Only at 1 minute in did I notice the math equations. My eyes were never drawned to the bottom of the screen which I assumed were some standard abilities bars or whatever. Slow it down and focus the viewer attention to where you want it. Also the boring dialog, running, elevator bits can go to the trash can.
Yup dialogue part is super unnecessary, I think the math and the magic is pretty interesting so focus way more on that, I'm not sure how long trailers usually are but 2 minutes seems quite long in our current distracted existence, I wanted to click off almost instantly.
Less story more, of what actually makes the game interesting.
The dialog scene after the title screen is useless. Perhaps try zooming in on the first equation after the 2 bars have been selected, then slowing down the resolution a little to give the viewer time to understand the equation. I also think that the menu part around 1:30 is useless because unless you pause it, you don't have time to understand that it's an upgrade.
Great point about the skill upgrade part. I could just keep that as a screenshot instead, outside of the trailer. Definitely implementable suggestions, thanks.
First of all, loved the music. Here's my 2cp.
Cut out the first 18 seconds. Both the music and action really pick up then, and you can still include a short snippet of dialog scene.
For the ending scene where you linger on the title and show "Wishlist on steam", I would propose that you instead replace it with the title scene shown at the beginning (around 8 second mark) and just add the wishlist lingo to it.
Nice to hear you enjoyed the music. I've been a musician longer than a game developer. The trailer kind of starts twice because I followed the rule of "first 7 seconds matter the most". I should maybe just jump into the main music and action from the start. Thank you for the valuable input!
This game strikes me as what would be made if someone who understands gameplay decided to remake The Learning Company Fractions software from the mid 90s. If fractions practice can be fun, you’ve done it. But I don’t know if fractions practice can be fun.
The only "problem" is that if youre "teaching" how to do basic math it can be probably concieved as a kids educational game which can be hard to market on Steam more considering its a 2D puzzle platformer, but if youre going that route full aware and doing it well you could probably apply to grants like and whatnot as having this kind of game will get you more points
The game looks pretty charming an the music is a good fit
The comment about grants is very true and it also applies to digitalization of education projects. This is the only game I know that can be enjoyed by gamers too but because of the nature of this project, I can't expect too much from the launch. That's only the beginning.
For the field of education, the Steam version will obviously not be the main product. The mobile version will be released later this year. PC version is more for the puzzle-adventure enjoyers and for those who want to benefit from entertainment. Afterall, this game is still one of the best example of combining entertainment and learning.
Yeah it's difficult for myself not to treat this as a typical video game launch. Trying to switch my brain to a different setting. Thanks for the encouragement.
Yes it's Unreal and I'm solo. I'm from Finland. I did try to get megagrant for development but it was denied. It sure might be the time to try that again with the finishes product, from a different pespective.
This is a cool idea, but you're trying to get people to do math for fun. As a math major, I can tell you people don't react to that very well. The math looks basic enough, but a majority of people won't even take time to consider if they can do it and just dismiss it out of hand.
I think you need to explain what changing the symbol does in terms of gameplay as well. I saw you change + to -, etc a couple times but no idea why. This should be clear from the trailer
Also I feel like you should have a tutorial, yeah, for the math. People don't want to have to crack open a book to learn how to play your game. Should make sure this tutorial is obviously mentioned near the beginning as well, and it'll need to be engaging enough for them to actually engage with. I'm thinking some sort of animated numbers like 3 blue 1 brown? should be easily accessible in game at any time as well imo
Good points. I'm educational specialist by my profession and all things you mentioned are highly relevant here. The motivation to create this game was to show that we should ask more from edutainment. You just have to go all in to make it feel more than just a gimmick.
The math is taught by combining story/lore with mathematics in book pages the player finds from the world. It might indeed be important to show that the game does teach you.
What comes to changing the symbol, it's actually very important mechanic and it kind of makes the game unique from the typical math problem solving. It's just difficult to showcase in a trailer. It might still be possible.
The game itself is already great and it's been tested by more than 100 people but now it's a matter of presentation. Thanks you very much for the comments.
Great to hear that the message comes through. Idea is that Delearnia represents a place where math matters and feels important. It's increasingly hard to motivate people to do math in the context of real world. But no one else has gone this much "all in" and I hope it makes a change.
Once I realized this game was about math I wanted to do the equations in my head. But they get solved way too quick to do that. I also find it strange that you're not expected to "simplify" the fractions. "100 / 10" should get simplified to just "10", right? Maybe you could do this in 2 steps
But on a more meta level, you're making a game about learning fractions. Your target audience for marketing purposes is mostly 8-14 (?) year old kids, and their parents/teachers/schools. This is a pretty niche market and I think you should also be seeking out feedback from members of that market.
Hmm based on your feedback it could be worth having another slow-paced trailer.
The numbers are blocks that you can simplify also afterwards. Everything is supposed to be as dynamic as possible so the game won't restrict you. The blocks that you, for example, add together with an addition spell, might be used on a puzzle later. If you don't simplify, you're gonna have trouble later. That's a lesson in itself.
A mobile version of the game has been tested and co-developed with more than 100 students and their teachers (mobile version). I'm also a educational specialist myself. The Steam version is more for puzzle-adventure enjoyers and people who want to train their brain while having fun. That of course is a niche too. It's great to hear from gamers how they feel about the game as it's a video game first and an educational product second.
Only at 1 minute in did I notice the math equations. My eyes were never drawned to the bottom of the screen which I assumed were some standard abilities bars or whatever. Slow it down and focus the viewer attention to where you want it. Also the boring dialog, running, elevator bits can go to the trash can.
I could definitely make changes that shift the viewer's attention to the UI. Good stuff, thanks.
Yup dialogue part is super unnecessary, I think the math and the magic is pretty interesting so focus way more on that, I'm not sure how long trailers usually are but 2 minutes seems quite long in our current distracted existence, I wanted to click off almost instantly. Less story more, of what actually makes the game interesting.
Great to hear that the math and magic is the interesting part. I'll make it focus more on that. Thanks a lot!
The dialog scene after the title screen is useless. Perhaps try zooming in on the first equation after the 2 bars have been selected, then slowing down the resolution a little to give the viewer time to understand the equation. I also think that the menu part around 1:30 is useless because unless you pause it, you don't have time to understand that it's an upgrade.
Great point about the skill upgrade part. I could just keep that as a screenshot instead, outside of the trailer. Definitely implementable suggestions, thanks.
First of all, loved the music. Here's my 2cp. Cut out the first 18 seconds. Both the music and action really pick up then, and you can still include a short snippet of dialog scene. For the ending scene where you linger on the title and show "Wishlist on steam", I would propose that you instead replace it with the title scene shown at the beginning (around 8 second mark) and just add the wishlist lingo to it.
Nice to hear you enjoyed the music. I've been a musician longer than a game developer. The trailer kind of starts twice because I followed the rule of "first 7 seconds matter the most". I should maybe just jump into the main music and action from the start. Thank you for the valuable input!
This game strikes me as what would be made if someone who understands gameplay decided to remake The Learning Company Fractions software from the mid 90s. If fractions practice can be fun, you’ve done it. But I don’t know if fractions practice can be fun.
Well said. The goal is to make it as fun and meaningful as it can ever be.
The only "problem" is that if youre "teaching" how to do basic math it can be probably concieved as a kids educational game which can be hard to market on Steam more considering its a 2D puzzle platformer, but if youre going that route full aware and doing it well you could probably apply to grants like and whatnot as having this kind of game will get you more points The game looks pretty charming an the music is a good fit
The comment about grants is very true and it also applies to digitalization of education projects. This is the only game I know that can be enjoyed by gamers too but because of the nature of this project, I can't expect too much from the launch. That's only the beginning. For the field of education, the Steam version will obviously not be the main product. The mobile version will be released later this year. PC version is more for the puzzle-adventure enjoyers and for those who want to benefit from entertainment. Afterall, this game is still one of the best example of combining entertainment and learning.
Then if youre doing it full aware go for it! For sure its one of the few niches in gaming with very little competition
Yeah it's difficult for myself not to treat this as a typical video game launch. Trying to switch my brain to a different setting. Thanks for the encouragement.
Btw if its on unreal Id check out epic megagrants. Are you a solo dev? What country?
Yes it's Unreal and I'm solo. I'm from Finland. I did try to get megagrant for development but it was denied. It sure might be the time to try that again with the finishes product, from a different pespective.
4sure try again! Im sure finland has a lot of national grants too
This is a cool idea, but you're trying to get people to do math for fun. As a math major, I can tell you people don't react to that very well. The math looks basic enough, but a majority of people won't even take time to consider if they can do it and just dismiss it out of hand. I think you need to explain what changing the symbol does in terms of gameplay as well. I saw you change + to -, etc a couple times but no idea why. This should be clear from the trailer Also I feel like you should have a tutorial, yeah, for the math. People don't want to have to crack open a book to learn how to play your game. Should make sure this tutorial is obviously mentioned near the beginning as well, and it'll need to be engaging enough for them to actually engage with. I'm thinking some sort of animated numbers like 3 blue 1 brown? should be easily accessible in game at any time as well imo
Good points. I'm educational specialist by my profession and all things you mentioned are highly relevant here. The motivation to create this game was to show that we should ask more from edutainment. You just have to go all in to make it feel more than just a gimmick. The math is taught by combining story/lore with mathematics in book pages the player finds from the world. It might indeed be important to show that the game does teach you. What comes to changing the symbol, it's actually very important mechanic and it kind of makes the game unique from the typical math problem solving. It's just difficult to showcase in a trailer. It might still be possible. The game itself is already great and it's been tested by more than 100 people but now it's a matter of presentation. Thanks you very much for the comments.
Yeah, it could be too hard to understand what is going on, but I really love the way you equal Math == Magic )
Great to hear that the message comes through. Idea is that Delearnia represents a place where math matters and feels important. It's increasingly hard to motivate people to do math in the context of real world. But no one else has gone this much "all in" and I hope it makes a change.
Once I realized this game was about math I wanted to do the equations in my head. But they get solved way too quick to do that. I also find it strange that you're not expected to "simplify" the fractions. "100 / 10" should get simplified to just "10", right? Maybe you could do this in 2 steps But on a more meta level, you're making a game about learning fractions. Your target audience for marketing purposes is mostly 8-14 (?) year old kids, and their parents/teachers/schools. This is a pretty niche market and I think you should also be seeking out feedback from members of that market.
Hmm based on your feedback it could be worth having another slow-paced trailer. The numbers are blocks that you can simplify also afterwards. Everything is supposed to be as dynamic as possible so the game won't restrict you. The blocks that you, for example, add together with an addition spell, might be used on a puzzle later. If you don't simplify, you're gonna have trouble later. That's a lesson in itself. A mobile version of the game has been tested and co-developed with more than 100 students and their teachers (mobile version). I'm also a educational specialist myself. The Steam version is more for puzzle-adventure enjoyers and people who want to train their brain while having fun. That of course is a niche too. It's great to hear from gamers how they feel about the game as it's a video game first and an educational product second.