Check out the new version of Kinetic Conundrum! It’s a puzzle-platformer where your goal is to pocket target balls by using the cue ball while navigating through the puzzle and using physics-inspired machines.
The gameplay trailer: Kinetic Conundrum on Steam
First 12 levels as a browser playable demo: Kinetic Conundrum by rastala-games
The new version includes:
- New look-and-feel.
- More machines like piston engines and chain-and-pulley systems.
- Bouncy and slippery surfaces.
- Many other improvements and new puzzle concepts.
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It’s a lovely little physics puzzler, the simple controls allow for a lot of movement, and it’s quite intuitive. That’s the core of the game, so great job on that 
My notes:
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I really like how the ball spins up, it’s controllable but also creates unpredictable behavior, and it looks good. You might consider having more contrast on the player ball between white and blue, so the spinning is more obvious - it is a central mechanic.
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It would be nice with a keyboard key to start the level / next level, since mouse is otherwise not used in the gameplay
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Since the games are timed, show a timer when playing
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The levels get very tricky quite quickly. If the current levels are intended to be the first ones, I think some players will get frustrated. I gave up at the level below… it gets frustrating quickly when any single small error means starting over. You could alleviate this through the difficulty, but also with checkpoints, objects that reset, and other mechanics that make mistakes less frustrating / more palatable.
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Thanks for great feedback! I’m definitely planning to improve the color contrast and have the keyboard shortcuts in the release version.
I’ve been debating on how to best incorporate the timer. On the one hand, I’d like the game to have relaxed, zen feel where you can think about each puzzle without time pressure. On the other hand, having a timer would add excitement and another challenge to beat your best time.
Getting the difficulty right is definitely a challenge, and your feedback is very valuable! Actually, I was worried that the demo levels would be too simple. But now I’m thinking of maybe having:
- Levels 1-10. Straightforward, failure-safe tutorials of different mechanics
- Levels 10-30. Easy to medium-hard puzzles with built-in recovery paths.
- Levels 30+. Hard to very hard puzzles with possibility of unrecoverable failure.
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Happy to weigh in
I agree, it’s a tricky one, for the reasons you mentioned. Maybe time doesn’t need to be a factor at all, or not very prominent, and you could award points for something else? There are already the coin collectables… or you might have a “star” system with optional (hard to get) stars that award score, and the player can go back and try to get more? That would encourage the player to navigate the whole level, and to play carefully (trick shots, no time pressure).
Ideally you want to identify what you want the player to do / experience, and then reward that behavior, ie if you want the player to play hectically fast, you’d introduce a time limit. Currently, the time score is more of an urging to go faster, but it’s a little at odds with the unforgiving gameplay.
That sounds like a good scope, especially if you have some replay mechanic to add (ie time limit / must collect all coins / …) that doesn’t change the mechanics (which would require new / modified levels).
Consider that players like to win - challenge isn’t the only way to entertain a player, and I think a player will be more inclined to get through tough levels if they’ve already invested some time in the game (and also gotten better). It’s all too easy to lose sight of the difficulty when working on a game
