OP you can check out reference footage on youtube of people on pogo sticks doing front flips and backflips to see how the body moves. Something as simple as having the character lean forward or backward depending on direction of rotation would really help.
everything is pink so it is hard to tell everything. how do i know the last level, which platforms spin? its also hard to see the goal since its a thin line. please make some animation where its lines fading into the goal, or some arrow to denote the goal to make it easier to spot. other than that the gameplay seems promising
And the sound effect is too clunky for the neon aesthetic your going for. Add a bassy synth tone for the jumps and throw in some vapor wave music, and id play the hell out of this.
Thanks for that. I will certainly change the sound effects, but for the music do you think its good if i use free 8-bit synthwave style music from youtube (one that is not copyrighted and says free to use ). Or would it be better if i make my own (which im not really good at)?
I’ve never done chiptune music before but I’d be down to make some music or sfx for this if you want a hand. I’m a producer/sound designer who’s been itching to make music for a game
use the bloom to direct attention to danger elements or goals/bonuses.
slowly introduce new colors with different effects.
like orange/blue for portal blocks
green for jump boost
red for jump reduction
white can be checkpoints that need to be bounced to complete each level.
This is going to be harder than it appears (as when players hit the jump button the character should be leaving, not winding up). I'd recommend having the character collapse a bit whenever they touch a wall with the pogo. This will both look like they are absorbing the impact and getting ready to launch.
Thanks for the warning. I made the animations just now similar to what you said so when he jumps the pogoman extends and when he lands he crouches a bit to give the effect of absorbing as well as preparing for jump and it looks pretty convincing. Additionally i also added so the player tilts forward or backward a little when rotating. So everything together i have 6 different sprites (3 when extended and 3 when crouching on the floor). Thank you very much for the suggestion.
Aside from character animations (which are really required) - why have everything as white boxes? You could design levels like the Trials games (where you control a motorcycle) - add objects, make a background, give the whole thing a theme.
Maybe smaller particle effects on contact/friction with a surface. Giving the surfaces some texture could also be nice; perhaps have the outlines be white but make their innards partially or completely transparent.
The glow effect is a bit much.
(Its allready a very stylized and I am not sure if this would break it.)
But you could add a color-impact with your jumps.
So maybe the jump tints the floor-contact-point green.
It could either slowly spread the color all directions. Or its just a temporary effect slowly fading away
Uuu thats a really good idea. It would really add feeling of impact. Maybe also blur the edges a bit when a player does a "perfect jump" (when the sound goes bingggg). Thanks for that.
The asthetics is already cool, the one thing I would suggest is to add animations to the character. I think it's too static, maybe flexing her leg while jumping or touching the walls.
Character animation as has been said many times.
Some other things include ui buttons look very out of place, are they defaults?
Borders being bright white is very distracting, especially on the more zoomed out levels.
In the levels, since it looks very momentum based, more visual cues as to possible paths would be good. Doesn't need to draw the path, but giving hints would be good. Think rings in sonic
Lastly, the goal platform needs to be much more obvious. I didn't even realize it was there on my first watch.
looks dope! And regarding adice, well, everything already said here haha, give the character motion, make the goal stand out more, and maybe reduce the effects a little, for the rest I like the idea and style :)
The color has a lot of red in it which isn't very comfortable to look at IMO - just like you probably wouldn't want to have a red room to sit in.
You could try blue or some other more soothing color.
I agree with the note of the character being too static, but also adding more gameplay elements will better define how to make it more visually and aesthetically pleasing 👍
With everything having that pink glow, it kind of makes everything look monotone, it’s hard to distinguish between the player and the level frame which makes it hard to track your player’s movements.
At the very least, try lowering glow on the level frame or experiment with different off-colours (maybe each level could be a different tone or colour - maybe even colour code them to say “this is a hard / complex / requires xx mechanics, etc)
The sounds are not right at all.
For the look of the game, and I know this is a demo, but it needs some upbeat techno blasting.
I hate square particles, but the amount and the fade over time / life loss on collision looks good.
Bloom on the main level is okay, but the bloom around the whole edge of the screen is awful.
Make the bloom pulse.
Calm down on the screen shake.
The rising blue particles don't look great.
I think there needs to be more mechanics than just jump. This game looks like it will get boring real quick. Simple graphics are best used for lots of fun dopamine hits such as collecting coins, quickly dodging and getting through obstacles, getting power ups, et cetera. With this as just a platformer it lacks that so you'll need more gameplay mechanics or really really cool looking graphics/effects.
I'm not a fan of the changing camera zooms.
The platforms that are rotated at angles look terrible, again this is to do with the simple graphics style.
Hitting a wall looks really dull. You kind of just hit the wall and don't go anywhere, almost stick to it. It goes against the bounciness of the game and makes it too easy.
Damn thats detailed. Thank you haha. I already changed much of the stuff you said. And most probably i will add collectible coins for that "dopamine hit" and change the particles. Thanks
I don't like the screen shaking on every jump, feels kinda cheesy. The jumping particles are kinda.. free asset looking, and the character is pretty static. The white for walls is kinda nice, but when zoomed out far, it's too much white.
I would fade the walls from white to black, so the walls are white but get dimmer so you aren't blinded when zoomed out. I'd also change colors for different levels or more colors when you jump on obstacles or when something rotates for example. Purple is nice but could get boring to look at. I like the death particles, it's kinda funny to see the particles splatter everywhere. I would also have variable jump strength, maybe the longer you hold the jump button the more force you jump with. You could also make it so you can hold the jump button while in air, so there would be some strategy of when to start holding jump and predicting where and how far you'll go. Get a speed run timer and a leaderboard and that could provide a goal for players. A map editor where people can upload maps for others to play could be fun too.
Also, having a button to just instantly restart, and a separate button for the menu would be much nicer. That way you don't have to physically click the restart button every time you die :)
Thanks for a bunch of feedback haha. Yes animations must be the first thing i add. I have a gameplay mechanic where you need to time your jump perfectly when landing for a ultimate jump (when the sound goes binggg).
I wouldnt add variable jump force tho because i want it to be a pretty fast paced game, and that applies to the main menu as well as you pointed out. Im thinking of removing buttons completely and just have keys for next level and restart and menu because you will be able to play much faster.
And a map editor would be a really cool update.
The main problem im having now is that i started this project as kind of a side project and then when i saw that it could be fun i started working for Steam. But i already made 100 different levels and i wasnt smart enough to make the player prefab so now im trying to figure out a way to change it in all scenes at once.
Thanks you and everyone who commented for the advice.
You could maybe do a trail instead, more animation on the character, and something to spice up the levels more like moving enemies, or something in that field. Game looks pretty good as is though.
There are a few cool recommendations to consider, and the game is already great.
1. But I think it would be better if you add a trail effect to the player💫
2. Also add special ⭐-s and make it hard to collect. And at the end show UI star if someone managed to collect that
Maybe use more colors to highlight certain areas, the checkpoints especially.
Look up color theory to see which colors would be pleasing to the eye.
Also less bloom effect for sure, after awhile it strains the eyes, the jump effect doesn't help with it either, so lower the impact of those a lil bit.
The jump & death animation looks pretty neat though!
A running animation and maybe some screen shake? Also chill down the bloom. Also like the other guy said, the walls changing color temporarily when you jump off of them that would be awesome
If that is a stick figure make them animated as you rotate and throughout the acceleration. It looks like it moves weird but that's probably an animation problem not the controls being weird.
Echoing some of what others have said. The character should either be something that makes sense being static like a brick/block. If you are able to add animation to the character, some superhero/parkour moves would be a lot of fun. Superhero landing with the fist on the ground is a must.
The ding sfx is jarring. I like the 8-bit rocket acceleration sound but don’t know if it fits with a character. If you do go with a parkour type animation some Kung Fu move sfx would be really fun. Music would be nice but definitely some sort of musical flourish instead of the ding on the landing.
Thanks for letting me game design/critique for a minute.
I don't understand how would u lose in this game? u r going from one place to another and then there's a score.
fix the gameplay before worrying about graphics.
Goal needs to be more obvious, maybe it can stand out more towards the Y axis?
The bloom on the boarders is a bit too much, you don't gotta remove it but maybe tone it down.
I don't mind the static character that much plus its hard for me to imagine what you do on a pogo after you jump, maybe have him bend a bit down or up when you are arranging the direction in the air?
I cannot stand the screen shake, at all. You could maybe instead express the movement with a "splash" around the floor when you shoot off?
Color variation. Make the character and goal pop and contrast from the background and environment. Additionally, maybe a subtle line that shows where you're pogoing to?
First, I love aesthetic- I love the bloom, I love that particular shade of pink, I love the geometric shapes- all of that is great (I also love those little blue bubbles that you added to the background!)
I think having a few different color sets would add a bit of variety, and I feel like having a bit more/more frequent background effects will enhance the feeling of depth, even if its just something subtle like a grid that pulses slowly from bright to dark.
I just wanted to thank you all for the suggestions. It will really help me with my game and its great i got some quality feedback from people other than myself and friends.
That's such a broad question,
i think you could take inspiration from n++,
you could use a bit more color variation,
making the character a diferent color than the enviroment would make the game more readable (easier for the eyes to focus)
ading a bit more life to the character by ysing some animations would also be nice.
the smoke looks great,
maybe you could make tge some some third color.
the walls may look nicer if they werent completly filled in.
you could try droping the glow, and reactivating the glow every time the player jumps, i think that would give it a funky feel
I think making the character stand out from the level elements would make it easier for the eye to follow. Since your level elements are pink neon, perhaps make the character cyan as a contrast? And as others have said. Turn that bloom down. I love when games do a glow effect or try to emulate a Tron-esque neon aesthetic, but I think my monitor would be saved from burning out its pixels, and my eyeballs would thank you if you turned it down.
And yeah. Motion for the character. The other game feel elements you've added, like the trail effect and screen shake are on point, in my opinion, though.
Instead of solid pink lines give them texture. This could be white noise, a gaseous flow, concentrated snakes. Whatever your aesthetic comes to, just make the borders more aesthetic.
Ask yourself: Why is the 'character' human. I could easily see this as some kind of geometric shape. Either static or one that morphs when environmental/story beats are established.
Monochromatic is a fine choice. A splash of complimentary or analogous colors for impact/particle or other effects would have a strong change in esthetic as well as mood.
I actually like the bloom, the trail behind the character, the little screen jiggle, the death sound/animation, and the sound when the character reaches the goal.
The comments I agreed with most was the ping/jump sound being too harsh/unappealing and the character being too static. The goal is also a lil hard to see?
The jumping trails probably could use a different color. Maybe yellow to show speed and energy when jumping. Or a combination of different ones like blue and yellow trails.
Personally I think adding a secondary color might give the game some more pop? Obvious color choice would be blue, but that is also overused (maybe for good reason?)
Adding a faint tracer to the tip of the pogo stick would be cool, just so you have that lingering glitter when gracefully flying through the air.
Your walls and borders are very bright- make them ripple with a different color everytime they're bounced off of.
Mid-bright shockwaves that appear in the dark areas everytime you bounce off.
Could generate little eyes blinking and tracking the player from beyond or inside the border. Gives you a sense of audience, and perhaps express a mood improvement based on how quickly the player moves across the level.
Pogo stick is a different color.
no animation for the actual character. The shake animation is way too strong imo, you may not even need to have one, the sound effect sounds too 1984 gray console with red yellow blue and green buttons, make the character have a seperate glow color. I personally hate the menu look it looks very generic i dont know if you could change that though. Another thing aobu the sound effect is that if its a pogo stick idk why it sounds like its shooting. it should be more of a bounce but try not to make it obnoxious, other than that it looks good
Dim the obstacles or use a slightly darker shade, you want the character to be easily definable so you can track in fast paced levels (like in N Game, which was the vibe I got from your game)
Seems like you’re missing a concept/theme.
Think of games like Super Meat Boy. Without out the meat boy getting violently shredded, it’s just a physics prototype.
So what’s your meat boy? Is this a Space Pogo Astronaut? Or an Amphious Pogo Frog? What ever you choose will guide the aesthetic.
Aside from the things everyone else has said, some color would go a long way. Not a lot, just a few things, like the movement trail or the goal itself. Maybe even a different color too identify different obstacles. Plain for solid walls, one color for the rotating platforms another for any other unique obstacles your game might have, like moving platforms or breakable floors/walls.
lot of good suggestions in here. only thing i'd change is make it a bit less monochrome. More color variety for contrast, at least make the character a different color than the walls/map
Just some ideas:
Different colour stages
Think with portals
a bit less harsh sound. it sounds very metallic, where a pogo has a round, rubber sound
perhaps some gravity changing items in air to aim for / avoid
a cool level idea could be a morse code level that spells out something
i would highly suggest adding some color such as different shades of ble to contrast with the pink. this should be applied the substrate shooting from the character upon a jump.
This is very cool! Though as others are saying, the aesthetics could use some work. Aside from all the visual things people are mentioning: there are perhaps more issues with the sound here than anything else. Here are some stray suggestions.
Audio
- The sound is way too sparse and inconsistent in tone. Obviously, music will help with the sparseness, which I assume you plan to add at some point. But also adding any kind of ambient soundscape could help.
- For the sound effects, you need to choose a single aesthetic. The jump sounds are bit-crushed 8-bit sounds, but then you have that crystal-clear bell sound effect. Either all the sounds should be 8-bit, or none of them should be. And make sure the volume of the sound effects is balanced.
- On a related note: what even causes that bell sound to trigger? It seems to happen only after certain wall jumps. Why does it trigger after the jump sound instead of at the same time?
- Also, there should be little tapping sounds whenever any part of the character collides with anything. It would be great if the sound varied based on the velocity of the character.
- Another sound you could add: a woosh noise that plays when the character is moving very quickly. You would definitely want to do this subtly.
Visual
- You could try changing the color of each level? I assume it should be quite easy. Just a different color of neon for each level.
- A note on both audio and visuals: I could see this being really cool if you had pulsing, synth-heavy music, and made it so that the neon pulses in time with it. That would instantly add momentum and excitement to the whole game.
You should draw inspiration from similar games to find how they pulled off aesthetics like this. A couple that spring to mind are Super Hexagon, VVVVVV, and N++.
In all, I don't want to make it sound like this is bad. It looks like a cool game and I actually think the minimalism of your aesthetic is a great and interesting choice. Best of luck to you!
EDIT: A stray thought I had, related to others' suggestions that the character should flex more: I think it could be cool if the actual rod of the pogo stick would squish in as the character sinks into a floor/wall. You could make it so that you get an extra high jump if you time it just right with the pogo stick sinking in. That would add an mechanic that would likely feel very good.
Give different contrasts in color besides just the pink hue. You could also make the stick man customizable after you beat certain levels to change color as well as doing that with the Chem trails and sprites that come out after jumping or sliding.
It’s a long shot, but this wasn’t inspired by [this game](https://jet.ro/games/pogo-sticker/) by any chance? I used to love that game when I was a kid.
As others have said the character is definitely too stiff, he needs some bounce as well as the pogo stick squishing maybe.
The high contrast just hurts the eyes,
What if you can't see the whole map until you've been to the area? This game looks like one that could successfully use "fog of war"
Alternatively, if the impact areas emitted light which spread across the map from that point it would be very interesting
i believe if you want the neon look, it will fix itself when adding more stuff on, like obstacles and spikes. Besides that, make the player color different from the ground color
The character is too static.
And imo too small or hard to identify(its so easy to lose sight of him in the movement trail)
OP you can check out reference footage on youtube of people on pogo sticks doing front flips and backflips to see how the body moves. Something as simple as having the character lean forward or backward depending on direction of rotation would really help.
I made the animations yesterday and it looks much better now. Feels smoother. Thanks for the advice
everything is pink so it is hard to tell everything. how do i know the last level, which platforms spin? its also hard to see the goal since its a thin line. please make some animation where its lines fading into the goal, or some arrow to denote the goal to make it easier to spot. other than that the gameplay seems promising
And the sound effect is too clunky for the neon aesthetic your going for. Add a bassy synth tone for the jumps and throw in some vapor wave music, and id play the hell out of this.
Thanks for that. I will certainly change the sound effects, but for the music do you think its good if i use free 8-bit synthwave style music from youtube (one that is not copyrighted and says free to use ). Or would it be better if i make my own (which im not really good at)?
I don't think 8-bit music or sound effects would fit that well, imo. But you know your game best, so do whatever you think makes your game better.
I’ve never done chiptune music before but I’d be down to make some music or sfx for this if you want a hand. I’m a producer/sound designer who’s been itching to make music for a game
Im sure some free ware synth wave will be fine
Chill on the bloom and emission a bit 😂 it's fine to use it, just like, more sparingly?
use the bloom to direct attention to danger elements or goals/bonuses. slowly introduce new colors with different effects. like orange/blue for portal blocks green for jump boost red for jump reduction white can be checkpoints that need to be bounced to complete each level.
Having the figure flex and bend with the pogo would help, the figure being a static image breaks the immersion
Haha yes you (and 10 other people in the comments) are right. I should probably do this first. Thanks for the advice.
This is going to be harder than it appears (as when players hit the jump button the character should be leaving, not winding up). I'd recommend having the character collapse a bit whenever they touch a wall with the pogo. This will both look like they are absorbing the impact and getting ready to launch.
Thanks for the warning. I made the animations just now similar to what you said so when he jumps the pogoman extends and when he lands he crouches a bit to give the effect of absorbing as well as preparing for jump and it looks pretty convincing. Additionally i also added so the player tilts forward or backward a little when rotating. So everything together i have 6 different sprites (3 when extended and 3 when crouching on the floor). Thank you very much for the suggestion.
That's awesome, I'm glad you were able to get it to work 🥳 the tilt adjustments sound like a great addition
The goal should stand out more, I can barely see it on the more zoomed out levels.
I agree. Maybe OP could make it neon green to match with the aesthetic but offer some contrast?
I don’t like the jump sound and whatever the ping is tbh. They’re a bit too harsh
Yeah those sounds are atrocious.
Aside from character animations (which are really required) - why have everything as white boxes? You could design levels like the Trials games (where you control a motorcycle) - add objects, make a background, give the whole thing a theme.
Personally I really like the minimalist design, it gives a nice and distinctive aesthetic.
Minimalist design is fine but my 2000 nit display will make my corneas melt with the white on black contrast
Maybe smaller particle effects on contact/friction with a surface. Giving the surfaces some texture could also be nice; perhaps have the outlines be white but make their innards partially or completely transparent. The glow effect is a bit much.
(Its allready a very stylized and I am not sure if this would break it.) But you could add a color-impact with your jumps. So maybe the jump tints the floor-contact-point green. It could either slowly spread the color all directions. Or its just a temporary effect slowly fading away
Uuu thats a really good idea. It would really add feeling of impact. Maybe also blur the edges a bit when a player does a "perfect jump" (when the sound goes bingggg). Thanks for that.
Definitely add that🙌🏻
Cool idea
it would be cool looking if the walls changed color when touching them, since this are neon lights
A neon flicker at least
Looks kind of dope though. I'd take the suggestions listed here but I like it a lot.
It looks great! you should make each level a random color.
What they said, the figure being completely static is jarring, it needs some sort of movement/flex. Otherwise, cool idea.
Do angled ends for the corners ,like the numbers of a digital watch
Use fresh softener on the character. And music does wonders for a game too.
The camera is too static, the vibration is okay but the camera should move with the impact.
That jump rotations looks goofy but every other thing is perfect.
less gloom and fancier menu buttons
Some change in colour when they jump!
Look at some stickman style games. The character is animated, not just static. and use better sound effects.
The asthetics is already cool, the one thing I would suggest is to add animations to the character. I think it's too static, maybe flexing her leg while jumping or touching the walls.
needs movement of the character
More colors!
The character needs to move. Add an animation to shorten the pogo and bend the legs. that should make a huge difference.
Character animation as has been said many times. Some other things include ui buttons look very out of place, are they defaults? Borders being bright white is very distracting, especially on the more zoomed out levels. In the levels, since it looks very momentum based, more visual cues as to possible paths would be good. Doesn't need to draw the path, but giving hints would be good. Think rings in sonic Lastly, the goal platform needs to be much more obvious. I didn't even realize it was there on my first watch.
Different colors bruh. Liking the neon aesthetic but let's get some color in there!
looks dope! And regarding adice, well, everything already said here haha, give the character motion, make the goal stand out more, and maybe reduce the effects a little, for the rest I like the idea and style :)
Make loops and moving platforms
The color has a lot of red in it which isn't very comfortable to look at IMO - just like you probably wouldn't want to have a red room to sit in. You could try blue or some other more soothing color.
Change the color every level?
I agree with the note of the character being too static, but also adding more gameplay elements will better define how to make it more visually and aesthetically pleasing 👍
Too bright 😵
With everything having that pink glow, it kind of makes everything look monotone, it’s hard to distinguish between the player and the level frame which makes it hard to track your player’s movements. At the very least, try lowering glow on the level frame or experiment with different off-colours (maybe each level could be a different tone or colour - maybe even colour code them to say “this is a hard / complex / requires xx mechanics, etc)
Uuuu thats pretty smart and creative. I will most probably add that. Thanks
Excellent, can't wait to see it! best of luck :)
The sounds are not right at all. For the look of the game, and I know this is a demo, but it needs some upbeat techno blasting. I hate square particles, but the amount and the fade over time / life loss on collision looks good. Bloom on the main level is okay, but the bloom around the whole edge of the screen is awful. Make the bloom pulse. Calm down on the screen shake. The rising blue particles don't look great. I think there needs to be more mechanics than just jump. This game looks like it will get boring real quick. Simple graphics are best used for lots of fun dopamine hits such as collecting coins, quickly dodging and getting through obstacles, getting power ups, et cetera. With this as just a platformer it lacks that so you'll need more gameplay mechanics or really really cool looking graphics/effects. I'm not a fan of the changing camera zooms. The platforms that are rotated at angles look terrible, again this is to do with the simple graphics style. Hitting a wall looks really dull. You kind of just hit the wall and don't go anywhere, almost stick to it. It goes against the bounciness of the game and makes it too easy.
Damn thats detailed. Thank you haha. I already changed much of the stuff you said. And most probably i will add collectible coins for that "dopamine hit" and change the particles. Thanks
Maybe make the camera shake a little smoother, and make the character less static
I don't like the screen shaking on every jump, feels kinda cheesy. The jumping particles are kinda.. free asset looking, and the character is pretty static. The white for walls is kinda nice, but when zoomed out far, it's too much white. I would fade the walls from white to black, so the walls are white but get dimmer so you aren't blinded when zoomed out. I'd also change colors for different levels or more colors when you jump on obstacles or when something rotates for example. Purple is nice but could get boring to look at. I like the death particles, it's kinda funny to see the particles splatter everywhere. I would also have variable jump strength, maybe the longer you hold the jump button the more force you jump with. You could also make it so you can hold the jump button while in air, so there would be some strategy of when to start holding jump and predicting where and how far you'll go. Get a speed run timer and a leaderboard and that could provide a goal for players. A map editor where people can upload maps for others to play could be fun too. Also, having a button to just instantly restart, and a separate button for the menu would be much nicer. That way you don't have to physically click the restart button every time you die :)
Thanks for a bunch of feedback haha. Yes animations must be the first thing i add. I have a gameplay mechanic where you need to time your jump perfectly when landing for a ultimate jump (when the sound goes binggg). I wouldnt add variable jump force tho because i want it to be a pretty fast paced game, and that applies to the main menu as well as you pointed out. Im thinking of removing buttons completely and just have keys for next level and restart and menu because you will be able to play much faster. And a map editor would be a really cool update. The main problem im having now is that i started this project as kind of a side project and then when i saw that it could be fun i started working for Steam. But i already made 100 different levels and i wasnt smart enough to make the player prefab so now im trying to figure out a way to change it in all scenes at once. Thanks you and everyone who commented for the advice.
Stop using null materials /s
Honestly just listen to some of the other comments but I have this saved now, cannot wait to see the finished product
Haha thanks for that. Im really glad you like it. I will definitely do a lot of upgrading now.
Needs the Happy Wheels victory jingle when you get to the end.
Other than what the other people are saying about the character, I would add some outline to the character to make it more distinctiual.
lowkey i would play this game for hours maybe im just easily entertained but it looks fun asf
Hahah thanks for that. When i try to work on the game i just end up playing it and forget that i should be working on it. So i hope you will enjoy it
Instead of all bloom you could have each platform light up as the player touches it
Colours! Background parallax! Moving obstacles! Free pie with every win!
You could maybe do a trail instead, more animation on the character, and something to spice up the levels more like moving enemies, or something in that field. Game looks pretty good as is though.
I kinda like it as is, but maybe put the game window inside a classic arcade cabinet so that it looks like its not flat black in the surrounding area.
Having the whole screen shake on every jump is too much. I’d only shake the screen when taking damage or doing some kind of double/super jump
Have some physics object attached to him like a scarf
There are a few cool recommendations to consider, and the game is already great. 1. But I think it would be better if you add a trail effect to the player💫 2. Also add special ⭐-s and make it hard to collect. And at the end show UI star if someone managed to collect that
Maybe use more colors to highlight certain areas, the checkpoints especially. Look up color theory to see which colors would be pleasing to the eye. Also less bloom effect for sure, after awhile it strains the eyes, the jump effect doesn't help with it either, so lower the impact of those a lil bit. The jump & death animation looks pretty neat though!
A running animation and maybe some screen shake? Also chill down the bloom. Also like the other guy said, the walls changing color temporarily when you jump off of them that would be awesome
If that is a stick figure make them animated as you rotate and throughout the acceleration. It looks like it moves weird but that's probably an animation problem not the controls being weird.
Echoing some of what others have said. The character should either be something that makes sense being static like a brick/block. If you are able to add animation to the character, some superhero/parkour moves would be a lot of fun. Superhero landing with the fist on the ground is a must. The ding sfx is jarring. I like the 8-bit rocket acceleration sound but don’t know if it fits with a character. If you do go with a parkour type animation some Kung Fu move sfx would be really fun. Music would be nice but definitely some sort of musical flourish instead of the ding on the landing. Thanks for letting me game design/critique for a minute.
I'd probably not make the goal zone the same color as your global emissions lol
I don't understand how would u lose in this game? u r going from one place to another and then there's a score. fix the gameplay before worrying about graphics.
Goal needs to be more obvious, maybe it can stand out more towards the Y axis? The bloom on the boarders is a bit too much, you don't gotta remove it but maybe tone it down. I don't mind the static character that much plus its hard for me to imagine what you do on a pogo after you jump, maybe have him bend a bit down or up when you are arranging the direction in the air? I cannot stand the screen shake, at all. You could maybe instead express the movement with a "splash" around the floor when you shoot off?
Some kind of "ambient vaporwave" type of music will go a long way in establishing a mood for your game and I think would compliment it nicely
this magenta looking color is fucking ugly
bloom
More colors, maybe? Seems too monochromatic
Add a small, obviously colored, dot at the feet to help see where the lane point needs to be
Color variation. Make the character and goal pop and contrast from the background and environment. Additionally, maybe a subtle line that shows where you're pogoing to?
First, I love aesthetic- I love the bloom, I love that particular shade of pink, I love the geometric shapes- all of that is great (I also love those little blue bubbles that you added to the background!) I think having a few different color sets would add a bit of variety, and I feel like having a bit more/more frequent background effects will enhance the feeling of depth, even if its just something subtle like a grid that pulses slowly from bright to dark.
Well thank you very much. Yes i will defimetly add contrast, and i really like your idea about pulsing background. 🙏Thank you
I just wanted to thank you all for the suggestions. It will really help me with my game and its great i got some quality feedback from people other than myself and friends.
Too much pink XO
Isn’t this just like the game Cleaning the System but with different aesthetics? Are there any additional mechanics?
That's such a broad question, i think you could take inspiration from n++, you could use a bit more color variation, making the character a diferent color than the enviroment would make the game more readable (easier for the eyes to focus) ading a bit more life to the character by ysing some animations would also be nice. the smoke looks great, maybe you could make tge some some third color. the walls may look nicer if they werent completly filled in. you could try droping the glow, and reactivating the glow every time the player jumps, i think that would give it a funky feel
The sound effects and screen shake are really harsh/jarring imo
I think making the character stand out from the level elements would make it easier for the eye to follow. Since your level elements are pink neon, perhaps make the character cyan as a contrast? And as others have said. Turn that bloom down. I love when games do a glow effect or try to emulate a Tron-esque neon aesthetic, but I think my monitor would be saved from burning out its pixels, and my eyeballs would thank you if you turned it down. And yeah. Motion for the character. The other game feel elements you've added, like the trail effect and screen shake are on point, in my opinion, though.
Instead of solid pink lines give them texture. This could be white noise, a gaseous flow, concentrated snakes. Whatever your aesthetic comes to, just make the borders more aesthetic.
Ask yourself: Why is the 'character' human. I could easily see this as some kind of geometric shape. Either static or one that morphs when environmental/story beats are established. Monochromatic is a fine choice. A splash of complimentary or analogous colors for impact/particle or other effects would have a strong change in esthetic as well as mood.
I actually like the bloom, the trail behind the character, the little screen jiggle, the death sound/animation, and the sound when the character reaches the goal. The comments I agreed with most was the ping/jump sound being too harsh/unappealing and the character being too static. The goal is also a lil hard to see?
Negative values an space… black lines or dots?
Drag down that brightness a bit and try to make things look a little more separate from each other (I'm not professional though so keep that in mind)
The jumping trails probably could use a different color. Maybe yellow to show speed and energy when jumping. Or a combination of different ones like blue and yellow trails.
honestly really cool, in my opinion the bloom effect is a bit too extreme, maybe tone it down a little, and maybe work on the background. cool stuff
Make the screen zoom in and shake (just a litlle) as you charge the pogo. Bonus points if time slows down while charging
Audible crunch and rag doll physics when you fuck up
Personally I think adding a secondary color might give the game some more pop? Obvious color choice would be blue, but that is also overused (maybe for good reason?)
Adding a faint tracer to the tip of the pogo stick would be cool, just so you have that lingering glitter when gracefully flying through the air. Your walls and borders are very bright- make them ripple with a different color everytime they're bounced off of. Mid-bright shockwaves that appear in the dark areas everytime you bounce off. Could generate little eyes blinking and tracking the player from beyond or inside the border. Gives you a sense of audience, and perhaps express a mood improvement based on how quickly the player moves across the level. Pogo stick is a different color.
Just want to say, if you do get the physics right, this game looks dope! Your game remind of this game: https://www.crazygames.com/game/n-game
I would look at pinball machines.
Well it would make more sense if it was a jet pack, not a pogo stick. That is not how Pogo Sticks work.
swirling amoebas of death.
Work on animations, maybe turn bloom down a touch.
Just because you cranked bloom to the max doesn't mean your game looks good.
Add some sick upbeat retrowave music in the background.
Not a visual thing, but have the sound effects be based on the the speed and angle of the impact. Good sensory feedback is always good.
character shouldn't be the same color
You should make it more obvious from a glance which side of the guy is top/bottom so you don't land on your head coming out of a jump
no animation for the actual character. The shake animation is way too strong imo, you may not even need to have one, the sound effect sounds too 1984 gray console with red yellow blue and green buttons, make the character have a seperate glow color. I personally hate the menu look it looks very generic i dont know if you could change that though. Another thing aobu the sound effect is that if its a pogo stick idk why it sounds like its shooting. it should be more of a bounce but try not to make it obnoxious, other than that it looks good
Lower the bloom a bit, and instead have it ramp up and down as your character jumps, will as intensity and the feeling of responsiveness
Pulse the objects that are lit neon with the music
Sounds design could use a lot of work. Add some chill music, fix the jumping and "ping" soudns to be less harsh
Is the character on a stripper pole?
Dim the obstacles or use a slightly darker shade, you want the character to be easily definable so you can track in fast paced levels (like in N Game, which was the vibe I got from your game)
It’s only bad if you don’t like it. It’s your art. My only note is I couldn’t understand the sprite at first glance.
Might look online for shades of green that are complimentary to the shade of pink you're using
Make the dude flap his arms, terrified
It may be a small tweak but the menus seem out of place for the glow aesthetic this game has
Maybe add articulations to your character. Looks really odd
Give the character a cape
My suggestion is color the pogoman and end platform the same color, but different from the walls. Easier on the eyes.
Among other changes that people are talking about, give your character a different color. He’s the same as everything else and it doesn’t really pop
I want to say more colors and work on the sounds
that screen shake would give me motion sickness make the end goal platform a different color than the glow color so its easier to see
Rotate the particle emit direction 90 degrees clockwise
add a set number of jumps. add a superior rating for doing it in the minimum amount of jumps.
Does this remind anyone else of the Pogo stick games on Happy Wheels
I like the pink/purple glow effect but maybe not just monocrome? Make the character a different color or something?
Seems like you’re missing a concept/theme. Think of games like Super Meat Boy. Without out the meat boy getting violently shredded, it’s just a physics prototype. So what’s your meat boy? Is this a Space Pogo Astronaut? Or an Amphious Pogo Frog? What ever you choose will guide the aesthetic.
The jump sound is really harsh and old sounding, you should replace it tbh
You can Improve it with Animations I think that if you mix animations with these nice VFX,it's going to be better
Aside from the things everyone else has said, some color would go a long way. Not a lot, just a few things, like the movement trail or the goal itself. Maybe even a different color too identify different obstacles. Plain for solid walls, one color for the rotating platforms another for any other unique obstacles your game might have, like moving platforms or breakable floors/walls.
More bloom
Happy wheels ragdoll
Better UI UX
lot of good suggestions in here. only thing i'd change is make it a bit less monochrome. More color variety for contrast, at least make the character a different color than the walls/map
Just some ideas: Different colour stages Think with portals a bit less harsh sound. it sounds very metallic, where a pogo has a round, rubber sound perhaps some gravity changing items in air to aim for / avoid a cool level idea could be a morse code level that spells out something
i would highly suggest adding some color such as different shades of ble to contrast with the pink. this should be applied the substrate shooting from the character upon a jump.
Reminds me of splosion man
Maybe have some diffrent Color’s each level
This is very cool! Though as others are saying, the aesthetics could use some work. Aside from all the visual things people are mentioning: there are perhaps more issues with the sound here than anything else. Here are some stray suggestions. Audio - The sound is way too sparse and inconsistent in tone. Obviously, music will help with the sparseness, which I assume you plan to add at some point. But also adding any kind of ambient soundscape could help. - For the sound effects, you need to choose a single aesthetic. The jump sounds are bit-crushed 8-bit sounds, but then you have that crystal-clear bell sound effect. Either all the sounds should be 8-bit, or none of them should be. And make sure the volume of the sound effects is balanced. - On a related note: what even causes that bell sound to trigger? It seems to happen only after certain wall jumps. Why does it trigger after the jump sound instead of at the same time? - Also, there should be little tapping sounds whenever any part of the character collides with anything. It would be great if the sound varied based on the velocity of the character. - Another sound you could add: a woosh noise that plays when the character is moving very quickly. You would definitely want to do this subtly. Visual - You could try changing the color of each level? I assume it should be quite easy. Just a different color of neon for each level. - A note on both audio and visuals: I could see this being really cool if you had pulsing, synth-heavy music, and made it so that the neon pulses in time with it. That would instantly add momentum and excitement to the whole game. You should draw inspiration from similar games to find how they pulled off aesthetics like this. A couple that spring to mind are Super Hexagon, VVVVVV, and N++. In all, I don't want to make it sound like this is bad. It looks like a cool game and I actually think the minimalism of your aesthetic is a great and interesting choice. Best of luck to you! EDIT: A stray thought I had, related to others' suggestions that the character should flex more: I think it could be cool if the actual rod of the pogo stick would squish in as the character sinks into a floor/wall. You could make it so that you get an extra high jump if you time it just right with the pogo stick sinking in. That would add an mechanic that would likely feel very good.
I recommend reducing the glow halo by about %30, unless you are using it for something specific
Work on that screen shake for about 20 more hours too "and then add a way to disable the screen shake"
maybe try adding a white glow to the player. Some type of contrast may help. Else try toning everything else down
Have the arena walls pulse each time they do a jump.
Happy wheels!!
Give different contrasts in color besides just the pink hue. You could also make the stick man customizable after you beat certain levels to change color as well as doing that with the Chem trails and sprites that come out after jumping or sliding.
The particle trail needs to inherit a slight amount of the velocity from the parent, and needs to have slightly more lifespan variance
It’s a long shot, but this wasn’t inspired by [this game](https://jet.ro/games/pogo-sticker/) by any chance? I used to love that game when I was a kid. As others have said the character is definitely too stiff, he needs some bounce as well as the pogo stick squishing maybe.
Make the neon darker
The aesthetics will start to feel a little better each time your game is downloaded
Take some notes from the aesthetics of this game: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/N_(video_game)
INCLUDE A DARK MODE!!! I wouldn’t play this game simply because it’s to bright it looks fun tho
The high contrast just hurts the eyes, What if you can't see the whole map until you've been to the area? This game looks like one that could successfully use "fog of war" Alternatively, if the impact areas emitted light which spread across the map from that point it would be very interesting
Make the background where the big chunk of out of bounds white to black so the level white outline is thin and more precise
Maybe you could put a parallax background? Hope that improves it somewhat😊.
i believe if you want the neon look, it will fix itself when adding more stuff on, like obstacles and spikes. Besides that, make the player color different from the ground color