Så fik jeg endelig sat mig og spillet Dwarfs!
Det er superhyggeligt og virker ret gennemarbejdet og veltænkt allerede. Er vild med settingen og gravegameplayet.
Jeg har kun spillet igennem de helt grundlæggende tutorials indtil videre, så der er vist stadig en del til gode sammen med random-banerne. Jeg havde notepad åben imens jeg spillede og noterede alt ned, der lige faldt mig i øjnene, så jeg poster det lige her. Der er skudt lige fra hoften - det håber jeg er ok (og så af en eller anden grund på engelsk, sorry).
Dwarfs - feedback
- atmosphere and presentation is really nice. Music is good and creates the right cozy cave-feeling and doesn't get repetitive or annoying.
The tutorial in general is really good. It's nice to be taken through the commands and the presenting dwarf helps getting you into the humour and atmosphere. One issue was though that tutorial should give time for player to try out the commands it presents and not pop up new stuff right after the previous as it did at times in the first tutorial.
Gameplay
I like the whole idea and setting. It's very satisfying to dig and mine for minerals. The interface looks simple and appealing, as does the whole feel and presentation.
- walking the dwarfs somewhere seem a bit cumbersome. The arrow system is not very intuitive. Could it be more direct? I miss the feeling of having either a bit more control of the dwarfs/ or that it is more fun/less frustrating to interact with them. My feeling is that I would enjoy more controlling the dwarfs more indirectly by just marking where they should dig and then they find their way there themselves or I would like to microcontrol them by choosing one and then control it directly (fx with arrow keys). Right now they feel somewhere in between, since they walk on their own (which to me feels stressful and annoying) but still when you give them a path ( if you want it to be as efficient a path as possible, not going through ground) you have to do it step by step in a really detailed way. Could also be that interface-wise the arrows are not appealing or clear enough somehow. I think getting the basic dwarf actions to feel more fun / rewarding would take this game a huge step - I already like the gameplay a lot, but the feel of the basic, repeated giving-direction-action is not quite right for me at least. Could also be about the arrows themselves - maybe some experiments with coloring, sound effects etc would make them feel better?
- seems a bit hardcore that wall-building is a mouse/keyboard shortcut - why not a menu button in the interface with a wall on it? The dynamite was presented as a menu button - why not consistency?
- got stuck in the tutorial where you have to find the dangerous cave and trap it in rock ( you start with four dwarfs). I started out by encasing both black areas in rock ( without exploring which is the right cave first, which I guess is failure) and then the scenario just got stuck (until time ran out). I couldn't find a way to undo the rock to be able to dig into the caves.
- sound and music in general is nice and has the right feel to it. The digging sound is good and feels pleasant. Could it have a variation when mining out minerals? I miss a bit more (or more distinct/ clearer) gratification sounds for different events. Fx for the coin you earn when digging through a patch of ground and for bumping into minerals. I think wherever rewards can be put into this game (through sound and graphics) it would be good