Hi legends out there. I am a small game programmer started gaming a 10 months ago. I developed some games and recently I developed a game "The Dark Man"
I request you all to please see the game and give your valuable suggestions on the game. You can find the game here
There are plenty of these bowman games, and most of them come with some sort of unique twist or feature. However, your game didn't. When you're making a game type which has been done beforeyou need to have something the other games don't, or people will prefer to play the other games. Perhaps some sort of abilities, a leveling system or some sort of challenges.
My suggestions:
Give it a story. It's a bit dull when you just shoot apples for no reason. It could be anything from a long story which progresses every level, to a short message at the intro. Even something as stupid as "The people of Appleville are always carrying apples on their head. This gives them neck pains. As the village doctor it's your job to remove the apples and heal the villagers."
Give it something other games in the genre lacks. A special feature (abilities? leveling system? achievements which unlock fancy hats?), interesting levels (maybe you could make the levels a bit more puzzling, so you need to figure out where to shoot and when to get to the goal. Shooting levers to open gates, for example), and something to make it less repetitive. Maybe the apples could occasionally be carried by moving birds?
Also, when I was aiming for the apple in this game I just guessed. Maybe you could show the angle and power of your shot, and maybe have a list which keeps track of your earlier shots (should reset when you retry, though.)
And, also, I found your graphics rather dull. A dark, faceless man, shooting apples off the heads of other faceless men, in a boring environment... Add some colors, maybe some grass or make the main character wear a pink pyjamas, just make it a bit more fun to watch.
Hope I wasn't too harsh on you. Despite of my complaints I don't think it's a very bad game, it's a lot better than many games on this site. Good luck with it.
Thanks iMogwai. Really you did mentioned some great points. I am also looking for this type of responses. It was my first box2d game and for some reasons I had to complete it in 10 days. I don't know I did justification to this type of genre.
Here in India what we lack is learning resources. We have to learn from each game. We don't have time to experiment as we have to complete the in days.
Of course all of those reasons are not that important to you I think.
I will implement your nice suggestions in the next game probably the second version of this game.
If you created that in just ten days then it's amazing. Many of the games on this site have taken months to make, and I wouldn't be surprised if some took over a year.
I don't know what is the reasonable time to complete a game. Actually I want to know that. How many days it is reasonable for a game and how many people work for a game. It may seem like a silly question. But I want to know sincerely.
Not bad for a first. Of course, graphics, color scheme and animations could always use some help. It would also be nice if you had a specific mood to the game: the game itself suggests a somber air, but the background music sounds too childish. Make up your mind and give the game a definite mood.
As for the idea, shooting an apple off someones head is pretty difficult, and the box obstacles make it all the more annoying. Most people would get frustrated or bored after the first level. Besides, what does an archer have to do with a 'dark man'?
In conclusion, it would be nice if you revamped the appearance of the game, made it easier, and gave it more substance.
