iantherage's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[9/11 Simulator]

Hmm

I get that you made it to BE offensive, and that's your right as an artist, as well as a human being.

I do believe there is a lot to be said for the value of shock, how it can affect someone, and thus how the art of shock can change people, and ideas. I appreciate that concept.

I do have to say that I was disappointed with this game. This seemed to be shock for shock's sake, and what was I supposed to say? I'm disgusted? Then you quote the first amendment. I'm really glad someone made this? Eh that doesn't quite fit anyone I know. It's funny? The only "joke" is that it's offensive.

I'm not saying you don't have the right to make it, but I am disappointed. It takes a strong mind to be able to see the power of shock, and it's clear you recognized that. You're obviously smart, you have to have some talent, and it's clear to me that you could do more than say "How can I upset the most people possible?"

If I said something that didn't make sense, I'd be happy to clarify through a personal message. I hope you consider what I'm saying,

Thanks!

Kevin responds:

Surprisingly good review.

[Minute of Madness]

I dig the effort.

Hey,

I think this is MUCH better than most first games I see submitted on here. A simple premise, easy to get into, and all in all a lot of fun, and that's the point, right?

I do have feedback, if any of it doesn't make sense, go ahead and shoot me a message, and I'll be sure to respond.

The game feels like an experiment, which in some ways it is, and that's great! You plan on making a sequel, you wanted to hear what people had to say, and plan on going from there. The biggest thing you can do to add some polish to it would be the visuals.

It's popular these days to go for a retro "Not very detailed, and that's why it's cool" sort of look in flash games, and I get that, but the simple ball as who you control, the simple smiley face as what you collect, and the unchanging background, all make the game feel very simple, which isn't bad, but I feel with a bit more detail there, or different specific choices (Like what if instead of smiley faces it was food, or money, or furniture, or anything honestly!)

That's graphics, which isn't essential, proven by tetris, right?

The gameplay:

After a couple of bounces against a wall, I got out of control, and found it easier to just bounce against walls regardless of punishment, because any other way was no longer possible. So maybe giving a little more control after bouncing off a wall? I really like the idea of the green wall, there also being a positive to hitting certain walls, ya know? It made it interesting, and engaging. What if, to avoid the problem of just wanting to hit walls, hitting the regular blue walls meant losing points, hitting the red walls meant instant death, and the green walls meant a pretty big bonus? Maybe not, but perhaps something to play around with?

I liked that the music seemed chaotic, however after awhile it seemed to kind of grate against me. That in itself could be enough to have me rate it lower, or click away to not have to hear it anymore.

I would say give give simple instructions when you hit start, just a little thing on the screen that says "Use the arrows to collect smileys! Avoid anything red!"

Things like onoucning how many points are gotten from hitting a green wall, or collecting a smiley can add some pizzaz as well. But who knows!

Hey, you seem to have a lot of talent, and I'm excited to see where you go with all this. I hope you keep it up, whether its this projects sequel, or something else, I really look forward to seeing what you have to show us!

Again, if anything needs clarifying, or if I just sort of sound like a jerk, feel free to tell me! I'd love to hear from ya, and I hope you know that I genuinely enjoyed your game!

djh101 responds:

You should have played it in the beginning. Originally I had the speed increase equally no matter what and that was crazy (right now the speed will increase 8/5 times faster when you move opposite in the direction you are moving). I don't want it to be too easy to control, though (I actually go the hang of it after a testing it for a while and found it pretty easy), that's part of the challenge, the key is to keep it steady and not go as fast as you can.

The sound is mutable. I was going to add a mute button just for music, that probably would have worked if I had if the sound were a movieclip, but I just couldn't figure out how to get the stage music to stop and only the stage music:(.

As for the animation, personally, I like classic not-so-great animation. I'm no animator, though (although I did get fairly excited when I figured out how to create and animate both static and moving graphics with my geometry skills rather than my non-existent art skills), and being that I do all the animation myself is a big reason for the not-so-great graphics and animation. I'm still looking around for an animator to help with future projects.

NewGrounds advised to put in auto-instructions. I even know from experience how annoying it is to have to click "How to Play" before you start. I guess I just wasn't so sure how to implemented so I kind of skipped it altogether. Bad idea, but I'll try to add some in and re-upload.

Anyway, thanks for your post, I love feedback. I'll keep all your suggestions in mind and do my best to implement them into the sequel.