[Dark Hunter]

Just finished playing Distorted Travesty.

Challenging game. Awesome game. Platformer with light RPG elements. Puzzle-solving skills and quick reflexes a must.

If any of you are big fans of classic platformers, you really should play this game. It is hilarious. It is fun. It can be very difficult at times.

The writing's actually not that bad either. It's mostly just silly jokes at first, but it actually starts having a plot partway through that is pretty good... never quite loses the silly jokes though.

(Copypasted from WHIYL, since it probably belongs here more than there now I think about it.)

[Mikes]

Looks interesting. Will propably check it out at some point when I'm through a few more games on my long long list

[Alex Heartnet]

While I like what I see so far of it, my biggest complaint that it is a PC game with console-style controls.  Controls are surprisingly hard to get used to if you don't have a gamepad.

[Dark Hunter]

Yeah, the controls are bizarre. But by the time I noticed you could remap them I was pretty much used to the control scheme anyway.

The real problem is how ridiculously precise they are. That and how many combinations there are.
Up + Jump = Dash.
Down + Jump = Reverse Dash.
Up + Left/Right + Jump = Short Dash.
Jump -> Up + Attack = midair upward attack.

Now, don't ever get any of those mixed up, because it will be necessary to execute them in sequence at some parts.

[Mikes]

While I like what I see so far of it, my biggest complaint that it is a PC game with console-style controls.  Controls are surprisingly hard to get used to if you don't have a gamepad.

What's the problem? http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-360-Controller-Windows/dp/B004QRKWLA/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1337462821&sr=1-2-spell

I mean seriously... that's is like complaining that Freespace doesn't control well because you don't have a joystick or that Windows is kinda hard to use without a mouse

For jump and runs... a gamepad is hard to beat. That's just how it is. So just get one

[Alex Heartnet]

My point is that a PC game should have controls that reflect the PC as a gaming platform.

PC's offer features that consoles don't.  Joysticks are more common, everyone has a mouse and keyboard, there is far more variety in screen resolutions and hardware, some people demand a 90 degree FOV, the list goes on.  The controls are set up as if this was a console game, and it's not.  This is a common complaint when developers port a console game right over to the PC without making any chances.

At least this game has the excuse of trying to emulate the feel of oldschool games (which all things considered, is a pretty good excuse).  A lot of console ports don't have that excuse.

[Mikes]

The main feature of the PC as a gaming platform is flexibility.

I completely agree that there are a lot of sloppy console ports that are made with gamepads in mind - even though a mouse/kb control scheme / UI would logically work much better for the game.... - if that were the case, you would be completely correct, but for "jump and runs"... that argument just isn't applicable.

For jump and run games (and fighting games) a gamepad is generally recognized as the best input device and people have been using gamepads on the PC, for that very reason, for decades.


Don't hate the game for what it is

[MatthTheGeek]

Lies. Mouse and keyboard are the only input you should ever, ever need for all the things. Deal with it.

[BloodEagle]

For serious.  I even use the mouse for my N64 gaming. 

[Alex Heartnet]

It's perfectly possible to make a jump and run game work well with keyboard+mouse.  However, the control layout, gameplay, and level layout would be significantly different then a console jump and run, for the sake of taking advantage of the PC's strengths rather then a console's strengths.  An excellent PC port should include control changes to make the game work better with mouse+keyboard, and possibly some small level tweaks to accommodate the different capabilities the PC control setup has.

But there is a very good reason why fighting games are much more common on consoles then on the PC.  That sort of game is meant for a gamepad, which PC owners aren't guaranteed to have.  Those types of games also usually support local multiplayer, which sadly is not a standard feature on PC games.  The fighting game is very much a genre meant for consoles and arcades.

[Mongoose]

I've played several platformers on PC, but by and large, I'd agree that they're a genre better suited to gamepad controls, unless you're talking about something like Trine that incorporates aiming into the mix.  I know I'd sure as hell never choose to play Super Mario Bros. on a keyboard if I had any sort of gamepad handy.

[Scourge of Ages]

I've played several platformers on PC, but by and large, I'd agree that they're a genre better suited to gamepad controls, unless you're talking about something like Trine that incorporates aiming into the mix.  I know I'd sure as hell never choose to play Super Mario Bros. on a keyboard if I had any sort of gamepad handy.

Agreed. I just tried to play Mario Bros 3 a couple days ago with only my keyboard. I died trying to jump on the first goomba.

[Dark Hunter]

The game has a sequel incidentally.

Different though. Extremely short, challenging platformer with a different main character. Storywise takes place after the first game.

It. Is. ****ing. Hard.

I'm about two or three stages from the end, though. Nearly there.


A third game is also in the works, which will be more in the vein of the first game (less RPG stuff). A demo's out now.

[BloodEagle]

I like the tone of the story, but the developer is complete **** at the rest of the design.  I was willing to stomach through the bad gameplay until I reached the forced-window / rotate level.

Quit it, deleted it, never picking it up again.

::EDIT::

The rage has calmed.  The mechanics aren't complete ****, but they're not nearly polished enough for me to enjoy them.

That being said, that one level is enough reason for me to permanently mark this game as "bad".

[TrashMan]

Lies. Mouse and keyboard are the only input you should ever, ever need for all the things. Deal with it.

QFT.

I play allmsot all fighting games and platformers on the keyboard and find it actually easier than a gamepad.
Heck, I even played FS on the keyboard most of the time.

[Dark Hunter]

I like the tone of the story, but the developer is complete **** at the rest of the design.  I was willing to stomach through the bad gameplay until I reached the forced-window / rotate level.

Quit it, deleted it, never picking it up again.

::EDIT::

The rage has calmed.  The mechanics aren't complete ****, but they're not nearly polished enough for me to enjoy them.

That being said, that one level is enough reason for me to permanently mark this game as "bad".

Hmm. I'll grant that sometimes ZephyrBurst threw in some really nasty mechanics from time to time, but I wouldn't call them poorly designed. The game has relatively few glitches and on the whole everything works as it's supposed to. Everything's perfectly doable, it's just tough.

But yeah, I got annoyed by the rotating window room too.

Heh, you never even encountered the color wheels. Those ****ing things are by far the most irritating mechanic in the game.

I said this game was hard, people.