Sunday, October 3, 2010

Doh

The game was back up for review. Note the "was". I just needed 3 more reviewers, but I realized I made a pretty major design mistake. So yeah. November maybe?

See, I hate unnecessary numbers. I made the decision early on to not include complex character stats and RPG elements because I wanted to streamline gameplay, put a focus on the balance, and avoid RPG grinding. So as much as possible, there are very few numbers on screen. A few too few as it turns out.

And here's the problem. Combat is a black box of mystery. You select an attack, and until you really know the system, you have no idea what's going to happen. What I *should* have done is give players some way to see what will happen. Basically put a little box on screen that tells users "This attack does 20-25 damage, -30% since they're defending, and will stun them". Not in so many words. It sounds like a little tiny thing, but it'll really improve the player experience.