Ernie The Engineer

How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow? Feels good. I like how it flows.

In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing? Adding new modules for sure, making it seems hectic, but in a different way. 

Do you like the current module? I do indeed, it gets boring after doing 10 times though. 

Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? I would kind of like to see a type of Warioware minigame type of console where it takes around 10 or more seconds to complete.

Game breaking glitches/bugs? Nothing that I can see.

General QoL improvements, More modules for sure, specially kind of like a mini game. 

• How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?

- It feels fine. 

• In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?

- It would be more interesting if you introduce more types of modules, possibly even modules that unlock other types of modules. For instance, you may repair a leak in the pipes that would then allow water to flow to a turbine and that could be a different type of repairment.

• Do you like the current module? 

- Yes it works well and the level of difficulty can be adjusted.

• Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 

- He could have items to use to interact with the environment.  

• Game-breaking glitches/bugs?

- none

I think a lot of what I said got covered in the discord call, but I thought the pacing was nice, I thought that there could be some punishment for messing up on a module. I think there are many ways to deal with the fact you can do that certain module not in the traditional order and I am curious to see which path you choose. I still think a cool upgrade would be an ability to freeze time just for a bit maybe after clear so many modules you get some sort of reactor cooler you can use and it stops the countdown. I think when the reactor gets near exploding screen shaking could be very helpful to add stress.
-Jarek Yatsco

How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?

I think the pacing is perfect at this point for the module you have. It was fast enough to pressure me but not too fast that I was failing at the like second room. 

In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?

As others have said, you can spam click the bottom hardest module to complete it. I think if you went from slowest to fastest that would really improve difficulty and hectic-ness of the game. You could also add some blocking props that the player has to navigate around.

Do you like the current module? 

Yes. Apart from the improvement listed above I think it works great.

Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 

I think a time or module slowing upgrade would work really great. Maybe a one-time/once-per-room module auto-fix could also be fun 

Game breaking glitches/bugs?

The module bug was the only one I ran into.

Pacing:

I think the pacing is fine for this game, but it would really depend on the difficulty of the modules you add in future versions.

Challenge:

I think adding in obstacles, or a specific order that modules need to be completed in could help with this, and introduce a new strategic aspect. If some modules (but not all) require other modules to be completed first, then the strategy becomes determining the most efficient way to move around the map with the given obstacles and module requirements.

Module:

The current module is fine, if a little difficult at the higher speeds.

Upgrades:

Some of his upgrades could make certain modules easier (slowing down the current module, for example) or allow Ernie to skip certain modules altogether.

Bugs:

I didn't find any.

General Improvements:

The high inertia in the movement gives the feeling of a lack of control. This could be intentional, but I think for a game that isn't about precise movement between platforms, the movement could be a little tighter. It feels like the ground is very slippery underneath Ernie. Alternatively, there could be an upgrade that improves deceleration.

Pacing:

I feel like the game's pacing is alright, especially with how quickly Ernie moves about the map, though it does get a bit stale after some time just repairing the same thing. Plus, some of the modules went way too fast for me to keep up with, which slowed down my pace much more than it helped me speed up. It seems to be what you're going for, but make things too fast and you'll lose your players.

How to improve challenge?

I think simply adding in different modules/things for your player to do would definitely make it much, much harder. Also, there is a lack of walls within the walkable area, which makes it super easy for the player to finish one module and bolt to another. Adding in walls will make that not an option, slowing down your player naturally and force them to strategize more than now, which is just walk up, complete module, walk to the next. That gameplay's gets really stale really fast.

Do I like the current module?

Yes. It is easy to understand, fluidly implemented, and quite a challenge to fix sometimes. Well done. I just would like to see different modules for players to fix.

Abilities/Upgrades for Ernie?

Well, no actually. I am sure others answered yes, but I don't think they're necessary for two reasons. One, it would break the pace of your game. I assume the way you would implement upgrades is through a menu, but going in and out of a menu gets tedious and slows down the playthrough, sometimes quite dramatically. I feel like it would be like adding lore cards to Doom. They're nice and give players more things to interact with in the game, but they slow down the pace pretty badly. However, and this goes into how you might improve the challenge, you might add parts to a level Ernie must collect before handling a particular module. Like a wrench for the current module with leaking water. Of course, that would force the room to spawn a tool with the particular module, but I don't think that would take away from the random feel too much.

Bugs and Glitches

N/A. I didn't find any.

QoL Improvements?

Also N/A. Ernie was responsive when I pressed the button to move him, I liked the pace he moved at, and other than maybe turning the difficulty dial on some of the modules down, the game felt pretty good to play.

Liked what you guys have so far!

Eric Hillmeyer

ERNIE VERSION 2

• How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?

I think the pacing is well done.  It was very tense, though I imagine that more complicated repair tasks would be much harder to complete when every room is 30 seconds

• In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?

I'd suggest that each room have walls around to make navigation much more important so that the player must not waste time picking dead ends or walking inefficiently

• Do you like the current module? 

Yes this timing module is challenging when it's fast but doable.

• Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 

I'd like to see upgrades for movement speed, maybe something that would help in completing tasks

• Game breaking glitches/bugs?

You can still move and complete levels after game over.  No others that I saw

• General QoL improvements

I'd like more modules to keep the game fresh.  I think the red when time is almost out is very helpful and informative.

That Gauge Task is pretty awesome. Whoever made that must be pretty cool.

How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?
-> The pacing was very nice, very stress inducing and makes the fast-paced feel of the game and the rush to fix everything in time very nice ^^

In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing? -
> The levels at the moment are quite barren, as there are no obstacles in any of the room to hinder your way. More obstacles would be a good start, and then maybe some different fixing mini-games?

Do you like the current module?
-> yes, very satisfying click at the right time that feels very in line with this sort of game

Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see?
-> Yes, maybe an autofix ability you can pick up in level? That'll save you playing one of the minigames and get to the goal faster

Game breaking glitches/bugs?
-> None that I noticed! Another good installment of the game, a little more well put together is a bit less full in terms of props and such. Good job!

• How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?
  • I think the movement is fine. I think I am given too much time in each room rather than gaining time for completing the room quickly or successfully.
• In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?
  • Add more modules. I want to have to learn on the fly how to fix the modules instead of just doing the same one over and over.
• Do you like the current module? 
  • I think it works great, no weird bugs and it is intuitive.
• Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 
  • I don’t think Ernie needs to have any abilities besides maybe a panic add time ability.
• Game breaking glitches/bugs?
  • N/A
• General QoL improvements
  • It just needs more diversity with the modules. Its not very difficult with just the one module. I didn’t feel pressure from the time to complete the modules. 

• How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?
  • Still a little to fast

• In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?
  • The game is very stessfull as is.
• Do you like the current module? 
  • I tried this one were you had to get in the green omg I have not been more mad at a game in my life. 
• Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 
  • I could not get passed room one. So I don't have any feed back.
• Game breaking glitches/bugs?
  • None.
• General QoL improvements
  • Timeless mode so the slowest of use can still play the game.

• How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?
  The game felt too fast. I could only get to about the 3rd or 4th level before I ran out of time, and I was making a beeline to the modules.
• In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?
  I agree that adding time when you repair a module would be great, so you're not locked in to a specific time frame for everything.
  The room could be more maze-like so you have to plan your route a bit more carefully.  Along with that, you could have certain obstacles that would slow Ernie down, like wet flooring or maybe you get an electric shock.
• Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see?
  It would be nice to have some sort of time-slowing ability or difficulty adjustment as the game gets more fast-paced
• Not exactly game breaking, but I kept colliding with things that didn't seem like they would be obstacles (like little dots on the ground, but I could walk through walls

How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?

I think the pacing was a little bit too fast, I was running into objects too much and the game just ended too quickly.

In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?

If you repair and make a mistake, you could loose time or make fog appear and have the repairing sprites visible, but the player has to navigate an obstacle. 

Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 

It would be nice to see that if you complete a repair in a specific time frame, you can either slow down time, or add time to the timer.

Game breaking glitches/bugs?

I only saw that I can repair from anywhere in the area if I hit "e."

- Alejandro Sandoval

How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?

• I think the pacing of the game could be slowed down. I wasn't able to get past the 4-5th level walking to each of the modules, it just ended too quickly. If the player is also completing mini-games during this time then the time should definitely be increased.

In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?

• I think other obstacles like oil slicks, or sticky patches could help improve as the player would have to balance speed or directness to a module. Maybe failing a module takes a couple seconds off the timer so there is a pressure to be perfect. Random room modifiers could add an interesting layer to the game. Some examples: a dark modifier (the player can only see a certain distance), +-2x player speed, icy (you slide around more), boss module (one really hard module that takes a while to do).  

Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 

• I think a bullet time would be nice to see, like the player could move in real time but the clock went down at half speed or something. A player movement speed, module difficulty reduction, closer modules, and player blink (teleport a few meters) would be some cool upgrades to have.

Game breaking glitches/bugs?

• Apart from the solve any module from one, I didn't find any bugs.

General QoL improvements

• Those little circle sprites on the ground by the tree should either be larger or have no collision. I found myself thinking I could go over them because they were so small but I ended up colliding with them.

• How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?
  
  I think that the pacing of the game is a bit too fast it quickly got to a point where there were so many repairs I ran out of time.
  
• In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?
  
  Obsticals like wet flooring or maybe smoke(radiation) that can reverse the controls

• Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 
  
  An ability to cool the reactor that slows the timer or a way to speed up the reactor, but if the area is completed you get more time back in the next room.
  
• Game breaking glitches/bugs?
  
  Even when the timer runs out if there are modules next to me I can keep playing and even go into a new room.
  
  -Jarek

• How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?
  • Feels about right, a bit frantic but I think that's how it's supposed to be
• In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?
  • Maybe a special skill that slows everything down for a bit, that way things seem more hectic when it returns back to full speed
• Game breaking glitches/bugs?
  • If I went to one repair and kept hitting e I didn't have to move to multiple locations
• General QoL improvements
• It would be nice to have a way to add seconds back to the clock

Thank you and good job, Brian