Me and Bibin are making another game.

[βeta]

So far, so cute.
iPhone game, 4 "colors"' pew pew game ala Gunstar Heroes and Cave Story.

What are your favorite parts about these kind of games? I'd like to see what other people think makes games fun.

 

[Mario]

I was moderately involved in the development of Puit ( http://72dpiarmy.supersanctuary.net/vie ... f=7&t=7062 ). It got kinda far before the creator died and the project along with it. I'd kinda like to see that resurrected.

EDIT: The images in that thread aren't showing up for me on my phone. If they're boken, tell me amd I'll find some.

 

[βeta]

Dey broke.

 

[Mario]

Check the last page or two, there's a couple there. And I still have the Python code for the beta releases if you wanna try it out.

 

[βeta]

Looks like Heli Attack meets Metal Slug meets terribly mismatched art.

 

[Mario]

It was pretty fun, though.

 

[DK]

What are your favorite parts about these kind of games?

Physical buttons

 

[AfroLH]

Bibin and I.

 

[Bibin]

Y'know, I told Beta that the reason real companies don't ask the public for ideas is because the results turn up like this.

Whaddya know?

 

[ShockSlayer]

3 PEOPLE DIDN'T REALLY CONTRIBUTE OH NO WHAT EVER WILL WE DO
It's good to listen to potential consumers, maybe ONE will have a good idea that you can implement. l2forum

I like it when pixels match up to speed. IE, the character moves left and right in pace, and not all smoothly and fast to where it doens't match up. Think Megaman, kinda.

SS

 

[βeta]

Obviously.

 

[AfroLH]

My favorite part of those games is the Arcade-like simplicity in gameplay. Simplicity matched with difficulty makes for a game that no matter how many times I die, I will always try again. Great roguelikes and arcade games do this. They either make it so you don't feel that frustrated when you die and you just want to try again. Or they make it just frustrating enough so that you want to show that *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing game who is boss.

I also like when there are points in which I am extremely overpowered, but a few seconds later I'm running for my life. It's a surefire sign of great level design. Reward good players with being overpowered for a bit, then throw them right back into the difficulty. I think the term for this is pacing. I love well-paced levels. A great example is Super Metroid. You struggle for a bit to get a power up, then once you get the power up, you get the chance to use it a lot, and you feel really awesome and cool. Then, you are given some challenging situations in which you have to use that power up.
Cave Story does this a lot, and I love it.

OH, and replayability. If I can come back to a game even after I beat it and still enjoy it, I'm in love. What helps this is generally randomness (e.g. in Roguelikes/Binding of Isaac), freedom of choices (Cave Story, Elder Scrolls) and/or simplicity (Arcade Games).


Summary: Simplicity, Good Pacing, and Replayability.

Hope that helps.

 

[Bibin]

Thanks, Afro.

 

[J.D]

What are your favorite parts about these kind of games? I'd like to see what other people think makes games fun.

Vivid environments and a sense of adventure are pretty important (to me) when it comes to these sort of games. Look at Cave Story, or Super Meat Boy. The backdrops for the levels are remarkable, and a lot of the content in the game is unique, like you've never really seen it before. Also, like Afro said, Arcade-like simplicity matched with difficulty is my favorite part of these sort of games too.