Bit of game design advice: when you have an action that only benefits the player in all situations with unlimited uses, such as the unlimited standard attack laser here, you should make that action automated.
Here there's no reason why I wouldn't just want to attack at all times, as there's no downsides, it's purely beneficial to just spam unlimited lasers and hope to hit something, so I'm incentivized to simply repeatedly smash the spacebar to shoot (which is really bad for my carpal tunnel) or hold it down to continuously fire once I figured out that was an option (which is still bad for a lot of players with physical ailments). It's pointless to bind that action to a button, as the player is just going to hold it down the entire time, so you may as well just make action automated, shooting continuously without a button press.
Alternatively, you could impose a disadvantage to firing, such as slowing the player down, or expending a limited resource of ammunition, etc. Then it becomes a choice for the player whether to fire or not in at any one moment, increasing the depth of the gameplay.
Thanks - with only 72 hours I didn't have time to put a proper level format in, but I'm exploring the idea of expanding it out to at least a full-fledged level with hornet end boss!
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Watch Jam Game Showcase ~ Arcade Controls Jam Part 2 from MrJoshuaMcLean on www.twitch.tv
Nice work!
Bit of game design advice: when you have an action that only benefits the player in all situations with unlimited uses, such as the unlimited standard attack laser here, you should make that action automated.
Here there's no reason why I wouldn't just want to attack at all times, as there's no downsides, it's purely beneficial to just spam unlimited lasers and hope to hit something, so I'm incentivized to simply repeatedly smash the spacebar to shoot (which is really bad for my carpal tunnel) or hold it down to continuously fire once I figured out that was an option (which is still bad for a lot of players with physical ailments). It's pointless to bind that action to a button, as the player is just going to hold it down the entire time, so you may as well just make action automated, shooting continuously without a button press.
Alternatively, you could impose a disadvantage to firing, such as slowing the player down, or expending a limited resource of ammunition, etc. Then it becomes a choice for the player whether to fire or not in at any one moment, increasing the depth of the gameplay.
Great advice gunnar - I'll definitely play with that idea in future.
This game is addicting and all I want is to pick up an ultimate mosquito-seeking missile launcher powerup XD
Thanks - with only 72 hours I didn't have time to put a proper level format in, but I'm exploring the idea of expanding it out to at least a full-fledged level with hornet end boss!