Do you like the artwork in Meteor Man?
SolarPepperStudios
Member Posts: 754
Alright, I need to know because from what I have heard (about 10 people), the artwork style in Meteor Man is alright. However, 10 people is not a lot so I need to get a larger majority to ask and the forums is a great place. I am working on a few suggestions made by @Tysuru and I hope they are noticed.
Comments
I think if the buttons and text stayed consistent with the blocky/pixely stule you have on the main character it would be cool.
On to the game...
I got to be honest the game needs a ton of work. There are actually points in the game where you literally cant win. The entire screen is a wall of asteroids rendering any chance of conquering said meteors- impossible. On game start up the character is stuck in the upper left hand corner (when you play the game). Thankfully you can move him from there but its odd that he immediately goes to the upper left hand side. When you press play on any of the play modes you have to wait for a fairly lengthy music track to play before moving on to the actual game. Controls are tough because most of the time you need your finger directly over the character, which causes problems with seeing the enemies around you. Theres also a black screen at start up with MORE GAMES, but nothing else. Not sure if this was done on purpose. On the title screen if you tap somewhere the character will move towards it but then drift away forever. The shop gives little to no information on how to buy things or even what youre buying. And then if you tap an item it immediately buys it without asking you if youre sure or not.
I say all of this NOT to trash. Im saying this to hopefully give you a truthful opinion to try and help you. If i had these problems, millions of others will too. I wish you good luck. I think tackling these issues will help strengthen your game!
1. I am only 15 and I am no artist. I try to be but you and everyone else is right, it does need a lot of work.
2. This is my first (published) game. I made a few others but they were not worthy of being published. What I plan to do is take what I have learned and expand upon it.
I would like to thank @TheMoonwalls , @SpriteAttack and everyone else for your opinions.
The fact you're taking these comments with maturity and grace proves you're well ahead of your years. Be proud of that. Most people, even older than you, can't do that.
You've got a game here that can be salvaged. It can be made better. Take these suggestions and make it better. We all know you can. Don't be disuaded by anything said- use it to inspire you to get better and better.
I look forward to watching the games growth and i commend you on your maturity in realizing there's always the potential for growth
Keep in mind that what sells your game is your icon, app store images and description. Your screenshots really killed it for me, and not in a good way.
1. You have to much text on your app store images, the text is at different angles and sometimes very hard to read
2. The screenshots need to get me excited about the game and show me why it is fun to play - keep the long paragraphs to the description
3. You got 4-5 different fonts going on. Consistency is key in graphic design and the easiest place to start is by using the same fonts. You even have 3 different fonts in the game which does not fit the art style, it makes everything look sloppy (e.g. your end game screen).
I agree with @anatomyofdreams, age is not an excuse. If you look at your game and say "well, it is good for a 15 years old" - you have a bad game. Aim higher and learn to evaluate your work critically. Things like consistent fonts have nothing to do with skill or age and everything to do with not cutting corners.
Being 15, don't rush it and don't give up... continue to try and improve.
Cheers,
GR
Screenshot 1, the loading wheel is on screen (!?). The game title should be the most prominent feature, at the moment it's competing with your developer logo and 'Dodge Meteors!'
Screenshot 2, 'Music by Kevin Macleod', I'm not sure why people would want to know this, or why they would be interested in the song titles ?
Screenshot 3, 'equipt' is a fairly nonstandard spelling of 'equipped' (although not quite a spelling mistake!). Personally, I'd go with the more reconizable 'equipped'. I'd also avoid using language familiar to game developers but not in common parlance ('random spawing AI'), you see a lot of this in game descriptions by people new to the app world and it always comes across as a little inept (to me at least) . . . eg: "great App Store with buttons that make a sound when pressed ! . ." or . . . "custom font designs" . . . or one of the worst I've seen recently . . ."professional looking graphics !" ) Consumers aren't interested in what goes on under the hood.
People also aren't that interested in menu screens. Look at Angry Bird's screenshots, gameplay, gameplay, gameplay and more gameplay, no shots of the menus or the store.
Screenshot 4, "equipt new skins from the point store!" - I'm not entirely sure what this means, feels like someone has translated something from Japanese to English and it's come out a little wrong. Again, as in the music details, why do you feel people would like to see the 'game over, page ? I'm not sure if that adds anything ?
Screenshot 5, there's a bit of tautology going on here: "for more games . . . and more" + you urge people to check out the iPad version twice in near identical words.
Hope some of this helps . .
The layout is a bit of a mismatch but the characters and asteroids are cool.
Lump Apps and My Assets
I look forward to releasing my game and hearing from everyone on here. I'll be ready to take the good and the bad. But i'll listen. And i'll do everything i can to make the game i want to make- but at the same time, a game thats warm, welcoming, and inviting for others. Thats the goal i think we're all after.
Good luck to you!
And when our games come out- we'll look forward to YOUR criticsm. Just play nice okay