Connected Pylons by Pat AfterMoon

[raw]
made by Pat AfterMoon for LD30 (COMPO)
Puzzle/Action made with Unity3D

Use the arrow keys to move the green character.
Push the blocks to create an enlighten link from the light pylon to the dark pylon.
Avoid the bad guys or crush them with blocks.
Enjoy ;)

Note: Linux and OS/X build provided but not tested (feedback welcome)

Ratings

Coolness 61% 3
Overall 3.49 281
Audio 2.00 868
Fun 3.44 246
Graphics 2.55 895
Humor 2.38 519
Innovation 3.40 374
Mood 2.71 806
Theme 3.22 581

Feedback

PapaCheech
25. Aug 2014 · 01:10 UTC
this is such a good concept played this for a while! Nice job
shico
25. Aug 2014 · 01:35 UTC
This game is pretty amusing, it isn't really hard (at least not for the first 6 levels anyway which is all the farther I went before commenting). The enemy AI is extremely simple (they follow the wall) so you don't have to worry about them that much. I wish the game would give you a score or a timer though, after you've been pushing blocks for about 10 minutes it starts to feel a little pointless and some method of gauging how well you are doing besides what level you are on would probably help a good deal in that regard.
matthias_zarzecki
25. Aug 2014 · 02:24 UTC
Nice idea! simple and efficient
Xenolupus
25. Aug 2014 · 02:38 UTC
Really fun, just needs some better graphics.
StencylTuo
25. Aug 2014 · 03:10 UTC
I liked the concept. It did fit the theme. I found that if I just went around and killed the baddies while moving as few blocks as possible allowed me to then easily make the path to the end.
thedeadlybutter
25. Aug 2014 · 04:09 UTC
Didn't understand until a few seconds in, then fell in love with the idea. Well done!
Miziziziz
25. Aug 2014 · 04:38 UTC
dang, this is really cool. Like thedeadlybutter said, didn't understand from the description, but once I started playing, realized how cool it was
Beard
25. Aug 2014 · 04:39 UTC
I liked the idea, and found the game fun and entertaining.
mrexcessive
25. Aug 2014 · 05:09 UTC
Excellent. Best circuit/wiring game I've seen. Nice sounds too, everything just right. Good job!
kblaney
25. Aug 2014 · 05:42 UTC
Really neat idea for a simple puzzle game. I could see this being fleshed out with more enemy types and a timer, for a score attack type of game, or more puzzles and maybe multiple "energy" types that need connecting for a deeper puzzle experience.
suyoku
25. Aug 2014 · 05:51 UTC
Great job, the idea is amazing and the simplicity is great. I really enjoyed the graphic representation of the two sides and the transition between floors. I did feel like there was too much of the same between the levels (I got to level 4 and stopped). I really wish there had been some music (even something generated from autotracker-bu), just having the wall collision sound is annoying
pusheax
25. Aug 2014 · 07:46 UTC
Good style, I like the transition between levels. Mechanics are simple but effective.
katjap
25. Aug 2014 · 08:35 UTC
Cool game. Watched my gf play it for several hours. When she got to level 46 though, something seemed to break down algorithm-wise though as there's not enough blocks left to complete the level. Picture uploaded here: http://imgur.com/QEQfBuh (assuming i'm allowed to post links)
lspires
25. Aug 2014 · 08:42 UTC
I really liked this. It's a puzzle without a lot of stress. It gets harder as the levels go up, but it's largely just learn the strategy and kill the baddies or pen them off and connect your pylons. I liked that there was no scoring or anything, just solve and advance.
Macocco
25. Aug 2014 · 08:55 UTC
Solid game but gets boring really fast. Try increasing the skill-curve or adding optional achievements (e.g.time).
Pcholt
25. Aug 2014 · 09:20 UTC
Brilliant. Got to level 36 before I gave up. I'm sure I'll play this for more than 48 hours it took to write it... WIN!
Tarian
25. Aug 2014 · 09:37 UTC
Excellent, brilliant concept, well executed!
nonetheless
25. Aug 2014 · 09:48 UTC
Quite nice game, good execution. Great job!
NuSan
25. Aug 2014 · 10:20 UTC
Cool game, once you understand how wiring and enemy works it's fun. I would love more difficulty though, maybe a level with just enough blocks (got to level 13)
PixelMind
25. Aug 2014 · 10:30 UTC
Took a while to get the idea.
After the initial confusion this one turned out to be a great little game. Graphics could use some more love though.
ratking
25. Aug 2014 · 11:11 UTC
Nice and simple, I love it!
Next time try to invest a bit more in the visuals, the game would be worth it!
zapaman
25. Aug 2014 · 11:19 UTC
Really interesting concept. I do love this one!
SirJson
25. Aug 2014 · 11:27 UTC
Cool concept!
Franklins Ghost
25. Aug 2014 · 11:41 UTC
Simple concept done well. Liked the satisfaction of seeing the blocks light up.
Vallar
25. Aug 2014 · 12:42 UTC
That is a really cool concept and game. I liked the idea very much. You had me there playing for a long time trying to figure out things.

I am amazed that it had so many levels too. Its simplicity perhaps is contributing majorly to its fun :).

I like how the enemies have predictable paths so you always know where they are going and can plan properly (except the orange ones sometimes have random paths).

Well done and very good take on the theme.
Split82
25. Aug 2014 · 13:17 UTC
One of the best puzzles I played :) Great job!
thecolorhacker
25. Aug 2014 · 13:19 UTC
I liked this game, it was fun to play and it connected well with theme.
SaintHeiser
25. Aug 2014 · 14:02 UTC
Not bad! Game mechanics is looking very interesting. But game isn't fit the theme on my opinion.
Are there procedural generated levels?
mataguiris
25. Aug 2014 · 15:42 UTC
Great game, realy funny, congratulation...
MaddeStudios
25. Aug 2014 · 15:48 UTC
Took a second to figure out what I was doing, but a really great game and cool concept!
Ixeno
25. Aug 2014 · 16:12 UTC
Well done and easy to understand game!
I even started to get strategies! :P
kikito
25. Aug 2014 · 16:55 UTC
Well done. The only thing I found a bit weak was the sound.
Lokiman
25. Aug 2014 · 17:08 UTC
Really simple idea behind this game but it works perfectly!
43iscoding
25. Aug 2014 · 17:17 UTC
Very interesting concept! Liked this one very much!
DragonXVI
25. Aug 2014 · 18:08 UTC
Quite a neat little spin on the box pushing mechanic. Like how each level is connected too :D
psychomonster
25. Aug 2014 · 18:57 UTC
Cool its like a hybrid of pacman and pipes! Like it. Needs some more polishing at the graphics and sound.. Like the gameplay very much.
shimage
25. Aug 2014 · 19:20 UTC
Very fun! I like the confortable control.
Dabuuker
25. Aug 2014 · 19:55 UTC
This is a fun little game. I managed to get to level 10. Get some awesome graphics and nice sound effects then you have an awesome game :)
primaerfunktion
25. Aug 2014 · 20:55 UTC
That's really cool. Although I am terrible at those box pushing games. :D
SaxonRah
25. Aug 2014 · 21:02 UTC
Really neat idea. I liked it allot. Good job!
maad9
25. Aug 2014 · 21:08 UTC
Cool game! Simple and fun.
MattThePie
25. Aug 2014 · 22:02 UTC
Really nice game, orginal and addictive! Just some background visuals and music needed to be utterly awesome
John Drury
25. Aug 2014 · 22:22 UTC
Fantastic! Loved the puzzle aspect. The enemies were a nice touch and really added value to the gameplay as I had to think and figure out my next moves!
uberscientist
25. Aug 2014 · 22:40 UTC
Yet another comment of praise, well done!
thedashdude
25. Aug 2014 · 23:14 UTC
Really fun.
FXCesinha
25. Aug 2014 · 23:27 UTC
Awesome puzzle!
Bozwellox
26. Aug 2014 · 00:03 UTC
This is really cool concept and all the maps are designed very well, I also love the transition between maps. I wish there was some music though
mactinite
26. Aug 2014 · 01:54 UTC
Really fun concept. Good pacing. :)
nikki93
26. Aug 2014 · 02:01 UTC
Nice game! Smooth graphics. The idea is cool! Could do with some sweet art.
hazzahazzam
26. Aug 2014 · 07:57 UTC
Not going to lie, favourite game of LD30! I really love it, better player model maybe might make it better, keep working on it, might be a good mobile game.
🎤 Pat AfterMoon
26. Aug 2014 · 14:39 UTC
Hi all, thank you for the kind comments.

My initial goal was to procedurally generate the levels, but I haven't got the time, so there is a set of predefined patterns, and only the bad guys placement is procedural, their quantity is related to the level height.

@katjap: level 46... wow!!!!
Before the submission, I have only tested until level 8. In theory, you can finish a level like this one by being faster than the bad guys spawn and you can use their blocks for creating the link. Look at blocks blinking when the level starts: 1 blink = spawn after 5 sec, 2 blinks = 10 sec ...etc. But I admit I've tried this level 46 today and so far, I wasn't able to finish it.

Now the deadline was reached, and while looking at the result and your comments, I am motivated to improve this game and maybe publish it on web game portals, and why not, tablets / mobiles…
Lissar
26. Aug 2014 · 20:08 UTC
That was pretty fun! Could be a cute puzzle game with more polish.
Citsua
27. Aug 2014 · 10:51 UTC
Really nice concept, too bad I'm just too stupid for this kind of games^^'.
ellipticaldoor
28. Aug 2014 · 12:23 UTC
Good transition between levels!
Tosic
28. Aug 2014 · 19:15 UTC
Really nice, quite funny and with cool graphics, I lol'd when I saw :) On a character!
I like it! :D
yodamaster
29. Aug 2014 · 18:53 UTC
Very interesting puzzler. Reminds me of Zenji.
🎤 Pat AfterMoon
30. Aug 2014 · 17:16 UTC
Just to say, I've beaten the famous level 46 ;)
Do not be discouraged, be quick, and finish the level before all bad guys spawn!
ATesh
01. Sep 2014 · 19:03 UTC
This reminded me a lot of Rodent's Revenge. I really enjoyed it!
vividhelix
06. Sep 2014 · 20:33 UTC
Solid puzzler, spent way more time playing this than I would have expected :) Great job!
Yword
07. Sep 2014 · 14:04 UTC
Very interesting and challenging! Well done!
Dietrich Epp
08. Sep 2014 · 03:17 UTC
It's a great game, and I'd never have thought that I would say this about a Ludum Dare entry, but there are too many levels! Well-executed, though. Love the puzzles, and the difficulty is just right.
🎤 Pat AfterMoon
08. Sep 2014 · 20:20 UTC
@Dietrich Epp: In fact there is an infinity of levels, my initial goal was to create them procedurally with an increasing difficulty. But due to the lack of time, there are only four blocks patterns that are repeated in loop. Only the bad guys are added procedurally in an increasing quantity.

But my algorithm was wrong. Every block has a probability of "level" percent to become a bad guy (capped at 50%). The error is here, at a given percentage, with bad luck you can have near all the blocks to be bad guys, or on the other side, if you are lucky, you can have near zero bad guys.

A good algorithm to define the number of bad guys could be Min(level, nb total of block / 2), and then, to spread the bad guys randomly on existing blocks. Using the "time before spawn" according to the level of difficulty could also be a good option. Currently, there are only 4 case with equal probabilities 5, 10, 15 or 20 seconds.

With the enhanced version that saves progression, I have currently reached the level 62. But the level 46 was the harder because it is the only level that has not enough blocks to link the pylons if you wait until all bad guys spawn (a bad luck case like described above).