Train of Thought by anissen

[raw]
made by anissen for LD31 (COMPO)
Colourful and action-packed word game.

Instructions:
Type words to create a railway track to the terminating station. But hurry before the train departs!

Controls:
Arrow keys: Move the cursor
A-Z: Type letters
Backspace: Erase last letter
Enter: Submit word
Escape: Scrap word

Ratings

Coolness 42% 1631
Overall 3.18 578
Fun 3.00 636
Graphics 3.50 305
Humor 2.33 677
Innovation 3.74 168
Mood 2.73 731
Theme 3.37 843

Feedback

JamesOfJames
08. Dec 2014 路 03:37 UTC
I like the idea; wasn't able to get the tracks to turn, and backspace kept sending me to the previous page on my browser, unfortunately.
馃帳 anissen
08. Dec 2014 路 15:41 UTC
@JamesOfJames: Thanks for your feedback. The issues that you mention should be fixed now. They was caused by a problem on the *webpage* that the game is embedded in, do'h!
jovoc
08. Dec 2014 路 23:12 UTC
Love the idea. I actually made a similar game a few years ago, mine had a car instead of a train though, yours is a little more elegant. I love word games and this was really great. I think the time pressure element is a little too much, and doesn't fit with word games, it still feels like enough of a puzzle trying to reach the goal without running out of track or boxing yourself in a corner. Also it would be cool to let you cross your tracks and match your old letters like scrabble. But overall great job, and I love the way you got a nice flat modern style but still kept it colorful and hints of the railroad era in the font.
Tiago Ling Alexandre
09. Dec 2014 路 10:50 UTC
Very cool and original game! I like the smoothness of the tweens and the simple controls. Also very "puzzly" (or my english vocabulary needs a lot more training!).
Good job, congrats!
fierysquirrel
09. Dec 2014 路 11:59 UTC
The idea is very nice, I love the colors and it was a bit difficult
Trixton
10. Dec 2014 路 02:50 UTC
Well executed, innovative game but it didn't tickle my fancy.
RadStar
10. Dec 2014 路 20:48 UTC
Cool idea! Too bad I don't have a very good english vocabulary to play more =)
Technomancer Game Studio
10. Dec 2014 路 20:59 UTC
good game and good idea
BK-TN
10. Dec 2014 路 21:02 UTC
Absolutely impossible for someone with a different main language.. but I still liked it a lot!
Justin Mullin
10. Dec 2014 路 21:03 UTC
I'm always up for a good word game, and this one didn't disappoint. Unfortunately it didn't seem to let me pass level three, I landed on both of the colored circles, and nothing happened. Maybe I'm misunderstanding a mechanic? Still, I had some good fun here.
PurpleApes
10. Dec 2014 路 21:15 UTC
I like the the idea! Scrabble and typing!
LeReveur
10. Dec 2014 路 21:38 UTC
Original, but I didn't get the point, I don't understand what words I have to write, can I write any word with the giving letters, or do I have to find "the" ones needed ? It's not my native language, I guess that not helps a lot... ^_^
themushroomsound
10. Dec 2014 路 21:42 UTC
Hard but nice :)
I think I made it glitch by typing a long, nonsense word going further than the width of the screen.
leffe108
10. Dec 2014 路 23:06 UTC
Took some tries to figure out how the game works, but after that it was great fun.
lase
11. Dec 2014 路 04:20 UTC
I really like this idea! I happened to suck at it, but I could see this really hooking some players.
mrexcessive
11. Dec 2014 路 13:33 UTC
Hi there. Nice idea, wasn't sure how to turn corners. The letters, but not coloured background discs, were sometimes left behind at level end. Shame no sounds. Liked the font and pastel colours. Good job!
oh_andrej
11. Dec 2014 路 14:44 UTC
Great idea and nice smooth visuals. Can be a bit hard at times but then I'm not the best at these types of find-the-word games :P Would be nice to have a timer on screen or some other way of telling when the train will depart; if there is any I didn't notice it.
redoxkun
11. Dec 2014 路 19:54 UTC
Nice idea. I found quite difficult for a person with not fluent English. Also like the graphics and how the elements are move on the screen.
GAFBlizzard
11. Dec 2014 路 23:40 UTC
This is a good idea and might be a big hit with a bit of polish. Some things I noticed:

1. Not allowing 2-letter words makes it really difficult to hit certain squares.

2. I discovered you can go back over your own track which saved me when I would have been stuck due to no 2-letter words. This is a positive for me, though.

3. Going back to the very first level with any loss is pretty harsh.

4. Sound effects and music would be great, of course.

5. Is there already code to verify that you can finish a level with the letters you are given? If not that would be good so you don't give players impossible levels.

6. Did the instructions mention that you cannot use a word twice in one level? If so I did not see it, and that caught me by surprise.

7. The letters vanishing right when the train starts robs you of an extra moment where you could be thinking of words. Maybe this could appear somewhere else on the screen instead, like a word balloon from the train.

8. After I played a while, the letters 'M' and 'E' appeared in the middle. of the level for no apparent reason.

9. I got the blue bonus circle once but never figured out what it did.
rvmook
15. Dec 2014 路 03:29 UTC
Like the idea, it was a bit hard for me though. I would've liked the letters to stay visible after you enter a word. When I was stressing to find the next one that 2 second animation were 2 seconds I didn't want to lose. Also, maybe make it less unforgiving by just restarting the level when you die. Overall, with a little polish here and there this could be a super fun and addictive game