meadow

I like the theme and how it's related to a space shooter game. The starting screen being a part of the game is creative, and the actions that I do in the game feel "meaningful". This is an motivation for me to keep playing.

Drawbacks: The battle mechanics are quite simple. I believe that to keep the players engages, you either need to have a longer story, or need to change the battling system with a more complex one. But being a short and artsy game, it's really delicate and well made!

The aesthetics of the game is coherent to the ideal and environments you are trying to create. The controls are intuitive, which is more than appropriate for this game, as it would not be ideal to distract the players from its very articulated styles. The exploration aspect of the game is very well presented. It would be recommended to incorporate more forms of interactions that can complement and elevate the tranquil and visual experiences of the game.

The theme is very interesting. I like how this feels like an interactable art piece, like a moving painting. I could see that it connects greatly to nature and the environment, and how we can help to influence it. I think the scene with the bird is very artistic, and you are almost like a force in nature that is helping to decompose and become a part of earth again. I think one thing that can really this experience pop is music. A calm ambience that sort of mirrors the environment in the game paired with a tune can enhance the emotions experienced. The shooting part of the game is really simple, but I think it is best that way as this game should not be mechanics heavy but of an experience of the senses. 

I was fascinated by the art and atmosphere of this game. Background music is a really necessary element in this game. I think the background music will make this game incredibly beautiful. The beginning of the game was a brilliant idea, and it goes well with the concept of a meadow. Overall, the contrast of the colors is not strong and I love its calm. 

My criticism is the pond scene; I was expecting more than pushing objects. I thought it would be nice to add a rule to find a way out by pushing an object or hiding something like a treasure under an object.

It was good to write the explanation in handwriting. It goes well with the hand-painted texture. I thought it would be nice if you explained the control keys in handwriting at the beginning of the game.

This was a wonderful game to play! What I really enjoyed was the camerawork- I think it’s a really good way to move around a game like this, as it feels almost storybook like, or like a scroll you’re slowly unravelling. The art style is very charming, but it feels a little haunted, if I could say that- in a good way, of course! I think that you really interpreted and introduced your story well throughout each of the unique sections, and I applaud you for making such a wonderful game!

The menu screen was super unique! I thought it was a really nice way to start the experience in the game; getting to control the character in a harmless space, and the effect with the title text floating over you was a cool way to intro it. Some visual clues leading to the different paths might be helpful; I actually didn’t realize you could go to the sides for the other levels.

The art was also really nice, as always with your games; the mood around the bird level in particular I thought was really cool. I know there wasn’t much time for this assignment, but as like a little thing to prioritize in the future, if there even just a track playing in the background without any other sound effects, I feel like art/audio could carry a whole lot in this kind of game by itself. 

In general though I thought it was a really cool experience!

In my experience in the shoot em' up genre, the ability to freely explore is not really anything I have ever come across before. In a genre typically filled with chaos, this was a pleasing escape from all that. The casual and artful direction this game takes makes the conversation of balance and sequencing an interesting one. On the typical shmup game I would immediately say there is some difficulty 'losing', but I enjoy that the game is majority an art piece than bullet hell in that regard. To make add that extra level of tranquility, any background music and/or sound effects would be a nice addition.

Beautiful art in this game! I love the large scale of everything around the sprite and think that the choice to have the camera follow players really emphasizes it. I really like how unique your take was on this assignment. I viewed it as more of an experience (until you enter the go to war option of course). The only two points I would bring up are 1. If we could actually see the bird decay after we cover it in shrooms that would give a nice sense of completion to that portion. The next time you enter the room a new animal could even be waiting there or something. I fully covered the bird with shrooms but couldn't get the tail to cover so I eventually gave up and was left wishing I could've seen what would happen if I did manage to cover it. 2. The go to war stage had me a little confused as to what was happening without a backstory. It wasn't until I saw the death screen that I realized these bad fairy people must be trying to overtake the spot as meadow guardian. Perhaps if you could inject hints of this plot throughout the game then there wouldn't be any confusion when players go t war. Other than those points, seriously cool game! I really enjoyed playing it :)