Panzer Paladin / vestigial Gamedesign
Just tried out Panzer Paladin
Looks great, incredible soundtrack
Awesome cutscenes
Good game feel, though the mech feels too sluggish and not powerful enough compared to the pilot
But I need to talk about a general Gamedesign thing that happens everywhere, in particular these "retro" games
You do not need to copy old games in terms of their mechanics or UX !!!
We know better now in most cases
1/2
Panzer Paladin / vestigial Gamedesign
Don't have a lives+continue system that erases progress, players are already getting punished by being stuck !
Don't have long levels just for the sake of it, make memorable encounters !
Don't have instant death *and* sparse checkpoints that force you to repeat huge sections !
Don't have offscreen enemies you can't react to !
Please, if you make a game in a "traditional" style, think about what you put in and how you treat players, we can do better
2/2
Panzer Paladin / vestigial Gamedesign
Addendum:
I wrote "vestigial Gamedesign" because that's what this is
Most of these things are just non-functional leftovers from eras with different goals
e g. Continues -> there to make you put in more quarters
Long levels + insta death + sparse checkpoints -> more quarters
None of these lead to a more interesting or rewarding play experience
You can challenge players without disrespecting them and wasting their time