Beta Testers for new game needed

06-29-07, 01:43 PM

I'm looking for some feedback on a game I'm developing for both WM and Windows. It is written in C# on .Net so the same executable runs on both platforms.

At this point the basics of the game are done, I just need input on the parameters on gameplay, i.e., is it too hard, etc.

The game is called Frantic, and is available to download from http://www.cs.pitt.edu/~jmisurda/ppc...ic/frantic.zip

Unzip and copy to you WM device or play on your PC. Both will require the .NET (Compact) Framework 2 to be installed.

The game is played as follows:

There are 6 hexagons that surround a center hex in which a colored wedge appears. Your task is to place it in one of the surrounding hexes before the timer bar fills up. A wedge can only be placed in a hex that has that particular wedge empty.

When a wedge fills up, regardless of the colors of the wedges, it is cleared. If the timer runs out before you place the wedge, you lose a life, and a new wedge is generated with the timer reset.

The colors account for scoring and bonuses. If you complete a wedge with a single color, you will gain an extra life. Additionally, if you complete a wedge of the same color in one of the hexes with a bonus button next to it, that bonus becomes available to be used.

The bonuses are: nuke - clears all of the wedges, slow - halves the timer speed for 5 seconds, and trash - discards the current wedge without losing a life.

The other thing that color contributes to is how many points you get for placing a wedge in a hex. If you place a wedge in a hex that is the same color as the previous wedge, you get double the points as for placing the previous one.

For example: empty hex, add one red, +1 points. add another red +2 more points. add a third red, +4 points. If we now add a green wedge, that is only +1 points.

A completed hex is worth 6 points.

A new level happens at 64, 128, 256,... points and decreases the amount of time you have to place a wedge. A fourth color, purple, is added when you reach level 5.

The current version is gameplay complete but needs tweaked for difficulty. I will likely add three levels of difficulty that tweaks the speeds.

I also will add a highscore table.

Right now it won't support landscape or square screen devices. It is VGA compatable though.

I am seeking beta testers to suggest gameplay ideas, and to spot any bugs that might be in the game. You can just post in this thread with your suggestions/bug reports/etc.

Thanks.

Jon

06-29-07, 05:47 PM

Looks fun. I'll sure give it a try.

mkss55442 · 06-30-07, 09:12 AM

Hi Jon,
Interesting concept. Unfortunately a little hard for those of us who are color blind! Maybe you could use patterns instead of solid colors.
Mark

ungluud · 06-30-07, 10:34 AM

I agree with mkss55442, But would like to be able to use color OR patterns, Great idea by the way.

06-30-07, 12:02 PM

I picked the worst possible colors for color blindness didn't I? I'm very sorry. Windows Mobile makes it not as easy as I'd hoped to do patterns, so it will take me a little to see my options, but I will work on it asap.

Edit: While I work on it, is there a set of 4 colors that would be distinguishable? Just as a temporary workaround.

Jon

mkss55442 · 06-30-07, 06:26 PM

Hi Jon,
As a temporary solution, I'd say light blue, light yellow, black and light red.
Mark

06-30-07, 07:09 PM

I've made some tilable patterns that are still colorized in the original colors (though I switched green and purple) but I just wondered if they are distinct enough for you.

Let me know.

Jon

mkss55442 · 07-01-07, 09:55 AM

Jon,
I suspect that you still have the wrong colors assigned to some of the patterns. For instance, if you have 2 dark colors with the same size circle pattern, it's not going to work for color blind people. Red and green, green and brown, blue and purple, black and other dark colors are difficult for color blind people to distinguish. I also have trouble distinguishing some yellows and greens. I guess I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time trying to make it color blindness friendly. If you go with patterns there will be people who can't distinguish them fast enough. You may not be able to make everyone happy.
Mark
Mark

07-01-07, 11:57 AM

Yeah I didn't change the colors. I tried making everything gray with only the patterns to distinguish, and decided to try to adjust some of the patterns.

I forgot I could let one of them be solid, so I used that. I made the stripes wider and went with a diagonal stripe, a horizontal stripe, a check, and the solid. I tried to use the colors you suggested. I ran it through an online colorblindness simulator, and made sure that the two stripes didn't look similar... hopefully.

I write these programs to learn, and I've pretty much learned everything the code can teach me. If you're willing to help still, I relish the opportunity to learn how to make this game colorblindness-friendly.

The attached version has some of the difficulty changes, but I didn't make all of them yet. From the menu you can now pick whether you want solids or patterns (you want patterns, the solids are the old dark colors) I'm not saving preferences, you'll have to do it each time you run the game. I'll fix that soon. You can even change in the middle of the game if you forgot.

I'm eager to hear if this is getting any closer for you.

Jon

mkss55442 · 07-01-07, 09:14 PM

Hi Jon,
The latest version is much better.
Mark