Since I have to play a decent amount of the game to get to this Desert Obby, I’ll be reviewing the entire game that I experienced up to this point. I will be breaking up this up into different sections like building, user interface, gameplay, and user experience.
Building
One of the first things I noticed was when I walked down the hallway, there were benches and chairs. They were too big for a regular size character, I wondered if giants were around to sit in these. I recommend using a character model like one produced by the animation plugin as a reference so you don’t build things too big or too small. I would also introduce a little more detail in them and around them so it looks like a comfy sitting area like in a real lobby. Overall, most of the lobby seems bland except for the outside bit, that’s quite nice.
Image of Bench that is too big
I think another big thing is that these builds in these levels are also seem to lack detail and possibly rushed. There are issues like the following:
Images
Another thing I noticed right away is that in the first level and tutorial, the quality of the build is lacking. Everything seems just a bit too simple with the geometry but that isn’t always a bad thing, in this case, it makes the game look like it was made 5 years ago. I like the shape of the coins and diamonds, though they should be cancollide since when hitting them, they stop you physically.
Gameplay
During all the levels I played, there has been signs everywhere telling you what to do or hints. I feel like most of the time, they just told you exactly what to do. You should tell them what they need to do, you don’t always need to tell them how, it kinda just plays itself at that point. I think the maps are a bit too static except for the spinning killing parts. The spikes within the pyramid could of been animated so they pop in and out or something like that. One thing I liked in the pyramid is the classic ball rolling down a chamber and you have to out run it, I was disappointed that the ball kept getting stuck and only after a bit, a ball made it down the ramp. I think the gameplay is a bit basic and I’m wondering, why am I doing this, what is the reward? I see you have coins and gems, but what can I get for those? Just trails? I also don’t understand why coins is the requirement to do a level when they aren’t taken from you. It kinda discourages me to spend them because then I won’t be able to play one level. I personally think it should go by level. Another thing about gameplay is that when I got done with the desert level, I collected my gems but since there was no forceful teleport out, I waited. I will talk about the no forceful teleport in User Experience. The issue with this is that I just waited around 17 seconds and was able to collect the rewards again. I could keep doing this forever which kinda removes the point of replaying the level. One other good thing about your levels is that there’s checkpoints, I’m glad I don’t have to start over again.
The last point that I will mention about gameplay is that there isn’t much replay value. The levels are unchanging and once you do it, I don’t feel the need to do it again. To be honest, It was kinda hard for me to get through the last level because I was bored.
User Experience
I think user experience is very important and the tutorial is the first step to the game. I find it strange that you walk into the door and it asks you if you want to go. I understand that for the platforms for the obbys but for this, it seems like if the player specifically goes into it, they want to go to the tutorial. At the end of the tutorial, I came across this:
Tutorial Ending Message
So now we go to first level and we start going. I liked how you explained what to do at this point because it’s the first level and a little help is nice. Though later on, I wish you toned it down a bit so the player figures it out themselves and feels achievement from that. One thing that I didn’t like is that there were invisible walls places where people can cheat. Instead of invisible walls, I would put an actual barrier so it seems more real. When we get to the end of these levels, you get a badge which is nice but you have to manually teleport out. I feel like the player should be teleported out once they get to the end or if there’s a portal at the end, jump into it to get back. I’m not a fan of having to click on a GUI item to leave.My final comment about user experience is that something that kinda shocked me. I would never admit to being lazy on a level because why be lazy on a game you are making unless you don’t like it? Don’t be lazy when making a game.
Empty Castle
User Interface
I think the user interface needs to be completely redone. As well, the text within the tutorial had Capitals For Every Word In A Sentence, Which Is A Tad Hard To Read. I would make a GUI in a graphics editor that works with your game and atmosphere. The bright teal was a bit too bright.
Conclusion
This is a start but I think you should reconsider what you are trying to make here. There’s a lot of ideas happening in this game like obbys, simulators and raiding. Covering a broad audience is good but only good if it all can work together and if you can do it properly. Don’t be lazy with building, people don’t like half baked games. I hope that you can make a great game one day and hopefully this helps address the issues with this game. Good luck with your game.
