You're asking for comments, so here's some for QoL stuff you might want to consider:
* Resolution kind of breaks text on wider screens (I saw this on 1280 x 600, no idea what others)
* I do appreciate trying to switch up the make-a-drink formula of this game genre, I wish there might be something more visual / interactive to it--while its more unique, repeatedly retyping is tedious, and it loses out on the connection building a drink part-by-part does in something like VA-11 Hall-A or Coffee Talk. Maybe some measure of autocomplete would be nice, at the very least?
* I wish there was an instant text option, especially during the cutsceney portions.
Now personal opinion comments, from getting through like 1/5 of it: first off, nice, strong aesthetics! Definitely drew me in, and congrats on making just. A wholeass game. Some bits of humor were fun. I liked the dialogues when you flubbed things up, and reactivity (when there was some, I didn't get deep enough to see if it made story changes); small UI things like micro & soft, 69 + forvirgins are overplayed jokes, but it does seem like the kind of thing a person designing a system for themselves would do for a chuckle.
Also, on the occasions they do happen the interplay between different characters was a nice break from people monologuing their philosophies at Ezel.
That said, the characters really don't do it for me (which is again a personal thing, there's definitely an audience for this). Ezel has some interiority, which is interesting (there's even a "consciousness" within him, nice) but it's oozing with insecure harem protagonist energy. Everyone might have different quirks to set them apart, but act in the service of the same ideas.
Setting-wise, outside of gesturing to events of the time and popular media and music, and war as a "you need to man up!" kind of device, what does your story have to say about the 1980s? Obviously, not every work needs to explore the setting in too much detail, but this is very much the kind of story that benefits from it; instead, it feels like something looking back on the 1980s with today's lens (jokey bits about "hah, could you imagine having games on your phone?" included). In VA-11 Hall-A or Coffee Talk it's a fictional world divorced from our own, we're drip-fed pieces of it through details characters mention, or newspaper snippets. In contrast, we know, or think we have the general gist of, what 1980s Miami is; it's a nothing detail to the average reader. So that's your chance to bring your perspective to the table.
Wheres the love for Miami, America in general, outside of as a vague concept? Nobody talks about sports, local music scenes, religion, clubs, businesses, politics. Nobody is even counterculture or contrary, nobody is overtly bigoted (except for increasingly tedious "Hah, women amiright?" jokes) in a story that's ostensibly about different and diverse opinions, that has a *warning* about different and diverse opinions. You have an ensemble cast that you could play off each other and their different perspectives on the setting: why not have them argue, have Ezel intervene?
I'm not asking for the next Disco Elysium or anything, and maybe these things crop up in the latter half, but if begun early it's the sort of thing that would build intrigue for the rest of the story, and it could be done alongside the flirting.
This far in development, it's probably too late to revise the structure, but it's a perspective to keep in mind for future projects at least?
I can't emphasize enough how valuable your detailed comment was to me. This sort of feedback is the EXACT reason why I uploaded the game here, and I'd be happy to make drastic changes to the game even this far into development.
The reported issue with the screen will be solved in the next update, thanks to your reporting of it.
For the "instant text" option, you can turn off text animation in the settings. (Let me know if it would be beneficial to have it on the main game screen.)
I'll definitely be adding more interactive and visual elements to the drink-making mechanic as this is a major element of the feedbacks I've gotten.
In terms of the settings, I was going for a more subtle approach. I didn't want the game to feel like "Hey look, we're living in the 1980s!" Even with that, I think you need to give the game a bit more time. Little by little, you are going to see strong aspects of the counterculture. The game explores the hippie movement in extensive detail, for example. There's also a strong Cuban gangster/mob element to the game that slowly creeps in, as well as politics. Though your criticism of it not starting late is valid, I compromised that to emphasize the protagonist's story, feelings, and yearnings.
Let me know what you think of these, and also, please note that your feedback is going to improve the game drastically. I'll be updating the game here.
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NICE RETRO
Thank you so much for playing Miami Nights and sharing on Youtube! It means a lot to me!
You're asking for comments, so here's some for QoL stuff you might want to consider:
* Resolution kind of breaks text on wider screens (I saw this on 1280 x 600, no idea what others)
* I do appreciate trying to switch up the make-a-drink formula of this game genre, I wish there might be something more visual / interactive to it--while its more unique, repeatedly retyping is tedious, and it loses out on the connection building a drink part-by-part does in something like VA-11 Hall-A or Coffee Talk. Maybe some measure of autocomplete would be nice, at the very least?
* I wish there was an instant text option, especially during the cutsceney portions.
Now personal opinion comments, from getting through like 1/5 of it: first off, nice, strong aesthetics! Definitely drew me in, and congrats on making just. A wholeass game. Some bits of humor were fun. I liked the dialogues when you flubbed things up, and reactivity (when there was some, I didn't get deep enough to see if it made story changes); small UI things like micro & soft, 69 + forvirgins are overplayed jokes, but it does seem like the kind of thing a person designing a system for themselves would do for a chuckle.
Also, on the occasions they do happen the interplay between different characters was a nice break from people monologuing their philosophies at Ezel.
That said, the characters really don't do it for me (which is again a personal thing, there's definitely an audience for this). Ezel has some interiority, which is interesting (there's even a "consciousness" within him, nice) but it's oozing with insecure harem protagonist energy. Everyone might have different quirks to set them apart, but act in the service of the same ideas.
Setting-wise, outside of gesturing to events of the time and popular media and music, and war as a "you need to man up!" kind of device, what does your story have to say about the 1980s? Obviously, not every work needs to explore the setting in too much detail, but this is very much the kind of story that benefits from it; instead, it feels like something looking back on the 1980s with today's lens (jokey bits about "hah, could you imagine having games on your phone?" included). In VA-11 Hall-A or Coffee Talk it's a fictional world divorced from our own, we're drip-fed pieces of it through details characters mention, or newspaper snippets. In contrast, we know, or think we have the general gist of, what 1980s Miami is; it's a nothing detail to the average reader. So that's your chance to bring your perspective to the table.
Wheres the love for Miami, America in general, outside of as a vague concept? Nobody talks about sports, local music scenes, religion, clubs, businesses, politics. Nobody is even counterculture or contrary, nobody is overtly bigoted (except for increasingly tedious "Hah, women amiright?" jokes) in a story that's ostensibly about different and diverse opinions, that has a *warning* about different and diverse opinions. You have an ensemble cast that you could play off each other and their different perspectives on the setting: why not have them argue, have Ezel intervene?
I'm not asking for the next Disco Elysium or anything, and maybe these things crop up in the latter half, but if begun early it's the sort of thing that would build intrigue for the rest of the story, and it could be done alongside the flirting.
This far in development, it's probably too late to revise the structure, but it's a perspective to keep in mind for future projects at least?
Hey Korrie,
I can't emphasize enough how valuable your detailed comment was to me. This sort of feedback is the EXACT reason why I uploaded the game here, and I'd be happy to make drastic changes to the game even this far into development.
In terms of the settings, I was going for a more subtle approach. I didn't want the game to feel like "Hey look, we're living in the 1980s!" Even with that, I think you need to give the game a bit more time. Little by little, you are going to see strong aspects of the counterculture. The game explores the hippie movement in extensive detail, for example. There's also a strong Cuban gangster/mob element to the game that slowly creeps in, as well as politics. Though your criticism of it not starting late is valid, I compromised that to emphasize the protagonist's story, feelings, and yearnings.
Let me know what you think of these, and also, please note that your feedback is going to improve the game drastically. I'll be updating the game here.
Thanks!