Hi, everyone! I released my game roughly 2 weeks ago. I am running ads and constantly looking at what players are doing inside of my game and pivoting to make the game more fun.
I have already tremendously improved gameplay in the past couple weeks by adding some updates:
Made maps easier for taggers by adding special parts only taggers can see
Added BillboardGuis above runners’ heads so that the taggers can find them easier
Made maps easier
Removed a 5-second headstart for runners because it made gameplay 10x better
Added more lives for runners
A LOT of bug fixes
So much more that I don’t have time to list!
So, I’d love some feedback as to what I can do to make the gameplay more engaging and fun. Thank you so much for reading!
Good afternoon! I would not recommend using ads because they need to have a good or great thumbnail, or you’ll get less players. Also, I would recommend improving gameplay and performance. I’ll reply when I finish playing. Bye!
I recorded my gameplay, embedded at the bottom, and I hope that helps for seeing where players go/what they do.
This is a bit all over the place, and not complete, but here are some notes:
The tutorial should not start until I am tabbed into the screen and can start it for myself.
I missed some of the tutorial, and it kind of went on without me being able to fully read it.
Make the server you join the server you play in.
Roblox has a system for joining players you’re friends with and that they think you will engage with. Having the tutorial be a different place makes the overall experience confusing when it doesn’t need to be.
The gameplay seemed to involve the following mechanics (don’t have a ton of time so I didn’t write everything):
Buying items
Playing rounds of ‘Tag’
being either the tagger or the person running away
Waiting until a new round can start (needing 2 other people in the server?)
This is flawed because that means people who join by themselves or are by themselves can’t really play the game. Having a bot/AI player could help with this, but more obby stuff could also be in the lobby, I guess.
In-round (tag or run) → Wait for a new round to start (buy stuff, wait, etc.) → repeat
What someone finds “fun” is different from person to person, but I suggest understanding what makes your game “fun”. Is it the platforming/jumping from one platform to another? And, it can be multiple things too. Platforming, being the tagger, running away from the tagger, buying new items, etc.
Additionally, and I don’t mean to be harsh, the game felt janky. That’s the lag speaking, but also the lobby has that steps thing that makes moving around awkward I think. And, gameplay can feel “off”. I think that’s the respawning system specifically.
feel free to go in 2x speed and then rewatch, idk what works best for you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to test out my game!
I noticed you were confused about where the dance potion was. It actually appears once you enter a round and it’s a once-per-round usage. I might change this after seeing your video, though.
Currently I wait for literally any input from UserInputService to continue with the tutorial. I will change this to check for specific inputs. I will also add a ~5 second wait before it allows you to move to the second step in the tutorial, or some sort of “start tutorial” button.
Won’t the user get teleported back to the place with their friend after completing the tutorial, or am I incorrect?
This is usually not apart of the core loop. You were just sort of unlucky and played during a time at which the ad wasn’t bringing in a large number of people.
This really wouldn’t work with my game model. Firstly, it’d have to be a very well-trained AI, and secondly, the game really wouldn’t be as fun with a robot as tagger. I really don’t think waiting for 2 players is a big concern. There is usually more than one player online at a time.
For me, at least, it’s the thrill of running from the tagger, trying to dodge bullets and sword hits while completing an obby. It’s fun dodging and tricking the tagger by moving to the left and quickly going back to the right to confuse them, just like in a normal game of tag.
Could you describe your lag issues in more detail? Performance looked fine on the recording, but it’s hard to tell.
That’s fair. I guess I could edit it to the following:
Wait for round to start
A - if enough players, wait for timer
B - if not enough players, wait for player/s to join
That’s also fair. I don’t have experience in starting up a game audience for multiplayer. Most of my projects are single-player and my usual answer to smaller games at the start has been bots. But, I think my recommendation there should change (due to time and game feel reasons). What I’m trying to say is the same as you, I think, bots making the game less fun.
It could easily be my laptop at times, but I noticed when pulling out the flamethrower my FPS tanked. Or, I didn’t feel that much in control.
I think it’s the respawning. When playing the lava rising one, I could die as the tagger to go higher up in the level. I’m not sure where else you’d be able to spawn the tagger though if they die. You obviously can’t spawn them into the lava, nor on top of the player. But, further in the level made it so that I could somewhat easily wait and then kill the runner/s.
Teleporting the player, but not giving them control, might be the answer? Or, what you said, the instant respawning. I’m not sure. I think that’s a thing to play test and see what players like more. Instant respawn might be over powered for taggers though, so idk.
I personally prefer more relaxing and solo games, according to this website. In my game design class, I learned that not all play tester feedback is equally useful or appliable. To be specific, a play tester might just dislike a genre of game that you want them to play test. If I dislike shooters, my feedback would be biased and devs should note that to some extent.
Tag Obby 
- Roblox
Did not have a great experience, players did have a great playtime (2+ mins) and lag spikes.
