being very pedantic because autism: the 'trans women can double jump' meme annoys me so much because it's in reference to Celeste, but crucially, Madeline doesn't double jump! she has an air dash! and you put the joke right after listing air dash!
with that out of the way it does look like a very interesting game. thank you.
I initially had the estradiol item give the 8-way Celeste air dash, but I removed that dash and made it give the double jump instead, despite the pedant in my head saying the same thing as you 🥀
if you mean the green thing with the counter on the left of the HUD, those are bomb dashes! you press B on an xbox controller or B/V on keyboard to bomb dash in the direction you input. you can do it into the edge of the map to break out and explore outside!
One small thing I think would make the game feel a lot better is to make stomping on enemies boost you up higher. Right now a lot of the "kill all enemies" rooms have platforms that you can't comfortably jump up to without already having vertical movement abilities, meaning that if you find a fight room early in the game your only option to reset the platforms is to take damage from the floor to bounce up higher. Also, maybe add some extra hazards to the wurm 1 boss fight, since right now you can just stand still and wait for the boss to come to you for a free hit. Overall though, super fun game already, and I'm hype to see where this one goes! :)
Saw this on YT, immediately went to play.
dsafghaheyh THE MOVEMENT??? LIKE IT’S SO GOOD???
Also, I see the easter eggs you put in. Only thing I have problems with so far is that Wyrm 2 assumes that the movement you got is always either purely vertical or purely horizontal. I can also see how hard it would be to design not only a broad enough movement mechanics but also design the level gen behind it
This Mosa Lina x Metroid kind of gameplay is absolutely wonderful, and I can't wait to see this game at its full potential. However, it definitely needs some tweaking before you can ham on adding new content.
First of all, the game's initial difficulty spike is immense. Sure, learning new enemies and mechanics comes with the territory of practically every roguelike, but having to learn about several new elements in every room without any tutorials or proper introductions is brutal. Just off the top of my head, several solutions come to mind, some better than others from a balancing/time investment standpoint.
First, I think moving Wyrm 1 to Wyrm 2, 2 to 3, etc, and then adding a new, much tamer starting level would help a lot. Each room of the new Wyrm 1 could keep things simple, having only a single enemy or mechanic for the player to be eased into, with maybe a set of switches that need to be flipped before the player can proceed. If you aren't keen on that, then taking out a significant portion of Wyrm 1's spikes would be another good option. If neither of those sound appealing, then spawning an extra, vertically-oriented movement item at the start of each run might be a good way to go. Heck, you could let the player choose between a handful of options, for even more replayability.
Speaking of items, the way that they work is downright confusing at times. Sure, the movement items you get have nice explanations to them, but nothing else really does, especially the ones in the shop. Half the time, I forgo buying health to save up, only to buy an item that has no explanation text to it, or even a perceivable benefit.
Also, assuming you don't plan on giving the player a starting item like I mentioned above, I feel like altering Wyrm 1's item pool to only have better, more vertically-oriented items is a must. Every time I get something like the dash or masochism items, I immediately restart the run, and I wouldn't be surprised if other players did that too. Given how punishing the player's base movement and physics are, the extra safety net is basically a requirement for a good run.
Despite all the tough love I just had for this, it all comes from a place of respect. I myself have toyed around with the idea of making a game just like this, so seeing it come to a reality is a dream come true. I don't know how open you are to idea of incorporating suggestions, or even bringing on an extra developer onto the project (I have experience with GMS:2, and I'm pretty decent at pixel art too), but I'd love to contribute to this either way.
Really cool game! Love the concept, felt a bit “meh” until realizing “OH I THIS IS DOING A PIZZA TOWER” and then it felt rly cool!!!
(Maybe have some text on screen to screaming at you to get out cuz the first time getting to that room I just sat there waiting for something to happen and then just, Died)
I do think it needs a Lot of work still obviously, mainly the core movement didnt’ feel nice to me? It felt to slippery, I didn’t feel in control a lot of the time and it didn’t feel like it was my fault that I messed up but more the game being a bit janky
Which is fine its rly early on and theres a lot of fun content here! Just the main thing stopping me from enjoying it more is not feeling as in control of the character as I’d like (especially the air control can be a lot more lenient I think)
For the rest the abilities I messed with were neat and fun! Enough to get me to do another run, but having more then 1 or 2 would already feel like too much Id imagine, and also some layouts, like having to us M to warp, felt clunky
In most games it takes a bit before you’re familiar with the movement abilities you have, but in this you just kinda die and get smt new
Oh and I also think it can be more lenient in more areas likeee, if the ground spikes(?) (those beige maggots on the floor) pop out, it feels weird that that damages you, maybe make it still force you up but not damage you Yet,since in a lot of first rooms it felt like “oh I didnt notice this very subtle detail and now am getting hit, maybe multiple times, because of it”
And had the same issue before figuring out that the dissapearing platforms all had a Unique Reappearance condition that you need to remember based on the room, felt odd
But all in all, neat lil thing! I could see a hidden gems type video be made about a more polished version, and it has a strong enough and well executed enough core selling point that I clicked on both the trailer and gave it a shot! (Usually platformers don’t do very well, very oversaturated genre, but tbh this is a really good start!)
Good job girl!!! :D
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being very pedantic because autism: the 'trans women can double jump' meme annoys me so much because it's in reference to Celeste, but crucially, Madeline doesn't double jump! she has an air dash! and you put the joke right after listing air dash!
with that out of the way it does look like a very interesting game. thank you.
I initially had the estradiol item give the 8-way Celeste air dash, but I removed that dash and made it give the double jump instead, despite the pedant in my head saying the same thing as you 🥀
I had a gravity flipping item, went outside the wyrm and flipped gravity, fell forever.
oops! will fix!
I really like the concept but the ice physics make me want to slide of a cliff.
Is there a way to get the instructions again for the items I already have?
Not having it is a problem, especially when I can get items while rushing through the escape.
I will probably eventually add this to the pause screen!
Thank you. What does the green stuff do?
if you mean the green thing with the counter on the left of the HUD, those are bomb dashes! you press B on an xbox controller or B/V on keyboard to bomb dash in the direction you input. you can do it into the edge of the map to break out and explore outside!
Yup. Thank you again.
One small thing I think would make the game feel a lot better is to make stomping on enemies boost you up higher. Right now a lot of the "kill all enemies" rooms have platforms that you can't comfortably jump up to without already having vertical movement abilities, meaning that if you find a fight room early in the game your only option to reset the platforms is to take damage from the floor to bounce up higher. Also, maybe add some extra hazards to the wurm 1 boss fight, since right now you can just stand still and wait for the boss to come to you for a free hit. Overall though, super fun game already, and I'm hype to see where this one goes! :)
do you hold jump when you bounce off an enemy to get the full height?
Saw this on YT, immediately went to play. dsafghaheyh THE MOVEMENT??? LIKE IT’S SO GOOD??? Also, I see the easter eggs you put in. Only thing I have problems with so far is that Wyrm 2 assumes that the movement you got is always either purely vertical or purely horizontal. I can also see how hard it would be to design not only a broad enough movement mechanics but also design the level gen behind it
this fucking rocks
This Mosa Lina x Metroid kind of gameplay is absolutely wonderful, and I can't wait to see this game at its full potential. However, it definitely needs some tweaking before you can ham on adding new content.
First of all, the game's initial difficulty spike is immense. Sure, learning new enemies and mechanics comes with the territory of practically every roguelike, but having to learn about several new elements in every room without any tutorials or proper introductions is brutal. Just off the top of my head, several solutions come to mind, some better than others from a balancing/time investment standpoint.
First, I think moving Wyrm 1 to Wyrm 2, 2 to 3, etc, and then adding a new, much tamer starting level would help a lot. Each room of the new Wyrm 1 could keep things simple, having only a single enemy or mechanic for the player to be eased into, with maybe a set of switches that need to be flipped before the player can proceed. If you aren't keen on that, then taking out a significant portion of Wyrm 1's spikes would be another good option. If neither of those sound appealing, then spawning an extra, vertically-oriented movement item at the start of each run might be a good way to go. Heck, you could let the player choose between a handful of options, for even more replayability.
Speaking of items, the way that they work is downright confusing at times. Sure, the movement items you get have nice explanations to them, but nothing else really does, especially the ones in the shop. Half the time, I forgo buying health to save up, only to buy an item that has no explanation text to it, or even a perceivable benefit.
Also, assuming you don't plan on giving the player a starting item like I mentioned above, I feel like altering Wyrm 1's item pool to only have better, more vertically-oriented items is a must. Every time I get something like the dash or masochism items, I immediately restart the run, and I wouldn't be surprised if other players did that too. Given how punishing the player's base movement and physics are, the extra safety net is basically a requirement for a good run.
Despite all the tough love I just had for this, it all comes from a place of respect. I myself have toyed around with the idea of making a game just like this, so seeing it come to a reality is a dream come true. I don't know how open you are to idea of incorporating suggestions, or even bringing on an extra developer onto the project (I have experience with GMS:2, and I'm pretty decent at pixel art too), but I'd love to contribute to this either way.
Really cool game! Love the concept, felt a bit “meh” until realizing “OH I THIS IS DOING A PIZZA TOWER” and then it felt rly cool!!!
(Maybe have some text on screen to screaming at you to get out cuz the first time getting to that room I just sat there waiting for something to happen and then just, Died)
I do think it needs a Lot of work still obviously, mainly the core movement didnt’ feel nice to me? It felt to slippery, I didn’t feel in control a lot of the time and it didn’t feel like it was my fault that I messed up but more the game being a bit janky Which is fine its rly early on and theres a lot of fun content here! Just the main thing stopping me from enjoying it more is not feeling as in control of the character as I’d like (especially the air control can be a lot more lenient I think)
For the rest the abilities I messed with were neat and fun! Enough to get me to do another run, but having more then 1 or 2 would already feel like too much Id imagine, and also some layouts, like having to us M to warp, felt clunky In most games it takes a bit before you’re familiar with the movement abilities you have, but in this you just kinda die and get smt new
Oh and I also think it can be more lenient in more areas likeee, if the ground spikes(?) (those beige maggots on the floor) pop out, it feels weird that that damages you, maybe make it still force you up but not damage you Yet,since in a lot of first rooms it felt like “oh I didnt notice this very subtle detail and now am getting hit, maybe multiple times, because of it” And had the same issue before figuring out that the dissapearing platforms all had a Unique Reappearance condition that you need to remember based on the room, felt odd
But all in all, neat lil thing! I could see a hidden gems type video be made about a more polished version, and it has a strong enough and well executed enough core selling point that I clicked on both the trailer and gave it a shot! (Usually platformers don’t do very well, very oversaturated genre, but tbh this is a really good start!) Good job girl!!! :D
thanks for all the detailed feedback!! will keep it all in mind as I continue working on the game :)
wyrming out rn