HEARTLESS

Good job getting to where y'all did with this game! I know for a fact that making the tile map was a pain, especially from what you guys said in the 1st demo, but just in general. You guys did great with it, but if anything, perhaps the map was a bit too spacious or perhaps has too many dead ends, of which neither sides can really get into if either player(s) is in front of it. Otherwise, great art, great concept, and an overall great time!

First of all, let me start with wow! The art in this game is incredible! I really enjoyed the tilemap setting as well as the character animations and turn-based element. I think this was wise because it allows the player to see a pretty wide scope of your level design and artistic elements. It was especially strong to have the background elements of the castle as well. One question I have is how you designed the level-- did you use the tilemaps in Unity or was this hand-placed design? Overall, great game, really strong iteration! 

Great game, the art looks exceptional. I understand your dev team was down a person but it seems your game came out exceptionally well. The UI and layout are easy to follow and I had no issues. I'm interested to see how you can add more to the game like with different maps.

This game is so successful in achieving the groundwork for a fantastic asymmetrical multiplayer experience! First off the style and music fit very well to make a coherent theme. The title screen itself already had me impressed. The game mechanics also work well! This is a really great foundation that just needs some balancing. I found that as the devil you can just use change of heart and body-block the other the team from reaching the heart. This can be fixed in either revision of map design or tweaking the interaction between players. I think I'm missing some sort of combat or some more interaction with the devil, like forcefully moving each other. Also two small things-- when the lost one has reduced FOV, I can't move all 4 spaces I would usually be able to move, so I would recommend keeping the camera fully zoomed out but with 'fog of war' so you can see you surroundings but with no further information (if this were to be developed further into the future). Also I appreciate the MBDTF references, but to match with symmetry of the album cover with the anatomical heart in the games's cover would bring that home more. Overall amazing job with this game!

I am very impressed with this multiplayer game. I was able to playtest an early version that had only some basic UI and mechanics with placeholder sprites. The end result is very strong and well rounded. The mechanics seem to be well balanced though I would have to take some time to test different scenarios it allows for different player decisions. I think with a system as complex as this you could tweak the player movement or player options to fix any balancing issues should they arise. Overall the style and art are very cohesive and the atmosphere reflects this eerie hide-and-seek player interaction.

Everything visually and musically blend very nicely together in this game! I think you've made a really interesting game system here and would really like to see it put to use in different maps. As many mentioned in class, the first level takes a really long time to pick up. Especially for the lost one and angel there are many consecutive rounds where even though they have multiple action choices it only really makes sense for them to choose one of them. I think condensing the map and experimenting with the wall layouts could solve these issues nicely. Also a visual indicator of a trap blocking a square for the lost one and angel would be nice. Because of the trap animation I actually expected the other players to get snapped and have a little hurt animation when they stepped on it.  

This is such an interesting idea, and has such a great feel! I love the idea of a sort of hide-and-seek thing with the two seekers each having different strengths and having to help each other out, and I think the theming and abilities in this game really help complete that experience. 

The music and sound effects are really nice and help lend the mood really well, although a slightly longer loop/more tracks should maybe be a priority if the game was taken further. The art is really clear and evocative; I love that there are distinct portraits as well as the character sprites, lending all of the characters a bit more personality. The level’s tileset also really adds a lot to the general vibe, and I really appreciate that you included art even beyond the playspace.

I like the way you guys designed the abilities a lot; everybody has a few distinct roles that are easily memorable and can in potential be pretty decisive, and there’s not an overload of information, which is especially important in a strategic game like this since you kinda have to know what everyone else is doing too. 

I have two main criticisms; one I brought up in class, which is that it takes a little bit to get going. Honestly, actually playing the game, I don’t think this is as much of an issue as I thought watching; the starting turns are a bit slow, but it gets going fast enough, and the downtime gives you a some maybe-needed time to think about what you’re going to be doing. 

What I really think does need adjustment is the transitions between turns--the game is about information, but the round transitions are instant. Assuming you’re all playing around the same screen, even if you use a “close your eyes” honor system kind of thing, it’d be kind of hard to actually look away. So you basically always see where the heart is, and with the angel’s sight lines and so on. I don’t wanna make too much out of this ‘cause just a like 1-2 second fade between rounds, or a “confirm end turn” thing would alleviate this, but I think it is kind of a big issue with the game as it is right now. 

In all though, I really liked this! I think it’s a really elegant concept; there’s enough going on to keep things interesting, but not so much that it’s hard to remember. And the visuals, abilities, and sound all add so much too!

Playtester Name: Chang

Developer Name(s): Yuen, Milena, Daniel, John

Playtest Date : 11/19/2020

What were your favorite moments of the game?

Love to see how the characters have different skills and interact with each other. Idle animation looks great! nice detail. I think these minor details make the game more lively.

Where do you see room for improvement?

It would be nice if there was a button to go back after selecting the move button, because the players have to press the button to see how far they can move.

When did you stop playing and why?

If I return to the menu and replay the game then game is broken.

Was there anything related to the interface or controls that was hard

to understand?

The UI layout is well arranged.

I think the typeface which is used for description could be changed.

Was there anything related to the mechanics that was hard to understand?

Everything was kindly explained.

Was there anything related to the art, or sound that was hard to understand?

  Art really fit into the game style. It seems that small characters are well expressed with a small number of pixels. 

Do you have any other feedback that you would like the designer to hear?

It was nice to see the 3 difficulty levels. In my opinion, it is good that the map grows, but I wish I had a lot of skills, because in the beginning, there is nothing to do except moving, so the tension seems to decrease a lot.