Thank you very much guys for all the reviews. Now I know what's lacking in my ludum dare entry Komodo Kaos. These are the ratings for Komodo Kaos:
Coolness 51%- #437 Humor(Jam) 3.04
- #532 Theme(Jam) 3.33
- #564 Audio(Jam) 2.59
- #748 Graphics(Jam) 2.81
- #828 Fun(Jam) 2.59
- #849 Innovation(Jam) 2.44
- #884 Mood(Jam) 2.44
- #910 Overall(Jam) 2.71
The results are kinda bad, but that's to be expected. I'm new to Ludum Dare and game development, thus giving me a lot of lessons learned. I'm planning to further develop Komodo Kaos, with a lot of additions and fixes based on the ratings and review given. Here's my thought about the reviews and how I'm planning to further improve Komodo Kaos.
Humor and Themes
From all of Komodo Kaos's aspects, humor and themes are definitely the strongest ones. People seems to like playing as a man eating monster, causing havoc and misery to humankind. Sadly, this idea currently not really represented with the gameplay system, control, graphic and audio. The effects are also not funny enough, ie., no animation when eating people, late sound output for poop, no special effect when poop collide with objects, etc. More jokes should also be integrated. Therefore, this is the list of what to do:
- Add more jokes both verbal and visual.
- Add funny effects, ie, gory animation when eating people, poop effects.
- Crazier enemies
Artwork (Audio and Graphic)
I have to admit, the artwork in this game sucks. Even though the komodo looks nice when zoomed in, due to the small size in screen, it's very difficult to differentiate it from a flying tree gecko. The color scheme also made the komodo looks cute, not fierce. Static backgrounds made this game boring as hell. Even though the music is cool, but the high pitch made it it difficult to bear. The actor also overlap randomly, not according to perspective. So improvements will be:
- Fiercer komodo artwork
- Moving backgrounds
- Change music
- Add more sound effects
- More variation to enemies
- Fake 3D effect
Fun and Mood
Only one game scene makes the game boring after a few try. The komodo's movement is not slick enough, there is a few miliseconds pause between button taps for the komodo to respond. Almost no variation in the game and no incentive to keep on playing. This is what i have in mind:
- Game scene variation
- Slicker control
- Add power ups
Innovation
This is the game's weakest point. Maybe due to there's isn't any new gameplay system. Well, even though the theme was unconventional weapon, I want the game to be familiar enough for the player to play, without much learning. So, maybe I won't change any aspect of the game right now.
Well, that's all for me. It's been a blast and I did enjoy my participation in ludum dare. If you have another input for further developing Komodo Kaos, please don't hesitate to give comments.
Thank you everyone, see you in the next ludum dare.