DownDown by mrexcessive

made by mrexcessive for LD29 (COMPO)

EDIT: If you have Chrome problems - won't detect "Click to start" then please try switching to different TAB and back, this fixes it, it seems. Bug in Unity or Chrome.

EDIT: it seems some versions of Chrome have problems with click detection in Unity - never come across this before, I think it may be the multiple cameras.

Please try in another browser if "Click to start" fails in Chrome - thank you for your patience!

-----
Click the blocks to collect them in groups. You can only see the top layer of blocks to start with, more is revealed _ahem_ BENEATH as you click away...

I used the excellent Unity to create this little game. I've only submitted a web version and source, ran out of time to test on multiple platforms, seems to work Windows 7 or 8, IE or Chrome. Please let me know if you find different !

As well as Unity I used BXFR, Audacity and a little bit of NGUI.
The piano playing is me also, recorded with phone and doctored with Audacity.

If you are building from Source you will need Unity 4 with NGUI in your project - please let me know if you run into any problems.

Web	http://web2.mrexcessive.net/DownDown/
Linux	http://web2.mrexcessive.net/DownDown/DownDown_Linux.zip
Source	http://web2.mrexcessive.net/DownDown/source.zip
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=20788

Ratings

Coolness	100%	1
Overall	2.80	922

Audio	2.79	548
Fun	2.89	668
Graphics	2.03	1184
Humor	1.55	1046
Innovation	3.00	596
Mood	2.43	1019
Theme	2.25	1140

Feedback

manabreak

28. Apr 2014 · 04:52 UTC

At first, I thought I understood the game, but as I progressed, I found that I didn't. The sound effects were waaay too loud compared to the music. Also, I tried playing it on Chrome, but the "CLICK to start" didn't work there. Firefox handled it well, though. :)

Suese

28. Apr 2014 · 04:54 UTC

"Click to start" doesn't work.

clearlyspam23

28. Apr 2014 · 04:59 UTC

some aspect of the game were a little confusing (the blocks turning to stone when failed, but then turning right back when clicked again). However, the music was very nice. good job!

🎤 mrexcessive

28. Apr 2014 · 05:19 UTC

Hmmm... Thank you for bug reports... I'll have to look at that, pesky Chrome works fine here currently. I think it's related to my using more than one camera.

If you get a chance please try on Firefox or IE!

malmazuke

28. Apr 2014 · 05:22 UTC

Very original, and I like the music. A little confusing at first, but you get the hang of it

Jerick

28. Apr 2014 · 05:23 UTC

I'm a sucker for piano music and puzzle games, so this was great.

orangepascal

28. Apr 2014 · 06:49 UTC

Not really sure about this one. A lot of stuff that doesn't seem to be really connected with each other (background photo, then simple cube graphics, then the animated flames, and the music....)

Still I did keep playing for a while, so I guess it has "something" :)

alvarop

28. Apr 2014 · 07:25 UTC

I didn't really get the game mechanics and the visuals didn't seem to fit well together. The atmosphere was weird, which I liked, but I didn't quite get the game on itself.

🎤 mrexcessive

28. Apr 2014 · 08:55 UTC

Thanks for f/b... I just had that background hanging around... I think visual design is definitely my weakest point - though maybe there are others I can't even see!

Much of the art was just "first version" and then left like that because getting the 20 levels to work filled all the time available.

cageinabird

28. Apr 2014 · 16:20 UTC

The core gameplay was pretty fun - I got to about level 9 and would have continued playing - but I don't like that the whole game restarts when you lose. (It's also hard to know how far you are away from losing.)

🎤 mrexcessive

28. Apr 2014 · 18:34 UTC

@cageinabird I was going to add lives, but that's tricky in this sort of game - you can always click an Orange and off to reshuffle and buy some time!
Perhaps I should have put unlock codewords for each level or something... or just a "start at level" feature

Lucio

28. Apr 2014 · 18:38 UTC

Lovely music and a good puzzle! I dont know if is a good fit on the theme, but a nice puzzle overall in my opinion.

pancakecity

28. Apr 2014 · 18:47 UTC

Interesting puzzle game! I really liked your music.

Lucariatias

28. Apr 2014 · 22:20 UTC

A lot of fun to play, quite addictive.

Brian Corr

29. Apr 2014 · 02:39 UTC

Hey!

This is really fun! I wish I had a real mouse to play with.

I would warn that the penalty of 'mixing things up' when you fail on certain colours is actually a benefit as it reveals a lot of blocks and evens out everything.

I'm not sure if that was intentional. If so then great! Because i think it turned out to be a very cool mechanic in case of panic.

I think it's really good. If i could change anything I'd make it 2d. The 3d isn't really serving a purpose and it lokos a bit out of place with the lovely beach backgounrd. Coule be as simple as a little camera change in unity.

Anyhow, really nice entry! The first few levels move a little slowly but it ramps up into a really addictive puzzle game! :) :) be proud

mechabit

29. Apr 2014 · 11:37 UTC

Interesting puzzle game. Would be good to see a more polished version on mobile devices.

PapyGaragos

29. Apr 2014 · 16:17 UTC

You don't need to play it in another browser, you just need to resize the window and it will work.

Nice concept, and nice music (which was not loud enough compared to the sound effects)

SirJson

29. Apr 2014 · 17:24 UTC

This could be a cool smartphone game

Lacaranian

29. Apr 2014 · 19:01 UTC

Made it up to Lil' Sebastian. Some things seemed a bit mixed up, but some solid puzzle gameplay with escalation.

🎤 mrexcessive

29. Apr 2014 · 20:16 UTC

@Lacaranian Grats on getting to Li'l Seb! good going. It's pretty manic by then.
@All I know it really needs 2 or 3 weeks polishing time and making things consistent... I used the beach photo because that's where I walked the dog on Sunday morning in middle of LD29 !

josefnpat

29. Apr 2014 · 20:25 UTC

The unity web player does not play on linux. Can you please release a linux binary?

🎤 mrexcessive

30. Apr 2014 · 03:34 UTC

Hi. Have added Linux binary. I don't have a way to test this setup - apologies for that, but if you try it please let me know if it works!! thank you.

Ken Ichi

30. Apr 2014 · 15:11 UTC

Awesome game! Congratz!
It's still a bit buggy (when colors not match it changes all color blocks to black) but its preeeeetty addictive =]

🎤 mrexcessive

30. Apr 2014 · 15:48 UTC

@Ken Ichi... That colours not match change blocks to black is Supposed to happen! That only happens if you fail to match Yellow, Orange or Purple... it is a punishment!

Brodenino

01. May 2014 · 13:25 UTC

Pretty cool idea! It was nice to see how the gameplay is built up as you progress, with each new cube type having its own contribution to the game. I begun to lose it when the orange cubes arrived. Quite addictive gameplay other than that :)

gre

02. May 2014 · 18:58 UTC

Nice music. Concept is simple but works.
Where is the theme?

🎤 mrexcessive

02. May 2014 · 19:43 UTC

@gre Theme is you can't see blocks below the top one on each column, until you uncover the top one... so you dig down to gain information, allowing you to remove the blocks.

GamerTaters

03. May 2014 · 11:57 UTC

Nice game. Piano track builds up tension nicely between levels. Enjoyable puzzle game.

Snicklodocus

04. May 2014 · 03:04 UTC

Pretty fun! At first the game was very easy, but started to get challenging by level 5 or so! In the heat of the moment I would forget the number each color needed, so I feel some display on the cubes themselves would be nice. The mix up on failing to match orange cubes actually saved me once, so that punishment should be rethought! All in all, very fun!

🎤 mrexcessive

04. May 2014 · 09:51 UTC

@Snicklodocus yes the Orange punishment is supposed to be a lifeline, but its a desperate one as Orange and Purple both (slightly) speed up the upward sliding each time you fail...

pinkmonkeyhead

04. May 2014 · 17:45 UTC

The mechanics are really interesting and the game is fun, but the graphics are weird

AnglerteamGames

04. May 2014 · 17:58 UTC

Had a lot of fun once I figured out the "#/color" mechanic. The different themes were a little jarring in the overall presentation. Just wish I could have continued after losing a level instead of having to start back from the beginning!

Oddly Shaped Pixels

04. May 2014 · 20:23 UTC

Innovative concept and pretty addictive little game. I can't say I'm fond of the graphics or the music :(

ruerob

04. May 2014 · 21:50 UTC

That is a really interesting game. First i didn't have realized what to do. But the further i came the more I know what to do. But unfortunatly the second or third level with the purple blocks got me and my stones get burned at the top. That was really fun, thank you.

jeffz

05. May 2014 · 06:59 UTC

I enjoyed the piano piece. Well done!

elefantopia

07. May 2014 · 03:14 UTC

Interesting game play. Confusing at first, but after the first few levels, it becomes clearer. Nice music!

lightsoda

08. May 2014 · 04:53 UTC

Decent puzzle game, making a mistake and turning all the blocks black can make it quite tricky, and panicky.

Warboys

17. May 2014 · 06:52 UTC

Nice concept, I like the way the puzzle element of the game slowly reveals itself through the first few levels. Lower penalty on failure (in terms and audio and restarting) would make the experience far more streamlined. Also developing a theme more linked to the idea of numbers (just using numbers themselves perhaps) would help communicate the mechanics to the player without the need for that side widget.