Yes. 'Developer brainfart'. I will not be giving me a bonus this year, and after I give me a severe talking to I shall feel grateful I've allowed me to keep my job. But I'll be keeping an eye on me. Oh yes, I will. On a cheerier note: I have coffee! If anyone wants to chat about BeMuse stuff, BTW, there's a thread over here: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?threadid=177325
Well, if you don't hate me for being so annoying, then I think I may have made the app presentation better! Now we all have better titling and appropriate icon! Joyous.
Like I say: annoying is 'I worked on this game for 22 months and nobody cares.' People engaging and saying: "Hey, would this make things better?" is frickin' awesome.
For the WIN. Looks awesome! Now we're cookin' with gas. Thanks! I think the only thing that I have seen so far that doesn't look 'right' to me from an aesthetic perspective in this game is the grappling hook. I don't know what it is... Too stiff looking? Hmmm.
Yeah, to keep this game running on lower-end devices, I decided NOT to make the grappling hook a physics chain (which would have helped). As a result, it looks more like the bionic arm from Bionic Commandos, or Zelda's HookShot. From a 'feel' point of view, I really like it, though: you can balance on the end of it! In my original prototype, you could attach it to pretty much anything and use is like a pole-vaulter's pole. It was great, but really, really hard to use, so I chose a simpler, cleaner, more utilitarian version instead.
Definitely more of a grappling pole as opposed to a hook. Yeah, the feel of it is fine. You know what it looks like? A gymnast on the uneven bars, like when they go around in loops and can pause at the top. It isn't the worst looking thing I've ever seen, but it does stand out. I think it would be better if the nodes that you attach to would each extend a grapple pole, instead of Inco shooting it out, so that each node is a swing. The nodes would attach to Inco, not Inco attaching to the nodes. EDIT: I know what would be cool here: no grapple at all. Instead, you use the orbit of the circle to spin around. Jump into the circle, spin around, press jump to release into the next circle. The nodes would have some sort of gravitational/magnetic pull and this would act as giving objects inside the circle an orbit. Instead of a grapple hook, it would be a gravity swing. Moot point now of course, but worth noting.
Oh MAN. I just passed WheelTurn (I had put the game down for the last week, trying to extend the its life before I beat it). I was so disoriented on this level until I paused the game to use the map as a guide, which I had not done before. I'm not sure if one would consider the advice of pausing the game to use the map as being a spoiler, but if so, feel free to put spoiler tags around this post. But yeah, WOW! What an awesome board!
When I first started making this game, ALL the levels were like WheelTurn. And no, don't consider the map-use a spoiler any more than you would in an RPG. That's what it's there for (that and in-jokes on the planet names).
Oh my God, a jet pack. Wow, getting past MerryMeet was a real feat! It kept me on the edge of my seat! A real treat! I do feel elite! Really though, that is some TEDIOUS jumping and timing! Dene, you are a true Metroid aficionado to design something THAT devious! I bow to thee. EDIT: Weird... I have 49 star maps and 99 sun pieces, but the gateways keep directing me to go back and forth from OneBreath to Gateway, but there is nothing left to do in either. Hmmm.
Beat it. I was missing a sun piece on one of the boards. Wow, what a great experience. I took some breaks in between playing this to extend the life of the game, which I often do, but in this case I would recommend for people to play it straight through and not play anything else. A definite 5 star experience. If I had to critique anything, it would be this: -Little replay value. This is a textbook definitive beginning and ending type of experience. Depending on your take this might not be a bad thing at all. A shooting star is quick and beautiful, but for me I often wish it would make a second pass. -I wish the ending was flushed out a little more. I felt that there was a lot of time devoted to building up the story line that didn't quite deliver in terms of the amount of effort I spent reading. -Like I stated before, I wish the grappling pole was instead a type of gravitational spin around the orb, instead of the actual pole. Everything would be the same--you'd jump at the orb, spin around and release--but the physical attachment to the orb wouldn't exist. I think this 'invisible' spin-around would fit the obscure nature of the gameplay, where so much is hidden. Other than that, this game is simply awesome. Again, great job Dene.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write that. Glad you enjoyed it. Replay value is REALLY hard to achieve in a linear game. I'm hoping BeMuse will get around this. Others have mentioned the ending. By this point in development I was close to being driven mad by the game. It all seemed logical to me, and the inferences all seemed clear, but I've yet to meet anyone who got the 'message' overall. That's the thing about designing media: the balance between being clear and being patronising is a tough one to measure, especially with a development as arduous as this one. Here's a question for you: I imagine you spent more time reading the Corporation Stations than the in-game text. When did reading annoy you the most?
You are welcome, but no need to thank me. I enjoy writing feedback for the games I like And yes, this is the type of game that is hard to achieve a sense of replay value. It's not like Metroid where you have an entire action component and can run around and shoot enemies after you beat the game. Incoboto is strictly puzzle based, for the most part, and once a puzzle is finished that's basically it. This is exactly why I played the game slowly, to extend the time I would have with it. I think it is best to play it through, delete it and then pick it up again and play it from the beginning down the road to relive the experience. Hmmm... The truth? I read them both equally, but I found that I stopped reading both of them about half way through the game (or I read them much less than when I first started). I found the Corporation story line more 'annoying' to read, since it was somewhat complicated and didn't do much for me in terms of figuring out the puzzles, whereas the tip comments were designed to do just that. The writing itself was clever, but detracted somewhat from immersion and feeling like there was a connection between doing the puzzles and what was being said. This was highlighted by the fact that, by the ending of the game, I honestly couldn't tell you who the corporation was or what effect it had on anything I was doing. This isn't necessarily because it didn't make sense, but more so because I lost interest. I also read them less as I became better at playing the game. I was able to pick up on things on my own as I went along and paying attention to the tips was not necessary. That being said, the tips helped a lot when I first started the game. So yeah, the overall gist of the game does not match the experience I had figuring out the puzzles and playing the game itself. The main thing to keep in mind Dene is that there was a lot of Corporation story line and what felt like a vague ending, which made me feel like the time I spent reading it as not matching the payout. Less Corporation reading that is a little less complicated, a more cohesive ending and a re-worked grappling concept (which I have detailed previously ) is all I would change with this otherwise perfect title.
Stuck on BrightSky System in IncobotoMini I am stuck here.. I know what I'm supposed to do.. Rocks-->target but the first one always goes out before u can get them all lite.. Is there a trick to this?
Make sure you hit them fast, hard and direct. If you rely on the arc, or hit the targets as the rock is 'on the way back down' it'll take too long. Pretend you're shooting. It's the only really annoying 'just keep doing it' puzzle in the game. You'll do it, trust me.
In the Dreadthought System, on Stalwart, how do I reach the Star Map that is sitting atop the dome structure?? The only way I can see is to use the grapple to the left to swing to it, but it seems to be too far away!! EDIT: Nvm, I kept playing and was able to go back and get it. This was a fantastic game!
Please help me! I'm also stuck. How did you figure it out? I've been stuck on the tree star piece since yesterday for hours!!
