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A WebGL game where you deliver messages on a tiny planet

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Re: A WebGL game where you deliver messages on a tiny planet

#251

Post by TeMPOraL »

Cloudef wrote: post #216
Levitating wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's the curvature of the world that's making it run so well on mobile. There's never to much models on-screen to draw.

The curvature makes the world seem big and gives quite beautiful scenic view when you are on the rooftop of a building in the town.

It also gives an eerie, otherworldly feelings when there's only sky ahead, taking more than 2/3 of the screen, and looking more like water flowing vertically. I had few moments when I suddenly felt like I'm inside a bubble, staring at its wall curving upwards.

This game is beautiful in every way.

Re: A WebGL game where you deliver messages on a tiny planet

#253

Post by TeMPOraL »

snerbles wrote: post #204
riggsdk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The game doesn't really explain that too well. You have to go find the packages first before you can deliver it. For example the old lady asks you to deliver an offering at a temple.

Teaching gameplay without an overt tutorial is a difficult skill, maybe this dev can pull it off? It's hard to get into the "new player" headspace without feedback from actual playtesters.

After clicking through the first popups with the player's inner monologue, I fully expected some help text like "Use W S A D to move" to pop up.

I had no real reason for that expectation, except this is how several games I played in recent years handled it - which made me realize now, that explaining gameplay to new players is something that's actively evolving. There may not be a rulebook, but there are clear trends.

Re: A WebGL game where you deliver messages on a tiny planet

#254

Post by high_priest »

kettlecorn wrote: post #206

One of the most impressive things about this is that it transfers only 5.7 MB of data on initial load and then caps out at 17.5 MB for the final load. It seems to be making smart choices about compression techniques. This is a good showcase of how well games can work on the web if done well.

I was shocked that the game loaded fairly quickly on a 128kbps connection. I only wish it would say that it is loading additional data, because I was stuck on white screen for a bit, with no info on the state.

I love it.

Re: A WebGL game where you deliver messages on a tiny planet

#255

Post by cluckindan »

modernerd wrote: post #240
EmilyHughes wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is impressive but I don't get it. All that work and you have a game written in JS of all things. Why not write it in a desktop language und port it to JS. Now this will always need a browser to run, feels like a waste of time to me.

Or, reframing: - This will _only_ need a browser to run. No console. No PC rig. No Steam account. No account at all. You just need a link to play it. - Why use a heavy game engine and all the baggage that can bring when you can make a lightweight prototype in JS, prove value in the browser, then port to desktop if you choose to. Browser games are an underexplored art form.

First you make the money, then hire someone else to port it to native. That’s what Vampire Survivors did.

Re: A WebGL game where you deliver messages on a tiny planet

#257

Post by christophilus »

imdoxxingme wrote: post #252

It's gorgeous. But I can't figure out why they didn't just use real japanese text instead of fake text.

A lot of games do this. They want you to get a particular feeling without a real language breaking that spell for some folks.

Re: A WebGL game where you deliver messages on a tiny planet

#258

Post by TeMPOraL »

kettlecorn wrote: post #206

One of the most impressive things about this is that it transfers only 5.7 MB of data on initial load and then caps out at 17.5 MB for the final load. It seems to be making smart choices about compression techniques. This is a good showcase of how well games can work on the web if done well.

Am I wrong in feeling that 5-15MB is... more than enough data for the world we see? There's not that much information here.

I'm not trying to be a demoscene smart-ass here, either (I expect demoscene masters would've packed the equivalent in under 1MB). Just that, models are low-poly, the world is small and made up from pieces that feel simple to describe; as long as you're not trying to bake everything into a static set of meshes, but willing to encode them at a higher level, 5MB seems like plenty.

For a dimensionally reduced analogy, the 2D equivalent would be a perfect example of an image that's very large in raster form, but quite small in vector form.

Are my intuitions widely off here?

Note that this does not make it any less impressive - on the contrary, I'm amazed by how much detail and soul is there to this world, despite apparent simplicity. I'm also amazed at how navigable this world is. I've made many stupid moves that I was dead sure will wedge me between walls, or get me stuck in a nook with no way of going back; but none of that happened. They must've put a lot of thought into the design, and it wouldn't surprise me if they manually mapped out the world to ensure there's no one-way paths.

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