Team Equilibrium

Bullet hell games are always fun and your idea of the two different modes representing chaos and order sounds like an enjoyable addition. As Philipp already said after your pitch, the main challenge might be to balance both modes and give them enough advantages and disadvantages so players wouldn't generally prefer one over the other. If projectiles and their paths are not predictable, the game might feel unfair and become frustrating, so you need to find a way of designing chaos that still has predictable motions.

G'Day lads!

1.) What I like:

I think it is really good that you try to make something with more minimalistic graphics so you can focus on the gameplay! This is a huge strength in my opinion. Also, the two state world system seems pretty interesting since it is a quite unique feature in comparison to other bullet hell shooters. I guess this will keep the experience fresh so the objectives change a bit from time to time.

2.) What I find problematic:

I think I have to out myself by saying that I personally am not a huge bullet-hell fan because constantly evading bullets for a long time period can become really annoying (Just play against 'Hush' in 'The Binding of Isaac' and you know what I mean). I guess the main challenge here is simply to not generate too much artificial difficulty as this can be very frustrating. Bullet-hells tend towards this issue so solving it can be quite hard.

3. Improvements:

I really think special power-ups and changing world states can make the game unique and exciting and improve the gameplay a lot because this is what you probably should focus on! If you get a good balance I am pretty sure it solves my previously stated issue. Give the player a break from avoiding bullets from time to time! Make the bullets clearly visible (let them blink like crazy if you need to). Nothing is more frustrating in bullet hells than being hit from something you could not see properly. I am pretty sure your game can be a lot of fun when you consider the points I have stated. Good luck to you folks!

I like your game idea. Keep the game simple so you can focus an the fun part! Fast paced action games like this should be very flow inducing, and for that the right difficulty is key. You could even consider adaptive difficulty, i.e. changing the difficulty live based on the players performance. GL&HF! 

I like your creative and deep interpretation of the theme of this course. Some of the mechanics remind me of the cute little puzzle game "Inner Tao" (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115870/Inner_Tao/) Which is also about managing and controlling the two opposites. I think this setting allows for a lot of freedom in designing the gameplay. I believe you can make a really cool game from this concept!

I think the idea of changing between different world states and having those “swap” the abilities of the player and the enemies is really cool. Having the state change ripple through the level rather than changing everything at once is also very nice because I imagine that it communicates very clearly to the player that the change is happening and gives them a certain amount of control about when their abilities change.

I’m not sure that limiting the color scheme to mostly black and white is an ideal choice, however. At least based on the mock-ups in your design document it may be very hard to see some objects or even bullets which might be very frustrating for the player.

1. The two constantly changing states is a nice twist of the genre
2. I imagine the changing of black and white might be unpleasend for the player. Think of the reason many programs have a light and dark mode to not strain your eyes depending on the environment light. Maybe change it to two not so extreme and more pleasing colors
3. Keep the focus on the player experience and not get carried away from great theme fitting ideas. It would be sad if the game is no fun to play in the end

I really like the game design idea. Keeping it simple for the eyes, as well simple to implement.

However for this type of gameplays I think that working on the proper difficulty for the players is key to a good game, so I think the time invested in balancing it should be maybe higher than planned. 

As another group with a Bullet Hell Game I find it very interesting to compare minor design decisions, which result in our groups having different types of Bullet Hell Games. I think that the changing states are a nice twist to the game. The idea of having abilities that represent those two states incorporates the theme even more, but depending on the type of player, on mode could become very annoying. I personally don't like reactive gameplay which is why the order mode, which has no way of attacking by yourself, could become bothersome. I think instead of only having a shield to reflect damage, it would be nice to spread the bullet spray in chaos mode and have them in an orderly line in order mode. 

Overall I am exited and look forward to the game.  

1) I like the small breaks introduced by the switch from chaos to order. Most Bullet hell games are always overwhelming me because they offer not even enough time to take a short breath.
2) I don't think "friendly fire" for enemies is a good idea in a bullet hell game. I would expect they will rather kill each other than hurt the player.
3) You could add special abilities with cooldown for the different world states like slowing down time in order state or something like that.

I like the simplicity of the visuals so you can fully concentrate on what's going on in the game.

To be honest I'm not sure about completely taking away the ability to shoot in the chaos state. Suddenly not being able to shoot anymore may seem a little counter-intuitive in a bullet hell.

Maybe varying the strength of the bullets and shields instead of taking them away temporarily may be a intermediate solution while still maintaining the theme. 

I LIKE how dynamic your idea seems. Two, constantly alternating worlds seem like a breath of fresh air for the genre. I appreciate you think about sound design already at this moment and want to incorporate it well!

I FEAR the friendly fire in enemy ranks would lead to situations, where enemies defeat themselves without involvement of the player, which would turn bullet hell into an idle game.

MAYBE instead of automatic friendly fire you could give the player an ability to convert already shot enemy bullets so that they become friendly fire. Then, the player could shoot own bullets in one state and reuse available bullets in another.

I like the visual translation of the chaos and order themes to your game.
Could become a great union of gameplay and artistic visuals, if you go for that.
It also seems very managable in this limited time. I'm looking forward to the final version.

1. I'm a huge fan of your simplistic approach for the artstyle  and think it fits the chaos and order theme very well.
2. The constant switching between light and dark might be a bit unpleasant for some players. 
3. Maybe you could implement some kind of "smoothening" the contrast as an option that can be selected.

Like: cool twist on bullethell games and I really dig the clean artstyle
Fear: player having vastly different abilitys (shoot or not) in each states could make reacting to them more difficult.
Suggest: You have a very minimalistic artstyle in a game type that tends to be a bit overwhelming, use that to your advantage and try keeping what you have polished.

Wow, yin yang / Black and white. Perfect to describe the relationship between chaos and order. Looking forward for your results!

Since you are keeping it simple with the design, I'd suggest you polish the gameplay and focus on that aspect. 

Like: The thought and thematic binding that you have given to the Order and Chaos theme is quite evident and well represented. The simplistic nature of the look and feel would allow you to really focus on the technical achievement you have laid out for yourself of integrating the visuals, audio and game logic.

Fear: I wonder if the order and chaos modes may be significantly different and challenging to balance relative to each other. On the flip side, the two significantly different modes of play may appeal to players.

Suggest: The addition of some random powerups/game changing abilities may feel rewarding to the player, even if they are rather simple in essence. I think this would increase the replay value of the game, and also allow players more flexibility in both game modes.

I love the interpretation of the theme. The minimalistic style gives you the opportunit to really focus on the core mechanics. I don't really find anything that I dislike, in the end its all going to be a question of balancing if thhe game is fun ooor not. But I'm looking forward to it 

Favorite aspect: Aesthetic. Ying yang is cool theme for a topic of opposing forces.

Least favorite aspect: Modes are the same. The modes don't seem opposing outside of the color and maybe could also play differently.

Single change: Add Wuji (absence of ying and yang). I don't exactly know how or where, but I really like the ying yang wuji triplet.

I like your thematic approach, I think yin & yang fits quite well into disorder/order theme. Furthermore, the genre you chose is surely a perfect fit for the chaos aspect of the game. Just keep in mind that maintaining the flow could be a bit tricky when it comes to STGs. I am excited to see how far you will enhance the concept of dynamic world state transitions.

I never played bullet hell games, so i dont really know what feedback i can give, but i actually like the idea of using Ying and yang as a representation of chaos and order and think you created a good base for your game to build on.

Here's one anonymous comment:

Your interpretation of the theme is very similiar to what I had in mind
myself but adapting it to a bullet hell game is something I did not
think about (now I wish I had though). The interpretation of the theme
fits so well for a bullet hell game and further solidifying it with
changing states and abilities is a really great concept. I hope that
this two-state approach to bullet hell's will allow you guys to make it
even crazier than the usual games from this genre. Something that will
be very interesting to see game design wise would be the frequency that
the 2 phases change in different levels/stages, maybe you can experiment
with that concept a little bit. Cant wait to see and play this game.