Plasmarift's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Nothing You Have Done.]

Seems interesting though I came across a glitch on the level that wants you to move fast; you can keep moving right off the platform until you begin falling and eventually, the character falls out of range of the screen, leaving only a blank tannish screen.

It's very linear in that you can't even die or mess up (the path is completely set) so takes away from the game aspect and does make it feel more like an interactive movie, however, the message of the game is what really makes it stand out as I've yet to come across a game or movie for that matter that address this concept of praise. I applaud you and wish to encourage you to keep making games. (though I do have some suggestions)
- Try experimenting, especially with player interaction in the game. I could imagine this game being taken in a direction where there are different things a player can do in each level, but it always brings them to the same place (just like an addition).
- the eeriness of the game, especially in the strange things you included like the things that follow the character around, would be a good in creating a unique horror game. If you haven't played Gyossait or Vox Populi Vox Dei, check them out; you may like the interesting elements that are included in them.

heliopod responds:

Thanks for the suggestions Plasmarift. I think you are exactly right, it could use more non-linear and branching interactive directions. You might like some of my less linear work... digitalcreatures.net
Do spread to anyone and everyone. How do works make it to the front page by the way?

[DarkDungeon]

The game seems like an interesting survival game, but there seems to be a major problem: since damage is taken away when attacking an enemy, you are reliant on health potions and enemies produce very few (I receive a lot of food, but I've gone through several games without getting any health potions) so there's an imbalance. It also doesn't feel good that this game is based on luck; hoping you'll get an item you'll need. There's definitely decision making to be made, such as avoiding more powerful enemies until you are stronger, but the primary mechanic of receiving items is still random and makes the game a game of chance. Without receiving any health potions, you won't go far in the game.

zzulian responds:

I agree, thank you for this constructive review.

[Shrunken Survival 2]

Your games are as good as usual. I do have some things I'd like to point out.
- the picture that appears for the ladybug cook is the frog king
- When replaying, the music does not reset so it is silent except for the sound effects.
- You do know that "nerps" (the currency for this game) is a term used for female nipples, right? (I didn't know it myself until I googled it though I'm not really up on today's word terms).

The only suggestion I'd have to make is to have the npc say more things, especially when circumstances change, though I believe this is one of the first games you've made where you can reclick on npc and this game has more than any of your other games so I don't want to ask for much when you're already giving more.

Keep up the good work.

selfdefiant responds:

Thanks! I had no idea about the nerps!

[Spooky Island Survival 5]

I know I don't comment much on your games, but I do enjoy playing them. They're not super high quality, but I still enjoy them. People don't make good escape games anymore, especially ones that aren't completely stupid and without game breaking bugs (there are those games that come out like every other month by really big game creators which I do like, but that's way too long for me to wait). So thanks for making these and I hope you're making at least some money off them.

selfdefiant responds:

Thanks, I like making huge games that are better quality but these actually seem to do better for me compared to the long ones. :)

[Stealth Cube]

As others have said, there is a serious problem with the camera. Just going up a few steps can offset it enough that it flips the entire level over or worse, flip the cube onto its side to where the up arrow key will make it jump. It is possible to flip back to normal through messing with. I'd suggest putting a lock on the z-axis of the camera. The only time the camera really needs to move on that particular axis is when you fall down a pit (though I do like the fact that it looked like it switched to a first person view when I was falling). Although you included a feature to fix the problem in the game, the fact that the player must actively fix it makes it hard for the player to get engrossed in the game and just makes they ams look unprofessional.

You should also have some kind of indication that the enemy has seen you or is about to see you because I can still get partially touched by their lights without restarting (you can have the light begin to turn level when it's getting to the point that you will get caught).

Still, I look forward to see what you have to offer in this in the future.

HostileTree responds:

Thanks! I appreciate your review and I'll definitely take it into mind as I further develop the game

[Ink World]

It's good, but it's unfinished. There's only two levels available and I've beaten them both. I can definitely see this as a Megaman game, especially with the first boss fight. The number of different enemies you included is great (a lot of game makers just include one or two sometimes so it gets old quick). I guess my complaints lie with the battle system in that you have almost no time to react to enemy attacks and enemies literally come out of no where. There would be nothing wrong with this if falling off the edge didn't mean immediate death (they knock you around like a pinball). There should probably be a longer recovery period after being damaged.

Still, I like the dark storyline and how you approached it (especially with the thought bubbles from the enemies, which made me question if the enemies were thinking these or if they were the character's thoughts or the person you were trying to save. Were these creatures fragments of him?)

I look forward to your next game. Good luck!

DontComplain responds:

Eh!?! I must have not unlocked it (while I had finished debugging) cause it was suppose to have all 5 levels. I'll definitely upload an unlocked version tonight.

The boss fights has always been a non-stop tweaking projecting for me. As some will say it is too easy to kill and others will say it is too hard. I'll play around with it some more. (This often occurs with the first boss cause I wanted him to teleport around. So I'll modify his teleporting ability).

This is more of a story-line driven plot but I do intend to add more puzzles to this and more unique attributes to the existing enemies. I just didn't want to get stuck on this (5 month) project and only get a 2 star rating for all the effort.

[Search For Light]

I'm sorry no one has yet to comment on your game. It definitely isn't bad, but it does need things. I go through the good and bad.

Good:
- I've found no glitches so far.
- The game has a beginning and end for each level I've played.
- The graphic are pretty good and interesting. They remind me of a third person shooter made back in the 90's (That's good in my back).
- the controls are tight and work well and the character interacts well with the environment (meaning that what should be solid is solid and what I should be able to do in the game, I'm able to do in the game, like jump from one platform to another).
- The sounds were a good touch though I'll have something to say about some of them below.
- When the robot first ran into a dead end, I was confused. I thought it said "Data" instead of "Dang it". It became clear when he growled at another dead end. I'm not sure how you managed to program that, but that's pretty good.

Bad:
- I should point out that part of the reason you probably haven't gotten as much attention is because of the thumbnail. It's not just to indicate what the game is, it also needs to draw the person's attention to it and make them think, "Hey. This looks interesting". There are 1000's of platformers on the web. The thumbnail shows them why they should play yours over the others.
- The game feels kind of empty without music or background sounds (adding in leaking pipes echo, rats running, the echo of you jumping and landing, the bubbling of the ooze, these are all things that make the game seem real and make it more entertaining for the player. Games are just like television: details and authenticness are crucial to drawing someone in.
- I'd suggest reducing the volume on the character's grunt when they jump. Without background sound or music, it does get slightly annoying though I did get used to it.
- The character design, I feel, is the worst in the entire game. It looks more like a rock man then a machine. A few more details could have remedied this. Think about it, the player's going to be looking at that character design for the entire game so you want to make sure it is really good.
- Other than getting from point A to point B, the game really isn't offering much in challenge. None of the jumps are difficult to make though easy to mess up (the black and yellow marks on the platform tell me when a ledge is coming up, which is both smart design, but decreases the difficulty in now the player doesn't have to be as careful), there are no enemies, no time limit, and ultimately, no reward (I know a lot of games don't have "rewards" for beating levels, but the reward I'm speaking of comes from beating the level. If you beat a level then you feel good because you conquered the obstacles. In this game, there are no obstacles: just trial and error and fighting your own carelessness or clumsiness in maneuvering. Games also offer reward through story telling, which I feel this game could have had, revealing a part of the story each time you beat a level or having to find hidden documents through the building, perhaps explaining why the lights are off, what is this place, and what do the owners do?
- Dead ends aren't inherently bad, but in a large building or area, I want to feel like I can find something other than just the door. Not necessary. This one may be me.
- I consider that a game that implements "leaps of fate" should be more forgiving for the player since leaps of faith are practical gambles and having to start from the beginning of the level each time you die just get annoying.
- I didn't finish the game, partly because I'm pressed for time as it is nighttime right now and because I didn't find the game stimulating enough. This game could have very easily been a horror game; it already has the visual effects of one. All it would need is the sounds and music.

Sorry if I sound like I'm being a jerk, but when I find a game creator like yourself that has talent in art and/or story among other areas of game design, I feel compelled to give my opinion. It's possible I'm wrong about all my advice and this game might become pretty popular. It's still early on. Still, I hope you'll be making more games in the future and let me know if you need them tested or need any voice acting done for them. Good luck.

Vajra777 responds:

Thank you very much for taking the time to write such a detailed review.

This is the first game that I've made - And, everything you suggested in the bad was originally meant to be implemented (especially having interesting things in the dead ends), but my programming skills just aren't strong enough yet. This project was all about proving to myself that I could actually FINISH a video game. Having abandoned a few projects over the years...

It's all about learning - Thank you SO much for the feedback.

I think once I've figured out all the programming issues, I'll get started on releasing a sequel for this game. :)