Feedback Request - SeeSoar Puzzle Game

[fbinteractive]

SeeSoar is a unique and addictive match 3 puzzle game where players match coloured balls in a horizontal or vertical line to destroy balls.
Win through levels by completing a set number of lines to go.
Balls destroyed can set of chain reactions which increases points bonus.
If balls pile down to red marker then you lose. Includes bricks, and many powerups in the game.
Includes 1 player game mode and 2 Player Vs mode.

http://www.fbinteractive.com/images/seesoarscreenshot1.jpg

Demo: http://www.fbinteractive.com/download/setup-seesoar.exe

Website: www.fbinteractive.com

Min Req: PIII-800Mhz, 64MB Ram, 16MB Graphics Card, DirectX8.0+

Any feedback is much appreciated ! :)

[Pallav Nawani]

While the gameplay itself isn't bad, the game needs a lot of polishing. You need better art, better fonts etc.

Then you have to make level transitions slick & interesting, put in some polish & special effects etc.

I like the way you play a different music when the chain reaction occurs, but you should fade in & fade out the music, not change it abruptly.

You should add mouse control in the game as well.

[Dyno Kid]

It looks like its made in Gamemaker which isnt a bad thing but it looks like an average gamemaker game which is a bad thing.

I agree with the above about the graphics, get an artist and it will do a lot better for you.

Darren.

[AJ75]

I found the gameplay pretty hard by my standards. The graphics look stylish and nostalgic, they remind me of arcade games made in the 80's. But, if you're going for a bigger audience they definetly should be bright and flashy with more animation.

[AnthemAudio]

First, in my office we decided you should just call the game "You Got Crabs".

Secondly, we got it to crash in 2player mode. player 1's "jewels" went below the line. They went gray, then no more worky the game. Freezy Freezertons.

Thirdly, another vote for polish (smoother graphics, higher res audio), and transitions (both visual and audio).

Once I got past the presentation we found ourselves having fun with the gameplay mechanic. You couldn't just react, you had to think a few steps ahead which was welcome! It seems a nice mix of typical match 3 stuff, puzzle bobble, and new stuff to keep it going.

Yay! Good job.

[Tuomas Kanerva]

What they said.

As far as gameplay goes, I found the idea pretty interesting, but lacking fine-tuning. You'd have a couple places with two balls of the same color lined up, but the rest was just a mass of different of different colors, with no hope of ever clearing. When new lines were added from the bottom rather than the top, that'd mess things up even further, covering up all the potential matches. I was also pretty annoyed when the UFO sent more balls when I was just about to launch the current one; maybe triggering it when the player launches a ball would work better? Even so, it was pretty addictive, though after completing the demo, I wasn't really left wanting more.

I found the menu a little misleading, by the way. Clicking "instructions" I wasn't expecting a full graphic tutorial. Not that I was disappointed. Maybe rename it "how to play" and place it higher on the list?

[fbinteractive]

Thanks to all for your comments !

Pallav - Yeah, the music should have a smoother end, btw, you can change the control to mouse in options, but keyboard play is much easier.

Dyno Kid - Yeah, took a leaf out of your book and made it with Game Maker, btw, how's Game Maker for you nowadays ? Are you still developing on it, or have you moved on to something else ?

AJ75 - Thanks for your comments, do agree that the graphics can be improved on.

AnthemAudio - Thanks for the feedback, the bug was a bit of oversight, but it's all fixed now, you can download the latest version if you do enjoy the 2-Player game.

Tuomas - Thanks for your feedback, I will use "How to play" instead, for the gameplay, it's suppose to mess up the balls when the are launched from the bottom, kinda good and bad at the same time as it introduces new colours and also needs the player to be quick in matching bottom balls.

For those of you who posted here, thanks a lot for your comments ! PM me for a full version if you liked the game.

I really do appreciate it as the feedback will really help in the design and implementation of future games.

[ChrisP]

btw, you can change the control to mouse in options, but keyboard play is much easier.

Why not have both enabled by default?

[zwiTTeR]

The game looks very fun... but the graphs have sad colors. You can try to find an artist to obtain to good sprites and backgrounds.

Good luck!