Lessons Learned & Postmortem of My First Game   (WARNING TEXT DUMP!)

Hey everyone, Im writing this post for though who might care to read, and to analyzes the design choices of my game and the insights Ive gained from feedback so far.

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Combat:

My goal was to encourage cautious exploration, with players strategically peeking corners and managing enemy projectiles. I think this approach resonated with players who where already familiar with this style of gamplay. However,  for newcomers, it might have felt frustrating due to:

Unclear Tutorials: The core gameplay loop of cautious exploration wasn't properly introduced, leaving some players confused.

Difficulty: The punishing death penalty (complete restart) and the lack of checkpoints. I think this game would of benifitted from checkpoints after every relic.

Missing Feedback: Lack of visual cues for off-screen attacks made the experience more unreactive than reactive/ strategic.

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In Hindsight:

Improved Tutorials: Prioritizing clear communication of the intended playstyle from the beginning.

Fair Challenge: Implementing checkpoints and difficulty options to cater to a broader audience.

Visual Feedback: Visual indicators for off-screen attacks would of  improved player awareness and decision-making.

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Movement:

This seems to be a controversial topic and a dealbreaker for many. Player preferences regarding movement controls (A/D for strafing vs. turning) seem divided. There's no single "right" or "wrong" approach, but offering options would have improved accessibility.

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In Hindsight:

Control Customization: Including options for different control layouts, or letting players set there own keybindings, to personalize their own prefered experience.

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Level Design:

The intention was to guide players visually towards the central pyramid, with each relic retrieval leading players back to a familiar location. While I still think the concept was sound, the execution needed refinement:

Limited Visual Cues: The environment lacked strong visual distinctions, making it difficult for players to recognize the pyramid as a central point and easily navigate back to it. Repetitive textures and unclear pathways between relics detracted from the intended visual flow.

Underdeveloped Theming: Enemy placement could have benefited from stronger thematic ties to each zone (maze-like, projectile counting/timing , ambush potential).

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In Hindsight:

Enhanced Landmark: Emphasize the pyramid's visual dominance to make it a clear landmark. This could involve using diffrent colors, unique textures, or changing its size.

Clearer Paths: Implement stronger visual cues, like diffrent textures for pathways leading to and from the pyramid to aid player navigation.

Enemy Encounters: Fleshing out more diverse enemy placement 'puzzles', aligned with zone themes (puzzles, timing challenges, surprises).

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Other Learnings:

The intro was too long. It should of been condensed down, and honestly could of been 'shown' not 'told'. Text to speech AI was not for everyone (fair enough). I had added it fairly last minite for though who might not want to read, but i think there where better ways to do/solve this.

Enviroment was too static. I think adding more dynamic details like animations that make enemies and health orbs float up and down could of helped make the game feel more dynamic (just as an exampe). And the lack of variery in wall textures, enemies, ect.

In Conclusion:

These are some key takeaways from  my development, and while there is more i could talk about (like boss design) ill skip past it for lack of time. I appreciate all the feedback received so far, and welcome further discussions. (ps if you acually read all of this thanks!)