Shooter, looking for feedback

[zooom18]

UPDATE: Testers needed!
PM me if interested and ill send you a test flight invite.

Thought I'd post the game I've been working on in case anyone wants to provide some feedback

Genre: Top down dual-stick shooter

Setting: You play as an old farmer guy who's been a tinkerer (creates gadgets) his whole life. Using his skills he's been able to grow the best food around. With his latest batch of crops he mistakenly put something in the food that makes the forest animals crazy/evil. Once they've a taste they won't stop until they eat it all. So you've been tasked to use your own gadgets to "clean up" the forest animals that want to take all of your crops!

Gameplay: You start out in the farmer's shed, grab a weapon (gun or axe) and step out into your fields. The animals start coming out of the woods and you need to kill them (very common I know). But as you kill the animals you get both gold and experience. The gold is used to upgrade your weapons (faster attack speed, more damage, special affixes like homing missiles, extra explosive, etc.). When you level you can increase your stats such as (more gold per kill, faster health regen, faster movement, etc.). These stats stay with you each game unlike your weapons and gold. A unique part of this game is that there is no pause button, the shed acts as your pause/menu so you'll need to go back there to upgrade your weapons/skills (the map isn't huge so it's not a huge inconvenience but is something that I think will make the game more intense).

Graphics: Cartoonish, think field runners, clash of clans, solomon's boneyard
(I'm looking for graphic artists btw)

Reason: I think this game will be "successful" because it offers players persistent rewards, leveling up each game and making them noticeably better each time. Cuteish graphics that should appeal to a wider audience. Small file size (less than 20mb), I think a lot of large games turn away users that want a quick download and to start playing instantly, even with the cap increased to 50mb some users may still not have the patience.


Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think.

[2133]

It looks nice, but it is a bit too generic. Add a bit of more things that will stand out. An excellent story maybe? Still, that would be fun, would love to download that.

[MarkFromBitmenStudios]

Dual stick on a touch device always means wrong platform IMHO. I know it's common but it always sucks. Also, how do you know the game size without having the assets yet? In any case, a lot depends on execution and playtesting. Make a prototype with placeholder gfx and try it out.

[zooom18]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm definitely still trying to make it stand out more. I was just talking to an artist and had differing opinions on what the main character should look like: an old plump guy with a mustache maybe (think Mario), or a young action hero (handsome, desirable). The old guy would be more of a typical farmer that would be more believable in the role. Or the young action hero that is handsome and people might like to play as that.

What do you think? What would market better?

[schplurg]

Originally Posted by zooom18

Thanks for the feedback, I'm definitely still trying to make it stand out more. I was just talking to an artist and had differing opinions on what the main character should look like: an old plump guy with a mustache maybe (think Mario), or a young action hero (handsome, desirable). The old guy would be more of a typical farmer that would be more believable in the role. Or the young action hero that is handsome and people might like to play as that.

What do you think? What would market better?

You could let people choose from a few characters. Add a girl too maybe. Sounds like a cool idea for a game.

Maybe have funny weapons that you could make out of farm equipment and tools? I can't think of anything at the moment though (which is strange for me).

[wearepinata]

My recommendation is to just make a prototype and see if that plays well. It is absolutely possible to make a game that is addictive without using any proper artwork. Tweak the gameplay and lock down the game mechanic before you start adding graphics. That way you'll be able to tell how good your game actually is before going to all the trouble of worrying about which angle to market it from

[zooom18]

Ya, I have a working prototype which I think is pretty fun but I'm a little biased.

I've been trying to figure out what the end game should be, a lot of shooters are pretty repetitive and have no real goal besides kill a bunch of zombies and get more points. So, right now the game has 30 stages (waves) and if you make it that far its over. You probably won't make it to the end on your first play through but since you're leveling up you'll eventually beat it. Then comes the diablo style effect where you play through it again but on a much harder difficulty. Then once you play through again you'll probably be max level or almost, and reach the final difficulty. This time you play for the fastest time amongst the leader boards. That way people will "hopefully" want to keep playing to improve their time.

Has anything like this been done? What do you see as a challenge or pitfall to this idea?

Thanks

[zooom18]

What do people think about using the accelerometer to move and touching the screen to shoot? I've always been against that because you don't get the movement precision and quickness, but maybe other people enjoy it?

[zooom18]

I'm looking for a few testers to help with the alpha build.

[KennyK]

Do you have some pictures and/or videos of the gameplay. If you're looking for testers, I think it'd be best to post your game in the upcoming section, there should be plenty of willing participants there! Good luck with your game