d2clon Hey, thanks for playing! The playtest is very insightful. The goal is to make a difficult game, yes, but I do want to have some sort of balance between difficulty and fun. The slide mechanic does have some quirks but I've tried explaining it somewhat in the full version.

The fact that you had to stop at level 7 kinda torn me 😅 . I might try to make the game a bit easier later, but I'll only be able to do that if I have more playtesters (which is currently a bit of a problem for me). I'd love it if you could play the full version once it is out.

PS - btw, the line looking kinda of finicky is because Godot has a limit to how many points a Line2D can have, so I was drawing few points every few milisecond. I've bumped it down a bit so it looks a bit smoother. The line will also insert "points" which show when you jumped and rolled, etc.

      MikeCL Hey, thanks for playing! What do you think about the difficulty? I'm trying to get it right but I don't have much external input to steer me in the right direction.

          Awfy The goal is to make a difficult game, yes, but I do want to have some sort of balance between difficulty and fun

          I understand that balancing the difficult properly on this game may be super challenging.

          Awfy The fact that you had to stop at level 7 kinda torn me

          You have to understand that, even if I am a hobbyist indie dev, I don't play many games. This one in particular has a very specific target, which I am not, "precision platformer" is called?. For example, I haven't played Celeste, I haven't even tried it 🙂, because I know I'm going to suck at it 🙂

          So please, don't get my playtest session as a meter for the difficult of the game.

          The fact I got stuck in the 7 level is actually a good thing. It makes me go out of the keyboard with a sweet frustration sensation, and with a willingness to come back with renovated energy, to try again 🙂.

          Awfy but I'll only be able to do that if I have more playtesters (which is currently a bit of a problem for me)

          Let's change that, I'll approach you by DM here

          Awfy 'd love it if you could play the full version once it is out.

          Buff, of course

          Awfy The line will also insert "points" which show when you jumped and rolled, etc.

          I see you are working on improving the line/path view. I am sure you will manage to make it as appealing as the rest of the aesthetics

          You have a good game in your hands. It is now just a matter of building nice appealing levels and properly balancing the difficulty ramp. 🙂

                    Excellent little game, great style, too difficult for me, but allright by precision platformer standards

                    I guess the full version has smoother difficulty curve, wall sliding is hard

                    Awfy I think the difficulty was good. I had several moments where I felt it was very difficult, but then also very rewarding when I managed to figure out the path and timing.

                    • Awfy replied to this.

                        MikeCL Thanks, glad you liked it. I'm actually trying to adjust the difficulty a bit more, so the final version could be a bit more balanced.

                        I was wondering if you could playtest the final version of the game and provide footage. I'd like to have as much playtesters as possible to get lots of feedback. My game is actually finished and I just need to change a few thungs here and there.

                          I'd like to inform everyone that the game is finally finished ^^

                          Would to have playtesters for my game so if anyone is interested, please let me know.

                            6 days later

                            Awfy Would to have playtesters for my game so if anyone is interested, please let me know.

                            I'm interested 🙂

                              I just came up on this channel, and I think your game fits perfectly on it. The streamer has this series called "X Games made in Godot to inspire you" ...

                              a month later

                              Jailbreaker now has a Steam Page! Consider wishlisting the game on Steam. It will release Q1 2024

                                9 days later

                                Jailbreaker now has a revamped, public demo on Steam! We are getting closer and closer to the release. I'm excited but also kind of nervous. Anyone have some marketing tips for me to help push the game to more people (preferably with minimal cost)?

                                • xyz replied to this.

                                  Awfy Probably best to try to reach youtubers that review/stream games in your niche.

                                  One other thing, not marketing per se, and you possibly won't like it, but I'll say it anyway 🙂.

                                  Add some color. Obviously, monochrome-ness was your stylistic choice but adding color might work wonders for emotional impact. For your game it could be as simple as using a single additional accent color for some elements in the level (saws and collectables are an obvious choice). The colors could be from a "retro" RGBCMY palette, and perhaps wary per level or groups of levels.

                                    Awfy I gave demo a go. Went through all 10 levels twice. It's good. Quite hard but easier than expected, though from the looks of it I expected ultra hardcore.

                                    • There was a bug (or feature) I couldn't replicate. In the second part of tutorial I fell down from the right platform and the screen went white. The game become completely unresponsive but not fully frozen as crt glitch animations were running normally. Needed to restart.

                                    • Sliding up the walls mechanic is not communicated clearly enough. I completed the first playthrough totally unaware of how it works, just winging it. Perhaps it needs to be directly stated that the closer to a wall you jump the higher you slide up. Maybe best to do it in the tutorial as you need to use it there.

                                    • The tutorial rooms with sliding walls are a bit disorienting, given that these may be the first areas the player encounters. It does look cool though. Maybe have full walls drawn a bit fainter and keep those sliding highlights for effect.

                                    • Awfy replied to this.

                                        xyz

                                        There was a bug (or feature) I couldn't replicate. In the second part of tutorial I fell down from the right platform and the screen went white. The game become completely unresponsive but not fully frozen as crt glitch animations were running normally. Needed to restart.

                                        Was the screen white or grey? I don't think I've seen this bug before. Is this the room with the moving platforms and the door?

                                        The tutorial rooms with sliding walls are a bit disorienting, given that these may be the first areas the player encounters. It does look cool though. Maybe have full walls drawn a bit fainter and keep those sliding highlights for effect.

                                        Which rooms do you mean? The tutorial rooms with moving platforms?

                                        • xyz replied to this.

                                            Awfy Was the screen white or grey? I don't think I've seen this bug before. Is this the room with the moving platforms and the door?

                                            In this tutorial room:

                                            Got something like this. It may have been kind of grayish not fully white I suppose, not sure.

                                            Awfy Which rooms do you mean? The tutorial rooms with moving platforms?

                                            The two tutorial rooms. They look like moving platforms but actually work like full walls. I think it may be a bit too confusing for the very first room(s) you see in the game.

                                            Awfy I don't think I've seen this bug before

                                            I have a proclivity for breaking things 🙂. My wife says I should be used as a high-profile all-around tester. Every product I regularly use typically breaks or starts malfunctioning way before its warranty expiration date.

                                            • Awfy replied to this.

                                                    xyz As a programmer, I wish to have the skills of casually breaking things like you do.

                                                      2 months later

                                                      Hey everyone! My first commercial project, JAILBREAKER, releases January 23 this year! I'm super stoked for all the support I've gotten from this community. I'm happy to finally have something to show everyone. Hope you are all excited too!

                                                        Awfy Great. I already wishlisted it. Break a leg at release! 😃
                                                        Btw. Did you manage to reproduce that bug?

                                                        • Awfy replied to this.

                                                            xyz Nope, but I increased the death range to see if it helps.