Zuonius's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[G.I.F.T.]

Let me just start by telling you that G.I.F.T. is a very fun game! It was challenging, the gameplay was smooth, and I was very engaged. Having told you that, I'd like to provide some feedback for you because I really want to see this game reach its full potential.

First off, the graphics could use some work. While I enjoyed the overall retro look of the graphics, I feel that the level tiles and snowballs didn't quite fit in. More importantly, why is the kid just sliding? Why not make him skate across the ice? If you're seriously interested in getting some better graphics into this game, please contact me. I've pushed a few pixels in my past and I'm sure I could make some time to give you a hand.

Next, let's talk transitions. Proceeding from the title screen to the first level, and then from each level to the next, is kind of boring. You are essentially "dropped" into each level without even a congratulations for completing the previous. I suggest at least displaying a cool intro to each level, even if it's just the words "Level (insert level number here)" displayed in big letters. It would also help to prompt the player to begin the level before proceeding from each intro. At the end of the level, the box could run away from the player to the next level. This would make sense because you technically don't actually open the box until the end of the game (more on that in a moment).

Next, beginning with Level 9, the games difficulty increases sharply. I mention Level 9 specifically because I found myself having to "cheat" to complete it. I had to change my direction right before I got to the edge of the first platform so I would drop down to the platform directly below me. It's wise to avoid creating levels based on a flaw in your gameplay mechanics, especially without giving the player a heads up. You also used this same flaw to design the last level. I suggest fixing this flaw and then considering how each level can be designed to stay within the intended bounds of how the game is played. You've got the right idea in the first few levels, which were pretty fun!

Finally, the ending was somewhat of a disappointment. I still have no idea what was in that box! Also, you're English could use a little bit of work (the ending text was a little hard to understand). Again, if you'd like some assistance, contact me and I'll help you out.

There you go! Make a few tweaks here and there, revamp your graphics, and design some new awesome levels. Like I said, I really want to see where this game goes and I hope you take my tips into consideration.

ozanyildiz responds:

Thank you for this awesome review. This is very useful for me. I've already made some modifications based on your review. And now I'm going to answer all of questions.

I made the all of the graphics. And this was my first drawing experience. Before that, I always used primitive shapes like square, circle. Frankly, my "ability" of drawing restricted me while I was making this game. I had to give up some ideas because I couldn't draw them. I thought the idea of moving by skating, too. But later, I've decided on making him slide. By the way, I'm super happy for offering me help on making better graphics.

You are absolutely right about level transitions and requirement of intros between those levels.

The reason for putting this game on web was to get feedback from users. I considered your experience on sharply increasing levels. Definitely, I'm going to do some changes to decrease the sharpness between levels.

I corrected the ending text. I also need to make changes on ending.

Again, thank you for reviewing and offering help. I'm going to contact you by sending pm.

[Go Avatar]

Love it! As soon as I get the chance I'm using this for my avatar! Thank you!

Of course, in true Zuo fashion, I have to let you know where you can improve. Fortunately I only found one thing that caused just a tad bit of frustration: you can't use the left arrows to go from the first custom feature to the last. You can, however, go from the last to the first. This is only frustrating when you accidentally go past the last item in the group and realize you want to go back a few items but can't. Instead, you have to go forward through the list until you get to the item.
In other words: if there are 20 pairs of pants, make sure the left arrow will allow you to go from item 1 directly to item 20.

Pseudo-code example:

if player presses left arrow
if item = 1
item = 20
else
item = item - 1
end if
end if

Hope this helps! :)

rhys510 responds:

im sorry but due to the changing colour codes it dosent make it as simple as you put it :(

[Ricoshooter 2]

I'm loving the artwork in this game. In fact, the entire game is smoothly executed and the overall theme of the game is very consistent.

I do, however, have on gripe. I noticed that as soon as you run out of shots you lose. I understand that this is supposed to happen but if there are boxes still tumbling around or bombs still rolling, the game should wait until that all stops before determining if you lose. Basically, I ran into this when my final shot on level 8 set off a chain reaction of explosions and flying boxes. As soon as my last bullet disappeared, the final bot exploded from a box hitting him. It was too late by then and I lost even though I killed all of the bots.

[Jetfart Zombie]

You've got something fun going here, but a little refinement could make a big difference.

Like everyone is saying, that zombie ass needs more thrust. The rate at which the zombie falls outweighs the rate at which he rises from the ground. I would suggest cranking up the thrust of the fart so that it lifts the zombie at about 75% of the falling speed (right now it feels like it's around 40%-50%). You're algorithms might not allow such a direct manipulation of the physics, but I'm sure you can tweak it and just feel it out.
(If anything, you could at least increase the thrust from running position. While on foot, the zombie would technically be able to gain more thrust by jumping and farting at the same time. This is more practical than just depending on the fart alone to initially lift off of the ground.)

And just to be picky, turning off the music also turns off the sound effects. The music gets kind of annoying, but I still want to hear the fart sounds because they make me giggle. If you don't want to separate the sounds and music, changing "[M]usic" to "[S]ound" would make more sense.

All in all, I liked it. You can't go wrong with farts. :)