Why people dislike my game

[axcho]

I recently submitted the game Braids to the portal here, for the Armor Games contest. And now I've just deleted it because of the low scores. I'm here to figure out what exactly went wrong, and how I can do better next time.

The problem is that everyone who actually wrote a review or posted in a forum about it like it! But it still got 1.8/5 in votes.

I mean, it's a ragdoll fighting game, that some people have said is even better than Ragdoll Masters! Yet most people who tried it apparently didn't like it, and they didn't say why.

According to some people on Stick Page Portal, the graphics and presentation did not seem polished enough. Another idea was that people couldn't figure out how to play or access the menu.

If you tried the game and didn't like it, I'd really appreciate it if you could explain what you didn't like about it and how you think it could be improved. Or if you didn't try it, but have some ideas or questions for me, please do post them.

Thanks for your time.

[wesdood]

that game was fun

Lol, crappy stick game.

[VegetarianMeat]

Could you post it somewhere so those who havn't tried it can?

[Jose]

Then polish it and re-submitt it. What do you want us to do about it?

[CUBErt]

RE-submit it please, I wanna see what we're dealing with here.

[DonKnottsismetal]

it got blammed by a bunch of pussy nerds that hate stick figures for some odd reason

[Demean]

Yeah, I also want to see it.

[HaveUbeenFooFighting]

yeah resubmit it, i like ragdoll physics games

[flamingsquirrel107]

host it at image shack so we can see it, it sounds interesting...

[axcho]

At 10/1/06 10:52 PM, Jose wrote: Then polish it and re-submitt it. What do you want us to do about it?

I'm trying to figure out what to change about it. Apparently I missed something big, and I need to find out what it is. What I want you to do is tell me! :p Or help me figure it out.

I'll upload the file somewhere and then post a link to it in a moment. Thanks for your interest.

[axcho]

Try it out here on deviantART .

I added a tutorial, because I think confusion about the controls may have been one of the main problems. Keep in mind that people voting on this before did not have the tutorial.

[max0rz]

Meh. It was alright, but there wasn't too much to do. That's probably why it got low scores. I wouldn't say it needs polishing though, it just needs more to do.

[The-Amish-Ninja]

that game sucked more penis than your mom on tuesday

[Rawrz]

Wow this is a pretty fun game. Idiots these days....

[axcho]

At 10/2/06 12:09 AM, max0rz wrote: Meh. It was alright, but there wasn't too much to do. That's probably why it got low scores. I wouldn't say it needs polishing though, it just needs more to do.

Hmmm, how do you think it compares with other fighting games? Do other games have more to do? Is there anything I could add?

At 10/2/06 12:10 AM, The-Amish-Ninja wrote: that game sucked more penis than your mom on tuesday

Could you please elaborate? That comment is too general to help me.

At 10/2/06 12:11 AM, Rawrz wrote: Wow this is a pretty fun game. Idiots these days....

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks.

[Samurai]

I sometimes feel i am not even in control of my character and i am not sure what's going on.

[rusender]

Axho, I think you should put in the corona. I love the style on it. Also the glow would be good. That way, it will have different games, so more people will be satisfied.

And all the rest of you, he doesnt want to know if it was good or not. He wants to know what SPECIFICALY was wrong with it.

[Rutz]

its been blamed my good sir

[Myst]

Ok, first, your game has actually way enough potential to pass in the portal, but actually it's still far from it :

- First and most important, you just throw us in there without any clue on what to do. The help section doesn't help at all neither. I played it a little and still doesn't have any idea on how I was supposed to do anything. I basically understood how to move red or blue and how to make red crouch ... but that's completely pointless as I never understood how to hit the other. So you'll have to change your controls, make them more "intuitive". Also, I'd recommand you to add some fighting moves that aren't pointless in regard of the ragdoll style. Crouching doesn't give anything more as the ragdolls can be thrown around at will. Add something like a 360° kick or an evasion move that sends you back. Also, make you help section clearer about the controls, the rest is less important and could take less space.

- The ergonomy of your game isn't quite good neither. There should always be a "menu" button for an easy access or at least a constant "Press escape to access menu" on the top of the screen. Also, you should make it possible to go back from a menu screen to the main screen with a "Back" button. It seems like nothing, but it gives a better impression.

- This is of less importance, but it's the kind of things that gives you extra points. You could just add some extras, like props for the fighter, extra backgrounds, etc. Also, unlockable stuff is always great as it gives the user a reason to play. You can hide "easter eggs" in your game or give bonuses after x fight or x time playing.

With these corrections, I hardly doubt your game would get anything lower than 2+ ...

- Further improvement : it probably means hard programming time, but what would really boost your score would be a Human VS CPU mode. It would also allow you to add levels, hence making your game way more challenging and appealing.

I hope it helps. Also keep in mind that a user's first submission is always its hardest time on the portal. Because it's the submission he'll make pass while his skills are at its lowest, but mostly because the voters know it and give less credibility to someone with no submissions at all.

[kaosugan]

You should make a remake of it.

[Whooter]

I started playing ragdoll masters 2 days ago. It is infinitely superior, in my opinion. And those "braids" make the characters look like antrhopomorphic half-walrus people. The graphics were also bad, which shouldn't be at all hard to fix. Also, I'd rather control the character with the arrow keys than the mouse. With the mouse it just feels like I'm slamming my stick figure into another stick figure, and hoping something good happens.

[Shaun]

good concept, poor execution.
artwork is what gets the points on NG!

[rusender]

At 10/2/06 08:52 AM, Myst wrote: - Further improvement : it probably means hard programming time, but what would really boost your score would be a Human VS CPU mode. It would also allow you to add levels, hence making your game way more challenging and appealing.

There is a Human VS CPU mode. You just dont press space or the mouse, and play with one player.

[DieAndChoke]

I liked it. Don't know why it got blammed.

[LavaBall]

At 10/1/06 10:55 PM, mr-pandora wrote: it got blammed by a bunch of pussy nerds that hate stick figures for some odd reason

That sucks man,I love stick movies/games,Fuck the anti-stickman n00bs.

[Myst]

At 10/2/06 09:14 AM, rusender wrote: There is a Human VS CPU mode. You just dont press space or the mouse, and play with one player.

My bad then, I guess it confirms the game is pretty confusing though ...

[Slayerlizard]

I haven`t tried it, but I bet it is because of those "blammers", who loads games\movies, and blams them without looking at them....

[gamedude107]

umm play it, after a while the red guy just didnt move, and the movement is really bad, i had my mouse really high almost off screen and the guy was at the bottom

You suck at making controls.