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TerraFriedSheep

Member Since 04 Feb 2008
Offline Last Active Today, 06:31 AM

Topics I've Started

Rainbows Below

19 May 2013 - 12:50 PM

The final weekend of April has become a fixture in many GMC members’ calendars in recent years, the reason being to immerse themselves in relentless game making and community spirit. This is all because the GMC Jam takes the stage for its second time in the quaternary event that sees members get their creative hats on and produce a game in just 72 hours. These games are then presented to the community for a voting period in which they receive votes and feedback.  As my community prize I offered to review the winning entry of this 10th GMC Jam here in the Reviewers Choice forum, so sit back and enjoy while I pick apart the game that took the title. I present to you:

 

Rainbows Below

by Lune

 

“Colour, it’s something we take for granted, isn’t it?” Not anymore in this world Lune has created in this game “Rainbows Below”. A narrative cut-scene presented at the opening of this game puts you right in the mind of the character as they strive to climb up and find colour, so that there can “be Rainbows Below again”. It isn’t something you see too often in games created in such a short amount of time, but Lune really pulled this cut-scene out of the bag. You can’t help but find yourself sympathising with the story line, portrayed using static images drawn in the distinctive graphical style of the game blended with an inquisitive voice over, which itself fits nicely over a backing music track.

 

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“If I could reach it- If I could stretch my hand out and take some of it, could I bring it back down to share with everyone?”

 

With the scene well and truly set, you are then presented with the game itself. There are no problems getting acquainted with the controls as it simply a case of using the arrow keys to climb, slide and jump your way across the perilous cliff face. You are left under no illusion that the aim of this game is to climb as high as you can, in the hope of finding colour once more. So with that in mind, you start climbing. A pleasant rock-hammering sound effect plays for each tap of your climbing axe, and accompanied with the scraping sound of sliding and a few extra noises the sound effects are minimal yet sufficient to do justice to the game.

 

It doesn’t take long to hone your skills in this game, and before you know it you are climbing at a great pace. The timing of jumps becomes second nature, and you start to recognise patterns in the obstacles that the game presents you with and you are able to tackle them with little problem.

 

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Some obstacles are trickier than others, but the variety keeps the game interesting.

 

Having said that, I don’t want to give the impression that the game gets boring quickly- it doesn’t! With each poor decision you make (like flinging yourself over a rock wall because you climbed just too high on its opposite face) you feel compelled to give it another go. You know that the cause of your death was most probably your fault; perhaps you were rushing or simply got complacent. And it’s with that knowledge that you know you can do better, and this alone makes this game addictive and re-playable. But it doesn’t stop there, it seems each time you give the game another go it knows you want more, and variations of the obstacles and hazard setups apparently keep coming.

 

 

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Hazard variations were impressive.

 

I was really very impressed with the mixture of hazards, as I assumed it wouldn’t take long to have seen them all. Although partly true that you do see them all relatively quickly, you don’t see the full combination of them for a while. In fact, while playing this for the best part of an hour for this review, I was still seeing new challenges on my very last attempt!

 

When you are unfortunate enough to come to your death, the game simply lets you know how high you climbed and tallies up the number of enemies you took out on your climb. Although it saves your session highscore, upon restarting the game your score is lost. I think that is the one thing the game currently lacks and if it were to be developed further I would definitely consider online highscores to add an extra level of addictiveness to the game.

 

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Whatever your score, you feel you can do better.

 

Aside from that, this game really is a deserving winner of the 10th GMC Jam. You'd think a constant tapping sound effect would getting irritating- it doesn't. You'd think the gameplay would lose its novelty quickly- wrong again! And despite only being allowed to use one colour on top of grayscale (as defined by the Jam handicap this time round), I’m left feeling this game was vibrant and the atmosphere was perfect. Does the climber ever find colour and bring it back? I’ll let you discover the answer to that one…


Sophia's Spirits

20 October 2012 - 06:09 PM

Way back in the 4th GMC Jam, I offered a prize to the person who at the end of the jam had the highest score in my entry "Sclaw". I mainly made the game as a demonstration of concept, as in the end I had ideas but not enough time. Never-the-less, the battle for top spot was ferocious, and TheUltimate topped the highscore list with an impresive score of 20053 (and also second place with a score of 11111), so sure enough, I declared my promise in the official jam topic:

Congratulations winners! Looking forward to next jam- that will fall right in my holiday :yes:

And TheUltimate, as you are top of my games highscores, I'll have to keep to my promise and review your jam entry at some point!


And that "some point" has come! Firstly I apologise that it has taken me 344 days to complete, but a promise is a promise, so without further ado I present to you the review of:

Sophia's Spirits
by TheUltimate and IceMetalPunk


Created for the 4th GMC Jam, Sophia's Spirits was a hit among fellow jammers, coming in at an impressive 2nd place! In this review I hope to pick apart what made this game vote worthy for so many, while offering my own perspective on the game. Take note that the version of the game that I have reviewed here is 0.8, the version originally released for the jam. You can check the game topic here for an up-to-date version.


In this puzzle-platformer, you take on the role of a woman called Sophia Aquitas, with the objective of defeating the Tempest and saving the spirits of the dead! Upon starting the game, you are presented with three options: "Begin", "Story" and "Quit". The story is told through scrolls, each containing a small section of the tale. In order to reveal the entire plot, you must collect scrolls during the game. I liked this, as I wanted to know why a race of creatures known as the "Tempest" would come and threaten our world's "Afterlife".

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Impressive background graphics create an immediate atmosphere.


The basic gameplay involves moving Sophia around each level to reach the exit. The twist is that you can control different parts of the levels, which are split into quadrants, using "SinGates". Exiting the screen in any direction will also switch you to the opposite side of the screen that you left from. This is explained through the story as the universe is spherical.

After learning all the game techniques in the first few levels, things start to get interesting. The game really becomes mentally involving, and the platformer feel to the game quickly becomes replaced by a more puzzly impression.

Enemies are scattered here and there throughout levels, but I felt the game didn't actually gain much from having them. Equipped with a sword that you can throw with a hit of the spacebar (including through walls), the enemies were easy to kill and slightly detracted from the puzzle element of the game. I found my thought trail being periodically interupted to slay a beast, as opposed to working out which quadrants needed switching next.

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Enemies didn't add much to the challenge.


Along with the aforementioned scrolls, there were also what appeared to be CD's scattered thoughout the game which you could challenge yourself to collect, which added some variations to the way you had to think yourself through a level. Sure enough, these CD's unlocked alternative music tracks to listen to in a menu option that becomes available when you have them, "Secrets". Unfortunately you can't listen to them in the game.

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Collectables added some enjoyable side objectives to the game.


On the subject of music, this game contains a well made piece of music that enhances the atmosphere perfectly. The overall presentation of the game is good, and the graphics and music work well together to really place you in this quadrant shifting world!

The game ends rather abruptly as you find yourself back on the menu screen after not completing too many levels, but that aside it is very well made, and there has clearly been a lot of thought put into the level design. I found myself thinking I had messed a level up after an ill-timed jump, just to find that with a bit more quadrant switching I could find the exit in an alternative fashion. This sudden end made me realise I was sat there wanting more, which is a sign of a well made game- a feeling I imagine many people felt when playing this game during the evenings of November 2011. And it is this feeling that I believe would have compelled people to vote for this game; a satisfying difficulty of puzzles mixed with intuitive gameplay and added bonuses such as collectables and swish graphics and music make this game really impressive considering the 72 hour time frame there was in order to get it done!

Divided Existence

30 July 2012 - 11:36 PM

Divided Existence

This game reflects on the current generation leaving a world behind for the future generations to use. As you control your first character, you must be thinking about the next as you leave a path for your offspring to follow, ultimately both reaching your goal.

Requires foresight, patience and platforming skills.

There is also a wonderful cutscene if you complete the game!

DOWNLOAD FROM YYG SANDBOX

Thanks to Nijg whose music I used in this version.

Screenies:

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Jam Devlog:

Spoiler

Divided I Stand

30 April 2012 - 11:46 PM

Divided I Stand
GMC Jam 6 Entry

Download From YYG (4.2MB)

GAMEPLAY TIPS:
-Solar panels will recharge 1 energy per day per panel. Build lots of solar panels early game, and reinforce them.
-When you have a decent charge coming in each day, build energy stores to increase your total charge that you can store.
-You can now save up to build turrets (10 energy to build), and 360 turrets (which cost 20 energy to build), which will help fight off the enemies at night. The more you have, the less work you need to do with the Defender Drone.
-Each time an enemy hits your ground unit at night, you lose 1 energy from your energy store on the right of the HUD. Make it difficult for the enemies to hit you by hiding the Ground Unit in a spiral of ground, but make sure you can get your Defender Drone out.
-Aim to kill the bomb carrier enemys with your Defender Drone, especially the green ones, as they can blast through reinforced ground!

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Ejected from your duties as a worker robot, you are now free to build your own peaceful world. All is not well however, as other robots, jealous of your new life seek to destroy you and your tranquil planet. How many days can you survive, in Divided I Stand?

  • Build your own planet!
  • Manage your energy storage and recharge!
  • Defende against enemies with Gun Turrets and your Defender Drone!

Controls
DAY:
Left and Right - Move Ground Unit
Up and Down - Navigate Build Menu
Space - Execute selected action on build menu

NIGHT:
Up, Down, Left and Right - Move Defender Drone


Here is the devlog that I kept updated during the making of the game:
Spoiler

Rick O'Shea Staff Picked On Google Play

18 March 2012 - 07:22 PM

I was just taking a look at Google Play, the new place to grab your games for Android, and noticed Rick O'Shea is staff picked on the front page! This is great exposure for YYG, congratulations!

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Full size screenshot