So I just put my game out there a day or two ago, and it's got about 3 stars. Internally, I'm struggling to decide whether to be happy or disappointed. On the one hand, it's only an alpha phase demo, and still has glitches. So maybe 3 stars is actually really good? But on the other, IDK how you guys decide what to play. Do you give games with 3 stars a shot, or do you skip over stuff with less that 3.5 or 4 stars?

I've hung around Newgrounds on my private account for ages, but I'm fairly antisocial, so it's hard to tell what the deal is. It's also only like, an hour or two long, if that's relevant. The game, that is.

I clicked on it and it runs real bad in my browser so maybe its just RPGmaker. perhaps Gamemaker or something else would work better for your purposes. I'm no game dev but I just know that all the RPGmaker games i've played had bad optimization. Hey, maybe it's just my computer and I'm spouting nonsense.

Well, kinda funny you should say that as I'm currently gearing up for the GameMaker gamejam thing that's coming up in a couple days. Working on a practice project that should make sure I'm fresh and ready once the theme drops.

A big part of why I chose RPGMaker, though, is because of its bad reputation. I've always said that it suffers from being TOO userfriendly, allowing people with no dev skills to make games, and I'd hoped that I could add to the small list of good games made using the project. Also, being able to skip past stuff like movement and setting up a turn based battle system and basic enemy AI and all that other crap is really convenient, lets me focus on actual enemy and level design, which is what I'm a little bit good at. Decent, even.

Also, it runs smoothly on my computer and that of Loss, who's the closest thing I've had to an official playtester, so it might be a you thing. Or maybe not, maybe it is poorly optimized and we just got lucky or something? Idk.

Thanks for trying it, at least. What about the other part of my question? How to star reviews influence you, and is a 3 star game good enough that you consider playing it?

When I was younger I pretty much played any flash game that looked cool or interesting. Now I rarely play games on newgrounds so I don't really have anything to say, I think I wouldn't play anything under a 3 star though unless it was a friends project. Anyways keep up the gamedev, I'm sure itll be great. If there's something you can't accomplish then try collaborating for art/designs/etc or ask for help on a forum related to whichever game engine you're using.

3/5 is about 60%, so it effectively means the opinion of your game is fairly average, barring confounding features like limited data.

Given that it's an alpha demo with glitches and at least one reported crash, that's not too shabby.

Update:

Attempted to play on my tablet. (May or may not have been a mistake.)

Received an error in the middle of the first fight I attempted.

Screenshot:

I noticed in the description that you mentioned all the art is placeholder, but the default RPGMaker tileset isn't that interesting to look at, especially when it's an empty room, which may also be contributing to the ratings you have recieved so far.

Speaking of which, is this MV or MZ?

That may make a difference with the glitch problem- though I'm afraid I'm not much help there.

It could also be a bit clearer what you're supposed to do in the starting room, as it initially just looks like a random assortment of things, but I like the horse shopkeep,

He is certainly different.

(I also like seeing the rpgmaker slime, even if it is default resources. They're just weirdly charming.)

What little I experienced of the battle system seems fine- the goblins seem a bit harsh for a first encounter, though.

(Maybe I just got bad rng?)

It's also very easy to click on the wrong square and be stuck with it- perhaps an option to confirm movement or the ability to correct your position before attacking might help?

Well, let's see:

It works fine on PC so I have no idea what's going wrong with android - gonna have to look into it.

Yeah, default graphics suck, but art is hard and time consuming, and life is hectic rn.

Starting room is ALSO a placeholder - I'll include a tutorial at some point, either in the final game or in an update to the demo.

And the battles in this game are all pretty harsh - slimes are weak, and it's only through planning and careful formation that they can overcome powerful enemies. This game, from the very concept phase, was intended to deliver the "slime experience" - high difficulty, because your fellas are low level mobs trying to defeat strong monsters, but fair, in that at least the first 3 or 4 levels can be cleared without any upgrades and without losing any party members, barring very bad RNG. A couple of crits and misses, and you can still make it without any deaths, and by level 4 and 5, you'll have had the opportunity to power up a couple of your slimes, and will have access to advanced strategies as a result. The first level may seem difficult, but if you pay careful attention to the specific strengths of your slimes, it's actually very easy. Biggest challenge is, a lot of people don't realize that the Bullet Wasp is a high damage glass cannon. Again, a tutorial might resolve that.

I did make a few exceptions to the "I want players to feel like weak lil piles of goo" concept in the name of fun - slimes can crit, which most monsters cannot. Conceptually it doesn't quite fit, but it's more fun this way. Likewise, most monsters are physically oriented, because slimes are weak to magic, and having too many magic users will make things very unfun very fast.

Oh, and if you move to the wrong spot, you can cancel, so long as you don't take any actions. Attacking, opening doors, magic, etc.

And it's made using MV

I got frontpaged with a 3 star game. The more popular it is, the harsher the critics.