[Feedback Request] Bubblomania X 2.0 beta for MacOS X

[cybermonk]

Hello,

I finally have a beta ready of Bubblomania X version 2.0, which has new features like 8 game modes and online topscores.

You can download it here (http://www.darkmoonsw.com/downloads/bubblomaniaxbeta.dmg).

Some screenshots:
screen 1 (http://www.darkmoonsw.com/images/screenshot2.png)
screen 2 (http://www.darkmoonsw.com/images/screenshot4.png)
screen 3 (http://www.darkmoonsw.com/images/screenshot3.png)

All feedback is welcome!

[Drake]

From reading your excellent documentation, I see that your game has a long history. I've never played it though, so I'm offering my first impressions here.

Interface:
- Clicking on the menu screens triggers a sound effect, whether I click a button or not.
- The drop-down menu option for changing the color of the bubbles is interesting.

Gameplay:
- I initially assumed that I was targeting the small bubbles as well as the big ones (a la Asteroids).
- I got bored of sitting at the top of the screen waiting for bubbles. It would be nice to have a little freedom on the vertical axis. Is this one of the pin upgrades, maybe?
- What's the difference between bombs and panic?
- When a pin is lost, there should be more feedback besides the vague sound effect. Maybe pause the game and flash the screen, or actually animate the pin breaking.
- If possible, you may want to add a mouse option (at least for movement).

Art:
- Cross/killer bubbles are not very intimidating. I think they should look like they can actually break the pin - you could make them look like ball bearings, spiked mines, bowling balls, etc.
- Bonus and power-up bubbles are not very enticing. As with the bad bubbles, I think more could be done to differentiate the special items from the normal ones. Different shapes and/or colors. The magic bubble is the only one that looks interesting.

Sound:
- Some of the SFX sound like very low quality samples.
- I like the music.

Bugs/Quirks:
- When I used my last bomb to burst a bubble that gave me more bombs, I still got the "out of bombs" warning.
- When my game ended in reverse mode, bubble graphics remained reversed on the menu screens.


Overall, this game looks like freeware to me, I'm sorry to say. I'd encourage you to continue to polish it up though, especially since it's always nice to see more Mac developers.

[Sharpfish]

Going from screenshots alone (as I often do unless a game really grabs my interest), I would agree with Drake that it "Looks" (note just LOOKS) more like freeware. I know the gameplay may be great but half the battle is getting the download, and the main bait for that is screenshots.

Specifically I thought it lacked an overall style other than "generic", and my personal pet hate (you are not the only one who has done it) is using windows style fonts in games - especially, I am put off by the ever popular "comic sans" (or variations of it). Also this applies especially to the menu / title screen which doesn't look that enticing.

I have to point out, all of that criticism is just the way I see it - it is not to say your game is "no good" or that you don't know your stuff. They are just areas I could see to improve that would offer more enticement to download.

On the positive side the backdrops (while a little busy only because of the generic / variously coloured foreground sprites) look fairly pretty and interesting in an abstract/techy way.

If my post serves no other purpose (because I admit I didn't play it) then maybe it can show some possible things that may prevent someone from downloading the game. And no i'm not perfect (my disclaimer) and have not released a game "commercially" (of my own) since 1993 so take everything I say with a "who the f**k does that guy think he is" sized pinch of salt ;)

All the best with it, you will certainly be selling more of that than I will of my "non-existant" title heh! ;)

[cybermonk]

Thanks for the detailed feedback!


- I got bored of sitting at the top of the screen waiting for bubbles. It would be nice to have a little freedom on the vertical axis. Is this one of the pin upgrades, maybe?


There is no vertical movement. I know the game starts slow (depending on game mode), but the bubbles quickly speed up. And you can play the EVIL or ACTION modes for more action.


- What's the difference between bombs and panic?


You can use the panic key only once (for each type of pin). It's really a last resort, that also kills the bad bubbles.


- When a pin is lost, there should be more feedback besides the vague sound effect. Maybe pause the game and flash the screen, or actually animate the pin breaking.
- If possible, you may want to add a mouse option (at least for movement).


I wanted a mouse option, but it is technically impossible to do it cleanly. Something to do with my game being written in pascal, and some necessary API calls not being available... :(


- Cross/killer bubbles are not very intimidating. I think they should look like they can actually break the pin - you could make them look like ball bearings, spiked mines, bowling balls, etc.
- Bonus and power-up bubbles are not very enticing. As with the bad bubbles, I think more could be done to differentiate the special items from the normal ones. Different shapes and/or colors. The magic bubble is the only one that looks interesting.


Is the art really that bad? I've spent the last year improving it (adding anti-aliasing etc), and I kinda like it now.
But maybe I have bad taste?


- Some of the SFX sound like very low quality samples.


True. Remainders of the original version from the 90's...


- When my game ended in reverse mode, bubble graphics remained reversed on the menu screens.


What do you mean by that? AFAIK the graphics are never reversed :confused:


Overall, this game looks like freeware to me, I'm sorry to say. I'd encourage you to continue to polish it up though, especially since it's always nice to see more Mac developers.

Really? :( Then what exactly should be more polished? Redoing all gfx is not really an option...

Specifically I thought it lacked an overall style other than "generic", and my personal pet hate (you are not the only one who has done it) is using windows style fonts in games - especially, I am put off by the ever popular "comic sans" (or variations of it). Also this applies especially to the menu / title screen which doesn't look that enticing.

The font is definitely not comic! I fail to see what's so terribly wrong with it. But anyway, what are good fonts to use then? Do you guys make fonts from scratch?

Anyone else care to try the game? :)

[Sharpfish]

The font is definitely not comic! I fail to see what's so terribly wrong with it. But anyway, what are good fonts to use then? Do you guys make fonts from scratch?


No I know YOURS isn't comic but it is along similar lines/style.If you are happy with it then that's great, it is your game - I was just pointing out some obvious improvements. I just don't think it looks that nice as fonts go.

I don't make fonts from scratch, what I mean is you take a font that suits your needs then embellish it a bit more to make it more unique or just to make it sit better with the rest of the game, (Here I mean BITMAP fonts of course and not real fonts being used which looks dated in otherwise polished fun titles) something in the overall look just doesn't sit right to me but I understand you are not going to start changing things now. It really is nothing to worry about, I am just pedantic about such things I am sure the casual player won't give a toss, and was more an idea of how to make your overall style more attractive so that screenshots look more exciting like most of the polished shareware competition is doing these days.

How long did you say you spent on the game? It doesn't look that polished to me but maybe that is as you say "Your taste" and no-one can teach/force you how things should look if you are happy with it.

rgds

[Drake]

Is the art really that bad? I've spent the last year improving it (adding anti-aliasing etc), and I kinda like it now.
But maybe I have bad taste?Or maybe I do! I don't know, I just felt like more variety would have been nice. Just because the game is about popping bubbles doesn't mean everything has to be a bubble, right?
AFAIK the graphics are never reversed :confused:Here's what happened. I popped a magic bubble, and all of the colors of the graphics were inverted (e.g. blue bubbles became yellow). The left/right controls were also inverted. It occurs to me now that simply saying "reversed" was not very clear. Anyway, the bubbles stayed that way (yellow) on the title screen. Not a big deal.
Then what exactly should be more polished?Well, all of the things I mentioned (art variety, SFX quality, mouse controls) are things that I think would help your sales, especially if you're thinking of approaching portals with the game. For all I know, though, you may have already sold thousands of copies of the previous versions - which would be thousands more sales than I can claim to date. :D

[cybermonk]

Thanks again for the feedback! I will definitely take it into account when/if I make a new game :)

How long did you say you spent on the game?

Hard to say. I started porting it to OSX 1.5 years ago, and during this period I made several releases, and gradual improvements. But it's all in the little spare time I have, so very hard to say how much hours I actually worked on it.

I popped a magic bubble, and all of the colors of the graphics were inverted (e.g. blue bubbles became yellow). The left/right controls were also inverted.

Aha, I understand now! Inverted colors happens when using a bomb (the flash). But the gfx shouldn't stay inverted :(

For all I know, though, you may have already sold thousands of copies of the previous versions - which would be thousands more sales than I can claim to date. :D

Not quite... Not even close :) But I sell the game anyway to experiment with registration incentives etc...