Refined Difficulty

It has been a long time since my last dev log update, mainly because I haven't had a lot of time to program (due to some family crisis + I also got married :D).

I did have some opportunities to let players test my game and got some very interesting feedback, which is the main focus of this update, and, that I'll be working on in the coming weeks.

What's New?

Making sure to get the latest fixes and performance boosts, I upgraded the Godot engine version from 3.2.2 to 3.3.2.

Almost all players were having difficulty with the obstacle course encounter (where you jump between pillars), so I moved it to appear only from the 2nd level and on.

It was also a very hard combo to perform so I made its length variable, this way it's easy the first time you encounter it, but increases in difficulty on subsequent levels.

Interesting Feedback and What's to come:

Leading Rhythm / Tempo

A drummer friend of mine tested the game and was immediately annoyed by the fact that the rhythm of the different elements in the game are out of sync and fail to follow some leading tempo.

She expected the walking step sound effects of the main character to indicate the tempo in which the elements are supposed to be hit.

This was not my intention when I implemented the stepping sounds, but, I love this idea.
I had a vague idea of having some cue sounds that indicate the rhythm and tempo of the incoming elements and this could easily be the baseline before more advanced cues are implemented.

General GUI Reworking

The blades that indicate (and decide) when the incoming elements should be hit are placed too high, placing them lower would give players more time to see and prepare for the hit and eliminate the dead space below them.

The incoming elements also appear too much to the sides, and I was told that it would be easier if they were placed closer to the center.

After fixing these I'll start working on the more exciting aspects I already mentioned: 

• End level rewards - you receive a reward (e.g. an extra heart or a slow motion trinket)
• End level passage picks - after finishing a level you get to pick the next level's reward, which will also effects its difficulty

As always - I would love to hear feedback from players 🙏