Interesting! Do you have any suggestions on how we can better onboard the controls? I wonder if the other people expressing concerns about the timer had a similiar issue.
In the post-jam update, here is what the Day 1 (now Scringlo’s Training Day) controls popup looks like. Is this an improvement? Can you think of anything to add?
This is an improvement! I think bringing more attention to the buttons and important words is subtle but helpful.
If you find players aren't using the run button to be a common issue, I think an elegant solution that's a tiny bit of work would be to pop the run button tutorial widget up again if the player isn't using it. Something like keep an integer counting how many times the shift button has been pressed, or how long it's been held down. If it hasn't been pressed more than 5 or so times, or held down more than 30 or so seconds on day 2 or 3 have the run tutorial appear again.
I really appreciate how in depth your going looking for feedback and solutions to these issues. It's clear you care a lot!
That makes sense, I like and agree with the popup idea! I wonder though if a more elegant solution would be to detect if the player has not been running for more than 2 seconds in a 20 second window and then give them the popup then.
I do want players actively pressing the run button. In the post-jam update, with a new semi-toggle run system, they are going to be able to toggle running, but it will be disabled once they enter a minigame or stay still for a tiny bit. My goal has always been to make them feel like Scringlo as much as possible with the constant acceleration into high gear, but I don’t want to ruin the player experience by forcing that feeling in a way that annoys the player (which I think I did a little bit in the jam version given the numerous feedback we’ve gotten about people’s pinkies hurting lol).
I’ll implement that popup idea and tweak it around! And thank you so much for your in-depth feedback! Jams are always so fun to me for this specific reason, and we’ve never before gotten anywhere near such a large player pool to gather feedback from haha
I like your suggestion for detecting when to pop up better. Definitely try that.
If you want players actively pressing the run button, you need to make running feel good. Not just speed, but juice. Meaty footstep sound effects, visual effects like tiny speed lines, a slight shift in field of view on the camera. Adjustments to game feel like that go a long way. Some games sprint function isn't actually any faster at all, they just trick you. I think Mass Effect's sprint in the Citadel was just that. You moved at the same speed, but it felt faster.
You're welcome for the feedback! I try to give good in depth actionable feedback because that's exactly the kind of feedback I would want on my games. I don't get to review as many games this way, but I think giving better feedback is worth it.
Your in depth actionable feedback is very much so greatly appreciated! Your intentions are very noble too!
Adding juice makes sense; I do feel silly that I’ve never fought about that for the run until you mentioned it haha. You’re absolutely right, though. I like all of your ideas for how to add some juice; I’ll experiment with those!
Again, thank you so much!
