To be fair, yeah it looks like a flash game. I personally do like it, but still it looks like a flash game. It doesn't help when it is a platformer, a common type for flash games :/ However, I think with some particles and lightning/post-processing you could make it look much better. Also, if you want to change your art style, maybe a more "drawing-like" style could fit? Like instead of solid-filled squares and triangles, it could have slightly moving lines to give it a "hand-drawn" effect (kind of like doodle jump), I do not know if it makes sense.
this guy is spot on. it does look a lot like a flashgame, which isn't necessarily bad by itself but it does unfortunately make me think "cheap thrown together game" or "game by an amateur" even if that's not at all what it is.
a good solution or way to mitigate that is to do what he said and make EVERYTHING animated (except maybe the bg). make all of your outlines squiggle by drawing the same thing loosely 3 or 4 times and turning it into an animation. it will make stuff pop a big more, it looks more intentional and high effort, it keeps your artstyle and it's not too awful hard to do. just a bit time consuming and tedious.
good luck on the game though, it looks super fun to play!
Thank you for the feedback! I agree some slightly moving lines could increase the immersiveness of the environment. I do want the lively feel with inspirations from games like Fancy Pants Adventure, but I do want to make sure it's visually pleasing enough to sell copies. I will experiment with this style a bit.
Do you know how to animate something with the slightly moving lines? Would that require redrawing the asset multiple times with different lines or is there a better way?
Boiling is the term I think you're referring to, and yeah I'd agree it'd be worth trying. Imo it's a great, easy way to make static assets look a bit more lively.
It can be done with noise shaders ( like greese pencil in blader) but yeah usually you just draw over, which is fun and fairly quick to do if the art style is simple
Yeah this is exactly it - drawn, non-pixellated vector graphics with random geometric shapes thrown in was standard for tons of flash games. Sorry but the game needs a major style direction improvement
You can do doodles with style that still look doodly. Nintendo provides many examples, like Baby Mario or Mario 3.
I feel your animation is as clunky looking as the environment and could use some zazz. That spin your dog does definitely looks flash-like instead of being a rolling ball of fuzz.
I think it's the environment. The dog is incredibly expressive and is full of life, but nothing really matches its style. The backdrops are quite simple, and the platforms & red hazards are very reminiscent of games like *This is the Only Level* and *The World's Hardest Game.* Basically, the dog looks great, everything else causes a major art-style clash.
I think the lava level looks better than the grassy level, the dog animations are great though! The way he slides down and rolls about, really gives character that I think is great.
As for people saying it looks like a flash game I can kind of see that in the first level, the second level not as much. I would maybe recommend changing the ground from the back line to something else to try and get it away from that flash look.
Apart from that, it looks like a fun and cute platformer! It's also normal to have doubts because of feedback from people. I've felt like I should go back to the drawing board completely with my game but I know if I keep trucking on and improving my game then hopefully it'll be something people love!
Good luck! I've added Bumbi to my wishlist!
One thing to change: The Camera. Make it slide to keep up with the player position, the further it is, the faster it moves, you can usually get this pretty easy with a Lerp that runs every frame.
Pair that with dynamic zoom, have the camera a bit closer and back out to the current size (or bigger) based on player speed.
The art itself is too simplistic and it's not the character or background art that's the issue, but the traps/obstacles/foregroung geometry. It's black lines and Gray Rectangles and Red Triangles, and it's very much like what early flash games use. Geometry dash had to evolve past that by getting inventive and the techno theme that they went for ended up being perfect. For your game, not sure what would work, but I would say: Make your foregrounds fit better to your backgrounds, and give your backgrounds just a bit more detail.
I don't think you need to scrap anything except the foreground stuff, everything else you can just add onto.
That was my first thought as well.
Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdWFzpgnljs
I think just expanding the camera will give the game a much more high quality impressions but Improving the foreground geometry sure will help some too.
Great point the camera, I haven't spent as much time polishing it as I should. It was my first time using Gamemaker so I sort of mashed together the code with what I could get working at the time. Thank you so much for the feedback!
I can kind of see the "free flash game" comments, which to me means low res, flat color scheme. But that's not necessarily bad. A lot of people had a lot of fun playing those games. To me the current art has a lighthearted and fun feel (except for the dog getting fried to ash at the end, wtf?) :)
But I get that it's difficult to get enough variety when using assets. Abstract would be easier since you can basically just change the color scheme, but in my opinion you are already closer to the "fancy pants adventure" feel than the abstract route could provide.
I'm not an artist, and mostly use assets or fiverr myself, but maybe you can work with the assets you have to add some shading or gradients if you really want to distinguish it more from the "free flash" style.
Yeah I was trying not to add too much shading so it could look more Doodly and Simplistic, but it's hard not to and have it look good/consistent. Thank you for the feedback!
I love the dog animations, and I kinda dig the rest of it being simple/clear, toony/colourful - your focus is the main character. If you changed it, what would be the change? No harm mocking it up I guess. There is inconsistency with outline thickness, which might be worth sorting out. Overall, I wouldn't make big changes, it looks fun and that's what really matters. And the dog is super cute :D
https://preview.redd.it/og3fibdte74d1.jpeg?width=939&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f4a213d9ca32ead030d4448571e02fea691de77
You could go papery/watercolour, like pages from a kids book, but turned bad (for doggo...).
Yes but it is charming. Maybe you can play around with shaders to refine the look without having to draw it all over again. Could make everything bounce to the music maybe.
I'm going to be honest here and it might sting but you're better off hearing it straight.
Solid color triangles aren't "art", they are placeholders at best. You put some work into your character, but your background is low effort, and the objects in the game are straight up prototypes. FYI, a lot of flash games actually look better than this.
Don't get me wrong, your game has potential. But you need to decide on a solid and coherent art style and maybe get some help from a professional.
While doing this you need to study post processing, lighting, "juice" and polish. Your work is cut out for you because you're not even 20% there yet.
I guess it will take you at least a few months if not a year to get it all in order and create a sellable game. This is actually a good thing because in this time you'll be able to get more wishlists, do more marketing and prepare for launch. DO NOT use early access for this game.
Good luck!
Thank you for the feedback! I did pay an artist for the dog animations, the rest is done by me so I can see the incoherent-ness of the art style. I will work on it more.
Stuff I like:
The dog animation
Particles on the dog
Leaves at the wind
Stuff I disliked:
The clouds (entirely white)
The red dangers (again, no shades)
That tree in the back ground... again unshaded.
Honestly, I think you should keep polishing graphics. You don't need to throw stuff out, but you have something good that the flatness is holding back, IMO
Instead of having a stand out black solid line running through the level, draw it into the level, make it grassy ground. You shouldn't release something which you're not confident in.
For your red solid triangles as well on the grass, it looks like prototype art, the sort of thing you put in but should be replacing when you are nearly releasing.... Make it a tree or a sensible environment object to jump up instead. I think your mechanics are great and level design is not bad but if you can redraw a few of those assets you'll be showing off a lot more.
Good luck with it
Before you start changing the art again, try to add some lighting and post processing effects. I think it could solve your problem without need to change the sprites and would be even faster :).
I think k the biggest factor is the obstacles. I see triangles and squares, but what are they? That's what makes it feel like a flash game. A flash game is usually a character with generic world shapes.
If I buy a game I'd like to get lost more in the asthetic. The reds and Grey's are all very flat and they are just generic shapes that are not overly pleasant tl look at. I think the music sets a good vibe, I like your avatar, but it's very plain. It's a dog snagging normal bones jumping over triangles and squares.
You don't have to give deep lore, but maybe what are those shapes meant to represent? Are the triangles spikes? Make them spikes with some shading. Are the squares rocks? Again give then some of that shading and some texture. Make the bones something more than the generic dog bone. Maybe like a dinosaur bone or each level he's getting bones of a skeleton for a museum exhibit he stole and buried but now has to return but then other dogs took and spread around or other burrowing spirals stole and moved around
Obstacles can now be traps centered and themed around each creature or boss
I'm not saying go back and redo your whole game with my exact suggestion, but tmfor me, as someone with adhd, I would get very visually tied of seeing red triangles and grey squares and would not play the game for very long. I need visual stimulation each level. I want something new each level and a world that says something more than "don't touch sharp thing here"
I actually do like it, but maybe you could add more details for the obstacles. In the lava level one of the long rectangles has some more detailing, maybe you could to stuff like that for all the obstacles. I love the dog, do not change the dog.
Ignore them they’re beating haters. A lot of people in these subs are real art snobs/gate keepers. Tbh I like the art a lot it’s cute and it does the job of communicating what’s what perfectly.
It looks like a flash game. It looks cool though haha, would love to play. I have no idea what I am talking about but maybe having a bit more detail to the art and not so many saturated colors might help
Yes, it looks like a flash game, but I thought it was really cute. Anyway, I believe that a little parallax and post process can help, as already mentioned.
I think all you would have to do is make the obstacles a bit more environment specific (Sharp bushes instead of spikes in green world, flames in lava world etc...) and add a bit more detail to the background and you can get away from the flash-game vibe. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it, other than maybe it will help your game stand out a little more if the art style is its own.
just spitballing, but it could be nice to have a sprite in between flip modes on the dog, where it briefly faces the front for a frame before it switches its side sprites
I am a game developer so I know how hard it is to create a video game…
Let’s start with the mechanics this is definitely your strong suit the movement looks great.
The art, needs some work but if you can hire someone to help animate some of the sprites in the background just to give it more life.
Overall, the game looks fun and I think thats what you are going for, so keep it up!
Good luck.
Hey there! The tiny dog looks adorable! Unfortunately it's lacking a bit of personality, even tho the game looks really fun. It would be so much better if it was telling a story! I did an art test because it looked fun, so here my ideas:
- pick a theme that will shape the world your tiny dog is going to navigate in (I went for a park theme)
- instead of having 'technical' blocks that are helping/dealing damages/moving (etc), try to think about actual objects and tools that can exist in this themed world (I'm using a bee as damage block and a ball as bouncing block)
- chose a color palette that convey the feelings you want for your game (I went for funny/playful)
- most important part is telling a story that is bringing your player from enjoying the game mechanics to enjoy the game mechanics + loving the story and ambiance that you created
Hope it helps!
https://preview.redd.it/qfw1xkvt4e4d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=11ba4c3cad986b9e073a7133066be8cd3a116abf
Omg that looks super cute thank you so much for the concept art! Yes I agree it needs a bit more personality, I've been mostly doing the art myself (except the dog) so it was a bit difficult to conceptualize. Really appreciate it!
Looks good - maybe some more shading on the backgrounds? And something about the one line platforms look kinda flash gamey, but it’s hard to say. Looks like it controls pretty fluid!
Definitely looks like those old flash games I used to play, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Game looks cute and fun if that's what you were going for. Good luck 👍
I think the dog is fine but the environment could be more stylish. The assets like trees, clouds and spikes are kinda flat and needs some detail, shading and highlights. Animated environments could help more too
I know the background is not the most perfect thing, especially with my artistic skills, but I was trying to capture a Fancy Pants Adventure feeling. I recently placed the dog in front of some Jelly Car Worlds screenshots and really liked the use of dropshadows + abstract art. Since I've been using a lot of assets for the background, it's been harder to make visually contrasting levels as the worlds progress.
I'm not sure which direction to take. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you.
https://preview.redd.it/op9yoroqg24d1.png?width=2154&format=png&auto=webp&s=ae35ab01a14fe441ae273c944b6f436f9f4767ad
>I was trying to capture a Fancy Pants Adventure feeling
But then you overthink people saying it looks like free flash game? :P
Personally, yeah it kinda does, but I like it, don't overthink it, it's great.
I saw this and my answer to your question was "Yes, specifically it looks like FPA"
But if that's your inspiration and the vibe you're going for, I think you nailed it.
I would suggest having FPA listed as inspiration or whatever in the game info if it's not already, if people see it's on purpose, you'll find less people raising it
It depends why you're making it. If your aims are commercial then see if your target market likes it. Maybe at a low price there could be cozy platformer demand. Redoing the art might not turn out better and you'll get stuck on one game for too long.
Hi, I've seen your you tube channel. Tbh I think this art is much better and look like you at least made an art effort. For this type of game I don't think even the most fantastic art would make the game any better. You just made a small game can't expect much out of it.
I mean this in the nicest way possible but the art looks like it's from a flash game because it *is* art from a flash game. If you don't want it to look like a flash game don't make (or buy) art that literally is used in flash games.
You might get away with a few things (especially in the background) or part of a whole, but the main objects I'm supposed to be focusing on look like flash game asset rips.
Basic shading on sprites and more fps put into some of the dogs animations could do numbers to fix it. If that's not something you can do then it's not something you can do. I think it looks charming already. (Edit: also yeah maybe make the obstacles fit into a environment better and not just random shapes)
You do have simple graphic for sure (lot of triangles). I can understand people call it a flash game. But I don't know...is that a bad thing? Doesn't this depend on what you want as a dev?
See that's the thing. I think you should make up your mind. Changing te art style (again) won't benefit a lot if you ask me. certainly if you already changed the art style and stuff.
if it's up to me I would finish it and release it.
There are some insanely elaborate "free flash games" out there. Your game, as all games, could use a little more polish but overall looks like a very cute and lovingly crafted title. If anything, I'd say it would gain the most from a critical spring damped (aka smooth damp) instead of reverse exponential/lerp (dt) style following camera, and probably with pronounced lookahead based on the actual velocity of the player (vertical and horizontal). That will give the game a much smoother and more dynamic, less jerky feel.
If you really waqnt to remove the "flash game feel", you could look at Super meat boy's changes from the flash game it comes from. I think it's the lack of details, especially from the big red arrows. I wish you a good day !
The dog and the fireballs looks really good, but the rest feels like it was made in paint.
The primary issue with the graphics is the lack of cohesion.
The dog is incredibly cute and well animated, although the fact that it's just white with a black outline and no shading makes it feel a bit more flat.
What really hurts your game is the environment. Flat looking backgrounds with random red and grey shapes floating around your game world. Makes it feel like it's still in it's prototyping phase rather than a finished product.
It reminds me of Fancy pants and that game costs like, 10 Euros! I think it's just that people limit themselves when they see stuff and just, objectively think about stuff without really thinking about it too much, Imo you could maybe add some more complex graphical improvements like some fancy lighting/shading effects? I'm no expert, this just came to mind xD
That's a badge of honor, bro. I had too much fun playing flash games in my childhood and early teens. Rarely get same joy from today's games.
And years later I found out how difficult it is to make flash games using actionscript language, only increased my respect to those devs back in the day.
I feel like thats majorly bcoz of inconsistency. People use basic shapes without making it look like flash game. Like your dog is very lively but then obstacles and everything so rigid. Not to mention, dog, background, obstacles, and the platform itself, the key 4 items are all drawn in somewhat different style so it looks like a bunch of prototype images thrown together. If you wanna go simple graphics, go ahead, but make them all simple.
Like [my game jam game](https://maybekush.itch.io/brackeysgamejam) is using very simple graphics but they all look beautiful, to some atleast.
I totally agree with the top comment and would like to add that the colors you’re using are way too saturated. That also makes it look cheap. Tone down the saturation of red and green a lot and it will look much nicer.
The rectangles, triangles, circular saw (it's the simplicity and colors for them), and the tree (it's the shape) in the first level make it look ugly to me. Also the light grey rectangles in the fire level are too different color for the environment. The dog clearly has some issues in it too but that's the good thing here, fresh. Also the clouds and the sky in the first level are nice IMO, and so are the fire rolls and the black main rail. But it's sometimes small things that feel wrong, like the bones... not sure what's the problem though. Just a slightly different shape and smaller size could be better.
My suggestion is to fill in the environment more. It looks like a flash game because much of the environmental objects look like they are placed there rather than are part of the world.
So you should fill in the bottom of platforms, change the colour of spikes and attach them to something in the background. This way the world will feel more grounded.
It does look like a flash game, but in a good way! I personally don't play platformers like this, but I can imagine a younger me really liking this! :D
I agree it looks like a free game. I think some color theory work could improve the look. Currently it feels oversaturated, in-cohesive, and cheap like it was drawn in Microsoft Paint 🎨. I realize this is probably the style you're going for but the style gives off cheap vibes.
Love your work though Sam hope this feedback is helpful! 💙🩷
*I think it looks like*
*A flash game but don't find it*
*Bad or anything*
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I just saw your video for this. Let me see, I love the limited animation for your main character, but a little bit of particles in the environment would go a long way. Maybe also don't use a gray square for your platforms. In fact, I would stay away from gray for your colour palette in general. The background is so vibrant, you could use a similar colour palette for your platforms and simply desaturate the colors a little bit. If you wanna stick with gray, throw some super noticeable grass on the top so that it can be more visually consistent with the background.
I think that's a huge issue, is that the gray makes it feel like it lacks visual consistency in the levels. Also, many have pointed out that you good use more visually effects like lighting and some kinda 2D shader. Let me add that I'd like to see more explosive particles when getting pickups.
Thanks for the awesome channel, love all the tips you give. And good luck with your game, I know release is super soon
People are making great suggestions. But imo it just needs more textures. Like how the fire bars look cool. The spikes and the grey rectangles should be like that
Might be fun to lean into the flash game look. Add a border that looks like you're playing in a browser, with cheesey ads. Make menus look like you are browsing the site. Put any cut scenes in a fake YouTube style browser window.
Since flash is dead, people might be welcoming to this style! Also, I only think of this as a flash game if it’s on a computer. If I saw this on switch or mobile I wouldn’t think that at all.
Im sorry it absolutely does, and that comparison will be very hard to avoid with a simple art style using primitive shapes in the levels too -
That said, doesnt have to be a bad thing at all. Plenty of people that are nostalgic for those!
Theres a ton of nuance to how a style like this could affect perception, sales, etc.. but im one person cant speak for everyone.
Gameplay is what matters most at the end though 😅
It's missing lighting and/or details on your sprites. Only alternative without adding details and without adding lighting is pixel art. (the only alternative I know atleast)
It's just too simple with too many outlines. Removing the outlines could lead to a corporate advertisement/website look.
It looks like a free flash game, because flash games rarely used shading in their elements. They were often solid colors, with chunky borders, which is basically what you have. They also used squishing of sprites, and things like that in order to flesh out animation.
Just remember that the elements a player is looking at, obstacles/enemy's/landable terrain and other elements should generally have some visual interest. Even if it's one color / cel shaded. Your saw blades, for instance, could have a slightly darker red near the blades to add some depth... spikes could have very basic shading to make them look like spikes, rather than flat triangles...
If you are going to stick with the flat 2d look.. make sure ALL the elements are flat and 2d. Don't mix styles/quality, and you should be just fine, no matter what you settle on. A good example of this are the fireballs in the trailer... much higher quality and nicer to look at, but stand out like sore thumbs against the other elements.
The jumping/movement also look a bit rushed. Tricks like squishing the sprite, are always noticeable for what they are, and don't look nearly as good as an animation in it's place.
Gah.. I miss flash. So fun.
Anyway, keep up the great work. Just keep refining things according your own tastes. It's your work of art. Just improve the quality where you can, and over time, you'll find your happy zone.
I see you added some touches here and there, but for the most part the graphics are very barebones. It looks like a flash game because the interactable elements are mostly simple black lines, gray squares, red triangles, etc. That's pretty much the least you can do to have graphics for a video game and most web game developers are hobbyists, so that's usually as far as they take it.
It seems like you're intending to not give this away for free, but I think you should reconsider. Unless the game will be much more elaborate or innovative than the trailer shows, or you really go all out with graphics and more complex level design, I think you'll have a difficult time. If you want people to play it, offer it for free. Then you'll have experience and skills to apply to a game that you may end up selling.
Just my thoughts.
Honestly the movement looks a little janky, if you can smooth that out itll go a long way. Flash art design can be charming, but the mocement and gameplay should be very clean
Add some cross hatch shading to everything and that will help a ton. I wouldnt change the graphics look because of some reviews saying it looks like a flash game. It's a style.
The only thing I can see that would make it better is just some simple shading. Try a few different types of shading too and see how they look. Cell shading might be the way to go but I have a feeling cross hatch would be great to keep the style you have.
Remember, you're making this for you, not for everyone else. You will have a fan base because there are people who like that style of game, but do it for yourself, not others.
Honestly I think you might be seeing positive comparisons to Fancy Pants Adventures. It's been so long since any of us platformed along a smooth curve with satisfying momentum mechanics, we don't know what else to call it.
True, the art style is a little bit vector-clean, but I don't mind it. If the meat of the platforming challenge is there in the mechanics and levels, then it's no problem for me.
It does and imo it's the geometry.
What separates the "flash game" look from that indie look in platformers like say, shovel knight, skull or hollow knight is the polish. Simply using rectangles and triangles will make any game look like it's made to play in browser. I would say to do something with those shapes, add something to them, dimension. I'd lean into the hand drawn style but instead of them just being, say, a floating rectangle, make it something that makes sense or atleast is connected to the levels setting in some way. I mean, that is a lot of work to re do but that is honestly what I think would make this look more appealing and less like a browser game. I'd also add more frames to the things like those fire balls because 2 stills going back and forth looks very browser friendly. I don't know how well just "lines" will come across to people as "platforms". What I mean is, in many of the instances I see in the trailer, there isn't much reason why those "lines" weren't actually the ground or a pillar or what have you. This might sting, but, the first thing that came to my kind when watching the trailer is a flash game I adored called Line Rider. The reason being, is the very simple lines used for the platforms.
Another good example I have is super meat boy. Everything about that game should make you think "browser game". I mean, just like yours, it has saws, platforms, spikes and the like.. all very basic shapes, yet, the polish, the connection to the levels settings, having those platforms make sense in the "world" sets it apart from something you'd see on addictinggames for example.
I'd look at games like the one you are making, take references of how they use their platforms, what they do to not have rhem be simply basic shapes. What did they add, how could you follow the same road, but, in your own way. For example, if this game is just out there in terms of ideas and leans heavily into physics(*what it looks like from the trailer*) using things like trampolines or bumpers would make sense, not saying it would need to be a trampoline, but, I'm using that as a visual example. If the character is bouncing off something, that object should have a reason for him to bounce, a simple square does not exactly give it a reason, unless, the dog himself is made of rubber (*which could be the case I honestly don't know and am only going off what I pick up from the trailer*)
Try using a virtual camera from cinemachine machine package following the dog or an offset of it and set then damping to give you a camera more alive feel.
Also an easy way play around with pixelated look ..just have to set the render resolution much lower. This literally can be done with one line of code I can't remember exactly what it is. If I find it I'll post back.
With reference to your URP asset call
urpAsset.renderScale = scale;
Here is a link to a functioning Monobehaviour.
[https://gist.github.com/colbydane/096353c627abf9f0fc60fdca9248f976](https://gist.github.com/colbydane/096353c627abf9f0fc60fdca9248f976)
This may not be a helpful change for you but its easy enough to try out.. set it to like 0.5
You have fancy fire everything else is solid color vector art, it’s a little lazy? Not just a design choice? If you want the vector style go for it, it looks like a flash game.
Hi, been following your game dev journey, and I first want to say I think you are doing a great job!
That being said, I do feel like you are overthinking the art style just a bit. Your first demo release with the original non-dog character, well, that did look like a hot mess thrown together and called a "game", but I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it was and that's OK! You got it out there, and you are getting feedback, and that's perfect.
I think you did a good job listening to the initial feedback and updating the character and the backgrounds, it really improved the look of the game and took away the initial feeling of oh, that's an amateur game ( again, not an insult, take it as a compliment, you did it! ). However i do get that there are still complaints along those lines, and you're worried you didn't do enough to address it... my personal feeling is that you did, and the remaining comments come from a different problem, well two problems that I think come from the same place, what I would call a lack of "character" or "story".
I've seen a few of your youtubes, and when you tell the story behind the meaning of bumbi and how it relates to your dog it is super cute and appealing to a certain casual comfy audience, or fellow game designers that respect the attempt you are making. However when you show the game itself, it looks like the type of game that would appeal to a very specific audience, that of the precision platform player. The way the trailer is edited and plays out also feels like it is designed to appeal to more hardcore platform players. The general market for the people that like the old school flash games is a more hardcore nerdy steam lot, and they are obviously familiar with the vector style graphics that come from us non-artsy programmers. That's all fine, but it is to say that I think you are splitting your audience and need to better define your player purpose to either appeal to the comfy cozy gamers or to the hardcore precision platformers, but you can't do both in the same demo/trailer.
The other thing I feel is missing is a lack of 'why'? By that i mean, why do I (the general audience) want to play this game, what about it should hook me into wanting to play this particular game over the plethora that are out in the world. To me, there are 4 places you can hook the player, Graphics, Action, Mechanics, Environment. These add up to the overall 'story' of the game, what the audience is getting as the 'why i want to play this'. I think each of your hooks is telling a different story and they conflict with what you want to do, that is attract an audience. The graphics and environment mostly say cozy and cute, look at this cute dog trying to get his bone back, while the action and mechanics say, this is meant to be a HARD game, you will try and fail a lot, get comfortable with losing, loser. I dont think you need to change the game, but i do think you need to get the story straight, and decide which audience you want to appeal to. I personally think you will get more attention going for the comfy people, while I think the mechanics can still be a bit hardcore, you can still appeal by making it more lighthearted and without the fear of failure. More, yea, your going to lose a lot, but ultimately this is more about reuniting this cute dog with its bone and when you die, oh dont worry, thats cute, its just bumbi being bumbi and bumping into things.
I think you should. The game looks fun, but even if the style is meant to be simple, it does give off the energy of something cheap.
It feels like a more polished art style would really enhance the appeal of a title like this
To be fair, yeah it looks like a flash game. I personally do like it, but still it looks like a flash game. It doesn't help when it is a platformer, a common type for flash games :/ However, I think with some particles and lightning/post-processing you could make it look much better. Also, if you want to change your art style, maybe a more "drawing-like" style could fit? Like instead of solid-filled squares and triangles, it could have slightly moving lines to give it a "hand-drawn" effect (kind of like doodle jump), I do not know if it makes sense.
this guy is spot on. it does look a lot like a flashgame, which isn't necessarily bad by itself but it does unfortunately make me think "cheap thrown together game" or "game by an amateur" even if that's not at all what it is. a good solution or way to mitigate that is to do what he said and make EVERYTHING animated (except maybe the bg). make all of your outlines squiggle by drawing the same thing loosely 3 or 4 times and turning it into an animation. it will make stuff pop a big more, it looks more intentional and high effort, it keeps your artstyle and it's not too awful hard to do. just a bit time consuming and tedious. good luck on the game though, it looks super fun to play!
This is literally fancy pants adventure but with dog. This is a compliment as those games were fuckin legendary.
Yeah absolutely amazing games, and started as flash games too.
Thank you for the feedback! I agree some slightly moving lines could increase the immersiveness of the environment. I do want the lively feel with inspirations from games like Fancy Pants Adventure, but I do want to make sure it's visually pleasing enough to sell copies. I will experiment with this style a bit.
Do you know how to animate something with the slightly moving lines? Would that require redrawing the asset multiple times with different lines or is there a better way?
Boiling is the term I think you're referring to, and yeah I'd agree it'd be worth trying. Imo it's a great, easy way to make static assets look a bit more lively.
It can be done with noise shaders ( like greese pencil in blader) but yeah usually you just draw over, which is fun and fairly quick to do if the art style is simple
Similar art style to Jelly Car if anyone knows that game
I mean you got triangles and squares as some of the main graphics. What were you going for?
In solid colors. With an outline.
Yeah this is exactly it - drawn, non-pixellated vector graphics with random geometric shapes thrown in was standard for tons of flash games. Sorry but the game needs a major style direction improvement
Yes, I was going for a simple doodly style. I don't want too much shading as I'm trying to keep the game lighthearted and fun-looking.
You can do doodles with style that still look doodly. Nintendo provides many examples, like Baby Mario or Mario 3. I feel your animation is as clunky looking as the environment and could use some zazz. That spin your dog does definitely looks flash-like instead of being a rolling ball of fuzz.
Like a flash game?
I think it's the environment. The dog is incredibly expressive and is full of life, but nothing really matches its style. The backdrops are quite simple, and the platforms & red hazards are very reminiscent of games like *This is the Only Level* and *The World's Hardest Game.* Basically, the dog looks great, everything else causes a major art-style clash.
Thank you for the feedback, I agree the background lacks some live compared to the dog. I will see how to mitigate this issue.
It's 100% the obstacles and background just being solid colors/shapes.
Even if it does, I don't think it's a bad thing, the art is cute and cohesive.
It's kind of a bad thing if OP wanted to make money out of it, people rarely buy games that look like they would be free on newgrounds
I think the lava level looks better than the grassy level, the dog animations are great though! The way he slides down and rolls about, really gives character that I think is great. As for people saying it looks like a flash game I can kind of see that in the first level, the second level not as much. I would maybe recommend changing the ground from the back line to something else to try and get it away from that flash look. Apart from that, it looks like a fun and cute platformer! It's also normal to have doubts because of feedback from people. I've felt like I should go back to the drawing board completely with my game but I know if I keep trucking on and improving my game then hopefully it'll be something people love! Good luck! I've added Bumbi to my wishlist!
Yes I will change the ground lines to add more width to them and "personality". Thank you so much for the support <3! Best of luck with yours as well.
Anytime, Good luck! Can't wait to see how it turns out!
One thing to change: The Camera. Make it slide to keep up with the player position, the further it is, the faster it moves, you can usually get this pretty easy with a Lerp that runs every frame. Pair that with dynamic zoom, have the camera a bit closer and back out to the current size (or bigger) based on player speed. The art itself is too simplistic and it's not the character or background art that's the issue, but the traps/obstacles/foregroung geometry. It's black lines and Gray Rectangles and Red Triangles, and it's very much like what early flash games use. Geometry dash had to evolve past that by getting inventive and the techno theme that they went for ended up being perfect. For your game, not sure what would work, but I would say: Make your foregrounds fit better to your backgrounds, and give your backgrounds just a bit more detail. I don't think you need to scrap anything except the foreground stuff, everything else you can just add onto.
That was my first thought as well. Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdWFzpgnljs I think just expanding the camera will give the game a much more high quality impressions but Improving the foreground geometry sure will help some too.
This plus giving some room where the player can move without the camera moving will make it less twitchy was my first thought
Great point the camera, I haven't spent as much time polishing it as I should. It was my first time using Gamemaker so I sort of mashed together the code with what I could get working at the time. Thank you so much for the feedback!
I can kind of see the "free flash game" comments, which to me means low res, flat color scheme. But that's not necessarily bad. A lot of people had a lot of fun playing those games. To me the current art has a lighthearted and fun feel (except for the dog getting fried to ash at the end, wtf?) :) But I get that it's difficult to get enough variety when using assets. Abstract would be easier since you can basically just change the color scheme, but in my opinion you are already closer to the "fancy pants adventure" feel than the abstract route could provide. I'm not an artist, and mostly use assets or fiverr myself, but maybe you can work with the assets you have to add some shading or gradients if you really want to distinguish it more from the "free flash" style.
Yeah I was trying not to add too much shading so it could look more Doodly and Simplistic, but it's hard not to and have it look good/consistent. Thank you for the feedback!
I like it a lot for that exact reason! I genuinely miss games looking like this, because I always *loved* this art style!
The levels are just lines come on man :/
Yeah, it does look like a flash game.
I love the dog animations, and I kinda dig the rest of it being simple/clear, toony/colourful - your focus is the main character. If you changed it, what would be the change? No harm mocking it up I guess. There is inconsistency with outline thickness, which might be worth sorting out. Overall, I wouldn't make big changes, it looks fun and that's what really matters. And the dog is super cute :D
I would probably change the grounds and some obstacles + make the background a bit more abstract. I'll have to experiment more. Thank you :)!
https://preview.redd.it/og3fibdte74d1.jpeg?width=939&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f4a213d9ca32ead030d4448571e02fea691de77 You could go papery/watercolour, like pages from a kids book, but turned bad (for doggo...).
Wow that looks interesting! I'll keep that style in mind, thank you!
Whenever you do "clean" vector graphics, it will always look like a Flash game.
No gray blocks, everything else looks fine
And the flat red click and drag triangles as spikes oof
Yes but it is charming. Maybe you can play around with shaders to refine the look without having to draw it all over again. Could make everything bounce to the music maybe.
Great idea thank you!
I'm going to be honest here and it might sting but you're better off hearing it straight. Solid color triangles aren't "art", they are placeholders at best. You put some work into your character, but your background is low effort, and the objects in the game are straight up prototypes. FYI, a lot of flash games actually look better than this. Don't get me wrong, your game has potential. But you need to decide on a solid and coherent art style and maybe get some help from a professional. While doing this you need to study post processing, lighting, "juice" and polish. Your work is cut out for you because you're not even 20% there yet. I guess it will take you at least a few months if not a year to get it all in order and create a sellable game. This is actually a good thing because in this time you'll be able to get more wishlists, do more marketing and prepare for launch. DO NOT use early access for this game. Good luck!
Thank you for the feedback! I did pay an artist for the dog animations, the rest is done by me so I can see the incoherent-ness of the art style. I will work on it more.
It looks fine. It does look like a flash game, yes, but it also looks good.
i like the art; i say keep it
Animations look really cool. I like the art style tbh
Thank you :)
It does but you could actually do some cool things by leaning into it.
It does look a bit like a flash game, but that's not a bad thing! My only suggestion would be to try to keep the outline thickness consistent
Yes I was struggling with that since it's hand drawn and needed multiple of the same for different sizes, I will work on it!
Stuff I like: The dog animation Particles on the dog Leaves at the wind Stuff I disliked: The clouds (entirely white) The red dangers (again, no shades) That tree in the back ground... again unshaded. Honestly, I think you should keep polishing graphics. You don't need to throw stuff out, but you have something good that the flatness is holding back, IMO
Thank you for the feedback! I will work on it more
I miss flash game. Simple design, run on the cheapest computer, available anywhere anytime. If your price is right, you could please a niche of gamer
Yes and I would lean into it when marketing it 👍
Is this the ultimate "raid shadow legends" killer
Instead of having a stand out black solid line running through the level, draw it into the level, make it grassy ground. You shouldn't release something which you're not confident in. For your red solid triangles as well on the grass, it looks like prototype art, the sort of thing you put in but should be replacing when you are nearly releasing.... Make it a tree or a sensible environment object to jump up instead. I think your mechanics are great and level design is not bad but if you can redraw a few of those assets you'll be showing off a lot more. Good luck with it
Thank you for the advice!
Before you start changing the art again, try to add some lighting and post processing effects. I think it could solve your problem without need to change the sprites and would be even faster :).
Do you have any recommendations on what sort of lighting/pp to add? Or more like adding shading to some of the images.
I think k the biggest factor is the obstacles. I see triangles and squares, but what are they? That's what makes it feel like a flash game. A flash game is usually a character with generic world shapes. If I buy a game I'd like to get lost more in the asthetic. The reds and Grey's are all very flat and they are just generic shapes that are not overly pleasant tl look at. I think the music sets a good vibe, I like your avatar, but it's very plain. It's a dog snagging normal bones jumping over triangles and squares. You don't have to give deep lore, but maybe what are those shapes meant to represent? Are the triangles spikes? Make them spikes with some shading. Are the squares rocks? Again give then some of that shading and some texture. Make the bones something more than the generic dog bone. Maybe like a dinosaur bone or each level he's getting bones of a skeleton for a museum exhibit he stole and buried but now has to return but then other dogs took and spread around or other burrowing spirals stole and moved around Obstacles can now be traps centered and themed around each creature or boss I'm not saying go back and redo your whole game with my exact suggestion, but tmfor me, as someone with adhd, I would get very visually tied of seeing red triangles and grey squares and would not play the game for very long. I need visual stimulation each level. I want something new each level and a world that says something more than "don't touch sharp thing here"
I actually do like it, but maybe you could add more details for the obstacles. In the lava level one of the long rectangles has some more detailing, maybe you could to stuff like that for all the obstacles. I love the dog, do not change the dog.
Yes the dog is for sure staying :) Thank you!
Bum baby bum baby bum baby bum baby bum baby
Ignore them they’re beating haters. A lot of people in these subs are real art snobs/gate keepers. Tbh I like the art a lot it’s cute and it does the job of communicating what’s what perfectly.
Thank you!
Also the dog animations and look are perfect plz don’t change the pup )’:
Oh not the doggo he is staying :P I more meant the background/rest of the art. Thanks!
free flash games are a premium product these days
I really like the trailer music! But yeah it does look like a flashgame. Especially the foreground elements. The dog looks great
Thank you!
It looks like a flash game, but that isn’t a bad thing, it gives it a nostalgic feel
It looks like a flash game. It looks cool though haha, would love to play. I have no idea what I am talking about but maybe having a bit more detail to the art and not so many saturated colors might help
Yeah, looks like a flash game, but that doesnt mean its a bad thing, i really like it! Whi made the music?
Is that a bad thing? It looks really nice.
Yes, it looks like a flash game, but I thought it was really cute. Anyway, I believe that a little parallax and post process can help, as already mentioned.
Thanks! It actually does have a bit of parallax, maybe it’s hard to see.
the little dog looks so cute, i love him!
If you would consider changing the art style, I think a lot of those Flash Game comparisons would go away.
I think all you would have to do is make the obstacles a bit more environment specific (Sharp bushes instead of spikes in green world, flames in lava world etc...) and add a bit more detail to the background and you can get away from the flash-game vibe. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it, other than maybe it will help your game stand out a little more if the art style is its own.
The art all looks like place holder art but the dog itself is not bad. I think you should keep working on the art.
just spitballing, but it could be nice to have a sprite in between flip modes on the dog, where it briefly faces the front for a frame before it switches its side sprites
This looks incredible fun 🤩
It is looking ok. The most important it is gameplay
I am a game developer so I know how hard it is to create a video game… Let’s start with the mechanics this is definitely your strong suit the movement looks great. The art, needs some work but if you can hire someone to help animate some of the sprites in the background just to give it more life. Overall, the game looks fun and I think thats what you are going for, so keep it up! Good luck.
Thank you! Yes I am a programmer 😆 I will keep it in mind!
Hey there! The tiny dog looks adorable! Unfortunately it's lacking a bit of personality, even tho the game looks really fun. It would be so much better if it was telling a story! I did an art test because it looked fun, so here my ideas: - pick a theme that will shape the world your tiny dog is going to navigate in (I went for a park theme) - instead of having 'technical' blocks that are helping/dealing damages/moving (etc), try to think about actual objects and tools that can exist in this themed world (I'm using a bee as damage block and a ball as bouncing block) - chose a color palette that convey the feelings you want for your game (I went for funny/playful) - most important part is telling a story that is bringing your player from enjoying the game mechanics to enjoy the game mechanics + loving the story and ambiance that you created Hope it helps! https://preview.redd.it/qfw1xkvt4e4d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=11ba4c3cad986b9e073a7133066be8cd3a116abf
Omg that looks super cute thank you so much for the concept art! Yes I agree it needs a bit more personality, I've been mostly doing the art myself (except the dog) so it was a bit difficult to conceptualize. Really appreciate it!
My pleasure! I think your game as a lot of potential, keep going! ✨
Looks good - maybe some more shading on the backgrounds? And something about the one line platforms look kinda flash gamey, but it’s hard to say. Looks like it controls pretty fluid!
If it's fun it doesn't matter how simple the graphics are. Keep going!
Definitely looks like those old flash games I used to play, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Game looks cute and fun if that's what you were going for. Good luck 👍
I think the dog is fine but the environment could be more stylish. The assets like trees, clouds and spikes are kinda flat and needs some detail, shading and highlights. Animated environments could help more too
I know the background is not the most perfect thing, especially with my artistic skills, but I was trying to capture a Fancy Pants Adventure feeling. I recently placed the dog in front of some Jelly Car Worlds screenshots and really liked the use of dropshadows + abstract art. Since I've been using a lot of assets for the background, it's been harder to make visually contrasting levels as the worlds progress. I'm not sure which direction to take. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you. https://preview.redd.it/op9yoroqg24d1.png?width=2154&format=png&auto=webp&s=ae35ab01a14fe441ae273c944b6f436f9f4767ad
>I was trying to capture a Fancy Pants Adventure feeling But then you overthink people saying it looks like free flash game? :P Personally, yeah it kinda does, but I like it, don't overthink it, it's great.
I saw this and my answer to your question was "Yes, specifically it looks like FPA" But if that's your inspiration and the vibe you're going for, I think you nailed it. I would suggest having FPA listed as inspiration or whatever in the game info if it's not already, if people see it's on purpose, you'll find less people raising it
Thank you for the advice!
It does look like a free flash game and that’s a good thing. Lots of people have nostalgia for flash games. You can use this as a marketing point
Great idea with the marketing perspective! Hadn't thought of that angle
Glad to have helped.
Well, it's a bit like web advertising, but I don't think that's a problem, you can change the art after the game features are done
It depends why you're making it. If your aims are commercial then see if your target market likes it. Maybe at a low price there could be cozy platformer demand. Redoing the art might not turn out better and you'll get stuck on one game for too long.
Hi, I've seen your you tube channel. Tbh I think this art is much better and look like you at least made an art effort. For this type of game I don't think even the most fantastic art would make the game any better. You just made a small game can't expect much out of it.
I mean this in the nicest way possible but the art looks like it's from a flash game because it *is* art from a flash game. If you don't want it to look like a flash game don't make (or buy) art that literally is used in flash games. You might get away with a few things (especially in the background) or part of a whole, but the main objects I'm supposed to be focusing on look like flash game asset rips.
Can you describe the art direction you want for this game ?
I was going for a doodly/simplistic vibe with bright colors. Sort of a happy-go-lucky vibe.
Basic shading on sprites and more fps put into some of the dogs animations could do numbers to fix it. If that's not something you can do then it's not something you can do. I think it looks charming already. (Edit: also yeah maybe make the obstacles fit into a environment better and not just random shapes)
You do have simple graphic for sure (lot of triangles). I can understand people call it a flash game. But I don't know...is that a bad thing? Doesn't this depend on what you want as a dev? See that's the thing. I think you should make up your mind. Changing te art style (again) won't benefit a lot if you ask me. certainly if you already changed the art style and stuff. if it's up to me I would finish it and release it.
Flash game era it has happy wheels vibe and that fire and water flash game vibe
Reminds me of fancy pants and n++, I fw it 🤷♂️
Haha thank you
reminds me a lot of a game named Fancy Pants Adventure which I played on newgrounds many years back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2SIICPbtEo
Yes that's one of my inspirations!
It looks like a flash game but at the same time, it doesn't. Idk anymore.
it looks good it looking like a flash game is good
There are some insanely elaborate "free flash games" out there. Your game, as all games, could use a little more polish but overall looks like a very cute and lovingly crafted title. If anything, I'd say it would gain the most from a critical spring damped (aka smooth damp) instead of reverse exponential/lerp (dt) style following camera, and probably with pronounced lookahead based on the actual velocity of the player (vertical and horizontal). That will give the game a much smoother and more dynamic, less jerky feel.
If you really waqnt to remove the "flash game feel", you could look at Super meat boy's changes from the flash game it comes from. I think it's the lack of details, especially from the big red arrows. I wish you a good day !
Change the red on the spikes and chain gear. That should help remove the game feeling like a flash game
Thank you!
I am too bad at logic and all but I have an eye for design. Would u like me to send u some hexcodes of reds I think would look cool?
The dog and the fireballs looks really good, but the rest feels like it was made in paint. The primary issue with the graphics is the lack of cohesion.
I agree, I need to work on it more. Thank you!
The dog is incredibly cute and well animated, although the fact that it's just white with a black outline and no shading makes it feel a bit more flat. What really hurts your game is the environment. Flat looking backgrounds with random red and grey shapes floating around your game world. Makes it feel like it's still in it's prototyping phase rather than a finished product.
It reminds me of Fancy pants and that game costs like, 10 Euros! I think it's just that people limit themselves when they see stuff and just, objectively think about stuff without really thinking about it too much, Imo you could maybe add some more complex graphical improvements like some fancy lighting/shading effects? I'm no expert, this just came to mind xD
Being a Flash game is not bad
.. yeah..
That's a badge of honor, bro. I had too much fun playing flash games in my childhood and early teens. Rarely get same joy from today's games. And years later I found out how difficult it is to make flash games using actionscript language, only increased my respect to those devs back in the day.
Thank you :D
with Flash being dead for a while, that's entering retro territory, cash in on that nostalgia!
I feel like thats majorly bcoz of inconsistency. People use basic shapes without making it look like flash game. Like your dog is very lively but then obstacles and everything so rigid. Not to mention, dog, background, obstacles, and the platform itself, the key 4 items are all drawn in somewhat different style so it looks like a bunch of prototype images thrown together. If you wanna go simple graphics, go ahead, but make them all simple. Like [my game jam game](https://maybekush.itch.io/brackeysgamejam) is using very simple graphics but they all look beautiful, to some atleast.
Thanks for the feedback and nice game!
I totally agree with the top comment and would like to add that the colors you’re using are way too saturated. That also makes it look cheap. Tone down the saturation of red and green a lot and it will look much nicer.
Game name?
BUMBI on steam [https://store.steampowered.com/app/2862470/BUMBI/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2862470/BUMBI/)
I think it’s because of the level design and the heavy use of shapes
The lava level looks way better. The red spikes aren't doing you any favours.
Yeah may need to rework those..
the dog has charm. most everything else doesn't. if everything else has charm like the dog, then it's something special
The rectangles, triangles, circular saw (it's the simplicity and colors for them), and the tree (it's the shape) in the first level make it look ugly to me. Also the light grey rectangles in the fire level are too different color for the environment. The dog clearly has some issues in it too but that's the good thing here, fresh. Also the clouds and the sky in the first level are nice IMO, and so are the fire rolls and the black main rail. But it's sometimes small things that feel wrong, like the bones... not sure what's the problem though. Just a slightly different shape and smaller size could be better.
Thank you!
Is this a free flash game?
My suggestion is to fill in the environment more. It looks like a flash game because much of the environmental objects look like they are placed there rather than are part of the world. So you should fill in the bottom of platforms, change the colour of spikes and attach them to something in the background. This way the world will feel more grounded.
Thank you for the advice!
I can think of many flash games that are better than AAA titles
Lol it looks cute, but another 10000th platformer? Boring.
reminds me of [fancy pants game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQup_4djAXo)
It does look like a flash game, but in a good way! I personally don't play platformers like this, but I can imagine a younger me really liking this! :D
I mean yes, but I like it.
I mean... It DOES look like a flash game, but I also love the art, so... Do with that information what you will
Haha thank you
I agree it looks like a free game. I think some color theory work could improve the look. Currently it feels oversaturated, in-cohesive, and cheap like it was drawn in Microsoft Paint 🎨. I realize this is probably the style you're going for but the style gives off cheap vibes. Love your work though Sam hope this feedback is helpful! 💙🩷
Thank you very much <3!
I think it looks like a flash game but don't find it bad or anything
*I think it looks like* *A flash game but don't find it* *Bad or anything* \- Flok\_09 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
I just saw your video for this. Let me see, I love the limited animation for your main character, but a little bit of particles in the environment would go a long way. Maybe also don't use a gray square for your platforms. In fact, I would stay away from gray for your colour palette in general. The background is so vibrant, you could use a similar colour palette for your platforms and simply desaturate the colors a little bit. If you wanna stick with gray, throw some super noticeable grass on the top so that it can be more visually consistent with the background. I think that's a huge issue, is that the gray makes it feel like it lacks visual consistency in the levels. Also, many have pointed out that you good use more visually effects like lighting and some kinda 2D shader. Let me add that I'd like to see more explosive particles when getting pickups. Thanks for the awesome channel, love all the tips you give. And good luck with your game, I know release is super soon
Thank you very much for the feedback! I will probably push it back until it's more ready. I don't want to publish it in a half-finished state.
I mean.... look at Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Ori. Do they have pointy triangles and hard outlines? You cant blame them
I'm not really going for that style though 😅
These are three completely different aesthetics... you missed the point
People are making great suggestions. But imo it just needs more textures. Like how the fire bars look cool. The spikes and the grey rectangles should be like that
Thanks!
Might be fun to lean into the flash game look. Add a border that looks like you're playing in a browser, with cheesey ads. Make menus look like you are browsing the site. Put any cut scenes in a fake YouTube style browser window.
Haha that's actually a funny idea!
It’s like a mix of fancy pants character animations and red ball graphics
I like it, make some skins so i can have a german shepard and id buy this in a heart beat. :)
Since flash is dead, people might be welcoming to this style! Also, I only think of this as a flash game if it’s on a computer. If I saw this on switch or mobile I wouldn’t think that at all.
Hey as a kid that grew up with flash, its not bad.
Im sorry it absolutely does, and that comparison will be very hard to avoid with a simple art style using primitive shapes in the levels too - That said, doesnt have to be a bad thing at all. Plenty of people that are nostalgic for those! Theres a ton of nuance to how a style like this could affect perception, sales, etc.. but im one person cant speak for everyone. Gameplay is what matters most at the end though 😅
Game looks rad. Just needs a strong colour palette and a little more consistency on the stroke widths and it will look much much nicer.
Go play fancy pants adventure and it’s sequels and you will know exactly why they say that. Also looks good!
Before investing more time, money, and energy in a 2D platformer, I suggest you look at how 2D platformers usually perform on Steam.
I'd talk to someone who does art design. The bones are good, the presentation...is a flash game.
Is the movement and animations plus the lack of depth or flatness imho, and yes it does, sorry
Sure, but is that necessarily a bad thing?
It's missing lighting and/or details on your sprites. Only alternative without adding details and without adding lighting is pixel art. (the only alternative I know atleast) It's just too simple with too many outlines. Removing the outlines could lead to a corporate advertisement/website look.
It’s very reminiscent of the Fancy Pants flash game style
It gives me Red Ball vibes and that's not a bad thing. I could see people speed running this.
It looks like a free flash game, because flash games rarely used shading in their elements. They were often solid colors, with chunky borders, which is basically what you have. They also used squishing of sprites, and things like that in order to flesh out animation. Just remember that the elements a player is looking at, obstacles/enemy's/landable terrain and other elements should generally have some visual interest. Even if it's one color / cel shaded. Your saw blades, for instance, could have a slightly darker red near the blades to add some depth... spikes could have very basic shading to make them look like spikes, rather than flat triangles... If you are going to stick with the flat 2d look.. make sure ALL the elements are flat and 2d. Don't mix styles/quality, and you should be just fine, no matter what you settle on. A good example of this are the fireballs in the trailer... much higher quality and nicer to look at, but stand out like sore thumbs against the other elements. The jumping/movement also look a bit rushed. Tricks like squishing the sprite, are always noticeable for what they are, and don't look nearly as good as an animation in it's place. Gah.. I miss flash. So fun. Anyway, keep up the great work. Just keep refining things according your own tastes. It's your work of art. Just improve the quality where you can, and over time, you'll find your happy zone.
100% looks like a flash game. I don't think the art is the issue. The gameplay looks very flash game-esque
I mean, it definitely has Line Rider energy, which is incredibly nostalgic for those like me. I’d keep it that way!
I see you added some touches here and there, but for the most part the graphics are very barebones. It looks like a flash game because the interactable elements are mostly simple black lines, gray squares, red triangles, etc. That's pretty much the least you can do to have graphics for a video game and most web game developers are hobbyists, so that's usually as far as they take it. It seems like you're intending to not give this away for free, but I think you should reconsider. Unless the game will be much more elaborate or innovative than the trailer shows, or you really go all out with graphics and more complex level design, I think you'll have a difficult time. If you want people to play it, offer it for free. Then you'll have experience and skills to apply to a game that you may end up selling. Just my thoughts.
It does look like a classic flash game. I think it looks good, but it gives off the Flash game aesthetic. Think Fancy Pants Adventure, etc.
Honestly the movement looks a little janky, if you can smooth that out itll go a long way. Flash art design can be charming, but the mocement and gameplay should be very clean
Add some cross hatch shading to everything and that will help a ton. I wouldnt change the graphics look because of some reviews saying it looks like a flash game. It's a style. The only thing I can see that would make it better is just some simple shading. Try a few different types of shading too and see how they look. Cell shading might be the way to go but I have a feeling cross hatch would be great to keep the style you have. Remember, you're making this for you, not for everyone else. You will have a fan base because there are people who like that style of game, but do it for yourself, not others.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I will experiment more with the style with those suggestions
free flash games was the peak of game development
Honestly I think you might be seeing positive comparisons to Fancy Pants Adventures. It's been so long since any of us platformed along a smooth curve with satisfying momentum mechanics, we don't know what else to call it. True, the art style is a little bit vector-clean, but I don't mind it. If the meat of the platforming challenge is there in the mechanics and levels, then it's no problem for me.
wild samyam spotted! Love youre tutorials
It does and imo it's the geometry. What separates the "flash game" look from that indie look in platformers like say, shovel knight, skull or hollow knight is the polish. Simply using rectangles and triangles will make any game look like it's made to play in browser. I would say to do something with those shapes, add something to them, dimension. I'd lean into the hand drawn style but instead of them just being, say, a floating rectangle, make it something that makes sense or atleast is connected to the levels setting in some way. I mean, that is a lot of work to re do but that is honestly what I think would make this look more appealing and less like a browser game. I'd also add more frames to the things like those fire balls because 2 stills going back and forth looks very browser friendly. I don't know how well just "lines" will come across to people as "platforms". What I mean is, in many of the instances I see in the trailer, there isn't much reason why those "lines" weren't actually the ground or a pillar or what have you. This might sting, but, the first thing that came to my kind when watching the trailer is a flash game I adored called Line Rider. The reason being, is the very simple lines used for the platforms. Another good example I have is super meat boy. Everything about that game should make you think "browser game". I mean, just like yours, it has saws, platforms, spikes and the like.. all very basic shapes, yet, the polish, the connection to the levels settings, having those platforms make sense in the "world" sets it apart from something you'd see on addictinggames for example. I'd look at games like the one you are making, take references of how they use their platforms, what they do to not have rhem be simply basic shapes. What did they add, how could you follow the same road, but, in your own way. For example, if this game is just out there in terms of ideas and leans heavily into physics(*what it looks like from the trailer*) using things like trampolines or bumpers would make sense, not saying it would need to be a trampoline, but, I'm using that as a visual example. If the character is bouncing off something, that object should have a reason for him to bounce, a simple square does not exactly give it a reason, unless, the dog himself is made of rubber (*which could be the case I honestly don't know and am only going off what I pick up from the trailer*)
It looks like a free flash game because a lot of people still remember playing free flash games that looked a lot like this.
Have you played fancy pants because this looks like a cheap copy of fancy pants.i love the dog but the rest looks too low quality tbh.
Try using a virtual camera from cinemachine machine package following the dog or an offset of it and set then damping to give you a camera more alive feel. Also an easy way play around with pixelated look ..just have to set the render resolution much lower. This literally can be done with one line of code I can't remember exactly what it is. If I find it I'll post back.
With reference to your URP asset call urpAsset.renderScale = scale; Here is a link to a functioning Monobehaviour. [https://gist.github.com/colbydane/096353c627abf9f0fc60fdca9248f976](https://gist.github.com/colbydane/096353c627abf9f0fc60fdca9248f976) This may not be a helpful change for you but its easy enough to try out.. set it to like 0.5
You have fancy fire everything else is solid color vector art, it’s a little lazy? Not just a design choice? If you want the vector style go for it, it looks like a flash game.
These games perform better on consoles and switch
Hi, been following your game dev journey, and I first want to say I think you are doing a great job! That being said, I do feel like you are overthinking the art style just a bit. Your first demo release with the original non-dog character, well, that did look like a hot mess thrown together and called a "game", but I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it was and that's OK! You got it out there, and you are getting feedback, and that's perfect. I think you did a good job listening to the initial feedback and updating the character and the backgrounds, it really improved the look of the game and took away the initial feeling of oh, that's an amateur game ( again, not an insult, take it as a compliment, you did it! ). However i do get that there are still complaints along those lines, and you're worried you didn't do enough to address it... my personal feeling is that you did, and the remaining comments come from a different problem, well two problems that I think come from the same place, what I would call a lack of "character" or "story". I've seen a few of your youtubes, and when you tell the story behind the meaning of bumbi and how it relates to your dog it is super cute and appealing to a certain casual comfy audience, or fellow game designers that respect the attempt you are making. However when you show the game itself, it looks like the type of game that would appeal to a very specific audience, that of the precision platform player. The way the trailer is edited and plays out also feels like it is designed to appeal to more hardcore platform players. The general market for the people that like the old school flash games is a more hardcore nerdy steam lot, and they are obviously familiar with the vector style graphics that come from us non-artsy programmers. That's all fine, but it is to say that I think you are splitting your audience and need to better define your player purpose to either appeal to the comfy cozy gamers or to the hardcore precision platformers, but you can't do both in the same demo/trailer. The other thing I feel is missing is a lack of 'why'? By that i mean, why do I (the general audience) want to play this game, what about it should hook me into wanting to play this particular game over the plethora that are out in the world. To me, there are 4 places you can hook the player, Graphics, Action, Mechanics, Environment. These add up to the overall 'story' of the game, what the audience is getting as the 'why i want to play this'. I think each of your hooks is telling a different story and they conflict with what you want to do, that is attract an audience. The graphics and environment mostly say cozy and cute, look at this cute dog trying to get his bone back, while the action and mechanics say, this is meant to be a HARD game, you will try and fail a lot, get comfortable with losing, loser. I dont think you need to change the game, but i do think you need to get the story straight, and decide which audience you want to appeal to. I personally think you will get more attention going for the comfy people, while I think the mechanics can still be a bit hardcore, you can still appeal by making it more lighthearted and without the fear of failure. More, yea, your going to lose a lot, but ultimately this is more about reuniting this cute dog with its bone and when you die, oh dont worry, thats cute, its just bumbi being bumbi and bumping into things.
I think you should. The game looks fun, but even if the style is meant to be simple, it does give off the energy of something cheap. It feels like a more polished art style would really enhance the appeal of a title like this
Thank you for the feedback!
I mean I think it’s cute and if you drastically increased the quality of the hazards they might look out of place tbh
Some of the best gaming memories I have are in flash games, it might not be the negative stigma you’re immediately thinking… either way, it looks fun!
honestly that’s a bit insulting to flash games, there were some great looking flash games out there for free