A bit late but Happy Halloween.
Our next game for this week is Carny Death Peddlers.
As usual, discuss and write your general reactions to this game.
http://www.freeindiegam.es/2012/11/carny-death-peddlers-adam-domurad-clay-bullard/
BTW: Love this site. It has so much indie games.
Okay, just got down and played Carny Death Peddlers for a good half an hour. Here are my thoughts on it.
ReplyDeleteArtstyle:
I found the artstyle for the game to be very interesting. The game had an obvious retro feel to it by going pixel. The detail to the setting of the carnival was great. You fought on the streets and then progressed into the tent. The enemies all had this mutated carny theme, which was fine.
Story:
The story was a bit unclear. I might have overlooked it, but I am pretty sure they did not explain what was going on in the story. I assume that you are an ex-carny employee who is fighting against a gang of mutated carny enemies.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is very simple. You go around beating up enemies that are trying to kill you. You can essentially punch, charge punch, punch (in a crowd), block, and dash backwards. You can also interact with the environment and break the trash cans for powerups and items.
Dislikes:
I felt that the game was a bit too repetitive. When you went across the map, you would essentially be fight waves after waves of carny enemies. It seemed more like a chore. The powerups and items are a good addition, but I think that there could be something more added to it, such as leveling up abilities or picking up items to use to fight enemies.
The charge punch is a great mechanic that I felt could be expanded upon. It did very little damage though, so I felt that there was no point in using it, when I could just run and punch enemies.
The controls were a bit awkward to get use to as well. I found myself running and punch most of the time, instead of blocking, just because it was too awkward. A gamepad would be best for this game.
There is no story as well, so I felt that I had no motivation to continue playing the game once I died.
Likes:
I thought the creator of the game did a real good job at recreating that environment of those retro arcade beat em up games that were popular in the 90's.
The powerups and abilities are a great addition, from the bombs to the throwing piercing knives. That is a good foundation to work upon.
The interaction with the environment was great as well. I searched for every opportunity to knock over those trashcans.
The game is hard as well. So there is some definite replay value in my opinion.
Overall, I thought Carny Death Peddlers has a good concise theme that was prevailent when I first played it. I was definitely nostaglic of those old days putting in quarters to play Streets of Rage/TMNT/The Simpsons. I believe this game is meant to be played with other people. There are some flaws to the game, but I feel that Carny Death Peddlers is starting in a good direction.
I thought the game was decent.
ReplyDeleteGranted I did not finish it but I think it failed to keep me interested for the duration of the game's length.
I think it has to do with the way the game controls. I wasn't sure where the hitboxes were when I attacked the enemies and I think that kinda made me a bit annoyed. I did get used to it, but I don't think the movement feels very good. Also the fighting areas are a bit small for how fast the enemies move and you move and also how big they are. It feels too clusterfuck-y.
The music fit the overall theme they were going for which was interesting but I felt the character designs were a bit lacking.
Thanks for playing ! The artist and I made the game for a competition dead-line, and are pretty aware of the faults. I plan to get it redone for mobile platforms some point (not on horizon just yet). In the mean-time though we'll probably tackle a completely different genre.
ReplyDeleteAny news on our productions will be posted on http://deadpixels.net.
No problem! I'm not sure how you found this blog (I don't think it's listed) but I'll be sure to check out your site.
DeleteAlmighty Google. I apologize if its intended to be a private blog.
DeleteNah it's not a private blog. Just surprised haha.
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