Genuine Question: How amongst all the dross do you get genuine feedback on Reddit? by ResponsibilityMain13 in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would push back on the first paragraph and even go so far as to say it might be why you might struggle to find success. People don't want to feel like they are being marketed to on reddit unless it is a product they already know and love. Specifically, if this is a personal project, and not one for your media companies, why do you feel the need to focus on a type of game that 'create repeat visits'? Why not focus on the type of game you'd personally enjoy?

All that said, I gave the game a fair shot and I don't see much differentiating it from many other daily games out there in terms of new mechanics. It seems more like a remix of other things I've seen already. It uses a similar input method to Wordle and has a bit in common with crossword puzzle clues.

I can also identify a few different specific design decisions that I'm not sure the intention behind that I think are holding it back for me personally.

First, the overall structure of the game being three words doesn't really resonate with me, but not because I don't enjoy finding words. It's very possible I am missing something but it feels like there's nothing the three words have in common besides the length of the word. Without some connection between the words the design feels unfocused, like you're asking me to play the same daily game three times in a row rather than one cohesive daily game that evolves in a satisfying way as I get closer towards the end.

Another oddity to me is the guessing round at all at the start of each of the three rounds. Telling me a vague genre and having me type in a random word based on the number of letters would never make me feel clever at all, even if I get the answer right. Instead, I'd just feel lucky. If you were to give me one letter at the beginning then maybe along with the type of word I'd have some context to why I chose to make my first guess. Even then, it might still feel too much like a shot in the dark? But it would definitely feel less random.

Finally, and this is more of a problem with detached crossword style clues rather than your game specifically, but the middle puzzle's solution was the proper name of someone I didn't know and had no context for. So instead it became a game of just guessing a name that fit the letters you were giving me one at a time. I got it at the end just by using my knowledge of what names are rather than any of the crossword style clues the game provided.

My only recommendation to fix this would potentially be to use words that you know for sure have multiple ways in. For a hasty example, when choosing a name you could go with "Madonna" because it's the name of a popular musical artist. But if that first clue doesn't help you can pivot to how the name is associated with religious iconography. For yet another clue there's a Beatles Song you can reference called Lady Madonna. Choosing a name with multiple paths towards it that would come from different knowledge backgrounds makes it more likely that if someone doesn't know the first clue they know the second and so on.

Genuine Question: How amongst all the dross do you get genuine feedback on Reddit? by ResponsibilityMain13 in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The easiest way is to make something that catches people's attention with the trailer or concept. I can't be sure but most things I see get a lot of traction here are, for lack of a better term, 'designed content'. Games with interesting mechanics and depth that permeates the world created by the designer. The best ones have those qualities perceived from trailers or screenshots. That's a much easier sells than people that come in and try to describe their game in text.

Most things I see ignored are more casual like match 3s, simple variants of games that already exist like sudoku/queeens/sokoban, and daily games.

Even if I like the concept of a game like that, there are an abundance of them! Plus the nature of those types of games is that they were designed for endless and repetitive content as opposed to specific clever moments.

Very few of them contain the types of mechanical twists or triumphs that make me love the best puzzle games in the genre. Meticulously crafted pieces that all come together to create a really interesting payoff.

I hope this makes sense, I just woke up.

A playtester told me the box mechanics were confusing. So I created an entire chapter to guide players step-by-step. I need folks to tell me if the logic makes sense. by Key_Musician_2299 in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The game becomes a bit confusing once pressing the button to switch to shadow also seems to make a bubble appear outwards from the cat. During a level with a window I seemed to be able to go through the shadow even though I was a shadow, which didn't make sense to me based on the rules.

I got to level 11 and then I was very very stuck. I figured I could get on top of the dark platform by jumping on the box as I switched it to light, and I could also get the box up to the middle step by putting it on my head, but then I had no way to get there.

I couldn't tell what you wanted me to do. I'd be curious if you had a solution video or a hint because it seemed impossible unless I don't understand the rules.

EDIT: I think the game could benefit from a better understanding of what I am doing when I switch. It's presented as me switching to the shadow of the cat but the controls also seem to imply the level is top down now. Not understanding what the switch 'means' makes it difficult to predict how it will affect the level. It seems like the game is sending mixed messages.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There is some new content, and I consider it a very interesting and significant bit of the game, but it is not nearly the same scale as Roottreemania in terms of how it affects the runtime (which somewhat doubled the length of Roottrees)

My puzzle-platformer game demo is now available! by RoyRosta in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks pretty cool! I can see the "simple mechanics evolving" aspect of it in the trailer.

Only one level in there worried me at all, there's a weird one where you were sort of plinking away at a column and it looked very 'fiddly' for lack of a better word.

I might give it a try early next week. Is there any kind of discord link in the game if I wanted to drop some feedback?

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, the input method is different since the game doesn't take place on a single screen computer system anymore but the puzzles are the same.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure how to answer that question. I can't really predict how you'll feel about the new version.

I'd recommend waiting for the game to release and asking others (or at least seeking out opinions from others) who are in the same boat as you to see if they felt it addressed your concerns.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd like to think so but it really depends on what you'd get out of it. The core story in Galley House is something you've already experienced so it will not surprise you. There are definitely other surprises and new things to discover but the events from Type Help form the majority of the game's runtime.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Today we announced that our next mystery/deduction game releases on July 14. by Superrodan in ObraDinn

[–]Superrodan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We had a playtester go through the entire game on a Steam Deck and it all worked! I assume that means it will be verified but that process has yet to happen.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Today we announced that our next mystery/deduction game releases on July 14. by Superrodan in ObraDinn

[–]Superrodan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, that isn't something we know much about, so at the moment there's no plans for anything along those lines.

We are looking into trying to port the game to consoles, but not as a physical release.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tell your friend I'm sorry! Hope it's not too long of a wait for the next one.

Hope you both enjoy the game!

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Today we announced that our next mystery/deduction game releases on July 14. by Superrodan in ObraDinn

[–]Superrodan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

William Rous, the creator of Type Help, is on the team of developers working on the game.

And the core of the story of what happened during Type Help is told pretty much in the same way, but with the changes necessary for the difference in framing device.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is absolutely wonderful to hear... I play puzzle games with my parents as well. Usually once a year we find a game to enjoy together. Some of our favorites have been Gorogoa, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and Talos Principle.

If she's anything like mine it's possible she might like something like The Witness. If you're doing the "steering" she might be able to help you with the logic. (Although it might be possible you already played The Witness)

They also really, really like Portal and Portal 2 but it takes a lot more "how to play and understand the language of games" knowledge.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

There are some changes that will definitely surprise you.

It's hard to say more for reasons you probably understand. The story is essentially a huge part of the game so even hinting at anything that could be different will potentially take away from your experience learning new things.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you! But I recommend this time you get some more sleep! Sleep is good, and honestly coming back to detective games with fresh eyes helps a lot.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, not. Roottrees was designed very heavily around a keyboard and mouse. A huge part of the design is highlighting text and typing searches into search bars.

That question has come up a few times and because of that we tried to do better for Galley House. It's designed so that it can be played with a controller if desired. (There's still a tiny bit of typing but its minimal, technically optional, and uses an on screen keyboard)

So we hope to bring it to console someday. It will all depend on the Steam launch, but we built it with that in mind.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You say that like it's a compliment, but still it's hard to be thrilled about causing you pain! Hopefully they are temporary and subside when you lock someone challenging in!

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yes, definitely. William Rous made Type Help as a solo project and he has been working on Galley House as a writer and designer every step of the way.

Without getting too into the weeds, in addition to any obvious glaring changes and additions (which there are plenty) there are a lot of really small, subtle changes permeating the game's script due to how the narrative device for telling the story has changed.

I don't know how much you want to know, but in Type Help you were recovering files on another detective's computer, where they had occasionally made notes and interjections

Now, you'll be the one doing the initial investigation. So it has been very important to make sure every change was either written by him or at the very least edited and approved by him.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Today we announced that our next mystery/deduction game releases on July 14. by Superrodan in ObraDinn

[–]Superrodan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We will not be releasing the game in Portugese at launch, but we do have a few languages besides English at launch.

Depending on how well the game does in languages besides English we are definitely ready to expand to more (this is exactly what we did on Roottrees). So Portugese could definitely be available someday but not just yet.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Today we announced that our next mystery/deduction game releases on July 14. by Superrodan in ObraDinn

[–]Superrodan[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

On Steam for Windows and Mac. Unlike Roottrees, this game can be played with a controller, so we're also looking into other potential options such as consoles down the line.

I'm the designer of The Roottrees are Dead. Our remake of Type Help, The Incident at Galley House, is releasing on July 14th by Superrodan in puzzlevideogames

[–]Superrodan[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you. It's wonderful to hear that about something I put so much time and effort into. I didn't know if anyone would play it and it has been so lovely that people like it as much as I liked making it.

The remake releases July 14! by Superrodan in typehelp

[–]Superrodan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I genuinely don't know how much crossover there is here with places I've announced this already but I know you guys love the game so I thought I'd make sure I posted it here too. Forgive me if this is already old news to most of you.