BlockDate
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ThaCuber
End of game and auto-starting a new game immediately thereafter
I absolutely love this game. It’s so well done, and so fun to play. It really might be my most-played Playdate game.
But it drives me absolutely nuts that when a game ends, a new one starts immediately. I think I complained about this over a year ago when the game was on Itch.io, and in the meantime, it bothers me as much as ever. I’m sure there are some games that auto-spawn a new game upon “dying” where it makes sense, but I strongly believe that a tetrimino game is not one of them.
It’s particularly frustrating after a good game. During a good run, getting to a higher level, the less likely I am to glance at my score. The game is moving too fast and I’m too “in the zone” thinking only about the pieces and the board. And then boom, the game ends, and the score is back to 0 and I have no idea what my score was.
Sometimes after a good game I really just want to leave it, as-is, with my score and level showing. A lot of times my thinking is, “Let’s play a little BlockDate until I get at least one ‘good’ game in, and then get back to work.” It just doesn’t feel right that the game never stops, even after a board fills up.
I got an Analog Pocket this year, and my most-played game on it is Game Boy Tetris. I actually prefer the feel and mechanics of BlockDate in most ways, but man, the best part of playing on the Game Boy is the simple fact that when the game ends, it just ends.
It sounds like such a silly little thing but this aspect of BlockDate really bothers me. I’m taking the time to file this issue because I otherwise love the game so much. It’s so good. Thanks for listening.
hey, hi gruber! nice to see you. sorry for not replying, uhh, a week ago :P
it wouldn't be a silly thing if basically everyone else was reporting about it, heh I never really programmed or planned in a pause menu or a main menu or anything of the like because I never thought people would be so affected by it, but somehow there have been players complaining about it.
the thing is... I'm a bit busy right now... I'm finally one year about to finish highschool, but that also means I'm up to the brim with homework, let alone the fact I'm nearing university and I'm going to have to take my country's equivalent of the SAT, I'm not exactly totally mentally fine either. I've never been, like, "an adult", so.
about the score, there has always been a highscore counter at the left side of the screen, and the menu image shows game stats too, so you can always open the menu and watch the highscore there.
I also plan on drastically lowering my impact online to something like "someone who randomly checks social media or chats or stuff on the small amount of free time they have", at least while I'm still here, but I'll try to find some time to add a really quick break menu, though I don't want to promise anything.
cheers, tc
First: thanks once again just for making this game. It’s so good and makes Playdate as a platform so much better.
Second: Good luck with high school, the university search, and the standardized testing. I’ll bet you’re going to do well.
So, take your time. But the reason I (and I suspect others) find the current infinite-play loop a bit frustrating is that it’s not just about remembering your high score. I want to see what my score was after every game, and by definition, very very few games are going to be my all-time high score. (Alas! I wish I could set a new high score every day!)
My suggestion would be to keep it simple. When a game ends, do what GameBoy does: make the curtain come down, wiping out the pieces on the board, and replace with “GAME OVER” and something like “A to try again”. While on this screen, the sidebar should still show the score, level, and lines from the just-completed game. Screenshot from GameBoy:
I kinda thought on moving the board down out of view and take the game over screen into view... feel that's cooler than just popping the game over thingy inside the board when it's cleared :)