Couplix [Updated]

edited in Projects
Hey Everyone

Time for another weird Paxador game!

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Couplix is a redux of the first prototype I submitted here in a competition years ago (Futile).

The game is about completing puzzles by moving balls from spawns to goals - but the trick is that they move together!

The Easy Campaign is only focused on completing puzzles using a single ball
The Normal Campaign gives the full experience using two balls
There are also Random Levels - Normal (2 Balls) and Hard (3 balls)

The game uses keyboard for navigation and gameplay, and xbox controllers are supported. Instructions in game.

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WebGL and Windows builds are available on ITCH.IO:

https://paxador.itch.io/couplix

More WebGL builds:

https://gamejolt.com/games/Couplix/278432
http://www.kongregate.com/games/paxador/couplix

And also available on Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Paxador.Couplix

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So far there's been quite a lot of play testing on the web platforms (ITCH, GameJolt, Kongregate, etc) and while the gameplay feels solid and I am quite happy with the visual language in-game, I am still a bit unsure about the logo, menu UI/style/experience, etc. Not being an artist, I'd appreciate any kind of suggestions.

I'd also appreciate feedback on the tutorial levels - seems like a portion of gamers get stuck halfway into the tutorial, and I'm not entirely sure how to make the information easier to understand.

As always - thanks for playing, and any feedback is welcome :)

An example of one of the later levels:

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Thanked by 1Jurgen

Comments

  • edited
    I played to the third level of the tutorial, my impression was mainly one of over complexity and chaos. Some thoughts are below.

    [-]The player needs to hit a lot of keys to do what he needs to do, would be nice if the movement was continuous, or at least repeat the last key stroke after some timeout if the key is still down.
    [-]On the first tutorial level you expect the player to move the box out of the view, without hinting at it, it requires thinking out the box, maybe put a hint for the player to move the box out of the playing area.
    [-]Have no idea what you want done with the destroy circle the first time it's encountered, maybe it should be on a mandatory path so the player actually needs to push something in it, I went into it myself and died.
    [-]One of the objects that got moved out the play area re-spawned and there was a hint that some objects do re-spawn, the next box I pushed out of the play area didn't re-spawn and it looked exactly the same as the one that did, there is no indication which objects re-spawn.
    [-]Level 3 of the tutorial is where I stopped, because all the new concepts intimidated me beyond my will to figure it all out. I played a little, pushed a few things, a few disappeared and i had no idea if it was possible to finish the level with what was left
    [-]Love the main menu, you can easily put it in the middle of the start screen and showcase it.
    [-]Felt like the tutorial relied too much on text, even with having the icons and colors, a blunt arrow telling me which key to press in order to experience the concept would have been better.

    Overall, this is way beyond a casual game to pick up if the tutorial is as punishing as that, however the beauty of the complexity can probably be admired by the right type of player.
    Thanked by 1farsicon
  • @critic: thanks for the awesome feedback dude!

    You've given me a lot to think about, and I will definitely make use of all your suggestions :D

    For a moment there I caught myself almost defending the spawning crate, but then I remembered that I haven't even used it once in all 36 of the actual levels so far, so I'll just remove it \0/

    You're right about the tutorial... I'll have to simplify the puzzles A LOT and I love the idea about the arrows - first thing on my todo list :)

    Regarding the main menu - can you maybe just explain what you meant with putting it in the middle of the start screen, etc.?

    Again.. thanks a mil! Nothing beats constructive critic-ism :p
    Thanked by 1critic
  • farsicon said:
    @critic: thanks for the awesome feedback dude!
    Regarding the main menu - can you maybe just explain what you meant with putting it in the middle of the start screen, etc.?
    Well, the menu is nice, the actual opening up of the different options is satisfying, but it's tucked into the right corner, you could make it bigger and put it into the center of the screen.


    Thanked by 1farsicon
  • critic said:
    farsicon said:
    @critic: thanks for the awesome feedback dude!
    Regarding the main menu - can you maybe just explain what you meant with putting it in the middle of the start screen, etc.?
    Well, the menu is nice, the actual opening up of the different options is satisfying, but it's tucked into the right corner, you could make it bigger and put it into the center of the screen.
    Ah, got it! The starting point is actually dead center - it's probably the crappy web player aspect ratio and the fact that it only expands right and down that causes that impression. Still a good suggestion - I'll spend a couple of cycles thinking about a way to adapt it a bit :)
    Thanked by 1critic
  • Thanks to everyone that played the game so far - I really appreciated it :)

    For anyone interested, the tutorials have now been completely reworked, and the game is now available on multiple sites and the android store - links in the OP.
  • edited
    Nice job with the tutorial levels, they are much better. I made it to the 15th level, two balls seem too much for me, as the tactic moves to just destroying one of the balls in order to get a free move. Got one or two small suggestions, if it's not too late to change things.

    [-]Make the blue player ball some other color, make it sparkle, or give it more distinguishing features, it's not obvious which object the player is when starting the game.
    [-]Leader-board seems to show the high score without the player score that just finished the level.
    [-]Would be cool if the ball followed the warp path instead of just teleporting to the new position.
    [-]Would be nice if you let the player know when it's not possible to finish a level with the remaining pieces.

    Really nice, are you comfortable with sharing some of the download stats?
  • Almost forgot about this...

    @Critic - I tried to implement all your suggestions, but the last two ended up quite a bit more involved than what I wanted to invest, so I parked them for now.

    Your score will only appear on the high score if you made the list :)

    As for stats - I haven't marketed anywhere yet, and I only track completed levels - so I can only see that so far 190 peeps have finished about 900 levels.
    Thanked by 1critic
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