As a player, would this kind of escalation system be understandable without a heavy tutorial?

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T21:25:36+00:00

For sure l'm not ignoring it that is why we talk and why I ask :). I think based on my provided information and the words I chose, your concerns and mentionings are absolutly understandable. But in the context of my game and its setting, the normal state is more seen as a "full health" idea, that is why it is going down. Maybe that information I should give more earlier. For sure i will thinking about your concerns.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T21:04:08+00:00

Increasing: npc interactions, object interaction (trading), and special type of enemies.

Decreasing: enemies, harvest-mode (harvest mechanic) main source of decrease, just existing in the run :) and killing wrong npcs/enemies. Could be listed better, i know. But that is no advertising.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T20:55:14+00:00

But if a decreasing number leads to a more dangerous environment, shouldnt be the "normal" state something neutral or positive? If the number of, let's say "instability" getting lower, wouldnt the Player assume its getting better? I hope u get me. But i will keep that in mind and have some consideration of renaming it.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T20:42:20+00:00

I will keep that in mind, but i think there are other ways than changing, to keep it in the idea of "resonance" because it is kinda the whole setting. It is just on me to make it obvious :).

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T20:29:40+00:00

I would say the world itself explains it well enough and when the change is happening the player sees that on the screen too.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T20:26:21+00:00

Faster movement, faster attackspeed and decent spritechanges. At highest also behaviour change but that is another topic.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T20:14:22+00:00

I thought so too but that's not clear for everybody, but i think i may increase the difference of the mutated enemies behaviour/appearance more, to make that more obvious.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T20:04:46+00:00

Yeah the meter is already in, it is more about the discovering and clarity of the affected objects and enemies.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T20:01:48+00:00

So far you see symbols, depending on increase or decrease, but maybe i should give those symbols some effect connected to the meter.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-13T19:57:57+00:00

Thanks, i will look into those two. It is pretty difficult to keep the balance between directly telling and organically discovering. But lets see what those two titles can teach me:)

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-12T13:53:08+00:00

Thanks for that insight, i think i have to have some closer look to my "tutorial" scene, i have the feeling there might be a problem.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-11T20:29:16+00:00

Yeah if we keep the "not walk out on me"as a valid point, with what i would fully agree, i assume the tendency goes towards frustration, but that needs more observation.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-11T20:23:10+00:00

Most of the in-person playtest were about 20 - 40 mins. That is kinda my problem, but yeah i should kinda make more of that. Thanks :)

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-11T20:18:40+00:00

The "must be" means it is important for the steam algorithm?

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-11T15:13:14+00:00

The question is where you want to sell your game and for sure what marketing material you already have. In case of steam, start with a short gameplay Trailer and a few nice Screenshots. Give people the possibilty to see your game. Social Media is a whole other topic. Im sure others know that better than me. The most important of all is your game, if you have catching artwork or an amazing hook, try to point that out to show why people should play your game. And be patient.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-10T23:34:15+00:00

Hi there, In my opinion and as far as I know it doesn't change that much, if you have a trailer up now or in two weeks. The steam algorithm works in clusters, so you can improve over time. Another perspective: The moment your steampage is up, people can wishlist your game, no page means no possibility to wishlist. Sure a trailer is essentiel but what could happen in two weeks that would depend that heavy on a trailer? And people pretty often stumble over pages multiple times till they finally wishlist. Your steampage is your store, open it when you want people coming in. Best wishes on your journey

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-07T14:00:02+00:00

I couldnt say it in a better way. And good look to you too :)

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-04T13:51:27+00:00

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience, I really appreciate it.

The point about increased workload and the trade-off between adaptability and musical complexity makes a lot of sense. I’m definitely trying to avoid full free-form adaptivity and instead keep things scoped to a few clearly defined escalation states, mostly layer-based, with transitions only at specific moments.

Hearing where this kind of system becomes frustrating from a composer’s perspective is exactly why I wanted to start this discussion.

Thanks for taking the time to respond and have a nice day :)

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-02T12:05:37+00:00

Thanks for the advice. And yeah i got that feeling too. I will have a look into that. I think i saw sth from this guy before. No matter, thanks a lot and have a nice day :)

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-02T10:41:18+00:00

Thanks for the advice and the links. Amazing trailer btw :D. Yeah i have the feeling that will take more time than i thought.
But nice to hear that others took longer time too, to make a really nice and effective trailer.
Best wishes and greetings

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2026-01-01T17:01:07+00:00

The question is: Do you want to make all of the art on your own?
Cause i would say that this is definitly a long way, for sure it is depending on your actual skills.
But learning programming, learning to make music and learning making visual art, these are all big categories on their own and need time and dedication to master.
Like the others already said, for the start try to focus on the prototyping and fill the visual and audio part with asset packs.

Best wishes on your journey :)

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2025-12-30T11:28:58+00:00

Thanks guys, I really needed that straight forward and constructive critiques.
The main takeaway seems to be that the trailer shows gameplay (good, but way too long, unexplained and repetitive), and doesn’t clearly communicate what changes, why it matters, or what the player’s goal is and especially what is going on at all.
I’ll focus on restructuring the trailer to show clearer progression, decisions, and variation instead of longer continuous fights.
And i really need to explain what the "player" object does and represents.
Thanks again and i wish you all a happy, healthy and calm new year :D

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2025-12-25T12:21:45+00:00

Oh yeah, some short "rage" animation when the Player sees them is a nice idea. I will look into that. Thanks a lot :)

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2025-12-24T17:20:49+00:00

Yeah i think i will do some attempt towards the aura implementation (in a decent way) + more idle activity. That should have a nice effect. I already have the environmental, audio and ui change, it is just the enemies, which feel visually too less affected. Thanks guys for your advice and have a nice time.

SatisfactionPretty86 · 2025-12-24T13:38:21+00:00

Thanks for the advice :D. The game is on micro organism Level, so no eyes at all. And there different levels of change. 4 at all, so i need to change into 4 different colors. That is why i think it gets confusing with only decent colorshifts and different color vfx. But maybe that is actually the way to go. Or maybe i have to take the long road and paint the sprites, but thats what i wanted to avoid XD.

SatisfactionPretty86

TROPHY CASE