3D Platformer Early Test Build

I've been following you ever since I played your mirror game, just wanted to say your work is cool and I'm rooting for you! Good luck

• The controls feel like a perfect combination of Banjo-Kazooie and Conker’s Bad Fur Day with just a smidge of Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time. For lack of a better word, they’re very crunchy and tight where Mario 64 is a lot looser and more freeform. There’s no doubt in my mind as to where the character will be when I do what I need to do.
• The camera controls are impeccable. Obviously, being able to invert in the full game would be ideal, but as they stand, well done.
• The enemy respawn timer is a bit quick for my taste and I would also suggest not allowing them to respawn while the player is in their respawn zone. That’s something that gets very frustrating in both Banjo-Tooie and Donkey Kong 64.
• The roll ability feels good to use and connect with an enemy, but I’d give the player a bit more control of it while moving like in the Banjo games because there were times where I thought I’d connect, but the Mario 64 Goomba-esque movement of the enemies caused me to miss.
• If you’re going to do fall damage, go for it. But don’t let enemies damage you while you’re in the squished state because then you’re taking damage on damage and can’t defend yourself, so it feels unfair.
• “Ah! Context Sensitive! Clever!” I *love* the inclusion of the Context Sensitive Pads and the Bubsy-eque “!” above the character’s head is fantastic. I can’t wait to see what they do as you go forward.
• A way to make the camera snap behind the player would be very helpful.
• Some of the sound volumes vary wildly. Make sure that their waveform files are similar volume and then set the sound effects volume globally in the engine. Trust me from experience: do this sooner than later or you’ll have to go through and set it manually.
• Signpost the bouncy mushrooms with a little arrow pointing up on a wooden sign next to them.
  • In retrospect, it feels obvious that you can bounce on them, but I’ve learned to never underestimate the player’s ability to just not even consider stuff.
• A ledge grab move would be great unless you’re specifically building the game to not have one.
  • Which I’d get, but be sure to make that decision before you start building more areas, not after.
• The writing and how it offsets the cuteness of the art is especially enjoyable.
• I love the CubeCats and I want a plushie of all five of them yesterday.
• The 3D audio on some of the collectables is a bit far-ranging. I can hear gems basically all the time. I’d suggest making them louder as more of them are collected so that it becomes easier to find them with the audio cue.
  • As an accessibility feature for deaf or hearing impaired players, you could also include a toggle-able arrow pointer or maybe something on the HUD like a treasure compass.
• The swimming controls are really good. Definitely a good call going for different controls between the surface and underwater so you don’t have to keep spamming the swim button to not drown.
• Thank you for not putting a timer on the switch on the paintbrush on the mountain. Donkey Kong 64 used timers WAY too often when just having to hit the switch to activate a platforming challenge is plenty. I’d suggest using timers sparingly.
• The juxtaposition of the art style and the rocket launcher is really funny as is the crates exploding with their eyes going everywhere. You have a strong style here and I really enjoy it.
• The ground pounding posts should be a bit wider than they are. It was easy to miss them when trying to pound them into the ground.
  • That said, the enemy AI chasing me around it when I tried running in a circle around it worked great and was really funny.
• I didn’t experience any major bugs! Everything worked great.
• The art direction in general is fantastic. I can very clearly see what you’re going for here.

I’m always interested in new 3D platformers, especially sandboxes and open worlds; they’re literally my favorite genre. If I had the skills needed to work in 3D, I would be making basically nothing but them. If you need any additional feedback, advice, or anything else I can help with in the future, please feel free to contact me directly. Great job on this! Can’t wait to see more!

Thank you so much for sharing an early build!

I've been following the progress on bluesky with much interest. Played it on my Steam Deck (works wonderfully) and having a lot of fun.

First thing I noticed was that the camera position was snapping pretty nicely for the most part in platforming spots but in the wider "flat" areas it would mostly just be facing the character and not give much visibility on where I'm going. A button to reset the camera to snap behind would be nice in the areas where the camera can be freely rotated.

Is it possible the reach this brush ? I seem to be unable to jump high enough to reach the platform.

That's all I can think of right now.

It has so much charm and personality, so keep up the great work.