Begoner's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Rings and Sticks]

Excellent

I really enjoyed the game, as it was quite original compared to most submissions, and very addictive, too. The only thing I would add is an optional grid to make it easier to see exactly how many moves away two points are from each other.

[Tic-Tac-Toe Levels]

Nice game.

This was one of the better games that I have come across on Newgrounds. The AI was great for such a complex game (although I have a 13-5-0 record on it...yes, I played it for that long). The AI could easily make reasonable moves, make threats, block threats, etc. That must have been very painstaking to code, so congrats. The one thing the AI was lacking was foresight, but reading the other reviews, I suggest you don't make it harder. (by foresight I mean, for example, if on the same board you have two circles diagonally down and two vertically down, on the next move you could add a circle to make two rows with three circles each, making it impossible to stop. This makes it easy to trick the computer, and win However, adding foresight to AI would be near-impossible to program, and it's pretty tough already, so making it more difficult would be sort of useless.) Other than that, the game was very smooth. It was a nice background, interface, drawing, etc. It was arranged well so that you could easily spot 3-in-a-rows occuring on multiple boards, and it was very straightforward. The simplicity of this game, in the sense that it is not too graphically complex) makes it very addictive. There's not much room for improvement here. Some possible things might be to add difficulty levels, and adding selectable music. Some minute details might be changed -- for example, you could have the possibility to choose from X and O instead of red and green, have an option of the background, have an option of the general board appearance (making it a 4*4*4 cube instead of have 4 seperate 4*4 layers might make it easier to see threats, but it doesn't really matter and that might make it more confusing instead of simplifying the problem), etc. Maybe you could add a crazy twist on it and add a 3-player possibility with slightly altered rules to make it possible for a player to win. An instructions section with slightly more detailed instructions might raise the score a bit, too. Overall, I'm surprised that this game didn't get a higher score. I expected it to get a 3.8+, but I guess not. The biggest problem, I guess, was just the type of game instead of anything specific with the game, which seemed pretty airtight and errorless to me.

[SkiMX]

Decent so far...

So far, the game was nothing special. However, it was great for the file size. Some things that you might want to consider for the final version are:

1. Adding various bonuses. You could add a speed boosted that either makes you go faster, or makes the avalanche go slower, a jump booster to make you jump farther or make you spend more time in the air, and some sort of coin that increases your score.
2. More tricks. The spinning thing is a great addition to the game. You can expand on that and add more tricks. For example, you could to a somersault-like trick, a trick that requires a key to be pressed at the peak of the jump and then something happens. If you have more than one trick, you can also have combination bonuses for performing more than one trick at a time.
3. More and different obstacles. For example, you could make moguls. If you go directly on a mogul, your speed is temporarily decreased. However, if you go just to the side of a mogul, like you're supposed to, you gain points. You could also make different-shaped rocks, trees, etc.
4. Add jumps. When you go off a jump, you get more air than you usually do while jumping. If you spin off a jump, you can do a 720 and get 100 points instead of 50. If you add more tricks, that could make the jumps more useful.
5. Add other skiers. If you want to keep it simple, they just ski in a random path, and hitting them will either take down your health or slow you down. If you want to make it more complicated, they can also jump over rocks and be caught by the avalanche, and they try to knock you down. Maybe there is some way for you to knock them down, in which case you can gain some points.
6. Add some slalom-like flags. If you pass through them, you get points, instead of having to jump randomly to gain points. You could make them appear randomly like rocks, and put blue flags to indicate where they will be, like the yellow flags indicate where the rocks will be.
7. Add difficulty levels. It can get kind of boring if there are not a lot of rocks on stage at once, and there isn't much visible change in the frequency of rocks/level. You could add a easy/medium/hard difficulty selector that controls the speed of the avalanche, and a low/medium/high selector that controls the frequency of the rocks.

Overall, this was a very good game for a beta version without sounds and a menu for such a low filesize. The one main problem of the game was its monotony. Some monotony is good and addictive, but if it takes a long time to die, it's boring instead of addictive. Adding jumping/landing sounds and such will definately improve it significantly. If you change the pace of the game a little, I'm sure that it will get a 3+ score.

frankydigital responds:

=====
Fixed:
-No more left/right/top overmoving
-Added controls to main stage (for now)
-Rocks come from left now
-Fixing the frequency/level change
-Touching the bottom of the screen (avalanche) kills you now.
-Points awarded for each rock dodged.
-Slaloms added; +25 points for driving/jumping through
-Speed/levels increased
-Skifree bear randomly comes after level 7

==
Implementing jumps, more tricks, powerups and bonus multipliers.

[Get The Potions]

Well, it's not bad...

However, there is a lot of room for improvement. A couple of things that you can change/add are:

1. A menu. Sure, it's not the most important part of a game, and hardly matter, but it's the first thing people see. A bad first impression means a low score. You could add a menu with a play button, and instructions button, an options button, etc.
2. The way in which you get potions. You could make it so that all you need to do to get is potion is to put your mouse over it, instead of clicking it. Or at least make it an option. It can get difficult to press it while playing on a dysfunctional laptop as I am.
3. The glitches. It doesn't occur often, but sometimes the potion goes off-screen (or doesn't appear at all -- I'm not sure which one). When that is the case, you cannot click it, and the spell will not kill you if you touch it. So you have nothing to do, and all the time you spent reaching whatever level is wasted.
4. It is also fairly monotonous. Avoid the spell, get the potions. Maybe you could do something to vary it. Maybe you could make it so that when you get to a certain level, there is another enemy? And the number of enemies depends on the level you are on?
5. The graphics. They can be bettered a bit -- nothing extravagant, just a bit more complex. I can't draw anything more difficult than a circle, but the graphics might have lowered your score.
6. A high-score list. If there isn't one on your site (sorry if there is), you could add one.
7. More potions at a time, possibly. If you add more enemies at a time, you could add more potions at a time, making the game a bit more complex.

Anyway, it was a simple game, but addictive. 3/5.

SuperBokey responds:

If I make a sequel to this, Ill be sure to add all of those things! And thank you for your review, but the highscore list would probably be too hard for me to do :P

[Escape the pixels 2.0]

Getting better...

Way better than the original. I especially like the adding of power-ups. Still, several of the things that could be improved upon in a later version are (and yes, I am going to write basically the same review as last time):

1. The menu. Although it is hardly important, and doesn't affect the game, it is the first thing people see. You might get a higher score if you give people a good first impression. For example, have a menu with a title, play button, options button, instructions button, etc. If you add more features, such as difficulty, power-ups, background selecter, music on/off/volume, etc., you can have more buttons on the menu, making the game look bigger and better.
2. The graphics. Although the graphics aren't all that imprortant for this type of game doesn't mean that you just have to draw a square and be done with it. When people vote, just having squared will reflect lack of effort. I'm not saying to exaggerate with the graphics and make them too complex, but make them a bit different. At least make the enemies triangles or something like that. However, the graphics were much better in this version that the previous one because of the sparkly things on the blue square.
3. The background. Well, it was a lot better than the previous version, but still not great. Maybe you can make it so that the user can choose between that background and a white background, while having the current background as a default.As long as the user can choose the background he/she wants to play on, your score will go up.
4. Vary the enemies a bit. The game so far is pretty monotonous, which may be a good thing, but the pace can be changed a bit. Make different enemies with different characteristics, or at least different appearances. Make an enemies speed the byproduct of its size (the bigger, the slower, the smaller, the faster), and make its size random.
5. The going off the edge of the screen thing. I know it's intentional, but it can get annoying. Maybe you could make it so that if you reach the top of the screen, you go to the bottom, if you reach the left, you go to the right, etc. Because getting your score into the negatives can get pretty annoying.
6. Make difficulty levels. Easy = 1, Medium = 2, Hard = 3. The harder the difficulty, the faster the enemies multiply/move. However, if the difficulty is set to hard, your score is multiplied by 3. If it is medium, it is multiplied by 2. And you can make more the 3 difficulty levels, with the same principle. For example, very hard could be 4, impossible could be 5, etc.

Anyway, it was a good game, and it has a lot of potential, and is getting better. 4/5.

[Patch-co MiniGolf!]

Entertaining.

First of all, yes, this was "stolen" from www . flashkit . com/movies/Games/Other/Golf-Jeff_Gib-8782/index.php . However, the author intended the game to be modified by someone else, so it wasn't stealing, per se. You should have given credit to the original author, though. Apart from that, this was a very entertaining game for a while. The physics was pretty good for the most part, but there were still a few glitches/things that could be improved upon.

1. The glitch with the ball. You can hit it while it is travelling. I know a lot of people have said this already, but it is still one of the biggest glitches. If you click anywhere on the screen by mistake, while the ball is travelling, it flies off in another direction.
2. Mathematical glitches. If you have two parallel rectangles fairly close to each other, and the ball is in between them, a glitch can occur. Aim the ball at a shallow angle (almost perpendicular to the surrounding rectangles). It will bounce a few times, then suddenly reverse direction. This became fairly annoying after a while.
3. The graphics. The only thing that you changed from the FlashKit version was the graphics, and you could have done a better job. Not anything extravagant, just a bit better. Maybe not using Flash and drawing things yourself for the obstacles.
4. The menu. It's not very important, but it's the first thing people see. Maybe you could add an instructions button, options button (where you can have a music on/off button, etc.), etc. Maybe setting the grass in the background to a lower alpha, because there is a lot of contrast.
5. Make more and different obstacles. The zoomy things were fun, but there were to few. You can make windmill-like obstacles that rotate, and you have to shoot the ball at exactly the right time for it to pass.
6. In level 8 (I think), there is a small rectangle at a 45 degree angle. However, the game counts it as if it were straight up, so if you try to hit the ball over the top, it hits an invisible barrier and bounces back, which is annoying.
7. More levels. Make two seperate courses, add more levels. The only thing that you added from the FlashKit version were the levels. You might as well add more.

Anyway, good game. Not great, but good. 3/5.

[Escape the pixels!]

It has potential...

It wasn't a great game, but it has the potential to be very addictive. Several of the things that could be improved upon in a later version are:

1. The menu. Although it is hardly important, and doesn't affect the game, it is the first thing people see. You might get a higher score if you give people a good first impression. For example, have a menu with a title, play button, options button, instructions button, etc. If you add more features, such as difficulty, power-ups, background selecter, music on/off/volume, etc., you can have more buttons on the menu, making the game look bigger and better.
2. The graphics. Although the graphics aren't all that imprortant for this type of game doesn't mean that you just have to draw a square and be done with it. When people vote, just having squared will reflect lack of effort. I'm not saying to exaggerate with the graphics and make them too complex, but make them a bit different. At least make the enemies triangles or something like that.
3. The background. This is the thing that I least liked about this game. It was changing colors way too quickly, and it got irritating soon. Make several different backgrounds, and add a background selecter into the game so that somebody can choose the background he/she wants. You don't need to actually draw a background, either. You can just get an picture, lower its alpha, and use it as a background. As long as the user can choose the background he/she wants to play on, your score will go up.
4. Add power-ups. They don't have to be very complicated, just simple ones. For example, make the character's speed a variable, and add a speed booster. Add coins that add +100 points to your score. Add something that slows down time, and makes your enemies go slower. Add temporary invincibility. You can also add bad power-ups, such as something that darkens the screen, slows you down, decreases the score, or makes your enemies go faster.
5. Vary the enemies a bit. The game so far is pretty monotonous, which may be a good thing, but the pace can be changed a bit. Make different enemies with different characteristics, or at least different appearances. Make an enemies speed the byproduct of its size (the bigger, the slower, the smaller, the faster), and make its size random.
6. The going off the edge of the screen thing. I know it's intentional, but it can get annoying. Maybe you could make it so that if you reach the top of the screen, you go to the bottom, if you reach the left, you go to the right, etc. Because getting your score into the negatives can get pretty annoying.
7. Make difficulty levels. Easy = 1, Medium = 2, Hard = 3. The harder the difficulty, the faster the enemies multiply/move. However, if the difficulty is set to hard, your score is multiplied by 3. If it is medium, it is multiplied by 2. And you can make more the 3 difficulty levels, with the same principle. For example, very hard could be 4, impossible could be 5, etc.

Anyway, it was a good game, and it has a lot of potential. 3/5.

[Grand Theft Tornado]

Great Game!

This is one of the most addictive games I have played on NG as of yet. There is very little to improve upon. Maybe some minor details that can be improved upon are:

1. Make more powerups. You already have a lot of powerups, which improve the game. Adding more would make it even more fun. I don't know how easy it would be, but you could add a speed booster, a powerup that makes more people appear on-screen at the same time, a speed decreaser, something that makes less people appear on-screen at the same time, a time decreaser, something that makes the tornado go in the opposite direction of your mouse, etc. For every power-up, there should be an opposite one, that undoes what the power-up did.
2. You could add buildings. Destroying a building would make people rush out of it. Building appear randomly on-screen, as powerups do.
3. You could stagger the point system. For example, cows are worth one point, slow people two, faster people three, and the faster people four. That could make players decide whether they should let a faster near the bottom of the screen go by, and try to get the slower people, or whether to try and get that faster person near the bottom.
4. Add cars, or other enemies. While you already have a lot, adding more can't hurt. You can make it so that cars are faster than regular people, worth more points, and can explode when hit by the tornado.
5. Add a two-player mode, in which one player controls one tornado, and another player controls another tornado. They can either fight against each other for the most points, or fight with each other for the highest total score.
6. Improve the menu. I couldn't care any less about how a many looks, but it's the first thing people see when looking at a game. If you add a two-player cooperative and two-player competitive mode, you can have a bigger menu. You can also add a tornado/people in the background to make it look cooler.
7. Add an item toggle on/off. If you play without items, you get +25 points, or something like that. You can also add a sound toggle on/off, and add them to the menu, making the game look bigger and better.

Anyway, great game overall. It got me hooked. By the way, I beat your score. I got 209.

www . 2and2.net/Uploads/Images/TopScore.bmp

TVK responds:

Tnx for the review. You gave me some idea's for GTT2.
Nice score, you'll be in the credits shortly.

[Rammer - dodger]

Alright.

Overall, it was a good game. It kept me busy for 10 minutes. Some things that could be improved upon are:

1. The difficulty. As I am writing this review, the game is playing in the background. And I am winning, without even moving. You could make three difficulty levels, instead of just one. The difference between them could be the speed of number of the spears.
2. The backgrounds. I couldn't care at all how good the background is, as it is irrelevent to the aim of the game, but your score was probably brought down by it. Try and vary the backgrounds a bit more, and maybe be a bit more artistic. I shouldn't be talking because I can't draw anything more complex than a square, and even that is hard for me, but it will raise your score.
3. Improve the menu a bit. It doesn't matter that much, but it could be the difference from a 2.89 to a 3. All there is a blue-on-black background. You could add the title, some spears, Rammer, etc. on it.
4. Add powerups. Nothing too complex, maybe add a shield to protect you from getting hit, a speed booster. If you wanted to get more compex, you could get a gun to shoot the spears. Vary it a bit -- the game so far is pretty monotonous.
5. Add different enemies. You could add some bombs/stones that break on contanct with the ground, and can hit you from farther away. You could change the color of the spears depending on their speed - if their speed is above 200 pixels/sec, they turn purple, if their speed is from 125-200, they turn green, if they are under 125, they turn brown.
6. Either add level codes, give a password at the end, or make each level accessable from the menu. If people don't get to the end on the first try, chances are they will not try to play again. Being frustrated with the game, they will then give you a 0.
7. Add some sort of plotline to it. While it's difficult for this type of game, it's not entirely impossible. If you have a plotline, you can have a boss at the end, and winning the game will feel more rewarding.

That's all I can think of for now. Anyway, it was a pretty good game, but some improvements are possible. 3.5/5.

Rammer responds:

holy hell! thats a long review..

1) yes, i know how easy it is, and every single person before you said that. the diffcutly is supposed to (theoretically) get harder with every level, but its not very noticable, not until the later ones, anyway

2) im no artist either, but i could be a lot worse, and i used to. if there wasnt any backgrounds at all, the game would thorougly suck to some people.

3) yeah, the menu was a bit rushed, and i was really tired at the time, so i just didnt do much with it.

4) the shield i could probably do. it wouldnt be very hard. same with the speed booster. great ideas. i dont think ill do the gun though :P

5) your just full of ideas, arent you? yes, for the special editon, ill try to add different enemies. fair enough? ill try to do taht color coding thingy, but i dont know ANYTHING about changing movieclips' colors with actionscript. ill have to look into it.

6) i was going to add a level selection that you could unlock by not getting hit by any spears for at least 5 levels. guess it slipped my mind ):

7) yeah, well, i thought this kind of game wouldnt really need a plotline. ill try to add a boss.

thanks. not sure you can vote a 3.5, though :P

(hella long review!)

[Fishy Tutorial!]

Great Tutorial.

Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to think that reproducing a game is equivalent to stealing it. To get a higher score you might:

1. Use snakes or other animals instead of fishes, so trigger-happy blammers will not immediately cry, "STOLEN!" Also, make a credits section in which you mention X-Gen studios and Fishy. I'm willing to bet that the people who voted low on this are the same people who would not check a credits section.
2. You say that you don't give the entire game prepared for the purpose of learning, and later state that you will not comment on the code because of lack of time. Seems kind of contradictory -- just get rid of one of them, or comment on the code a bit.
3. For people who know nothing of Flash, just give a .fla with the entire game prepared. Even if it involves sinking to a new moral low, it will raise the score.
4. I don't have a working set of headphones/speakers, but in the reviews it seemed sound was a problem. I can hardly be critical of that because I don't know, but adding/modifying the sound might raise the score. Also, if there is no sound when you eat a fish, you could add that.
5. Improve on the graphics slightly. Some people will just play the game without reading the tutorial. If you make the fish explode/get bloodied, people who vote solely on graphics will vote higher.
6. Say important information in caps. Obviously, people cannot be bothered to read a couple of words to understand how to change the speed.
7. At least comment a bit on the code -- it needn't take months, just simplify what the most basic/important parts of the code mean.
8. A lot of people criticize the background of a tutorial. I can't personally see why you would need anything else except a white background for a tutorial, but you couldn't go wrong if you took a low-alpha snapshot of the game and used it as a background.

Anyway, this was one of the best tutorials I've seen up to now. I'd give it a 4/5, but I'll give it a 5/5 because it had such a low score.

VENGEANCE-GGG responds:

1.) Well, after a single click it says, "I came to the conclusion that it would be pretty easy to reproduce 'Fishy', created by X-Gen Studios."

2.) Usually when I try to explain code, it can end up getting several pages long. The FPS tutorial I made was over 80 frames long, and FPS games are VERY basic. This would be even harder, considering the fact that most of the script is too small for the user to read anyway. I wouldn't be able to fit it on the screen if I commented on it.

3.) I have already made such a fla, but I decided against making it available to everyone. After all, who would use the tutorial then? I may as well just delete the tutorial and post a link to download an Open-Source version of a game that wasn't my idea.

4.) I didn't really think much of sounds. To add a sound, you'd just use the attachSound(); function below the 'fish.scale += 5;[/b] line. In the parameters of the function, you would write the identifier for the sound that you specified in the Library using 'Linkage'.

5.) The problem is, I'm a scripter... not a graphics designer or an animator. Note the lame fish designs.

6.) Most of the stuff is important. But CAPS LOCK JUST MAKES IT SOUND AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING!!! Lol.

7.) There's more than 80 lines of code on just the fish alone. I'm not sure how I would fit comments into it and still allow the user to see the text.

8.) The problem is, that would contribute more to people thinking that I 'stole' the game.

Thanks for the 5/5, even if you should've done a 4. But if you though this tutorial was good (which it isn't: believe me), then you ought to try my Shooter tutorial. Go to:

http://www.gamesgamesgames.co.uk/MakingFPS.swf