Some early feedback.

posted in: Flash | 0

I threw a link to Company up on Reddit, and it’s gotten a fair bit of comment feedback–As of right now, almost 250 comments in 12 hours. I’m always intensely critical of my own work, and that makes it very hard for me to say that I really like something I’ve made until I hear opinions from lots of other people. I liked Spewer the whole way through its development, but I wasn’t ready to call it a good game until the people who played it called it a good game.

From the looks of it, Company is a good game.

I decided to handle all of the game design for Company on my own, because I wanted to find out if I could actually do it successfully–My recent projects have all been joint efforts, so I was getting nervous that the game design was only good because of the other person’s contributions.  Hopefully the positive response here is enough to convince me that I can indeed do this stuff and do it well.

A smattering of responses from Reddit users:

  • This game is pimp.  (Word.)
  • Braidish but cool.  (This is a very expected response, since the game is largely inspired by Braid.  The number of people who note that it’s similar to Braid is about where I expected it to be.  Good eye, gaming community.)
  • I would seriously enjoy having this game on a handheld system of some sort. It strikes so many awesome chords with me. I just love the style/storyline/atmosphere of the whole game so much that it would easily be addictive. You did a great job!  (At this point, I don’t really see myself doing more with this game, to be honest.  I did what I wanted with it, and I’m satisfied with leaving it where it is.  Making another version for something other than Flash would just mean reusing puzzles, and that’s no good.  A lot of people don’t realize how important it is not to repeat puzzles in these kinds of games–Making more content becomes really huge challenge by the end, and once you’ve done all you can, there’s nowhere else to go.)
  • Best flash game I’ve played in a long time. Gameplay is simple, but challenging and thought-provoking. Music is wistful and nostalgic. Graphics are crisp. Story is subtle but deep.  (This person managed to compliment all three people who worked on the project. Luka Marcetic did the graphics and animation, and David Carney wrote the music.)
  • Wow, great game design AND great writing! You rule!  (Bawwww, thank you.)
  • Add a mute button. (Whoops.  There’s volume control in the pause menu, but it’s obvious now that this isn’t clear enough for average-gamer-Joe. Next time I’ll make it more apparent.)
  • Very rarely am i impressed with an online game, but I thought this was very well done.  (I’m not tearing up.  I’ve got something in my eye.  Give me…give me a second.)
  • You’re fucking brilliant, man. Seriously.  (Hey, I love you, too!)
  • That was awesome. perfect use of challenge without being impossible. Neat story the game play, perfect music. Just the right amount of emotion to make you connect with your little mass of pixels. This is how it’s done. Thanks!  (This is pretty much EVERYTHING I strived for in development.  Hearing someone else tell me it works is unfathomably satisfying.)
  • Thank you for making this game, I really enjoyed it while it lasted, I am truly amazed how a small game like this can create such an atmosphere.  (Atmosphere, hooray!  Another big goal of mine, so it’s great to hear it turned out how I wanted it to.)
  • The way the story was presented reminded me of World of Goo, I liked it.  (This one confuses me, actually.  There’s no intentional WoG influence in Company, although WoG is definitely a very good game.  I’m curious what parts they considered similar.)
  • SUCKS! Is Crap!  (Hey!  Fuck you, buddy!  …Okay not really, but this is a good moment to share a bit of insight about art, business, and life in general.  I hate it when somebody makes a product and then gets all pissy about customers who don’t like it.  It’s not your job to like it.  It’s my job to make you like it.  If you don’t, that’s my fault.)

And with that, it’s just about time to work on something new.

0 Responses

  1. High-Lord Vin

    “Braidish but cool. (This is a very expected response, since the game is largely inspired by Braid. The number of people who note that it’s similar to Braid is about where I expected it to be. Good eye, gaming community.)”

    actually, it made me think of the Lemony Snicket-Beatrice relationship, at least till I reached the end of the story; then it made me think that the Lemony Snicket-Beatrice relationship might have turned out that way if “The Series of Unfortunate Events” had not been aimed at kids

  2. Probably similar to WoG because of it’s atmosphere. The music was great and so is the game 😀

  3. bueno para empezar … quiza hable español… pero eso que… la verdad es uno de los mejores juegos de plataformas que he jugado… me atrapo por completo, la historia, la musica, el diseño y el juego en si… realmente no pude dejar de jugarlo y eso que es la una de la mañana! me sorprende que haya gente a la que no le guste tu trabajo… realmente en un momento me dio demasiada nostalgia y de hecho tuve hasta un sentimiento de compacion por el personaje. realmente lo que creaste es impresionante.. gracias y sigue trabajando asi 😉

  4. I think it was similar to World of Goo due to the short text messages present in each level, which is much like world of goo signposts.

    Great game, by the way

  5. <blockquote cite="#commentbody-412">
    <strong><a href="#comment-412">GLORIA</a> :</strong><P>bueno para empezar … quiza hable español… pero eso que… la verdad es uno de los mejores juegos de plataformas que he jugado… me atrapo por completo, la historia, la musica, el diseño y el juego en si… realmente no pude dejar de jugarlo y eso que es la una de la mañana! me sorprende que haya gente a la que no le guste tu trabajo… realmente en un momento me dio demasiada nostalgia y de hecho tuve hasta un sentimiento de compacion por el personaje. realmente lo que creaste es impresionante.. gracias y sigue trabajando asi <IMG class=wp-smiley alt=;) src="http://www.2darray.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif"&gt; </P></blockquote>
    en acuerdo contigo!! my good friend!

  6. High-Lord Vin

    quote seems unreliable

    also, I think the similarity is as follows:

    people generally avoid puzzle games; it seems to bring up the idea of a boring nooby game; however, every once and awhile, thier comes a puzzle game that is so good that it overcomes the steriotipical view and shows that puzzle games can be good

    WoG is one of those games; so is Company

  7. I feel that Company was an all right game. The possibilities of the design are not exploited as well as in Chronotron. The plot is special in the context of flash gaming, but commonly rehashed in a more general context of fiction. One thing I did like was the presentation. It delighted me when I personally pulled the lever on his S.O. and watched her plummet and tell the story in the middle of the level. The music also perfect. Overall however, the length and lack of diversity in puzzles left me wanting.

  8. Company of Myself is awesome. A sequel or something would be rad. :)

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