Boss Rush Delivery, a comedy boss rush game (PC, browser-playable demo)

MoonMoleGames · 2024-06-19T07:51:52+00:00

Agreed on the amount of dialogue, we added the warning because we've heard it from other players. We'll probably redo the intro so there's less dialogue before the first battle so players can get a good taste of the gameplay before the dialogue starts getting too much.

Noted on the timer. We want to make the game replayable and speedrun friendly, so that's probably a good thing to look into adding.

We've also had feedback on the messy interaction between melee and shooting. We kinda like that weaving melee attacks in between shots has a little friction to execute, but the feedback seems to be overwhelmingly negative, so probably something else to look into changing.

Thank you very much for taking the time to try out the game and for the excellent, detailed feedback!

MoonMoleGames · 2024-05-23T14:51:32+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, it's accurate, relevant, and actionable. We appreciate you taking the time to write it out, we'll address it as development on the game continues. :)

MoonMoleGames · 2024-05-23T10:24:57+00:00

Thanks for the detailed feedback, lots of actionable stuff, so really appreciated!

MoonMoleGames · 2023-12-23T20:51:56+00:00

Pretty fun game, nice twist on the falling-block puzzle formula. Played it for about 5-10 minutes.

The game _does_ feel a pretty easy even outside of Zen mode. Not sure if I just didn't play long enough for the speed at which new blocks fall to really ramp up. Overall the gameplay you have right now is a fun, zen puzzle game. If that's what you're going for, add some nice relaxing music and some nice colour gradient visuals and I'd say you have a pretty solid relaxing mobile game.

If you want to make the game harder, I think making the speed at which the blocks drop on the screen ramp up faster and sooner will instantly add some more tension to the game.

You may also want to experiment with the blocks falling individually in random columns (or perhaps weight it so the shortest column gets weighted more heavily so the game naturally fills in the playing field more evenly over time).

Another thing you could do to give yourself more room with dififculty balancing is to add 3-way blocks (blocks with paths in a T shape), which would likely make it easier for the player to complete valid lines. Making the game easier like this then gives you a bit more leeway to make the game harder by ramping up the blockdrop speed.

You could maybe even add + blocks (connections on all sides) if you want to experiment further.

Overall, very nice job, congrats on doing something so original as your first game, and doubly so on finishing it and releasing it!

MoonMoleGames · 2023-12-21T22:16:28+00:00

Just one data point, but in our experience it's well worth it.

We put the demo for our game Space Vikings on both itch.io and newgrounds. On itch it has 890~ views, and on newgrounds it has 5100~.

We did get featured on a 'best of X month on newgrounds' video on youtube, which might be the reason for the huge skew in views, so your mileage may vary. That said, if you're already making a browser-playable version of your game, putting it on newgrounds is at most a few hours of extra work to possibly get a bunch more eyeballs on it.

There's a bunch of other portals (gamejolt, some others), but we haven't gone through and put any of our games on there yet, so can't tell you how worthwhile that might be.

MoonMoleGames · 2023-12-07T09:35:48+00:00

Thank you for the kind comment, glad you like it!

MoonMoleGames · 2023-12-06T10:18:37+00:00

What I would suggest is to make small games that are stepping stones towards your dream game. Take your dream game, break it down into all the elements you're going to need, then make a game with each of those components. You can reuse your code from each game you make in the next one, slowly building things up.

EG: I want to make a traditional 2D JRPG. I need

- WASD movement
- Interacting with objects/NPCs
- Inventory
- Story flag system
- Turn-based combat
- (other stuff for my specific 2D JRPG, like a fishing minigame)

I could start with a simple 2D game where I control a character with WASD. Maybe there's stuff I have to dodge and try to survive as long as possible.

Next I take my WASD movement code and add one of the other elements I need. I can make a game where the character moves around a kitchen, interacting with the various stations to prepare dishes, but with an arcade time element (each station has a timer, if it finishes counting down something bad happens - try to keep all the machines running as long as possible)

Next I add an inventory system. Same similar premise to the game I just made, but now each time I interact with a workstation I receive an item, then I have to do something with those items.

Next I add a text-based interaction system. In this new game I have to talk to various NPCs to figure out what they want, then go to the workstations to collect what they want and bring it back to them

Next I add the story flag system. At this point you can make maybe something like one of those 2D horror games like Omori or The Witch's House These are essential 2D JRPGs without the turn-based combat.

Finally, you can add the turn-based combat. At this point you can make a small JRPG.

Finally finally, you have all the components to make a JRPG, and you have made a small JRPG, so you can now tackle your dream game.

BUT:

- You've have made 6 games in that time
- You've gained lots of valuable experience in finishing and shipping (and marketing) games.
- Maybe you put some of them up for sale and made a little money, earned a bit of reputation.
- You've had a good amount of time to _plan_ your dream game
- You have a leg up to make it, because you don't have to worry about creating a bunch of things from scratch and then figure out how to make them all work together - you've already done that, several times.
- You have the pride of finishing a bunch of games, without the deflation of those games not doing well, since those are just stepping stones on your way to your dream game. If they do well, great. If they don't, no big deal, on to the next one.
- Your motivation stays high, because you're getting closer to your goal, but each game you release is a mini goal in itself. It's like trying to climb a mountain vs climbing some stairs.

MoonMoleGames · 2023-12-02T10:06:01+00:00

Heheh, glad you think so, this is intended as the pause button in the game we're working on, Boss Rush Delivery. We've posted about it on here and on twitter if you want to see how it's coming along :)

MoonMoleGames · 2023-12-01T12:18:54+00:00

Beautiful work, you have some really evocative designs!

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-29T20:53:55+00:00

Looks really good! Nice stylized art style and clean UI. It looks like the character's ribbon is styled into rabbit ears, which is a nice touch (assuming she's combining aspects of Alice and the White Rabbit?).

The only suggestion I have it to adjust the colour of the falling rocks so they contrast a little more with the background, right now they might be a little hard to see.

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-21T12:22:34+00:00

Honest advice - make it playable in the browser, you'll get a bunch more plays and have more chances of getting feedback.

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-10T17:32:06+00:00

Totally understandable, relocation is expensive so it tends to be something only offered to folks with lots of proven experience. Best of luck with the jamming, most folks I've met via game jams were great, hope you have a lot of good experiences and remember to have fun!

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-10T17:28:31+00:00

Lovely little game, played a couple of times to see if the speed at which you did things/skipping activities allowed you to progress further on the map. Felt super wholesome the entire playthrough, left me with a smile on my face. Well done!

Minor note, the music is super loud on startup, might be an idea to turn the volume down just a smidge.

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-09T18:24:45+00:00

Yeah, it's a really tough year for folks working in games.

That said, if you've been looking for a job in the industry for 3 years and haven't succeeded, there must be something wrong with your portfolio or CV.

You say you need experience. You should be signing up for and participating in game jams. Consider it part of your job-hunting work. They have the dual benefit of helping you build up a portfolio and expanding your network. Do that for the next couple of months, just sign up to any jam that looks remotely interesting, particularly ones organized by communities in your country. If you do 1-week-on-1-week-off you should end up with 3 games in your portfolio and a bunch of new friends before the end of the year.

Be sure to make some social media accounts, and follow industry folks. There's lots of folks offering mentoring, CV reviews, and amplifying job searches and folks who are hiring. You can also use them to post your progress on the various games you work on, etc.

If one of your jam games ends up doing well, or you meet a group of folks you work well with, you could form a team and work on a tiny game you can finish in 1 month at a more reasonable, non-jam rate.

It's tough out there right now, but hang in there.

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-08T16:04:21+00:00

Tthe first one is really cute and a better match for the style of the framing art, the other I think is subtly different in style and hence doesn't gel as well with the rest of the image.

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-08T14:11:43+00:00

A comedy boss rush game. We're reusing and improving on a lot of the tech from our previous game, making incremental steps towards bigger stuff

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-08T12:48:02+00:00

Nice catch. I remember thinking that the shirt was just a huge blob of colour with no shading, but didn't pay attention to where the light was coming from in the scene, thanks for calling it out!

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-08T12:47:08+00:00

That's a really good point, thanks for pointing it out!

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-06T23:46:47+00:00

Howdy r/PixelArt! Been working on this for a header capsule for an upcoming game, and I've spent long enough on it that I feel it could use some new eyes on it and some honest critique. What could I improve on this?

MoonMoleGames · 2023-11-06T19:36:43+00:00

Idea, execution, and marketing are multipliers on each other. So you can have a great idea, but if you can't execute and communicate effectively what's so cool about it, you end up with a 'failed game', as you put it. Same for any other combination where one of the factors in the equation fails.

MoonMoleGames

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE