a new addiction

[requin]

Hello! Once I played the demo I knew I had to have this unique game. So different from the usual junk that's so popular now (gee, sit and stare at a picture on the screen looking for hidden objects....I just don't get the appeal!!). Anyway, I noticed in another post the idea of starting new users' journeys on kid's mode. In fact, I started playing as regular mode but found I liked the levels that showed the ball through the open squares, so restarted (new user) as a 'kid' and have been playing through like that, first. It's still challenging! Getting the hang of the different items is tough..I just had my first level of the last thing, twirler I believe. But it's the shifters that throw me....(just like Hollianne said).
I read the review that was posted and just want to say I really LIKE the find-the-exit levels. They aren't hard, that's true (not yet anyway) but they help learn the way the items work, and it's fun! So don't get any ideas about doing away with those because of some evil reviewer! :p
I just downloaded 2 of your favorites (Brad) and intend to download any others on here, but unfortunately I have to go to work now and can't play anymore, darn. heh. ANyway, thanks for a great game, and for having a forum where you guys actually pay attention!! Love it!

[Josh Jensen]

Hello! Once I played the demo I knew I had to have this unique game. So different from the usual junk that's so popular now (gee, sit and stare at a picture on the screen looking for hidden objects....I just don't get the appeal!!).

Thanks for the compliment. We were pretty excited about the concept, too. I still play the game for fun, and that's pretty cool, because most games I've made in the past get shelved, rarely to be seen again. :)

Anyway, I noticed in another post the idea of starting new users' journeys on kid's mode. In fact, I started playing as regular mode but found I liked the levels that showed the ball through the open squares, so restarted (new user) as a 'kid' and have been playing through like that, first. It's still challenging!

We've wondered about this even before we shipped. We decided to send it out the way all our testers had seen it for months.

Assuming we put out a new build with the current 'Kids Mode' as the default, I wouldn't want to call it Kids Mode. What would you call the current 'Kids Mode' and 'Regular Mode' game types?

Getting the hang of the different items is tough..I just had my first level of the last thing, twirler I believe. But it's the shifters that throw me....(just like Hollianne said).

Do they cause you issues in a way that just makes you frustrated? That's not really cool if they do that. Is there something that can be done to the visuals for the spinning Shifter that would make it more obvious what it is doing?

I read the review that was posted and just want to say I really LIKE the find-the-exit levels. They aren't hard, that's true (not yet anyway) but they help learn the way the items work, and it's fun! So don't get any ideas about doing away with those because of some evil reviewer! :p

Well, we very much like the reviewer, but we also know that everyone has their preferences. :) I know a number of people who like the Find the Exits levels, and I know a number of people who don't. It's a tough balance. We actually cut back on the number of Find the Exits levels in the Journey Map before we shipped.

ANyway, thanks for a great game, and for having a forum where you guys actually pay attention!! Love it!

Getting to talk with our users is a lot of fun and very informative. We appreciate your willingness to be active in our forums.

Josh

[requin]

Assuming we put out a new build with the current 'Kids Mode' as the default, I wouldn't want to call it Kids Mode. What would you call the current 'Kids Mode' and 'Regular Mode' game types?
Josh


You could call kid's mode, "For Starters" or "The Journey Begins", or something. Then maybe go with Regular, then Intermediate, and Advanced and/or Expert. (not sure how many there are, offhand) In the reset menu (when you hover on the map) there's one called "junior" which as you say, must be kid's mode. But that's a tad confusing because to pick kid's mode you get that option page that comes up, when you make a new user. Maybe do away with Kid's mode and just have one menu with all levels; let ppl choose where they want to begin, but have it default to "The Journey Begins" (or whatever you want to call it).
I started in regular but like "kid's mode" and find it hard enough to continue through the map like that. It also gives me something to look forward to (doing it all again as 'regular mode'). Not to mention being able to reset and get entire new boards. How many times will it reset to new boards??
I thought there was nothing new to learn after twirlers but voila, 4-way bouncers, very clever. This game gets really crazy with all the wam boozlers and wintinglers (as per Dr. Seuss, heh).
I like the levels that are all one item (like all twirlers or all splitters). I like the splitters the best (so far), it's fun to try to see where all 3 balls go...
I cant explain why the shifters are confusing. I'm still too new to the game; I may get the hang of it. I'll keep you posted on ideas, etc. :)

[Josh Jensen]

You could call kid's mode, "For Starters" or "The Journey Begins", or something. Then maybe go with Regular, then Intermediate, and Advanced and/or Expert. (not sure how many there are, offhand) In the reset menu (when you hover on the map) there's one called "junior" which as you say, must be kid's mode. But that's a tad confusing because to pick kid's mode you get that option page that comes up, when you make a new user.

Perhaps it is best to avoid terminology that seemingly refers to difficulty at all. Magic Balls (Kids) and Regular Balls (or maybe Invisible Balls).


Not to mention being able to reset and get entire new boards. How many times will it reset to new boards??

Indefinitely. The newly reset levels are randomly generated, but they are based on rule sets we define. An example of one such rule set for Novice 5-7 is:


Novice_5_7 =
{
text = L'All in the Mix',
gridWidth = 23,
gridHeight = 15,
wallsMinWeight = 0.1,
wallsMaxWeight = 0.15,
bouncerCoverage = 0.2,
splittersMinWeight = 0.2,
splittersMaxWeight = 0.2,
scramblersMinWeight = 0.25,
scramblersMaxWeight = 0.25,
normalMinWeight = 0.5,
normalMaxWeight = 0.5,
scramblersWrongMinPercentage = 0.5,
scramblersWrongMaxPercentage = 0.75,
switchersMinWeight = 0.25,
switchersMaxWeight = 0.25,
shiftersMinWeight = 0.1,
shiftersMaxWeight = 0.1,
stage = 5,
level = 7,
endOfStage = true,
themeToLoad = 4,
}


In reference to the above, Novice 5-7 will always be made of a 21x13 board (according to the Puzzle menu's sliders), 10-15% of the island walls, 20% of the remaining empty tiles will be made of Bouncers/Splitters/Shifters, 50-75% of the level will be Scramblers, and so on.

I thought there was nothing new to learn after twirlers but voila, 4-way bouncers, very clever. This game gets really crazy with all the wam boozlers and wintinglers (as per Dr. Seuss, heh).

Nice. We should have used your Dr. Seuss terminology. Boozlers is much more exciting than Bouncers. :)

Thanks for all your input!

Josh