In Development Pokemon Shuckle

AenaonDogsky · Aug 24, 2022

Here's a review of the game:

But first, you need to take care of a major, gamebreaking bug:

- GAMEBREAKING BUG: Gentleman before third gym fight breaks the game. That is because there is a typo in the INTRO encounter script event command. Instead of GENTLEMAN it says GENLTEMEN. This bug will prevent your players from progressing, please fix it asap.

Also, here's some bigger bugs that aren't gamebreaking:

- BIG BUG: You can leave the town without any Pokemon. I got to the city and the cave, with no mons. All the way to the HM.

BIG BUG: entering the small house in Cthulu city warps you to Az city.
BIG BUG: Respawning after losing the Aly/Albert battle continues with the previous map event movement, which makes the player get stuck in the pokecenter. Same thing happens with the last Shuckle fight. You should put the battle script call itself inside a conditional branch, to solve this

Here's a list of minor bugs:

- the player's OW is briefly shown before the trainer's full sprite is depicted

- "I remember you're (playername ) " then full stop.

- the computer in your room isn't interactable

" Oak's name not capitalized, Mom's dialogue's missing full stop.

- Your house doesnt have any music

- your computer isnt working

- transfer to Az-something city spawns you facing upwards, and vice versa

- the gym guide has the default Essentials dialogue.

- Nurse joy bright purple pixels on her side-facing sprite

- Bill (who also calls himself Clarence right after the textbox shows "Bill:") has the default Essentials dialogue.

- "I think there's some kinda switch in the bookshelves" needs a full stop.

- "Why are you here" is missing a question mark

- The choice dialogue box appears before the goons take the player in front of the woman

- "What's with all the mystery" some letters are capitalized

- "Someone" instead of "some one"

- "It's them who've stolen / who stole the HM" instead of "they are also who has the HM"

- The next line after this also doesnt have a full stop.

- Both guys are called "Phil" and a with lowercase "p" and no full stop.

- Inside the cave, first trainer cant spot you all the way down. He also says "I bet your weak" instead of "you're"

- I didn't see any pokemon battling in the league cutscene? perhaps you forgot to set the starter variable in oaks lab? Or, you have set another condition?

- "I am refueled"

- cave exit should be impassable, with a transfer event on top, because the player can walk right on top of it!

- cave exit spawns you outside facing down, instead of right.

- Phill calls himself phill with a lowercase p, in the next town

- "The building in front of us" not "infront" also comma after HM

- the tree sprites here are weird (see attachment)

- Albert's sentences are missing multiple commas and full stops

- Phil's lines after you get the HM also miss commas and full stops. Plus, HM is spelt Hm

- A Kangashkan follows Phil, or at least it seems so, until it disappears without having fully followed him. EDIT: This was caused because I had no mons, it's supposed to be a wild battle? Can it be caught? Why is it not a shuckle? xD

- Northern checkpoint isn't enterable. Perhaps block it off with something if not getting in is intended?

- Move Deleter/Relearner house non-interactable PC

- "Hoenn" region, not "hoen"

- I have the Cut HM but the NPCs wont move out of the way

- Oak says "Shuckle an excelent choice" instead of "Shuckle is an excellent choice"

- "You should probably head to the town up the road" instead of "you should probably hed"

- The pokedex line is missing a full stop. Next line has a lowercase "oak" with no : and the sentence doesn't begin with a capital letter.

- Black reflection spot right outside Oak's lab

- Gramps talking about flowers text missing full stops and "there" should be "they're"

- Luis text post defeat changes from blue color to black color

- "analyzing" is spelt wrong

- for others to use (not for other)

- The couple of choices the player is given are practically the same:

I fought a weird Shuckle.
There was a weird Shuckle. (both sentences have typos)

- The region which is destroyed (not reigon)

- Allyson still says "go get the HM" after telling her about the weird shuckle

- Trainers dont have any encounter music, and the battle backgroubd for route 2 is the "interior" background

- Youngster MORICE says "My Shuckle already knows cut" instead of "Cut"

- Nice weather we're having, instead of "were"

- You'll never beat Betty losing dialogue missing full stop. Post-fight dialogue is correct though.

- Betty's pre-fight dialoge is also missing a full stop

- When Allyson is talking to you outside Yig Gym, she says "replecate" instead of "replicate". HM is spelt as Hm.

- "useful" instead of "usefull"

- The player should be facing Allyson when talking to her

- "research" "region" "powerful" "psychic" "mind control" "region" "controlled" "psychic" is the correct spelling

- Pokecenter npc: "weird" instead of "wierd"

- Region name and town map names are from vanilla Essentials! And so is the map itself? this is only when you view the map in the Pokemon Center

- challenge is wrongly spelt as "challange"

- Alysson says "reigon" instead of "region". Her name is also spelt differently throughout the game

- She doesn't look towards you after the fight, she looks down

- Psychic is spelt wrong

- By "accuracies" what do you mean exactly? Did you mean to say "strengths" instead? Shuckle's "S" is also lowercase

- She does a diagonal movement before she disappears instead of going right 3 steps and then 2 steps up

- "Go find the shamans" is missing a full stop

- as with Kangashkan, should the player be allowed to catch the Rhyhorn? Cause I did catch it.

- youngster Darwin move sloooooooooowwwly

- "Bye there" also is missing a full stop (in-battle loss dialogue)

- The trainer right after Darwin spots you by touching him (perhaps you've set him to player touch rather than event touch?)

- "Yours is cooler, though." is the correct speling for both instances of the dialoge, in-battle and outside battle.

- "You are strong." full stop missing here as well

- I'm tired, how about a battle" < missing a comma

- The bird Shuckle trainer in R3 moves around before defeating him, making you potentially stuck. Trainers don't walk around unless within a specific path

- again, "yours is cooler" is wrong

- fighting shuckles pokedex description has a couple of typos: should be "careful" and "its"

- steel spike shuckle floats in the air

- Cthulu Pokecenter guy says "have you ever wonderd" instead of "wondered"

- sailor says "suposed" instead of "supposed"

- I've still got to fix stuff. < full stop again

- his "goodbye" isn't capitalized and there's no full stop, and his "Hello, there." line is spelt "helo there"

- Lt. says "Sence" instead of "Since" The sentence's also missing a comma.

- His post-win dialogue should be "Good job, I look forward to battling you again sometime."

- Aly says "reaearch" instead of "research", also "reigon" instead of "region", also "onlything" instead of "onlything"

- You can see the edge of the island map if you go all the way right. Same for all the way to the left

- "That" should be "that" (island NPC)

- Aly cave dialogue: "carefull" should be "careful"

- eye Shuckle dex entry typo

- it is likely that you can run away from the shuckle battle, I havent tested it

- "I came here to train, but all the Pokemon here are strong." is correct

- Taking the ship to Nya town will make the player walk directly upwards to it, instead of follow the captain

- Albert should have a space between Albert: and the player's name

- The player wont turn to face Aly after the big revelation

- "liar" instead of "lier"

- "I didn't even put" not "I didn't put even"

- "drive off" (in choice dialogue) instead of "drive of"

- the entire scene with Albert and Aly in the last battle has a lot of typos. Consider previous corrections and apply them here too.

- Pokecenter grandma dialogue: "wierd" instead of "weird"

- Gym trainer before Erika is an empty event

- Guard spells "League" wrong

- Missing full stops in many gym trainer events, and lowercase

- "Wow, you're good." is correct

Onto the review:

Why does every place have such a weird name?

Cave map is well designed

Some interior maps are huge, try making them more compact

Shuckle sprites look cool! I love the variety! Bug shuckle could use a more distinct color from grass shuckle though.

The player isnt told they have to return to Allyson after getting the HM!

Nice item distribution, found the leftovers by going back!

I think the level jump in R2 is a bit big, granted, I skipped all the trainers in the cave because I had no mons, so I might be underlevelled. Thankfully, all the trainers are skippable, but that might be a problem for later fights

LMAO TREE shuckle is amazing

NPCs giving you pokeballs is good, for people who cant afford to buy them

Pokedex entries are interesting!

The player isnt given any directions on how to reach the forest

Wild shuckles are strong enough so that grinding is unnecessary, though

Can you enter the grotto before defeating the gym leader? if yes, does it break anything?

It would be better if some of the paths in the Grotto were grass-less, all the random encounters make it difficult
to traverse the area. I know you can buy repels, but repels only work if your pokemon's level is higher than wild pokemon

Shouldn't Pure shuckle be called "flying" shuckle? or winged shuckle?

R3 level jump is big, you end up fighting a lvl 29 shuckle out of nowhere. Luckily, you have area-specific wild Shuckles that are both high level and counter enemy shucjkles. It does encourage you to change Shuckles around though

Nice touch that you provide us with areas to interact with stronger Shuckles even on the island, and the masterball might make things easy for some people - but would otherwise help them if underlevelled.

whoa is the choice impactful in any way? Or is it just for flavor?

eye shuckle party sprite has its eye moving, nice touch!

The last Shuckle battle is very difficult, it's way overlevelled. Reduce it to around 45-50. Alternatively, allow the player to explore the island and fight in the gym to gain some exp BEFORE the fight. Or both.

Small touches here and there show that you care for the game - OW sprites matching Trainer sprites, the cool Shuckle sprites, the items, and you've made quite a lot of maps, too. There's also a nice Town Map in the menu!

Suggestions:

Try to use non-default Gym Interiors next time ,to give your game a more unique flavor!

If you are having trouble with typos, use an external document editor with correction features, e.g. libre office. Write your text there, let it find the typos, correct as needed, and then copy each dialogue block to your game!

The Cave shouldn't be called "Route 3", since it's not a route!

The encounter rate in the cave is a bit high, and should be reduced

As I said before, the Grotto's location is difficult to find, and the player doesn't get any info about it. You should use different tiles, like the ones you use in the Grotto's exit, (differently shaded stripes of grass) to indicate there's an entrance there. The player can only guess that from the Town Map in the menu.

Poison Bug Shuckle and any shuckle with a huge name should have it shortened cause you cant see it in-battle. Bonus points if you give them pun names (eg Bug Shuckle could be called "Bugle" Poison-Bug could be called "Toxickle"etc)

I do believe that encounter rates are too high, or grass is placed on (rather than around) traversible paths, and there's a lot of trainers

It'd make for a great revelation if Aly's choice was the bad choice all along, and she was the one trying to maintain Shuckle in power. I liked the revelation, although it felt like the execution was a bit fast.

Nice to see unique movesets for the last shuckle, but, man, they are extremely overpowered.

The game has a lot of charm - Shuckles, obviously - and you've got a lot of the battle sprite aesthetics down. I think you can make the sprites even better if you don't simply combine parts of other mons, but try making your own too! (Or make them look more than the sum of their parts, so that it's not instantly recognizable where they come from).

While getting to some places was a bit tedious (mainly a lot of encounters on your way, and many Trainers) the mapping overall was good, with the exception being some interiors and the first city, after the starting town.

Anyway, I mentioned before that if Aly turned out to be the big bad, instead of Albert, it would feel more impactful - since it was her that was guiding you through the game, while Albert was seen as suspicious from the start. But that means more work on your part to make two separate endings, perhaps?

The plot had some interesting concepts, with some more refining, they'll have a bigger impact. For instance, it is shown that the player was transferred to the Shuckle region by Albert, in order for the former to solve the latter's Ho-Oh Shuckle problem. If Aly was the one actively trying to maintain the world and was guarding Shuckle, and he couldn't beat her, it would make more sense for him to seek out the player. What you are getting to in terms of plot, although within a silly-sounding premise as it pertains to Shuckle, has a very good basis, showing you have a vivid imagination, so I hope you get to make more games in the future!

Here's how you can go about it to improve the game, if you intend on releasing a complete version eventually (aside from fixing the major bugs):

Add some unique shuckle moves for the different shuckles
Change the map names to intelligible names
Mention that you have to go back to Aly after getting the HM
Try making the sprites more unique when it comes to the different parts of other mons (though they definitely look great as they are)
Reduce tall grass and encounter rates, remove some Trainers (especially in Route 4)
Fix the typos. This is more important than you think, as it could drive off potential players!
Let the player explore the last city before fighting the last battle with Ho-Oh Shuckle, and reduce its level
Give the player a break after the Albert/Aly fight, so that they can prepare for Ho-Oh Shuckle
Don't let the player catch non-Shuckle mons
Give the characters and cutscenes some more time to flesh out their dialogue
Don't overdo it with choice prompts unless they have in-game consequences
Turn Shuckle names into puns

And that's it from me! Please make sure to fix those big bugs asap, players will get permanently stuck!
By polishing the game even further, you will make it more comfortable for players to enjoy!

Shuckle the God · Sep 3, 2022

AenaonDogsky said:
Here's a review of the game:

But first, you need to take care of a major, gamebreaking bug:

- GAMEBREAKING BUG: Gentleman before third gym fight breaks the game. That is because there is a typo in the INTRO encounter script event command. Instead of GENTLEMAN it says GENLTEMEN. This bug will prevent your players from progressing, please fix it asap.

Also, here's some bigger bugs that aren't gamebreaking:

- BIG BUG: You can leave the town without any Pokemon. I got to the city and the cave, with no mons. All the way to the HM.

BIG BUG: entering the small house in Cthulu city warps you to Az city.

BIG BUG: Respawning after losing the Aly/Albert battle continues with the previous map event movement, which makes the player get stuck in the pokecenter. Same thing happens with the last Shuckle fight. You should put the battle script call itself inside a conditional branch, to solve this

Here's a list of minor bugs:

- the player's OW is briefly shown before the trainer's full sprite is depicted

- "I remember you're (playername ) " then full stop.

- the computer in your room isn't interactable

" Oak's name not capitalized, Mom's dialogue's missing full stop.

- Your house doesnt have any music

- your computer isnt working

- transfer to Az-something city spawns you facing upwards, and vice versa

- the gym guide has the default Essentials dialogue.

- Nurse joy bright purple pixels on her side-facing sprite

- Bill (who also calls himself Clarence right after the textbox shows "Bill:") has the default Essentials dialogue.

- "I think there's some kinda switch in the bookshelves" needs a full stop.

- "Why are you here" is missing a question mark

- The choice dialogue box appears before the goons take the player in front of the woman

- "What's with all the mystery" some letters are capitalized

- "Someone" instead of "some one"

- "It's them who've stolen / who stole the HM" instead of "they are also who has the HM"

- The next line after this also doesnt have a full stop.

- Both guys are called "Phil" and a with lowercase "p" and no full stop.

- Inside the cave, first trainer cant spot you all the way down. He also says "I bet your weak" instead of "you're"

- I didn't see any pokemon battling in the league cutscene? perhaps you forgot to set the starter variable in oaks lab? Or, you have set another condition?

- "I am refueled"

- cave exit should be impassable, with a transfer event on top, because the player can walk right on top of it!

- cave exit spawns you outside facing down, instead of right.

- Phill calls himself phill with a lowercase p, in the next town

- "The building in front of us" not "infront" also comma after HM

- the tree sprites here are weird (see attachment)

- Albert's sentences are missing multiple commas and full stops

- Phil's lines after you get the HM also miss commas and full stops. Plus, HM is spelt Hm

- A Kangashkan follows Phil, or at least it seems so, until it disappears without having fully followed him. EDIT: This was caused because I had no mons, it's supposed to be a wild battle? Can it be caught? Why is it not a shuckle? xD

- Northern checkpoint isn't enterable. Perhaps block it off with something if not getting in is intended?

- Move Deleter/Relearner house non-interactable PC

- "Hoenn" region, not "hoen"

- I have the Cut HM but the NPCs wont move out of the way

- Oak says "Shuckle an excelent choice" instead of "Shuckle is an excellent choice"

- "You should probably head to the town up the road" instead of "you should probably hed"

- The pokedex line is missing a full stop. Next line has a lowercase "oak" with no : and the sentence doesn't begin with a capital letter.

- Black reflection spot right outside Oak's lab

- Gramps talking about flowers text missing full stops and "there" should be "they're"

- Luis text post defeat changes from blue color to black color

- "analyzing" is spelt wrong

- for others to use (not for other)

- The couple of choices the player is given are practically the same:

- The region which is destroyed (not reigon)

- Allyson still says "go get the HM" after telling her about the weird shuckle

- Trainers dont have any encounter music, and the battle backgroubd for route 2 is the "interior" background

- Youngster MORICE says "My Shuckle already knows cut" instead of "Cut"

- Nice weather we're having, instead of "were"

- You'll never beat Betty losing dialogue missing full stop. Post-fight dialogue is correct though.

- Betty's pre-fight dialoge is also missing a full stop

- When Allyson is talking to you outside Yig Gym, she says "replecate" instead of "replicate". HM is spelt as Hm.

- "useful" instead of "usefull"

- The player should be facing Allyson when talking to her

- "research" "region" "powerful" "psychic" "mind control" "region" "controlled" "psychic" is the correct spelling

- Pokecenter npc: "weird" instead of "wierd"

- Region name and town map names are from vanilla Essentials! And so is the map itself? this is only when you view the map in the Pokemon Center

- challenge is wrongly spelt as "challange"

- Alysson says "reigon" instead of "region". Her name is also spelt differently throughout the game

- She doesn't look towards you after the fight, she looks down

- Psychic is spelt wrong

- By "accuracies" what do you mean exactly? Did you mean to say "strengths" instead? Shuckle's "S" is also lowercase

- She does a diagonal movement before she disappears instead of going right 3 steps and then 2 steps up

- "Go find the shamans" is missing a full stop

- as with Kangashkan, should the player be allowed to catch the Rhyhorn? Cause I did catch it.

- youngster Darwin move sloooooooooowwwly

- "Bye there" also is missing a full stop (in-battle loss dialogue)

- The trainer right after Darwin spots you by touching him (perhaps you've set him to player touch rather than event touch?)

- "Yours is cooler, though." is the correct speling for both instances of the dialoge, in-battle and outside battle.

- "You are strong." full stop missing here as well

- I'm tired, how about a battle" < missing a comma

- The bird Shuckle trainer in R3 moves around before defeating him, making you potentially stuck. Trainers don't walk around unless within a specific path

- again, "yours is cooler" is wrong

- fighting shuckles pokedex description has a couple of typos: should be "careful" and "its"

- steel spike shuckle floats in the air

- Cthulu Pokecenter guy says "have you ever wonderd" instead of "wondered"

- sailor says "suposed" instead of "supposed"

- I've still got to fix stuff. < full stop again

- his "goodbye" isn't capitalized and there's no full stop, and his "Hello, there." line is spelt "helo there"

- Lt. says "Sence" instead of "Since" The sentence's also missing a comma.

- His post-win dialogue should be "Good job, I look forward to battling you again sometime."

- Aly says "reaearch" instead of "research", also "reigon" instead of "region", also "onlything" instead of "onlything"

- You can see the edge of the island map if you go all the way right. Same for all the way to the left

- "That" should be "that" (island NPC)

- Aly cave dialogue: "carefull" should be "careful"

- eye Shuckle dex entry typo

- it is likely that you can run away from the shuckle battle, I havent tested it

- "I came here to train, but all the Pokemon here are strong." is correct

- Taking the ship to Nya town will make the player walk directly upwards to it, instead of follow the captain

- Albert should have a space between Albert: and the player's name

- The player wont turn to face Aly after the big revelation

- "liar" instead of "lier"

- "I didn't even put" not "I didn't put even"

- "drive off" (in choice dialogue) instead of "drive of"

- the entire scene with Albert and Aly in the last battle has a lot of typos. Consider previous corrections and apply them here too.

- Pokecenter grandma dialogue: "wierd" instead of "weird"

- Gym trainer before Erika is an empty event

- Guard spells "League" wrong

- Missing full stops in many gym trainer events, and lowercase

- "Wow, you're good." is correct

Onto the review:

Why does every place have such a weird name?

Cave map is well designed

Some interior maps are huge, try making them more compact

Shuckle sprites look cool! I love the variety! Bug shuckle could use a more distinct color from grass shuckle though.

The player isnt told they have to return to Allyson after getting the HM!

Nice item distribution, found the leftovers by going back!

I think the level jump in R2 is a bit big, granted, I skipped all the trainers in the cave because I had no mons, so I might be underlevelled. Thankfully, all the trainers are skippable, but that might be a problem for later fights

LMAO TREE shuckle is amazing

NPCs giving you pokeballs is good, for people who cant afford to buy them

Pokedex entries are interesting!

The player isnt given any directions on how to reach the forest

Wild shuckles are strong enough so that grinding is unnecessary, though

Can you enter the grotto before defeating the gym leader? if yes, does it break anything?

It would be better if some of the paths in the Grotto were grass-less, all the random encounters make it difficult
to traverse the area. I know you can buy repels, but repels only work if your pokemon's level is higher than wild pokemon

Shouldn't Pure shuckle be called "flying" shuckle? or winged shuckle?

R3 level jump is big, you end up fighting a lvl 29 shuckle out of nowhere. Luckily, you have area-specific wild Shuckles that are both high level and counter enemy shucjkles. It does encourage you to change Shuckles around though

Nice touch that you provide us with areas to interact with stronger Shuckles even on the island, and the masterball might make things easy for some people - but would otherwise help them if underlevelled.

whoa is the choice impactful in any way? Or is it just for flavor?

eye shuckle party sprite has its eye moving, nice touch!

The last Shuckle battle is very difficult, it's way overlevelled. Reduce it to around 45-50. Alternatively, allow the player to explore the island and fight in the gym to gain some exp BEFORE the fight. Or both.

Small touches here and there show that you care for the game - OW sprites matching Trainer sprites, the cool Shuckle sprites, the items, and you've made quite a lot of maps, too. There's also a nice Town Map in the menu!

Suggestions:

Try to use non-default Gym Interiors next time ,to give your game a more unique flavor!

If you are having trouble with typos, use an external document editor with correction features, e.g. libre office. Write your text there, let it find the typos, correct as needed, and then copy each dialogue block to your game!

The Cave shouldn't be called "Route 3", since it's not a route!

The encounter rate in the cave is a bit high, and should be reduced

As I said before, the Grotto's location is difficult to find, and the player doesn't get any info about it. You should use different tiles, like the ones you use in the Grotto's exit, (differently shaded stripes of grass) to indicate there's an entrance there. The player can only guess that from the Town Map in the menu.

Poison Bug Shuckle and any shuckle with a huge name should have it shortened cause you cant see it in-battle. Bonus points if you give them pun names (eg Bug Shuckle could be called "Bugle" Poison-Bug could be called "Toxickle"etc)

I do believe that encounter rates are too high, or grass is placed on (rather than around) traversible paths, and there's a lot of trainers

It'd make for a great revelation if Aly's choice was the bad choice all along, and she was the one trying to maintain Shuckle in power. I liked the revelation, although it felt like the execution was a bit fast.

Nice to see unique movesets for the last shuckle, but, man, they are extremely overpowered.

The game has a lot of charm - Shuckles, obviously - and you've got a lot of the battle sprite aesthetics down. I think you can make the sprites even better if you don't simply combine parts of other mons, but try making your own too! (Or make them look more than the sum of their parts, so that it's not instantly recognizable where they come from).

While getting to some places was a bit tedious (mainly a lot of encounters on your way, and many Trainers) the mapping overall was good, with the exception being some interiors and the first city, after the starting town.

Anyway, I mentioned before that if Aly turned out to be the big bad, instead of Albert, it would feel more impactful - since it was her that was guiding you through the game, while Albert was seen as suspicious from the start. But that means more work on your part to make two separate endings, perhaps?

The plot had some interesting concepts, with some more refining, they'll have a bigger impact. For instance, it is shown that the player was transferred to the Shuckle region by Albert, in order for the former to solve the latter's Ho-Oh Shuckle problem. If Aly was the one actively trying to maintain the world and was guarding Shuckle, and he couldn't beat her, it would make more sense for him to seek out the player. What you are getting to in terms of plot, although within a silly-sounding premise as it pertains to Shuckle, has a very good basis, showing you have a vivid imagination, so I hope you get to make more games in the future!

Here's how you can go about it to improve the game, if you intend on releasing a complete version eventually (aside from fixing the major bugs):

Add some unique shuckle moves for the different shuckles

Change the map names to intelligible names

Mention that you have to go back to Aly after getting the HM

Try making the sprites more unique when it comes to the different parts of other mons (though they definitely look great as they are)

Reduce tall grass and encounter rates, remove some Trainers (especially in Route 4)

Fix the typos. This is more important than you think, as it could drive off potential players!

Let the player explore the last city before fighting the last battle with Ho-Oh Shuckle, and reduce its level

Give the player a break after the Albert/Aly fight, so that they can prepare for Ho-Oh Shuckle

Don't let the player catch non-Shuckle mons

Give the characters and cutscenes some more time to flesh out their dialogue

Don't overdo it with choice prompts unless they have in-game consequences

Turn Shuckle names into puns

And that's it from me! Please make sure to fix those big bugs asap, players will get permanently stuck!
By polishing the game even further, you will make it more comfortable for players to enjoy!

thanks for playing my game. :) I will fix the bugs as fast as I can. I'm honestly surprised you didn't get the town's names were all references.(especially Cthulhu)

I kind of like the outcome as it is, between Alyson and Albert, where nether of them are necceraliy in the wrong and it is ultimently up to Albert to let him help fix his mistake or not. Also if your having trouble with the god shuckle fight try using shell shuckle.

you mentioned full stops a couple times what does that mean?

AenaonDogsky · Sep 3, 2022

Shuckle the God said:
thanks for playing my game. :) I will fix the bugs as fast as I can. I'm honestly surprised you didn't get the town's names were all references.(especially Cthulhu)

I kind of like the outcome as it is, between Alyson and Albert, where nether of them are necceraliy in the wrong and it is ultimently up to Albert to let him help fix his mistake or not. Also if your having trouble with the god shuckle fight try using shell shuckle.

you mentioned full stops a couple times what does that mean?

Nice, get a hotfixed version up for those two major bugs first, players won't be able to progress. Then you can take care of the others at your pace!

Oh, I think I got what you were going for with them, but the events went by quite fast, perhaps a bigger focus on giving them reasons for that and fleshing it out would make it more impactful.

A full stop is this .
This sentence doesn't have a full stop at the end
This one does.

TechSkylander1518 · Sep 4, 2022

(wrote some of this before reading Dogsky's review, so I repeat a few things

)

Appreciate the touch of updating the trainer card! It's often overlooked!

The Shuckle edits are fun! (I actually somewhat disagree with Dogsky's point about making them look different from the Pokemon they're spliced from - I'd normally agree, but since the idea is that they're the result of a normal region being transformed, I think it makes sense with the lore, although maybe you'd be sacrificing design quality if you stuck with that.) I love that they continue to evolve and aren't just elemental Shuckles and nothing else! And I appreciate them fitting different roles in battle, too, so they're not just different-typed versions of the same mon!

That town map came out great, you seem to have a really good handle on the style!

The starters in the flashback matching the player's choice was a nice touch!

I think "someone altered the world so every Pokemon is Shuckle" is a fun balance of serious plot and a goofy premise! (I'm not very familiar with Lovecraft, but I think the naming pattern fits nicely with a powerful being altering the world, and with Shuckle's tentacles, haha)

If the "adventure" option is just "challenge every gym", I don't think it's really needed in the intro (especially when it's said again after giving your name)

"creatures called Shuckle" is a funny line, but it feels odd to have just that for the monologue. (Honestly, I don't think you need the standard intro that much - it's not even clear who's talking to the player, and there's not really any information that isn't repeated almost immediately after.)

Why not just set the mom event to autorun/player touch instead of making the player go up and interact with her?

The starter Shuckles aren't displayed when the player makes their choice, so it's basically just picking the type. (Which I guess would be the case anyways - I dunno, I feel like it'd be nice to see the designs all the same)

Oak doesn't approach the player to hand them their stuff.

A lot of your interior maps are bigger than usual, which isn't bad in itself, but it kind of calls attention to how they're also emptier than usual - no flavor text, and usually nothing from the NPCs but a little quip. (The hidden base feels especially empty, with just three people on a white floor, and yet it's a 14x12 map - bigger than the marts)

Another thing I disagree with Dogsky on, I think using the tiles of the original gyms could work fine - but I think you ought to try to use them in unique ways, not just repeat the gym designs themselves. (It also calls more attention to places where you've used the default maps and events, like Bill and the starter cutscene)

Most of the dialogue options when you first meet Alyson are totally unnecessary.

The NPC dialogue gets really repetitive at times. A lot of trainers basically say three variations of the same sentence - once before battle, once when they lose, once when you talk to them in the overworld.

The flashback uses Gen 4-style overworlds, but Kangaskhan uses a Gen 3 sprite when it appears?

The characters calling the other Pokemon "weird Shuckle" is undercut a bit by the game displaying the Pokemon's actual name, and the dex entry if you catch it. (The game doesn't acknowledge you catching it, either)

Marts only give status-restoring items after the player has their first badge - a little annoying if you choose to get HM01 before getting your first badge, because you run into Toxic and Thunder Wave then.
Same's true for Repels - with only three different Shuckles in the cave, it gets old pretty quick.

Some maps use FRLG music, but others use Gen 4 music, and the difference is kind of noticeable.

Characters alternate between calling everything a Shuckle and calling them Pokémon. Personally, I think it'd be funnier to stick with just Shuckle - make all the items say stuff like "it heals a Shuckle by 20HP", have Shuckle Centers instead of Pokemon Centers, that sort of thing.

Nothing says you need the badge to use Cut - it doesn't take much to figure out that you should go to the gym when it's the only thing there, of course, but it still felt a but odd.

Shark Shuckle doesn't seem very different from Water Shuckle - I was expecting it to be colored more like Sharpedo, tbh.

Maybe I just missed it, but there didn't seem to be an Exp Share anywhere?

The lore of the HMs seems a little all-over-the-place. Allyson says she made Fly by tweaking Cut, which feels weird on its own - but you're told this after Bridget just said you can Fly outside of battle now that you have her badge, implying it was already a thing.

The entrance to Silent Grotto wasn't really clear - I think some kind of shadow in front of it would help make it more clear.

Why not explain the rules to the Shaman Challenge before the player agrees?

Why does Allison want you to fight the Rhyhorn? It doesn't seem like it's causing any problems.

Nothing tells you to go to Route 4 - it's kind of that same thing of "You can figure out based on where you haven't gone, but it'd still be nice to have it said directly."

Most of the Shuckle's names are so long that they cause errors in the UI - they're too big for the databoxes or the party windows, and sometimes they even cut off messages.

I think you should try for more pun-based names, like Dogsky said, or at least try doing, say, Bug-kle, Poison-kle, etc. to cut down on characters.

A lot of dialogue options don't offer any real difference - I know it's something the canon games do, too, but I don't think it's actually that popular...

With no Apricorns, Kurt's totally useless. Same for the Move Reminder and the lack of Heart Scales.

I think there's definitely some interesting potential with the sibling conflict, but there's not really much buildup - you barely see Albert, the reveal of Allyson being his sister doesn't really change that much (it's not like you really knew much about her to begin with), and their goals seem totally aligned - they both help the player defeat God Shuckle. I think it'd be good to explore a little about why they might still oppose each other, maybe explore the theme of control a little more. Albert wants to undo everything, but he's not doing anything to accomplish that, other than letting the player get there on their own - maybe Allyson thinks he's not taking responsibility? (He doesn't seem to be considering what will happen to the world he's created, after all) And maybe in turn, Albert is worried that Allyson is just going to try to control the region again? (Maybe she makes the player catch the God Shuckle instead of defeating it?)

You've still got the project file in the folder - you might find this guide useful.

The title screen just says "Pokemon", not "Pokemon Shuckle"?

Player's house is missing BGM.

The PCs in the player's room and the move reminder/deleter house don't do anything.

Viewing the town map in the player's house or in Nyarlathotep Town displays the Essen region.

It seems like you've left every map transfer with the direction set to Retain. This usually isn't an issue, but there's a few times where the player should be facing a different direction - for example, entering Azathoth City from the trees on Route 1, you'd expect the player to be facing down, towards the City, not up at the trees they just came from. (Other locations like this - Route 3 to Hastour Town, secret base)

You can get as far as getting HM01 without picking up your starter.

Clarence's dialogue says Bill: Hello! I'm Clarence!

Clarence gives the developer explanation for how wallpapers work, and the gym guy says "this is an example of a Pokemon gym".

Route 2, Route 3, Silent Grotto, Route 4, and Broken Forest all display indoor battlebacks in battle.

These ladders didn't play any SFX, but all the others did.

Player doesn't turn to face Phill, Phill doesn't adjust based on where the player is (Same for Kanghaskhan)

Talking to Allison after Kangaskhan, she still says "Go get the HM." (she says it in grey text, too, not red)

The house in Azazoth doesn't have its own music, so it plays the secret base's theme when you exit from it, and but the city theme when you enter from the city.

The Hiker in the Yig Town PMC can be interacted with repeatedly for infinite Poke Balls.

You have to pass Betty to trigger the Picnicker battle in Yig Gym.

Only the player has a reflection.

Harsh sunlight on Route 2 can trigger even when it's night.

This guy on Route 4 can block the way.

This trainer in the fourth gym doesn't do anything.

That tree by the gate is cut off.

That corner of the water has void poking out.

Through the whole game, Pokémon was always spelled as pokemon, and Shuckle wasn't capitalized

Young trainer you do you know of this world? - Young trainer, do you know
Trainer what is you name? - Trainer, what is your
I remember your \PN - I remember, you're \PN
You should probably tell your mom where your going - where you're going
I think professor oak wanted to see you - Professor Oak
Remember he lives on top of the hill - Remember, he lives on top
also take these - also, take these
What year is it again? - What year is it, again?
There so much better than the old ones - They're so much better
I wonder if bug shuckles live in route 1 - I wonder if Bug Shuckles live in Route 1
Shuckle an excellent choice - Shuckle, an excellent choice
you should probably hed to the town up the road. - head to
Here take this pokedex to help you on your journey - Here, take this PokéDex
Oak you'll also need these - Oak: You'll also need
some wierd people in that cave - some weird
Why are you here - Why are you here?
???:No we did not take the HM but, we know who did - ???: No, we did not take the HM, but we know who did
???:I don't think so - ???: I don't
???:You stumbled here on acident then? - ???: You stumbled here on accident, then?
Whats With all the mystery - What's with all the mystery?
There was one before this where trainers battle with all sorts of shuckles. - There was one before this, where trainer battled
Will both challangers take their positions -challengers
Lets have us - Let's
I'll be winning though. - winning, though
Go (starter)! Go, (starter)!
\PN! are you ok? I mentioned your championship match and your face went blank for a second are you ok? - \PN! Are you ok? I mentioned your championship match, and your face went blank for a second, are you ok?
Allyson:Some one named Albert destoryed - Allyson: Someone named Albert destroyed
Their base is in Hastour town there you will find the HM - Their base is in Hastour Town. There, you will find the
Hello I'm phill - Hello, I'm Phill.
I bet your weak - you're
You are strong - missing period
Wow your strong - Wow, you're strong.
I'm refueld - refueled
Do you know where they poison shuckles are? - where the poison
I'm bored let's battle - I'm bored, let's battle
I see the exit so how about a battle. - I saw the exit, so how about a battle?
I'm growing some apricorns do you like them? - I'm growing some apricorns, do you like them?
Hello I'm from the hoen region - Hello, I'm from the Hoenn
it's me phill. - It's me, Phill.
The building infront of us is where they're keeping the HM so aproach with caution. - The building in front of us is where they're keeping the HM, so approach with caution.
You wont stop us from keeping control over this region. - You won't stop us
Find your own region don't take ours. - Find your own region, don't take ours
I belive this is what you - believe
Well have it you've got this far I wouldn't want to stand in your way. - Well, have it. You've got this far, I wouldn't
You got the Hm. - HM
Awesome I'll make sure to report this - Awesome, I'll be
Great job getting the Hm back, we'll start anlalising it right away to reproduce it for other to use. - Great job getting the HM back, we'll start analyzing it right away to reproduce it for others to use.
I fought a wierd Shuckle - weird
There was a wier Shuckle -weird
This means the reigon which is destroyed - region
Here, have this TM too. - have this TM, too
My Bug shuckle already knows - You haven't been capitalized the types anywhere else - technically, you should be, especially since they're part of the species name, too, but this stands out as the only time it is
Youngster MORICE is in all caps, no other trainers are?
I realy want to get a poison bug shuckle. - I really
Nice weather were having. - we're
It is hard to catch shuckles with out pokeballs. - Poké Balls
I heard there are some wierd shamans - weird
You'll never beat Betty - lose dialogue missing period
beat me if you can - missing period
a way to replecate the Hm technology - a way to replicate the HM
We call it Hm 2. - HM
I think It would be more usefull to you than to us - I think it would be more useful
We have done some resaerch and it turns out that what has happend to the old reigon is that some powerfull pokemon it using its psycic powers tomind control and cast illusions over the whole reigon. -
the hole in the psycic projection - psychic
shaman challange - challenge
The rules are simple defeat all four shaman - The rules are simple: defeat
Look another shuckle from the reigon before - Look, another Shuckle from the region before
why don't you fight it? - Why don't you
good job fighting it. - Good job
Albert's powerfull psycic pokemon. - powerful psychic
accurances of these shuckles - occurrences
I'll explain more latter. - later
Congrats you beat all the shamans here is your reward - Congrats, you beat all the shamans, here
Bye there - lose dialogue missing period
Yours is cooler though - cooler, though
Your's is cooler though - Yours is cooler, though
Your strong - You're
I got to run realy fast - really
Your's is cooler - Yours is cooler, though
Your cooler though - You're
Your even cooler - You're
I'm tired how about a battle. - I'm tired, how about a battle?
Sorry I got none. - Sorry, I got
Have you ever wonderd if you were a shuckle what kind of shuckle would you be?
I'm suposed to - supposed
I can't wait to go to mega island - Mega Island
How about a break from fixing stuff. - should end in ?
I gotta go fix stuff - missing period
Helo there - Hellow
your time in Cthulu town - Chtulu Town
Sun flower badge - Sunflower Bade
Sence this is the third gym you have beaten I am suposed to give - Since this is the third gym you have beaten, I am supposed
from a far away land letting pokemon mega evolve - a far-away land, letting Pokémon Mega Evolve
I've done some reaserch and the shuckle which has created this reigon is activley keeping it up, - I've done some research, and the Shuckle which has created this region is actively
also extremly powerful and the onlything that stands - extremely powerful, and the only thing
Maybe Next Time then. - Maybe next time
Pokemon That can - Pokémon that can
I cam here to train but, all the pokemon are strong - I came here to train, but all the Pokémon are
Allyson:The shuckle were looking for could strike at any time so be carefull. Also take this. - Allyson: The Shuckle we're looking for could strike at any time, so be careful. Also, take this.
Allyson:Your a better shuckle trainer than I so, - Allyson: You're a better Shuckle trainer than I, so
Nyarlathotep town -Nyarlathotep Town
Albert:\PN I need your help - Albert: \PN, I need you
\PN I have made a grave mistake. - \PN, I have made
tried to recreate the world which is why I need you help - the world, which is why I need your help
Isn't there anyone else. - should end in ?
Who Is she? - Who is she?
He is a lier he wiped over the whole world - He is a liar, he wiped over
- Did he wipe over the whole world, or just the one region?
The time is right defeat him - The time is right, defeat him
Please don't drive me off I need your help - Please don't drive me off, I need your help
Do it \PN! - Do it, \PN!
Can't you see I'm not lying. - Can't you see, I'm not lying!
Drive of Albert -Drive off Albert
Now we defeat the powerfull shuckle and end this non sence. - the powerful Shuckle and end this nonsense
Now that this is over things should - Now that this is over, things should
Why don't you go try to beat the champion at the pokemon leauge. - Why don't you go try to beat the champion at the Pokémon League?
some wierd stuff going on - weird
I who ever is investigating it - I hope whoever is
Look Flowers - Look, flower
awww, you missed them - Awww should be capitalized
Today Is a nice day - Today is
for a picnick - picnic
Today Is a beautifull day - Today is a beautiful
good luck - Good should be capitalized
You're not as good as Rosetta - missing period
Your still not as good as Rosetta - You're still not as good
Wow your good. - Wow, you're good

Pokedex entries

and it's eyes started - its eyes
It is very poisonus - poisonous
This shuckle lives in caves like regular shuckle except it eats dirt - like regular Shuckle, except
Apon evolving this shuckle becomes infected and spits venom at it enemies - Upon evolving, this Shuckle becomes infected and spits venom at its enemies.
It's new fins - Its
The more leaves on it's head alow it to absob more sunlight and turn more of it into energy. - The more leaves on its head allow it to absorb more
It's beautifull wing make far more pwerfull and gracefull than before. - Its beautiful wings make it far more powerful and graceful than before.
It is carefull to watch it's opponent - It is careful to watch its opponent
As it's power increases it's ears grom even longer. - As its power increases, its ear grow even longer.
Though It's third eye is not on it, it can still see very weel out of it. - Though its third eye is not on it, it can still see very well out of it.

In Development Pokemon Shuckle

Attachments

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos

Attachments

Shuckle the God

Ancient being of pure energy

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos

TechSkylander1518

Wiki Dweeb