Not commenting on something does not necessarily mean someone didn't enjoy it. I'd think that if they didn't, they'd be *more* likely to comment about it! A lack of comments generally just means someone has no specific feedback or useful things to say about something. Personally, I already commented on the intro on Patreon, which is why I didn't repeat my thoughts on the previous blog post, focusing on the other things instead.
I think one thing that would serve to make the system far less arcane (and it's really quite simple once you understand it!) would be tutorial elements explaining all of its aspects. I've noticed that you like making tutorials part of character dialogue, and that approach could work here as well, but a system of tutorial popups during battle might be clearer—something like introducing one aspect of the combat system per battle, for the first few battles the player participates in.
During the intro battle, the taming system might not be immediately clear to players from the get-go, so I feel like a popup explanation of the light/dark gauge and taming could be very useful. Then the second battle could introduce elements, the third one runes, the fourth one arousal, and so on. Some sort of MARDEK-like "encyclopedia" section of the menu that includes all of this tutorial information from the get-go could be nice as well, for those players who want to learn about everything before even starting their first battle.
2
Tobias 1104~3Y
I hope it didn't come across as me demanding feedback or something, or guilting people about not giving any! I'm just grateful anyone comments at all ever! But I'm constantly anxious about whether people will even like what I'm making or if I'm just wasting my time and life for what'll be no pay in the end, and a lack of feedback just makes my demons assume the most negative possibilities. But I'm also the sort of person who assumes that if someone doesn't reply to a text within an hour that they hate me, even though I take days to reply myself fairly often.
The first area is designed as a tutorial, though I'm trying to avoid what I feel was a huge mistake in Taming Dreams, where I had the characters talk in great detail about the game mechanics right from the start. It really bogged things down and probably wouldn't appeal to most people! I probably won't bother explaining runes at all - maybe I'll just hint at them and have some optional NPC go into detail later on -though I at least have references to elements and arousal. Since each monster says a silly quote before battle - like Pokemon trainers - I'm probably going to use those for succinct tutorial tips.
In Belief, I had a screen showing the relationships between runes and elements (or sentiments in that), which showed when you held down a button (left trigger or something). I'll probably do something like that again, so it's instantly available whenever you need it rather than hidden in a menu!
2
Falcon62~3Y
Those seem like good ideas! It's hard to figure out the full extent of the tutorial just from the intro scene, I guess. And yes, mandatory info-dumps seem like they would turn many people off—for the ones who are interested in ALL THE DETAILS about the combat system, those should be optionally-accessible content.
I didn't assume you were demanding feedback, just sharing my observation on why people might not comment on something. Don't worry!
I think one thing that would serve to make the system far less arcane (and it's really quite simple once you understand it!) would be tutorial elements explaining all of its aspects. I've noticed that you like making tutorials part of character dialogue, and that approach could work here as well, but a system of tutorial popups during battle might be clearer—something like introducing one aspect of the combat system per battle, for the first few battles the player participates in.
During the intro battle, the taming system might not be immediately clear to players from the get-go, so I feel like a popup explanation of the light/dark gauge and taming could be very useful. Then the second battle could introduce elements, the third one runes, the fourth one arousal, and so on. Some sort of MARDEK-like "encyclopedia" section of the menu that includes all of this tutorial information from the get-go could be nice as well, for those players who want to learn about everything before even starting their first battle.
The first area is designed as a tutorial, though I'm trying to avoid what I feel was a huge mistake in Taming Dreams, where I had the characters talk in great detail about the game mechanics right from the start. It really bogged things down and probably wouldn't appeal to most people! I probably won't bother explaining runes at all - maybe I'll just hint at them and have some optional NPC go into detail later on -though I at least have references to elements and arousal. Since each monster says a silly quote before battle - like Pokemon trainers - I'm probably going to use those for succinct tutorial tips.
In Belief, I had a screen showing the relationships between runes and elements (or sentiments in that), which showed when you held down a button (left trigger or something). I'll probably do something like that again, so it's instantly available whenever you need it rather than hidden in a menu!
I didn't assume you were demanding feedback, just sharing my observation on why people might not comment on something. Don't worry!