Periphery -- Post-Mortem
I got over the 20 votes I need for my entry, "Periphery". Now seems like a good time to talk about what worked and what needs improvement
What Worked
- Music, as always -- I Love to try to use the theme in multiple ways, so in this instance there are loops that the Light Orb is stuck to, but changing loops will also change the drum loop playing on the music.
- Visualizer -- I tried making a visualizer for the first time, which at its base seemed to be simple enough since Unity already has a built-in function to get the spectrum data from an AudioListener. Wrapping the visualizer around a circle proved to be harder though, and I ended up doing it with vectors instead of trying to figure out the underlying math. Either way, it worked!
- Speedrun mode -- Replayability is always important to consider, and when you have a set number of levels, replayability is usually pretty low. So I decided to implement a speedrun mode that unlocks once you complete all the levels. It's also the first time I tried using Unity objects that don't destroy on load, in order to keep the timer consistent while each level loads. (I also did this with the cymbal sound to make the music seem to flow more smoothly from one level to the next.)
- Graphics -- While usually my weakest element, I feel like what I came up with did the job here. I don't really know of many improvements I would make, aside from maybe a visual link between the mouse pointer and a loop that you're currently moving.
- Mobile-friendly -- The only control in the game is clicking and dragging, which means that this game suits itself easily for mobile platforms should I ever decide to make a full post-compo version of the game.
What Needs Improvement
- More levels -- While I think the 12 levels are enough for the speedrun mode without making it too long, I do feel like I could have come up with more levels if I had the time. I originally intended to do 15, but shortened it to 12 as the deadline drew near. Truth be told though, I could probably make PLENTY more levels, since I have several ideas for more game mechanics to implement alongside them. Maybe something for me to pursue post-compo.
- More music variety -- I'm happy with the music, but it could always be better. Right now there are 8 drum loops to switch between, and 3 base tracks that it randomly enables and disables every few bars. Those numbers can be easily increased. Originally I wanted to cycle through different base track combinations for each level, but I barely had time to finish the game as it was. Definitely will be improving this if I make a post-compo version.
- Ending -- The game needs an ending, as right now it just dumps you back to the main screen.
- Obstacle graphics -- One piece of feedback I've been getting is that the graphics on the red obstacles is a little intense and hard on the eyes, especially if there are a lot of them on the screen at once. Toning it down is also on the post-compo list.
Any more feedback is appreciated (and of course your votes 😉)!
Source: ldjam.com archive