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You scared me, I thought this was a hate comment from the first sentence HAHA.

This is the first time I've read someone play for 5 hours, this is just crazy wow! if you have anything you want to see in this game - ideas, improvements, feedback. Please let me know as I am working on the game every day and pushing out daily updates to make it better and add more content.

haha whoops, probably will add a tooltip to indicate that the storm never comes on Peaceful difficulty

Thank you Mathur!!

Hey! Just wanted to say congratulations on getting top 20 and even top in audio! Your game is amazing and I recognized it instantly when I saw it, I'm so glad I got to have tried it out :)

Thank you for playing the game and glad to hear all that brainstorming paid off...word play intended! XD

YA I am super surprised and in disbelief lol. I've never won first in anything of this kind before so this is just crazy HAHA

Thank you and glad to have had the opportunity to see you play!!

Cool, watching your stream now and look forward to it! :)

I liked the vibes and music. The fish swimming animation is top notch and I like how the fish's mouth opens in anticipation of the pellet going in, and you even see the pellet going through his body. Very immersive animations.

Also loved the description: You are a fish. You eat pellets. Life is easy. simple haha. Being able to see the storm would be nice but I understand it was scrapped. Nonetheless it ended up being a peaceful relaxing game which is not a bad thing.

Hey there! If you have the time to, it would be awesome if I could see you play my game: https://yyz.itch.io/stormbridge

Rating is optional as at this point I just want to see how others play my game as it is something I don't get to do with online game jams. And I want to learn how to improve from watching playthroughs!

It's a pretty challenging building game, thought I'd warn you haha.

Thank you for the kind comment Justin! Also good job on your game too :)

Hey, thanks for the kind comment and for the feedback! Did you manage to unlock and build the wood farms? Those will give you constant generation of wood, although I heard that since it is a random card-unlockable, I wonder if it's too punishing if you don't get it. I thought I had been quite generous with the amount of wood given by cards but I wonder if I am mistaken?

Haha the storm is meant to be brutal but I am getting mixed comments. Some find it way too easy and build so far ahead of the storm, while others think it's too difficult! I'm going to have a hell of a time balancing this game XD. For now my solution is sorta to provide roguelike permanent upgrades to help each subsequent run. But I do wonder if there are better ways to improve it, like dynamic difficulty, or even the ability to summon the storm at your own pacing.

As for my development process, I'll do a more detailed writeup sometime but you can look at my ideation process here and devlogs if you want to which mention some shortcuts and tricks I used to optimize my effort and re-direct time on areas I wanted to improve on. For this jam, my goal is to focus more on polish and game design, so I had help from external assets. It's also the reason why my iteration style is to upload a playable v0.1 as early as possible. I used that to get initial feedback and then proceeded to iterate on the remaining days to really polish it till v0.5. So while I uploaded the first version after 4 days, I continued to update and iterate on the game every day until the last day. I was also surprisingly invested in the idea so I worked extremely hard on it. It helped that this jam is longer than others. I think I seriously maximized the full week lol. Probably the hardest jam I worked on and I think the results surprised even myself.

Also wanted to add that I'm perhaps on the slightly more experienced side so it's perhaps not fair to compare. I've worked in gamedev but also have animation and extensive 3D background so not only can I put together stuff really quickly, I'm very comfortable working with 3D, lighting, post processing and FX to make a scene pop, making cinematics with Cinemachine and Timeline rapidly, etc, so I have an advantage there. I've also been told that I excel in rapid prototyping, a skillset which seems to come in really handy in scenarios like game jams. 

Lastly, I was lucky to have a very clear vision of my direction which I think helped me plan my time a lot better. Thus, my bottleneck is less of programming and art, but more of game design. I focused on what I felt were high impact features. There were a lot more stuff I wanted but I had to cut them, but I will be gradually adding them into the game after the jam rating period is over, with the first update to put out later today!

Oops sorry I typed so much. I think I get super passionate discussing games and processes and I just went a little ham there X_X

Thank you for the support Jorava!

Right! I'm pretty pumped right now and I'm gonna go for Steam! I'll keep working on it for a couple months I think.  I actually don't know how long I should give myself for this game haha, and probably the hard question will be when  to stop and just launch it on Steam. Hopefully this post ages well :D

Ah I see! In the first option, the storm will need to circle back to the beginning. Currently the storm doesn't do that and only advances, it cannot go back to chase after the buildings that survived, but I wonder if it should. I think only then will the first option be viable.

As for the second option, I think taking more time to destroy the turret just means the storm is stuck there longer as it's like giving it more HP right? It just slightly reduces the reliance on a shield, but it won't be able to shoot behind as it will always get destroyed.

And yep! Tomorrow I will be uploading v0.6, a new version of the game containing Storm HP, new defense buildings, a dash ability (via research), some new research related to the storm, the first island scenario, as well as a lot of rebalancing by making the storm come earlier, and arrive faster each time! I look forward to finally be able to update it! In fact, I'm already working on v0.7 which will release storages :)

Oooh, my impression was Steam players like longer games. 

Also omg thanks for sharing that list, that's actually super duper motivational to push for Steam! I'm checking those games out right now! Clickyland looks like a game I'd even wanna play as I love building and defense!

You're correct!!

Hmm, if I may ask, what do you mean by a weak shield? If the storm strikes their shield and then moves on, does that mean they're technically invincible to destruction? Would that be too strong? Or do you have another idea in mind?

I do really want turrets to shoot both ways if possible as I think it's visually cooler and slightly more sensible.

Ah! Let me try to explain. I'll edit the post to make it clearer too! Right now turrets can only shoot to the left, and not behind them (on the right).  The dilemma was whether turrets should have the ability to also face right and shoot at the storm when they are successfully shielded and the storm has passed by them.

The concern was less about people spamming shields, but more of "oh my god, these turrets will be half as effective if I don't shield them, so I need to shield them or else they only shoot half the time and get destroyed, wasting my resources spent on turrets!"

This possibly creates a mentality where the player may feel they aren't playing efficiently if they don't spam shields. And if the game encourages spamming shields too much, I think it becomes an obligation rather than fun. So it's more of trying to not make the game feel like shields are a mandatory.

Possibly I might be overthinking it haha.

HOWEVER, I must say I like your idea of capping shields and increasing the limit with each storm. I really like what you proposed because this can tie in to upgrades in the research tree, or even in-game's island scenarios or random card draws where players can choose to increase the shield limit further and make choices of whether to do that or pick something else!

And thank you so much for embracing me with this lovely game! :D

Very quirky, humorous, and super creative interpretation on the theme!!! I really loved it! Half the time I didn't know what was going on but that just added to the humour and chaos of everything as I spam clicked on everything!

The sound effects are superb. Instant 5/5. The way the music just keeps escalating along with the tension is just icing on a cake...or a cake that's about to collapse and leave a black splat on everyones' faces, which was what happened on my run! XD

Oh my god. This is the most encouraging thing I've read all week. I think my heart just melted reading your comment HAHA. Thank you so much for playing it and this is super encouraging to read because a few days ago, I sat down and had a long think about the vision for this game and with everyone's feedback, made me decide I want to try to push this game as far as possible!

I would really like to put this on Steam although I'm not sure how much content is needed to get there. Stormbridge feels like such a short game and I definitely need to gather a lot more ideas on how to expand it further beyond just a jam game. Nonetheless, the encouraging words by everyone makes me want to try and I hope you'll get to play it once I roll out the updates sequentially!

Noted on the lag! I have applied some optimizations and gave the storm a health bar and combat variety which I'll release tomorrow after the rating period concludes!

Also just tried your game! Very quirky, humorous, glorious sound effects, and the escalating music and tension is just *chef kiss*.

I couldn't see the link but I saw the stream on your twitch and wow your stream was very insightful! Really appreciate you narrating your decisions and your thought process so I know how to improve! Thanks so much for giving the game a go!

Just heard your reply - thanks so much for that and glad to hear you recorded! If you can let me know where it'll be, I'll definitely want to check out your playthrough (either on Youtube or twitch)!

AH! I'm so sorry I just missed it! :( Any chance I can still view the past stream? >.<

The shields are my favourite building and I'm so glad I got those raycasts working for it XD.

Thanks for trying it out too and for the kind words, Walrus!

Hello, I didn't see your previous posts and would really love to see a streamer try my game so I can take notes on your experience and feedback to improve!

Here's mine about building a bridge to outrun a storm: https://yyz.itch.io/stormbridge

Edit: Not sure when you will be streaming next but do feel free to just message me if you're doing it, as I would really like to see you live if timezones align, and of course I'm always open to see someone play! :)

I haven't gotten the chance to see someone play my game so this would be so cool if I can get to see your experience! Here's mine about building a bridge to outrun a storm!

https://yyz.itch.io/stormbridge

Moly?

Wow I really enjoyed this game and I'm so glad I ran into it!

I was a bit confused at first but once I understood it, wow it was great and refreshing.

Here's a list of what I loved, which is probably way too long but haha:

• I super loved the way the guy walks - the animations for a stickman are really dynamic and amazing. I don't see this often, much less in a game jam! I spent awhile just moving my cursor around to see his hand turn 360 degrees :P
• Loved the lighting and the fact that you gave the character a lantern that illuminates subtly. Loved the glowing windows too.
• Really loved the mood change when you find the house. I thought it was the end of the game but wow - then the music changed and I was like... no way there's more?!
• Loved the title too 'Steven's kinda pissed' - very unique title which you don't really get the title until you play further but you are rewarded for doing so!
• Music and overall ambience is fantastic.
• Loved that later on, you actually destroy things and there's physics interactions (such as the boulder)
• Liked the particle effects on shooting and the environment props.
• I think the pacing was also great. I never felt myself getting bored and kept wanting to push past the increasingly difficult challenges which scaled well personally.

Some improvements:

• Instructions in-game would be helpful rather than having to read the controls outside the game, but I think you already know this!
• I think checkpoints can be more forgiving. I'm glad that the game has them though! One ice section and a part in the house where you had to kill two baddies and then navigate through a thin column above lava. That section is brutal and could use more checkpoints in between since it's easy to quit out of frustration. But I managed to persevere and the sections after that were just pure fun!
• A part of me wonders if the bad guys shouldn't respawn after killing them as it's easier to die from the platforming mechanics and the enemies become repetitive to kill. Might be just me though!

Great job Justin on this amazing game!

Wow I didn't expect to have so much fun with your game, awesome lighting and mechanics! Will write you a detailed feedback soon. Meantime if you like building games, here's mine about building a bridge to outrun a storm! (I'm more looking into feedback than ratings now so feedback is greatly appreciated!)

https://yyz.itch.io/stormbridge

Edit: Just finished your game, which I found pretty amazing and left you my thoughts! Great job Justin!

Thank you for the feedback and detailing your experience with the game! Had been working on a ton of stuff for the next update to release after the jam rating period is over so I took awhile to reply! (Sorry!)

1. Ah, I was struggling with whether to make the game harder or not. In the coming updates, the game will be more challenging. Storages and a revamp on how settlers work will add more gradual growth I hope, so it will not be as easy to build so far ahead of the storm!

If you mean the time counting down to the next storm is slow, I agree! I will be shortening the duration for the first storm in the very next update. And will also make it such that after every storm, the peace duration will get shorter and shorter!

2. Card generation slows down in time - they can be combatted with workshops, but in the next update, this "slow-down" will be reduced after every storm to make it more balanced!

3. In the next update, the character will say 'oops' when he falls into the sea, and once I add achievements, one will be granted :) Embrace the 'bug'! XD

Thanks for playing the game! Appreciate the kind comment and glad to hear you liked it! (Was on hibernation mode working on the next update so sorry for the late reply!)

Nice looking colorful slimes! They're gonna get obliberated and flattened by bowling balls

Good point! I actually realise it's easy to misclick because the delete button is closer to the center of the screen, which is where the mouse will pass thorugh to go to click 'Move'. Amazing thoughts! Will be changing that haha.

Hey! I don't know what to call you but I have been working on various things and i thought you'd want to see them!

Firstly, BRIDGE STYLES!

Secondly, moving and swapping buildings! (experimental)

Heya, if you're into building games with resource management, here's mine about building a bridge to outrun a storm!

I already have a list of things I want to improve on but feedback on how to improve is greatly appreciated!

Edit link: https://yyz.itch.io/stormbridge

Thank you for the kind comment! After much thinking, I've wrote a devlog detailing my vision for the game which will act as my guiding star, as well as created a discord server for anyone who wants to discuss the game and its future.

Putting it on Steam will be my goal! :)

Wow I really love the ideas you suggested. 

Bridge Styling

The badges and bridge styling is such a cool thing to be honest - since the bridge is the icon of the game, being able to stylize and colorize it would be sooooo good! If someone wants a pink bridge, they can build a pink bridge. If someone wants a sunflower bridge, they can build a sunflower bridge XD. Can even go crazy with ice bridge, fire bridge, glass bridge. I'm 100% going to do this haha!

Multiplayer

A PVP mode is actually pretty sick! I also like the idea of collaborating. You've convinced me to give multiplayer a go. I will experiment on this as soon as October.

Moving

Could you let me know why you might want to move buildings? I could add this but my main concern is it is easy to exploit shields by moving them to the front after each storm and have infinite protection haha.

I have added your suggestions to my notepad. Also thank you for the support and encouraging words! :D

Haha, I think I'm somehow super passionate about the game, it generates ideas, then I work on them, which makes me even more hyped, which generates more ideas, which makes me want to work on it more, and it becomes this like positive feedback loop or something. And then I get all excited and I just HAVE to make these ideas a reality (which hopefully end up being awesome).

Also a new project is always fun, clean slate to do anything you can dream of and I just love rapid prototyping (one of my strong skillsets I've been told, I think).