Woah Dave! and "Randomness"

[Robotube]

Hi!

I was reading some more recent reviews for Woah Dave!, and found something mentioned a few times in negative reviews for the game.

I noticed people criticizing the game for relying too much on "random" factors. It's interesting to me that this is something that's brought up as a criticism of the game since there is very little about the game that is random, and I wanted to get your feedback on this.

In fact, I will reveal that there are really only two random values in Woah Dave's core gameplay mechanic:

- The horizontal drop location of an item (where on the x line it will fall from the sky)
- Wether the item dropped will be an egg or a skull

Woah Blocks, Black Eggs and other special events are not random. They are based solely on how many items have already dropped. For instance, in a 1 player game, the Woah Block falls every 60 items. The Black Egg is also based on the item drop value (though I can't remember now what it is!)

UFOs also are based on certain non-random values as well. Where they shoot is also non-random until they've destroyed the platforms. Aliens jump up from the lava at the exact point in which they fell into it.

I am not sure if a lot of people feel like the game is based heavily on random factors, but I'd like to know what you think.

Thanks for all your opinions, positive or negative!

-J

[Mr Deanster]

Old school games have always been a bit fair/unfair in the random drops. Rampage is a good example, if you want to score chase it. You can get tons of food one time and not much in the next. You play to find the perfect run, you don't expect it to be given to you.

You have to remember not everyone will see under the hood, so they don't know the formula of how to get a good run also.

[Robotube]

Sure, I certainly remember that for sure. Nowadays though, we have the luxury of being able to talk directly to players, so I like to sometimes take the opportunity to kind of lend some insights into how we made the game. Plus, I also fully recognize that in a sea of hyper-realistic, amazing, gigantic games here on Steam, Dave is a weird little anomaly that is probably not for everyone.

That said, though, we've had a tremendous success with the game...I couldn't be more thrilled. Thanks everyone for your continued feedback and support.

[paulmarrable]

Originally posted by Robotube:

That said, though, we've had a tremendous success with the game...

This is so great to hear, it's such a fantastic game and really, really deserving of success.
I wasn't 100% sure going in but after 5 minutes I was truly hooked.

An absolute masterclass in arcade game design.

[Robotube]

Thank you so much for the kind words! It's very reassuring knowing there's still a place for some really good old arcade crazy these days! I think more people would like the game if they give it a little time. I admit it's got a little bit of a ramp-up, but once it gets its claws in, you start to get it.