FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD25 → Escuro

Escuro

By azurenimbus

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CategoryRankScoreCount
Innovation233.84
Mood1223.00
Overall1443.10
Fun1832.72
Audio2242.24
Graphics2832.34
Humor2871.73
Theme2992.20
Coolness115010

Comments

jacic 2012-12-18 03:23

Fun idea, but a bit confusing at first.

permanente1600 2012-12-18 05:34

i agree, the idea is fun and discovering the patterns was interesting,but a tutorial or intro screen with a description would have made it less confusing.

loren 2012-12-18 21:34

Nice puzzle, don't think I've played one similar. Like the color choices

mcc 2012-12-19 06:58

I really, *really* liked this. It did a good job of making me feel like something Important was happening before I got the rules, and it did a good job of slowly easing me into forcing me to understand what's happening. The fact by a few levels in I actually did (I think) start to work out the rules and was solving puzzles with intent rather than by trial and error was a really cool feeling. I did eventually get to a puzzle I couldn't solve and seems... actually unsolvable?

Some things that would have helped, I think: If the mouse isn't used it would be better if the cursor were hidden, as was it was misleading, I kept thinking, maybe the mouse does something after all?. Also I think this kinda needs a save feature. I'd like to put this down and come back to it but if I do that I lose my place. (I've already replayed once to the "unplayable" level after thinking, oh wait, One More Thing I Didn't Try.)

More thoughts rot13'd for spoilers: V jnag gb guvax bs guvf nf fbeg bs na nofgenpg znmr, nygubhtu gung'f abg fgevpgyl npphengr. Gur bar pbzcynvag V qvq fbeg bs unir vf gung vg frrzrq yvxr nyy gur yriryf jrer "begubtbany"-- gung vf, vg frrzrq rirel yriry V cynlrq, rkprcg gur "haorngnoyr" bar, lbh pbhyq orng ol uvggvat fgevatf bs nyy bar qverpgvba va n ebj, fnl, 3E, Y, 3Q, 5H [jva]. V xrcg jnvgvat sbe vg gb svaq n jnl gb qrfvta n chmmyr jurer V pbhyqa'g jva ol gelvat rnpu pbzcnff qverpgvba va ghea hagvy V sbhaq n fbyhgvba. V'z abg fher vs gung'f cbffvoyr jvgu gur cevzvgvirf lbh unir, ohg vg jbhyq or vagrerfgvat gb gel. Znlor gung unccraf va gur yngrfg yriryf, V'z abg fher.

Naljnl, gur "haorngnoyr" yriry sbe zr unq guerr oybpxf va gur hccre yrsg naq guerr oybpxf va gur obggbz evtug, fgnttrerq n ovg. gurer jrer gjb oybpxf ng cbfvgvbaf, V thrff 2 naq 6, naq uvggvat "yrsg" yvtugrarq bar naq qnexrarq gur bgure naq uvggvat "evtug" qvq gur rknpg bccbfvgr. Uvggvat hc naq qbja qvq abg rssrpg gurfr gjb oybpxf ng nyy. V pbhyq svaq inevbhf pbzovangvbaf bs HYQE gung tenqhnyyl jvcrq bhg gur bgure oybpxf, ohg gurer frrzrq gb or mreb jnl gb rire trg gubfr ynfg gjb bhg orpnhfr V pbhyqa'g pyrne bar jvgubhg rkcybqvat gur bgure, naq beqre qvqa'g znggre fvapr gubfr oybpxf jrer vzzhar gb H,Q.

namuol 2013-01-05 00:02

3 hours! Great job!

Cool puzzle game.

It can be very hard to tell how close one square is to being "over the edge". I think it would be a little more playable if you used numbers instead of colors. Or something like bars filling up/emptying.

Another thing to play with might be some sort of animation illustrating how the "light" is being distributed whenever you press a key, so you can piece together the series of actions you need to make without too much guesswork.

It's a stretch to fit it over the theme, but it definitely has a sort of "vampiric" vibe to it.

zelen3d 2013-01-05 00:25

For a three hour game, this is great! Much better than I did in five hours anyway!

7soul 2013-01-05 05:17

Loved the mood and the audio. Really hard game though

sestren 2013-01-05 16:33

You have a knack for very elegant puzzle design. Your games are always a treat to play. Loved this entry.

van-merwan 2013-01-05 19:37

Bright idea for a puzzle game. :)

conflictivelabs 2013-01-05 21:03

Elegant and simple. It's quite confusing at first but then it gets dangerously addictive. And 3 hours? wow, gratz!

blockbrains 2013-01-05 21:17

Lovely concept :))

atkinssj 2013-01-05 22:06

Occasionally it was difficult to tell if the tiles were one step from white - perhaps there could be some kind of indication? Otherwise, I really like this - especially that it's simple enough that you didn't need instructions, and yet very difficult.

tau7153 2013-01-05 22:08

Interesting mechanic, however, rather confusing. Could have used a tutorial.

ilo 2013-01-06 00:41

Your games always demonstrate a clear aptitude for design. :)

I don't think an explicit tutorial would add much; the mechanics should become clear through the process of playing. Each puzzle could reveal a truth about the game's mechanics, which prepares the player for the puzzles ahead. The player is then required to bring this knowledge together in various ways as the puzzles become more complex.

I wonder what effect having fewer steps between no colour and shining (is it about 9 currently?) would make.

triplevisiongames 2013-01-06 13:40

Love the music. Loved having to work out how to play it but I think it could do with just a little bit more feedback for the player. Different sounds perhaps or something else to hint at what is happening.

zenmumbler 2013-01-06 19:14

It seems like a nice puzzle, and since coming up with the idea for the mechanics is the hard part of this game, it's impressive you got this done in 3 hours. I'm just not that much of a straight up puzzle fan, I'm afraid.

puzzlem00n 2013-01-06 21:38

Assuming it ends when 6 blocks come out, I beat it. Thoughts:

Bad:
-Sometimes, things like these drive me up a wall in frustration, but that could just be me.
-The words on the white screen go by a bit too fast.

Good:
+It's got that little puzzlely spark your games always seem to have.
+A nice theme interpretation.

bneutral 2013-01-07 03:19

Interesting, and complicated. I gave up at the 6 block puzzle. Also two games for the same LD eh? Crazy.

soy_yuma 2013-01-07 10:19

It's simple yet complete. I like that and that you made it in 3 hours (that's crazy...) :-)

kgs0142 2013-01-07 15:25

I love the idea and music!!
Simple but awesome!

orunbot 2013-01-08 00:08

For all the spoon fed modern games, it was refreshing to have to figure this one out for myself. Made each little win really feel worth something.