high?
    I think the camera sensitivity was too high. I would slightly turn and end up making a 180. The camera also clipped in a few places, notably at the end of the tutorial tunnel; this concern isn't daunting unless there will be more maps that have small spaces.
  5. Is there anything in the playtest that made you frustrated?
    At the very most, I was mildly inconvenienced at the camera sensitivity, but otherwise I think the game has an interesting direction. I enjoy exploration aspects of games, so I found the tutorial light and enjoyable overall.
  6. What would you add if you were working on this game?
    Definitely add more puzzles, I think there is a great idea that is being developed and I can see it being an interesting central part to the story. I also think the idea of it being moderately open but still linear is a good approach. I don't think there's anything philosophical about the map being purely open-space. I think it would be intuitive for the maps to appear very linear at the beginning, but as memory regains it can become more open-spaced to explore with regained powers. In general, I'm very curious to see how this game develops!
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  1. How was the gameplay? Exciting? Fun? Boring?
    I think the gameplay was really interesting. Certainly not boring. Because I'm not very great with horror games I was certainly slow to make progress, but it was enjoyable in the process.
  2. What did you think of the map size?
    Map size was sufficient; I enjoyed the idea of it being very maze-like in that even if it isn't a vast size, it certainly seemed like it was especially with low visibility.
  3. How did you feel about visibility while playing?
    The visibility was great for the game's approach and genre. There were some times when I'd have to stick to the walls or floor because not being able to see ahead, but I think that contributed well as tension to press on ahead. 
  4. Tell us about your favorite part of the game.
    I enjoyed the replayability of it in that it wasn't tedious to spend multiple tries on it. The game is already well structured and designed where it's moderately balanced and can very well stand on its own soon.
  5. Tell us about your least favorite part of the game.
    I easily got lost, I spent a lot of time going around in circles and it took me a few runs to find the altar.
  6. Thoughts on difficulty? How does it feel on the first run, vs after having more experience with additional runs?
    The first run was difficult, but it definitely eased to be more viable with experience. By the second/third run I got a general gist and was able to focus on avoiding the monster and collecting the fragments.
  7. Feedback on any specific mechanics?
    When the flashlight flickered, I wasn't sure if that was due to it losing its battery life or the monster being nearby. I think some sort of indicator like that when it's nearby would be interesting since there were a few times when I died without being alerted of it.

I think this game is complex/multifaceted and is enjoyable in that way. The progress you guys made in such little time is honestly really cool. The art is very neat and distinguishable. I played it first without the explanations on the page to test how intuitive the controls are.  I think they are difficult to immediately understand, but it is fitting to the different layers of this game and how the fish have a variety of applications. The starting area is a great way to practice how to understand the general idea of using the fish and what they do with the player. It's likely that this isn't solved yet to fit time constraints, but the bugginess I experience while fishing is still sort of jarring and takes a bit from the experience, but I was curious on why it occurs? I don't have ideas for ability ideas, but it'll be interesting to see what you guys may add. And I was wondering as to how many are planned to be added. Overall, quite a dapper game and can't wait to see how it grows.

How challenging was the game? What would make it more or less challenging?

I think the game has a mix of casual enjoyment and mild chaos of accumulating cones and potholes. The game interestingly utilizes the choice that a player has to make between getting more money with risk or get less but focus more on getting around obstacles.

What was the gameplay experience like?

The art and aesthetic are phenomenal. It sort of reminds me of Stardew Valley with its more relaxing ambience and objective. It certainly was a challenge at some points, as I would focus so much on aiming properly that I'd keep running into obstacles.

How do the user interface and controls feel?

The application of billboards showing controls is a great detail to get straight into the game without complications. The user interface isn't complicated at all. I would say due to these points, it was easy for me to integrate into the controls and general idea of the interface.

What did you like about the game?

The change in season was very neat attention to detail and brought an immersion to the world we're in. I think it would also be fitting if the character also changed clothing to fit the season as a nice touch.

What did you dislike about the game?

This is most likely due to not implementing it yet, but I never noticed when I hit an obstacle. I would focus entirely on aiming without getting a cue that I should also be dodging obstacles. 

Overall, fantastic work and can't wait to see how it develops. :)