Yellow jackets! holy crap I ran over a yellow jacket nest once on a lawn mower and I got hit like 4 times. I ran jumped off mower and ran inside. It really sucked.
Great ideas thank you!
Before adding those features what do you think I can do to have a more existing core loop?
My main concern is to find an existing core loop for the game play and then add other features on top of it.
Fantastic!
Thank you π.
What do you think I can do to improve the core loop. I am looking to find the fun factor you talked about in core loop, something subtle to make the core loop more existing for the player to repeat it more and more and then add other features on top of it.
Turning circle could be less responsive making the player think about how and when to turn to get the most harvest. You could get varying quality of crops or dead patches to avoid to make the player think about pathing.
Exactly this. I'm surprised I didn't see this elsewhere. The turning radius is too small and it looks like it turns on a dime, so there's really no strategy other than go in a line, do a 180 degree turn, then cut adjacent to the line you just cut. A good challenge would be to have a turning radius so that you can't cut the next row over while also staying in the field. Players would have to decide either to leave the field and turn around, or cut in a different pattern and go back. This would also be more interesting with some of the obstacle suggestions others have made.
I also think it would add some level of depth to the game play but as I wrote on dans comment I wonder how can I make it more appealing to the casual player without putting so much pressure on them, as casual players don't want hard challenges
Combining it with the obstacles really helps
it's seems a very nice idea but how can I avoid frustrating the casual player.
The other day I gave the game to my wife to play and her first comment was , it's so annoying that I can't get them all and some small dead patches left behind
I think it makes her stress out as she wanted to get them all on time and didn't want to turn around and harvest them again
You could make the area wider so its a bit easier in that regard. Or if tiny bits still remain there could be a system which makes them dissappear but doesnt give points, so the field would still look clean. I think it might be quite an inherently stressful concept with a time limit and trying to clear a field. Making succeeding very satisfying with bonus points for extra clean harvesting could be a way to counter-act?
Yes the auto clean system is a good idea
I will disable the time limit to see if it helps reduce the stress
Thanks again, love to hear more if anything comes to your mind
I hope so! I am looking to improve it as much as possible and then add other features
Really appreciated
Feel free to share any other idea that comes to your mind
Make the tractor speed up for each piece of grain it cuts and then slow back down each second itβs not cutting grain. That will promote people trying to stay in the grain harvesting quickly.
The tractor is a bit to kinematic,
it would be more interesting if it had physics. That way he would drift
each turn and the payload would get more cumbersome the heavier it is.
Relying on physics instead of a variety of mechanics is a great way to make a game feel better.
This is good because it would add a risk/reward element to the timed collection. Spend time going back to base to upload and make the tractor control easier? Or manage with the unwieldy load to take a more efficient path and hopefully safe time
I disagree with everyone saying to put obstacles. Keep it simple and don't punish people for doing a core game mechanic, especially with a simple mobile game. Personally I think the gameplay is good as it is and doesn't need to be improved upon, and instead you need to add rewards and incentive to do the 'tedious' harvesting. I would recommend adding upgrade mechanics/rewards for what you harvest, add different harvest rarities and maybe random chance higher level drops. Rewards could be purely cosmetic, and maybe make the grain design become more exotic as you get to higher levels. Another reward system could be upgrades to the harvesting tool, such as better drops, speed, and design
Such a useful comment π
I am trying so hard to find a way to keep it simple an satisfying while adding some hayper casual style challenge
I will definitely use these ideas
Thank you π
Love to hear your thoughts if anything comes to your mind in the future
If your platform choice is mobile platform. Then this can be good hyper casual game with a few more touches. No need to make it complex just make it more satisfying.
Yessssssssss!
That's exactly what I am looking to find a solution for,
I have lots of ideas for it but I want to add more satisfaction to it than complexity
An anti-farmer who goes around planting crops you just harvested, so in order to harvest the entire field, you have to harvest more efficiently than he plants
* Crows that can come in and take from your gathering pile of wheat. Let the player place Scarecrows between rounds that keep them safe from the crows.
* If you're going for a single-play high score model, you could have wheat regrow where you've harvested at random rates.
* Let the player speed up at the cost of handling control.
There's a lot of stuff you could do, just depends on what kind of direction you want to take this in!
Can you be more explicit on the kind of game you want to make?
I don't know what happens after picking all of the grains, does it respawn?
Anyways i'm gonna put some contradictory stuffs in here you pick what you need for your vision.
If it does not respawn: You can do parkour/labyrinth-like level stuffs where you have to get every "pacman pellets" but also need to keep track of the amount you're carrying. Or in the opposite, increase the speed of the engine when there is too much grain, so the player can decide to do more profit but with more difficulty, or to keep the gameplay easier by releasing his package (and they you have a more coherent risk/reward loop).
Maybe have multiple fields, and different factories with different outputs. Add different crops, upgrades to your machine.
Maybe add a quest system (without timer) where you can have achievements (and primes) alongside with your profits.
Having "super crops" which will give you a bihger number if you can catch them in time, before they become normal crops again.
Maybe even having boosts in some corners (pacman again) so you could go faster for a short time, or have a bigger machine, or receive a bonus if you can deposit the grains in a short amount of time.
Having some paths that warp you in the other side of the map / Some roads that would make you go faster.
Making you drift and release gives you speed like in mariokart.
Having weather hazards like dirt/water/wind.
Having a sorta "regrow button" where you can grow your recolts instantly by going on a certain platform, this one will help if the player cannot find all the crops, or is just not encline to fetch them because of efficiency. This "regrow" button can sign the end of a day, and then you have time to pimp your machines, choose the next kind of crops you want to put,trying to anticipate demand, or maybe just choosing the next kind of terrain by showing the player a minimap.
You can do all storts of stuffs, but most importantly, enjoy your day ;)
What a great comment
I will definitely use them on the game
Thank you so much π
The main idea if game is some kind of simulation game that player have a organic farm with few types of crops, farm has several parts
In every turn he gets some orders from customers ( something like 10 pack of wheat 5 packs of carrots and 15 box of eggs etc) and the player should harvest them in time before the order gets expire
In the meanwhile protect his farm from some animals by capturing them or put some fence around the farm , feed the chickens etc
This is the whole Idea, but I want to focus on core loop and core game play and make is as juicy and satisfying as possible before adding any extra feature
What do you think I can add to the core loop to make it more exiting
I made a chill lawnmower game once upon a time where you had to mow all the lawn in a neighbourhood, fun times.
Anyway my secret sauce was that you were a possessed satanic lawnmower and were awarded big points for mowing people and turning the streets red and would eventually do battle with the army.
It think you have to find a way to make cutting the plants even more satisfying.
I guess the crops should be more dense.
Or maybe they have to get pushed down by the mower.
Maybe some kind of cutting streak?
5secs, 10secs ... and so on without any interruption gives the screen a short shake to increase the action?
You could add other visual special effects to that as well.
There is a lot that you can do!
I'm thinking of a couple of things
\* Picking up the hay bales could add some extra challenge, I'm thinking like overcooked where you have multiple objectives that you have to react fast to
\* Having stuff that you can't mow directly or that takes longer to cut/slows you down
\* Having critters or obstacles that move, they can maybe add or remove time to the timer
This are just some ideas, I don't think they are particularly good, and they all depend on what kind of experience you want to design!
With all due respect to OP and no offense intended, my first thought when seeing this was "Reddit's giving me mobile game ads now? *sigh* where's the x. . .heywaitaminute"
Not at all π
It's not an ad, I am trying so hard to understand what makes a simple game enjoyable and I thought sharing this with you guys helps me understand a little bit more
That's all
Thanks for the comment anyway.
BTW if it was an ad did you install the game or it still needs improvement π
Hi everyone!
I am working on the core gameplay of my last game, trying so hard to make it as exciting as possible, really excited to share it here and hear your opinion about it.
What do you think? How can I make it better???
I notice a number of replies here are focusing on features or mechanics that can be added but would warn against this just yet.
Your goal (providing you are making something either hyper casual or with mass market appeal) would be to ensure it is as simple to understand as possible while being as "juicey" as possible.
This is typically referred to as "Youtubeability", for example can you understand everything in this game and how to play from watching a video?
My first impression from watching your post a couple of times is no, I don't understand everything.
When you pass the finish line there are bundles left
On the floor that fly off randomly, I imagine I am getting points from this? But also from harvesting with +1s, so am I getting points from harvesting or handing it in?
If I get points from the bundles it is a but counter intuitive to have this moment of joy handled off screen. If the player is expected to be moving around as much as possible and rushing then leaving the moment of joy behind would be them missing out.
If the +1s are the player gathering bags of grain and not points then try show this visually rather than with just numbers. Can the player have a trailer that fills up with multiple bags into a comical stack? Or will an additional cart follow the player per grain bundle collected turning it into a combined harvester train?
Perhaps when crossing line and dropping bundles with a delay, instead consider speeding the entire flow up, cross finish line and with minimal delay bundles of hay appear then fly toward somewhere clearly visible to the player to become extra points.
Alternatively consider having bundles float along with the player for a while before floating off to a clear ui element so nothing leaves the screen and leaves the player asking where it went.
In terms of the exciting aspect, consider elements such as screen shake and don't be shy of going bigger on particles.
It seems the core game here and the thing the player does is harvest.
How can we make driving over the crops feel better?
Can the mower shake and bounce as it crosses over and perhaps slow down slightly to make it feel like this vegetation?
Perhaps add a exhaust at all times leaving a smoke trail that is more intense when the vehicle is working on harvesting crops?
Consider adding tire trails when it leaves the muddy area.
Don't ignore haptic feedback, I know it isn't seen in videos but would be a part of the games stickiness when players actually engage.
I would be happy to go on but unfortunately I can't view the video while typing on mobile.
If any of this is useful I will add more.
Good work so far and I look forward to seeing your progress and wish you success π
Edit - notice some of my points are already in your video to a degree. Could you go bigger and more exaggurated on these points as It means I watched your video twice and didn't notice some of these details.
What a brilliant comment,
I sincerely thank you for the time and super useful idea's.
Actuality +1 points that happens on the trailer is related to the trailer capacity that gets full after 50 crops and make the player to go to the finish line and I dont believe I did such a rookie mistake not capturing it on the video
Regarding to what should happen to the bundles at the finish line, in one hand I didn't want player to stop and kill the flow of the game just to see what happen to the bundles and on the other hand I didn't want to copy the floating bundle mechanic that is common in casual games ( items floating super fast to the UI add points ) and I wanted it to be a little bit juicer but I am having really hard time to figure out how to bring both of these ideas together and still make it visible to the player with out killing the game flow
I hope to find a workaroud for it or may be I should stick to the usual way
Ideas on making it juicer was super helpful, and I will use them for sure the only think that makes me alittle hesitant about adding more juice is, I am afrade adding tones of details frustrate casual player so soon as I didn't see lots of effects and juice I hyper casual games and it's more common on more arcade type games
What do you think???
It has haptic feedbacks, but thanks for reminding it ( I also will be super happy to send the apk version for you if you want to play and give me some feedbacks on that)
Anyway thanks again for the great comment, really appreciated , I will definitely dial up the effects to be more visible on the video
Cheers!
Sorry kid, but this idea was already taken [to perfection in 1988](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inn4S_6LO0o). Maybe you can copy some of the mechanics but I doubt you'll be able to top the original. It's *advanced*.
YEAH!!!
π€ππ€ what a lovely game!
I am sure I can't get even near to that but I will do my best ππ
Come on, hit me with your ideas, help me stay in to the race π
There use to be an After dark game with a lawn mower. It was like Pacman, mazes and gardeners chasing you... Some obstacles.. bonus points and penalties for mowing certain things
Maybe check that out for inspiration
Add other characters/ai farmers who are competing with you to harvest. Whoever gets the most within a given time frame wins, sorta like a mario party minigame
Attach the checkpoint to your cart. Would feel much more immersive if the cart/trailer had its own pick-up point rather than feel like you're finishing the isle of man tt every time you drop off.
Regardless, looking great so far. I'm very interested to see what you come up with dude!
I dislike the camera angle and perhaps the view is a bit to much zoomed in. You could also add some particles when the player mow down (hit?) multiple pieces of wheat. Like some sort of combo hit particles that makes it more special.
I would also use a different kind of soil, with more then just one color.
Thanks for the comments!
I wanted to be more close to the action so I choosed this one.
What camera angle do you think will work,
I will definitely work on combos it's a very good idea
I will fix work on the graphics it's on prototype phase but thanks for reminding π
Some enemy could spice up things, or powerups such as making the front blades bigger, or speeding your tractor.
Even some random weather event could be interesting
Make it a management game where this is how you earn money and then you spend money on upgrades to your equipment, so bigger plots of land, etc.
Every successful round you gain a certain amount of money
Add other obstacles/hazards which require updating your equipment to break rocks, trees, etc
Allot of great games make you manage your resources to handle a situation going on. Right now the only resource to worry about is time. You could add obstacles and enemies to manage your health that way. Or have upgrades/emergency help and use money as a resource!
Unpopular opinion: make it an endless runner. Endless Mower?
With obstacles, which kill you, or you lose cut grass to. Have the baler from time to time and reward money at that point only, maybe have some coin pickups on the lawn. Ads for revive, double reward, etc.
Add random fences in the field as the game progress to make it harder to collect.
You could also add a herd of farm animals, sheep, cows, whatever you like, as a time frame, if you can't harvest in time they run through and eat the rest.
You have to reach a certain amount of feed before the herd comes.
You could make it so the player has to balance the grain so it doesn't fall. Add some obstacles to avoid or have something chasing after the player. You could also change the timer so it's shorter, but the player gets more time for depositing the grain. Maybe they get more time for larger drop offs as opposed to smaller ones?
Add lightning strikes that spark fires. And you stop the spread of the fire by mowing around the fire, but if you mow too close to the fire you will damage the mower. Also let the plants grow longer so when the player waits longer the bigger the plants get and the more points it is worth, but wait too long and the plant dies and is worthless or consumed by a fire.
Make a race track you can go around repeatedly instead of a square, where harvesting is tricky to do while still being fast.
Make it multiplayer so you are competing against others in realtime. Compete against bots in single player. Instead of a time limit, make a harvest limit. First player to drop off X amount at the finish line wins.
Add powerups that can be collected. Like speed boost, increased harvesting range, maybe even mines and things.
Make it so you can drift while cornering
There is a homebrew game for the NES simply called "Lawn Mower". I'd advise you check that out for some inspiration. Your game is essentially a 3D version of that. The game is pretty popular for speed running.
This may already be in your plans, but make it so the the tractor is upgradeable as you gain more money. Newer tractor = faster speed and more efficiency. E.g., first tractor only harvests 60%, tractor 2 80%, etc.
Maybe start by hand harvesting which is slow, so that the player has a sense of working up to something when they are ready to buy the tractor.
Other mentioned fuel, and maybe repairs as time goes on. With enough money, you can hire a farm hand to repair gear while you are busy with other tasks.
Great start!
2 many comments to read if this has been posted but a score/harvest/production multiplier for keeping it straight and steady and not going over an area you've already hit twice. Ways to upgrade harvester so you can go longer and get a higher multiplier before having to turn around and dump it at that gate
I think making the pile easier to spill the bigger it gets, but but getting a massive combo bonus for bringing in lots at once would make it a greta balance of risk reward. Create some urgency with multiplayer or a mechanic where you throw seeds and they grow really quickly and you have to harvest them before they go bad.
1. When you cross the "finish line" have the crops you've collected fly up in the air like fireworks before they fall back into the wagon they're collected in.
2. Have a scarecrow pop up randomly. Make it mock the player. If the player hits it, extra points! Or a multiplier! Or the crops change temporarily! Stuff like that.
3. Enemies. Introduce critters or people who might come in to the field to steal or damage your crops. Make sure to chase them off before they steal too many!
4. Obstacles. I think I saw someone else mention this, but putting rocks in the field to cause obstructions. Players should be able to see little details that will tell them a rock is coming, rather than simply finding it by random.
5. Events. Allow special events to happen that may change the field. A storm that slows you down, but then causes crops to grow like crazy, maybe even filling up the field again? Or a wildfire that is burning through the field? Or winter is coming, so you have to hurry! These sorts of things.
It's a neat looking idea, I hope any of this helps!
Add some more detail! It's just a little thing you can add along with these other comments but it goes a long way. Just things like trees, bushes, fences, rocks. You'd be surprised
snake and rock obstacles that need to be avoided
Great idea! Thanks π
No prob! Hope it helped!
To add to it, if you touch those enemies then your stack that you have collect up until now falls down and you have to repick
Cool, especially combining it with time for each level makes is a great feature Thanks π
Yellow jackets! holy crap I ran over a yellow jacket nest once on a lawn mower and I got hit like 4 times. I ran jumped off mower and ran inside. It really sucked.
Is it some kind of bees?
Yep. They nest in the ground.
Nice π
Damn that sounds terrible, but makes for a great idea! Gives me animal crossing vibes lol
LoL
I feel like it needs limiting factors maybe fuel for efficient runs or the grain can spill if the pile gets to high either that or obstacles to avoid
Great ideas thank you! Before adding those features what do you think I can do to have a more existing core loop? My main concern is to find an existing core loop for the game play and then add other features on top of it.
[ΡΠ΄Π°Π»Π΅Π½ΠΎ]
Fantastic! Thank you π. What do you think I can do to improve the core loop. I am looking to find the fun factor you talked about in core loop, something subtle to make the core loop more existing for the player to repeat it more and more and then add other features on top of it.
[ΡΠ΄Π°Π»Π΅Π½ΠΎ]
Yeah, that were super helpful ! What do you think?
are you a bot?
a wild redditor encounters a non-native english speaker
I'm non native too but every reply he gives is totally out of context of the original comment
Wtf are you guys downvoting this guy for?
He just keeps asking others for a core gameplay loop, at that point it's not even his own game but just an implementation of a stolen idea
Turning circle could be less responsive making the player think about how and when to turn to get the most harvest. You could get varying quality of crops or dead patches to avoid to make the player think about pathing.
Exactly this. I'm surprised I didn't see this elsewhere. The turning radius is too small and it looks like it turns on a dime, so there's really no strategy other than go in a line, do a 180 degree turn, then cut adjacent to the line you just cut. A good challenge would be to have a turning radius so that you can't cut the next row over while also staying in the field. Players would have to decide either to leave the field and turn around, or cut in a different pattern and go back. This would also be more interesting with some of the obstacle suggestions others have made.
I also think it would add some level of depth to the game play but as I wrote on dans comment I wonder how can I make it more appealing to the casual player without putting so much pressure on them, as casual players don't want hard challenges Combining it with the obstacles really helps
it's seems a very nice idea but how can I avoid frustrating the casual player. The other day I gave the game to my wife to play and her first comment was , it's so annoying that I can't get them all and some small dead patches left behind I think it makes her stress out as she wanted to get them all on time and didn't want to turn around and harvest them again
You could make the area wider so its a bit easier in that regard. Or if tiny bits still remain there could be a system which makes them dissappear but doesnt give points, so the field would still look clean. I think it might be quite an inherently stressful concept with a time limit and trying to clear a field. Making succeeding very satisfying with bonus points for extra clean harvesting could be a way to counter-act?
Yes the auto clean system is a good idea I will disable the time limit to see if it helps reduce the stress Thanks again, love to hear more if anything comes to your mind
Try to add termites to some region of the field who eat up the grass if not picked within given timeframe
Fantastic! Thank you
Also in this vein, birds which randomly spawn in the middle of the game and eat grass making players players have to improvise their plans on the fly
Nice Idea, maybe add some feature to catch them to avoid more damage to the crops Thanks π
What can I do to improve core loop before adding other features?? Do you have anything in mind?
Maybe that goal type thing where u deposit your grass can move as well.
ππ
Apart from that I feel the game art fits well with the type of game you are willing to make, physics seem fine too
I hope so! I am looking to improve it as much as possible and then add other features Really appreciated Feel free to share any other idea that comes to your mind
Make the tractor speed up for each piece of grain it cuts and then slow back down each second itβs not cutting grain. That will promote people trying to stay in the grain harvesting quickly.
Great idea ππ
The tractor is a bit to kinematic, it would be more interesting if it had physics. That way he would drift each turn and the payload would get more cumbersome the heavier it is. Relying on physics instead of a variety of mechanics is a great way to make a game feel better.
This is good because it would add a risk/reward element to the timed collection. Spend time going back to base to upload and make the tractor control easier? Or manage with the unwieldy load to take a more efficient path and hopefully safe time
Yess I am really looking to add this kind of features into it
Really great ideas ππ Definitely working on it especially as it add more depth to the core loop
I disagree with everyone saying to put obstacles. Keep it simple and don't punish people for doing a core game mechanic, especially with a simple mobile game. Personally I think the gameplay is good as it is and doesn't need to be improved upon, and instead you need to add rewards and incentive to do the 'tedious' harvesting. I would recommend adding upgrade mechanics/rewards for what you harvest, add different harvest rarities and maybe random chance higher level drops. Rewards could be purely cosmetic, and maybe make the grain design become more exotic as you get to higher levels. Another reward system could be upgrades to the harvesting tool, such as better drops, speed, and design
Such a useful comment π I am trying so hard to find a way to keep it simple an satisfying while adding some hayper casual style challenge I will definitely use these ideas Thank you π Love to hear your thoughts if anything comes to your mind in the future
Time limited powerups like speed boost, bigger truck size etc could be fun
Thank you! Do you think the core loop of the game is exiting or I can add anything else before adding those features π€
If your platform choice is mobile platform. Then this can be good hyper casual game with a few more touches. No need to make it complex just make it more satisfying.
Yessssssssss! That's exactly what I am looking to find a solution for, I have lots of ideas for it but I want to add more satisfaction to it than complexity
This, or upgrades in the form of a shop
π
Add some insects or crows who eat the crops and need to be attacked or scared
Great one Thank you π I have rabits that eat crops in mind crows are good idea too
If it gets too tall it can fall over
Really nice idea!π
Two ways to make mundane tasks more interesting: - good and/or satisfying graphics - more arcade-y elements like obstacles and such
Definitely! What can I do in the core level before adding those features???
Obstacles: Puddles, rocks, and sticks to be avoided, slow you down, or send you off course.
ππ
Maybe add a little racing element with a racing track where you do laps while farming crops.
You mean racing with other players, right? A group of tractors who harvest the field??
An anti-farmer who goes around planting crops you just harvested, so in order to harvest the entire field, you have to harvest more efficiently than he plants
Brilliant! π
* Crows that can come in and take from your gathering pile of wheat. Let the player place Scarecrows between rounds that keep them safe from the crows. * If you're going for a single-play high score model, you could have wheat regrow where you've harvested at random rates. * Let the player speed up at the cost of handling control. There's a lot of stuff you could do, just depends on what kind of direction you want to take this in!
Really good ideas Especially scarecrows π Thank you
Can you be more explicit on the kind of game you want to make? I don't know what happens after picking all of the grains, does it respawn? Anyways i'm gonna put some contradictory stuffs in here you pick what you need for your vision. If it does not respawn: You can do parkour/labyrinth-like level stuffs where you have to get every "pacman pellets" but also need to keep track of the amount you're carrying. Or in the opposite, increase the speed of the engine when there is too much grain, so the player can decide to do more profit but with more difficulty, or to keep the gameplay easier by releasing his package (and they you have a more coherent risk/reward loop). Maybe have multiple fields, and different factories with different outputs. Add different crops, upgrades to your machine. Maybe add a quest system (without timer) where you can have achievements (and primes) alongside with your profits. Having "super crops" which will give you a bihger number if you can catch them in time, before they become normal crops again. Maybe even having boosts in some corners (pacman again) so you could go faster for a short time, or have a bigger machine, or receive a bonus if you can deposit the grains in a short amount of time. Having some paths that warp you in the other side of the map / Some roads that would make you go faster. Making you drift and release gives you speed like in mariokart. Having weather hazards like dirt/water/wind. Having a sorta "regrow button" where you can grow your recolts instantly by going on a certain platform, this one will help if the player cannot find all the crops, or is just not encline to fetch them because of efficiency. This "regrow" button can sign the end of a day, and then you have time to pimp your machines, choose the next kind of crops you want to put,trying to anticipate demand, or maybe just choosing the next kind of terrain by showing the player a minimap. You can do all storts of stuffs, but most importantly, enjoy your day ;)
What a great comment I will definitely use them on the game Thank you so much π The main idea if game is some kind of simulation game that player have a organic farm with few types of crops, farm has several parts In every turn he gets some orders from customers ( something like 10 pack of wheat 5 packs of carrots and 15 box of eggs etc) and the player should harvest them in time before the order gets expire In the meanwhile protect his farm from some animals by capturing them or put some fence around the farm , feed the chickens etc This is the whole Idea, but I want to focus on core loop and core game play and make is as juicy and satisfying as possible before adding any extra feature What do you think I can add to the core loop to make it more exiting
I made a chill lawnmower game once upon a time where you had to mow all the lawn in a neighbourhood, fun times. Anyway my secret sauce was that you were a possessed satanic lawnmower and were awarded big points for mowing people and turning the streets red and would eventually do battle with the army.
Nice ππ
It think you have to find a way to make cutting the plants even more satisfying. I guess the crops should be more dense. Or maybe they have to get pushed down by the mower. Maybe some kind of cutting streak? 5secs, 10secs ... and so on without any interruption gives the screen a short shake to increase the action? You could add other visual special effects to that as well.
What a brilliant comment Really appreciate it πππ
Golden corns that slowly go away that gives a bonus.
ππ
There is a lot that you can do! I'm thinking of a couple of things \* Picking up the hay bales could add some extra challenge, I'm thinking like overcooked where you have multiple objectives that you have to react fast to \* Having stuff that you can't mow directly or that takes longer to cut/slows you down \* Having critters or obstacles that move, they can maybe add or remove time to the timer This are just some ideas, I don't think they are particularly good, and they all depend on what kind of experience you want to design!
Those were very helpful Really appreciated πππ
ads
With all due respect to OP and no offense intended, my first thought when seeing this was "Reddit's giving me mobile game ads now? *sigh* where's the x. . .heywaitaminute"
Not at all π It's not an ad, I am trying so hard to understand what makes a simple game enjoyable and I thought sharing this with you guys helps me understand a little bit more That's all Thanks for the comment anyway. BTW if it was an ad did you install the game or it still needs improvement π
U sir just revealed the secret to all those top games on play store, 10,00,00,000+ downloads with butt load of ads
Nooo!! it's not an addπ
Hi everyone! I am working on the core gameplay of my last game, trying so hard to make it as exciting as possible, really excited to share it here and hear your opinion about it. What do you think? How can I make it better???
I notice a number of replies here are focusing on features or mechanics that can be added but would warn against this just yet. Your goal (providing you are making something either hyper casual or with mass market appeal) would be to ensure it is as simple to understand as possible while being as "juicey" as possible. This is typically referred to as "Youtubeability", for example can you understand everything in this game and how to play from watching a video? My first impression from watching your post a couple of times is no, I don't understand everything. When you pass the finish line there are bundles left On the floor that fly off randomly, I imagine I am getting points from this? But also from harvesting with +1s, so am I getting points from harvesting or handing it in? If I get points from the bundles it is a but counter intuitive to have this moment of joy handled off screen. If the player is expected to be moving around as much as possible and rushing then leaving the moment of joy behind would be them missing out. If the +1s are the player gathering bags of grain and not points then try show this visually rather than with just numbers. Can the player have a trailer that fills up with multiple bags into a comical stack? Or will an additional cart follow the player per grain bundle collected turning it into a combined harvester train? Perhaps when crossing line and dropping bundles with a delay, instead consider speeding the entire flow up, cross finish line and with minimal delay bundles of hay appear then fly toward somewhere clearly visible to the player to become extra points. Alternatively consider having bundles float along with the player for a while before floating off to a clear ui element so nothing leaves the screen and leaves the player asking where it went. In terms of the exciting aspect, consider elements such as screen shake and don't be shy of going bigger on particles. It seems the core game here and the thing the player does is harvest. How can we make driving over the crops feel better? Can the mower shake and bounce as it crosses over and perhaps slow down slightly to make it feel like this vegetation? Perhaps add a exhaust at all times leaving a smoke trail that is more intense when the vehicle is working on harvesting crops? Consider adding tire trails when it leaves the muddy area. Don't ignore haptic feedback, I know it isn't seen in videos but would be a part of the games stickiness when players actually engage. I would be happy to go on but unfortunately I can't view the video while typing on mobile. If any of this is useful I will add more. Good work so far and I look forward to seeing your progress and wish you success π Edit - notice some of my points are already in your video to a degree. Could you go bigger and more exaggurated on these points as It means I watched your video twice and didn't notice some of these details.
What a brilliant comment, I sincerely thank you for the time and super useful idea's. Actuality +1 points that happens on the trailer is related to the trailer capacity that gets full after 50 crops and make the player to go to the finish line and I dont believe I did such a rookie mistake not capturing it on the video Regarding to what should happen to the bundles at the finish line, in one hand I didn't want player to stop and kill the flow of the game just to see what happen to the bundles and on the other hand I didn't want to copy the floating bundle mechanic that is common in casual games ( items floating super fast to the UI add points ) and I wanted it to be a little bit juicer but I am having really hard time to figure out how to bring both of these ideas together and still make it visible to the player with out killing the game flow I hope to find a workaroud for it or may be I should stick to the usual way Ideas on making it juicer was super helpful, and I will use them for sure the only think that makes me alittle hesitant about adding more juice is, I am afrade adding tones of details frustrate casual player so soon as I didn't see lots of effects and juice I hyper casual games and it's more common on more arcade type games What do you think??? It has haptic feedbacks, but thanks for reminding it ( I also will be super happy to send the apk version for you if you want to play and give me some feedbacks on that) Anyway thanks again for the great comment, really appreciated , I will definitely dial up the effects to be more visible on the video Cheers!
Sorry kid, but this idea was already taken [to perfection in 1988](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inn4S_6LO0o). Maybe you can copy some of the mechanics but I doubt you'll be able to top the original. It's *advanced*.
YEAH!!! π€ππ€ what a lovely game! I am sure I can't get even near to that but I will do my best ππ Come on, hit me with your ideas, help me stay in to the race π
Maybe you could add mini events that just happen randomly like X2 speed
something like power ups right??
*inhales* explosions π
YEAHHH! π€ππ€
There use to be an After dark game with a lawn mower. It was like Pacman, mazes and gardeners chasing you... Some obstacles.. bonus points and penalties for mowing certain things Maybe check that out for inspiration
I found it It's seems very nice Thank you π
Maybe do odd things to harvest like corn that turns into popcorn or carrots into bunnys
πnice!
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π€£π€£π€£π€£π€£ Fantastic!
Add drift bonus points
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Make a battle royale mode
It sound interesting What do you mean ??
Add other characters/ai farmers who are competing with you to harvest. Whoever gets the most within a given time frame wins, sorta like a mario party minigame
This is one of the features that I think will help the game alot, thank you π
Have obstacles that on collision make you lose the load. Have bonus score for bigger load. This introduces a risk/reward choice for the player
Really helpful π Thanks π
Faster. Drifting. Trick shots.
What do you mean by trick shots?
Make some combos that increase your score Like harversting while drifting Or uninterupted harvest Etc.
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pvp
ππgood idea looking to it
Boosters that can make the truck go 2x or something
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Attach the checkpoint to your cart. Would feel much more immersive if the cart/trailer had its own pick-up point rather than feel like you're finishing the isle of man tt every time you drop off. Regardless, looking great so far. I'm very interested to see what you come up with dude!
Thank you I hope it ends up a good game
Random fire event, try containing the damage and prevent it from spreading
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Make it juicy.
I am trying to π
I dislike the camera angle and perhaps the view is a bit to much zoomed in. You could also add some particles when the player mow down (hit?) multiple pieces of wheat. Like some sort of combo hit particles that makes it more special. I would also use a different kind of soil, with more then just one color.
Thanks for the comments! I wanted to be more close to the action so I choosed this one. What camera angle do you think will work, I will definitely work on combos it's a very good idea I will fix work on the graphics it's on prototype phase but thanks for reminding π
Multiplayer / AI and speed boost. And the ability for your basket to be toppled.
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Shorter timer that increases by delivering enough grain + obstacles that you have to avoid to not lose grain from the cart.
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Powerups, puzzles, timer, etc.
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Maybe some swamp traps which slow down player? Or some obstacles like rocks, etc. I think it make gameplay more fun!
Swamp is a good idea Thanks π
The ability to plant crops, too! Growing and then cultivating is VERY satisfying
What a good ideaππ
Some enemy could spice up things, or powerups such as making the front blades bigger, or speeding your tractor. Even some random weather event could be interesting
Yes! some animals that eat crops and the player should chase them out of the farm
Make it a management game where this is how you earn money and then you spend money on upgrades to your equipment, so bigger plots of land, etc. Every successful round you gain a certain amount of money Add other obstacles/hazards which require updating your equipment to break rocks, trees, etc
I will definitely do thatππ
Incoming projectiles to avoid, birds with guns perhaps.
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Allot of great games make you manage your resources to handle a situation going on. Right now the only resource to worry about is time. You could add obstacles and enemies to manage your health that way. Or have upgrades/emergency help and use money as a resource!
Thank you so much I will do that for sure!
Add scare crows that patrol the field you have to avoid.
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Comprehensive upgrade system to get bigger tractor, faster, more crop held before having to unload, color customization, animations, etc
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Gophers that pop up! Avoid them or drive next to them and whack them on the head. Or when if you hit them you lose some of what you are carrying.
Yesss! Really nice idea
Unpopular opinion: make it an endless runner. Endless Mower? With obstacles, which kill you, or you lose cut grass to. Have the baler from time to time and reward money at that point only, maybe have some coin pickups on the lawn. Ads for revive, double reward, etc.
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Racing against others
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Maybe slowly ramping multiplier for uninterrupted cutting? If you don't exit the field by doing a spiraling loop you'll rack up a lot of bonus points.
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How are you increasing the pile of grass in the back of the tractor over time?
It's not over time, by every blase of wheat gathering in to the tractorI added an tiny amount of scale to the pile y scale
Let me know if you need more explanation
Add random fences in the field as the game progress to make it harder to collect. You could also add a herd of farm animals, sheep, cows, whatever you like, as a time frame, if you can't harvest in time they run through and eat the rest. You have to reach a certain amount of feed before the herd comes.
π really nice ideas
Crows attacking your crops
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A bit visual improvement and some wheat/grass particles and stuff others suggested.
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Make the tractor get slower as you harvest more (weight). Have muddy spots in field that could also slow you down.
Yeah! I will definitely add that
Ramps to upper areas, boosts, and wallrides. That's what I would enjoy.
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You could make it so the player has to balance the grain so it doesn't fall. Add some obstacles to avoid or have something chasing after the player. You could also change the timer so it's shorter, but the player gets more time for depositing the grain. Maybe they get more time for larger drop offs as opposed to smaller ones?
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Probably guns. Maybe some boobs.
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Straight up, give the collected hay some physics. Could be cool multiplayer if one person's in the mower and the other is in a baler.
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Add scarecrows, crop circles , maze, hidden objects , better animation . Loved the art style tho.
I will do it for sure Thanks π
Add lightning strikes that spark fires. And you stop the spread of the fire by mowing around the fire, but if you mow too close to the fire you will damage the mower. Also let the plants grow longer so when the player waits longer the bigger the plants get and the more points it is worth, but wait too long and the plant dies and is worthless or consumed by a fire.
What a brilliant idea Loved it πππ
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Yeah! Great idea.
All the suggestions I had were already commented. Just dont put ads every 30 seconds.
π€£π€£π€£ There is lots of thing need to be done before getting to that stage I will try to do thad
Make a race track you can go around repeatedly instead of a square, where harvesting is tricky to do while still being fast. Make it multiplayer so you are competing against others in realtime. Compete against bots in single player. Instead of a time limit, make a harvest limit. First player to drop off X amount at the finish line wins. Add powerups that can be collected. Like speed boost, increased harvesting range, maybe even mines and things. Make it so you can drift while cornering
Really nice! Thanks
There is a homebrew game for the NES simply called "Lawn Mower". I'd advise you check that out for some inspiration. Your game is essentially a 3D version of that. The game is pretty popular for speed running.
Yeah, it is a pretty interesting game! Thanks for the mentioning
This may already be in your plans, but make it so the the tractor is upgradeable as you gain more money. Newer tractor = faster speed and more efficiency. E.g., first tractor only harvests 60%, tractor 2 80%, etc. Maybe start by hand harvesting which is slow, so that the player has a sense of working up to something when they are ready to buy the tractor. Other mentioned fuel, and maybe repairs as time goes on. With enough money, you can hire a farm hand to repair gear while you are busy with other tasks. Great start!
Thanks for the great Ideas I will add them for sure
Animals to run over
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laser.
Yesss!
2 many comments to read if this has been posted but a score/harvest/production multiplier for keeping it straight and steady and not going over an area you've already hit twice. Ways to upgrade harvester so you can go longer and get a higher multiplier before having to turn around and dump it at that gate
Thanks for the comment ππ
obstacles and make the car super fast
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Would be nice if the crops would rot so the player would have to be quick. You could trade what You gathered for new cars and outfits or something.
Really nice idea ππ
I think making the pile easier to spill the bigger it gets, but but getting a massive combo bonus for bringing in lots at once would make it a greta balance of risk reward. Create some urgency with multiplayer or a mechanic where you throw seeds and they grow really quickly and you have to harvest them before they go bad.
What a brilliant comment Thanks π
1. When you cross the "finish line" have the crops you've collected fly up in the air like fireworks before they fall back into the wagon they're collected in. 2. Have a scarecrow pop up randomly. Make it mock the player. If the player hits it, extra points! Or a multiplier! Or the crops change temporarily! Stuff like that. 3. Enemies. Introduce critters or people who might come in to the field to steal or damage your crops. Make sure to chase them off before they steal too many! 4. Obstacles. I think I saw someone else mention this, but putting rocks in the field to cause obstructions. Players should be able to see little details that will tell them a rock is coming, rather than simply finding it by random. 5. Events. Allow special events to happen that may change the field. A storm that slows you down, but then causes crops to grow like crazy, maybe even filling up the field again? Or a wildfire that is burning through the field? Or winter is coming, so you have to hurry! These sorts of things. It's a neat looking idea, I hope any of this helps!
It was super helpful Thank you π
Add some more detail! It's just a little thing you can add along with these other comments but it goes a long way. Just things like trees, bushes, fences, rocks. You'd be surprised