Save Us by philip_sinclair

[raw]
made by philip_sinclair for LD29 (COMPO)
Click 'start' and then use the arrow keys to move the blocks. Stereo headphones are recommended.

This game represents the underlying structure and fragility of our natural environment, and our relationship to it... Or you could possibly say it's just a puzzle game :)

The relationship of the game to the theme is made clear as you play the game....hopefully..

It was made using Unity and Garageband. Please let me know if there are any issues or bugs - and also if you like it. Thanks! Philip

Ratings

Coolness 89% 2
Overall 3.55 231
Audio 3.05 367
Fun 3.29 340
Graphics 3.01 653
Humor 2.11 799
Innovation 4.09 40
Mood 3.00 530
Theme 2.85 881

Feedback

AestheticGamer
28. Apr 2014 · 03:23 UTC
While not fully sure how related it was to the theme, it was an interesting sort of frantic puzzle game that really tested the player to think on their feet. Audio was appropriately off-beat. I also wasn't very good at the game but still enjoy it.
cptalbertwesker
28. Apr 2014 · 12:38 UTC
I like the gameplay, very simple and straightforward.
PixelMind
28. Apr 2014 · 12:42 UTC
For some reason the web game run at less than 1fps on my Firefox.
The game seemed interesting from what I saw but unfortunately I couldn't really play it to give a proper rating.
Reinkout
28. Apr 2014 · 12:54 UTC
It looks great! I think it has just the right amount of colours.
davidB
28. Apr 2014 · 13:38 UTC
Clean, simple. Good job.
ApoorvaJ
28. Apr 2014 · 14:09 UTC
Mechanically innovative, graphically minimal. Loved it!
hexabeast
28. Apr 2014 · 15:33 UTC
Very good game!
DarkMeatGames
28. Apr 2014 · 15:34 UTC
Wow, absolutely loved the idea! I honestly can say I've never played anything like it! I didn't get very far, but really well done from what I saw. Only thing that could have been better would be a better/more readable UI.
Pierrec
28. Apr 2014 · 15:35 UTC
I love the game, very innovative. But I really think it would be better without the time limit. it's frustrating :/
SmilingCat
28. Apr 2014 · 15:43 UTC
Very innovative, yet simple. Great job!
idovingx
28. Apr 2014 · 15:48 UTC
really cool, but it's the hardest game i've played so far. couldn't get past the first black block, so maybe an easier start would be good (and no time limit, since it's more of a puzzle than a race)
Tanner
28. Apr 2014 · 15:55 UTC
Pretty good!
martinysa0311
28. Apr 2014 · 16:16 UTC
Is a great game. Has potential.
mrexcessive
28. Apr 2014 · 18:43 UTC
Hi. Loved the mechanic. I think quite slowly and panic... so an option to play with no time limit, just trying to solve the problems, would be good ? Or maybe just for first few checkpoints ?
pawegio
28. Apr 2014 · 20:44 UTC
Innovative gameplay, really enjoyed it. I will be returning to this game.
thinkster
28. Apr 2014 · 20:51 UTC
Nice little game, enjoyed the gameplay. Simple enough to pick up quickly yet enough depth to keep you playing!
HartLaboratories
28. Apr 2014 · 20:54 UTC
It is coming up as a blank screen for me.
monika
28. Apr 2014 · 21:11 UTC
Nice!
Geckoo1337
28. Apr 2014 · 21:26 UTC
This is an original idea but really hard. THX ++
Seraphina
28. Apr 2014 · 21:38 UTC
Simple yet fun. And I LOVE the audio in this game. Great job!
AnnaGavaldaKedavra
28. Apr 2014 · 23:23 UTC
Very nice mecanics, fun to play. The sound may be a little unfriendly some time.
lightsoda
29. Apr 2014 · 04:44 UTC
Quite hard, but a nice idea for a puzzle game. To further enhance the puzzle part of it, maybe the little squares could've had some direction indicators, and step slower at the beginning, like once per second, and ramp it up, making it more thinking and less mechanics based at the start until you get used to it.

Looks good, nice use of colors to focus on the important parts.
alexdantas
29. Apr 2014 · 08:06 UTC
What stands most about this game (in comparison to the other entries) is the way it teaches you how to play it.

Seriously, most games simply throw you on the action, expecting you to press every single key to continue!

Aside from that, it was a nice puzzle, definitely recommending to my friends!
terraco
29. Apr 2014 · 09:09 UTC
Really cool. That timer seems useless though. Could do without it
Therrato
29. Apr 2014 · 11:55 UTC
Played for a while, then got a bit annoyed by the sound, it was fun though
Lucio
29. Apr 2014 · 12:00 UTC
Great job! I dont think it fits the theme but a great entry overall! Congrats!
devince
29. Apr 2014 · 12:02 UTC
Good
Charimation
29. Apr 2014 · 12:05 UTC
Oh, hey I recognize this game! (it's Char from the jam down at 8Bit)
It's looking really great, super unique and original gameplay and really challenging too! I enjoyed playing it :) Such a cool idea!
mortus
29. Apr 2014 · 12:09 UTC
Great idea, I like the concept. It doesn't look that much hard to me, except it's too easy to lose by too much distance. It sometimes seems that I lose when the distance is in middle range and sometimes they could be so far apart and I still won't lose. I also have no idea what does the words around the level say, every time I have time to look at them (and remember they are) it's already too late because I've lost. :D
Beavl
29. Apr 2014 · 12:12 UTC
Like the concept a lot! Timer is useless, yes. Distance between two players is enough as lose condition. Sfx are ok. Wow. Really like this one. Kind of lemmings + ibb and obb or something like that. And blocks. Congrats on this!
archaeometrician
29. Apr 2014 · 12:12 UTC
Nice puzzle game ! Not as easy as I thought :D
nicolashognon
29. Apr 2014 · 12:19 UTC
it is a bit hard but the idea is pretty interesting.
DMinsky
29. Apr 2014 · 13:01 UTC
Cool, realy cool! Finaly some fresh mechanic! Also, great audio theme!
sprawl
29. Apr 2014 · 13:04 UTC
I like it. It isn't that hard once I understood that what was killing me was the two blocks being too far apart. Great Idea.
Yword
29. Apr 2014 · 13:17 UTC
Innovative idea and gameplay. The bars look like audio visualization bars, maybe you can add some gameplay elements related to musics.
neekobus
29. Apr 2014 · 13:46 UTC
Very inovative game !

IMHO :
- time limit is too short.
- deserve a better bg music
- don't like vibrating blocks

Good work overall ! I expect to see more !
ninjacharlie
29. Apr 2014 · 18:52 UTC
Man that's tough. I really liked it though :)

Good job :)
Nocturnal
29. Apr 2014 · 21:23 UTC
Clever game. I like the the look. Very clean.
Lrnk
29. Apr 2014 · 22:44 UTC
Really clever! Major points for originality and neat design.
Karmalis
30. Apr 2014 · 09:32 UTC
Wow, this is really smart. I like it a lot, gets my brain gears turning... very fast. Challenging, but that's what I like about the games. Very nice work.
castlecake
30. Apr 2014 · 13:00 UTC
Nice game, very unique, with a great challenge!
🎤 philip_sinclair
01. May 2014 · 09:43 UTC
THAnks for all your comments! So it seems that the timer is really annoying everyone, and the UI is not very easy to read. To keep within the rules of the comp I have adjusted the time limit slightly to give players more of chance to play the game before getting completely flipped off.
tomvert
01. May 2014 · 11:59 UTC
I was so disppointed when I reached time out, I wish there was no time since I was very slow. It's a shame since it's one of the best gameplay idea I've in this ludum dare, I want to finish it though. I'll try again, the game deserves it.
Kerdelos
01. May 2014 · 13:03 UTC
Amazing ! maybe a bit too dificult
Zccc
01. May 2014 · 13:15 UTC
Very innovative and well executed. I couldn't get far, but you had me playing for a lot of time, thank you!
ArcturusDeluxe
01. May 2014 · 15:06 UTC
Clever mechanics. Seems a little bit Lemmings-ish, sort of. The simple presentation looked cool too. Very interesting stuff!
Waterman7
04. May 2014 · 10:52 UTC
Really innovative concept, one of my favourite entries so far!
Only thing that's missing, in my opinion, is some kind of indicator on how far you got each time, so you can compare your records with friends.
Lacaranian
04. May 2014 · 17:35 UTC
Nice work, a bit trickier with a time limit.
TobiasW
04. May 2014 · 17:47 UTC
Criticism first: It's a pity I have to use the mouse to restart and the keyboard to move, as I had to restart quite a lot at the beginning. I would've also loved to play this on my Android tablet (or at least with the mouse) - I think that would've been more intutive.

It's a really interesting concept and quite a unique take on timing puzzles. I like how blocks are obstacles and helping tools, sometimes at the same time. Oh, and the explosion at the end is really cool!
🎤 philip_sinclair
04. May 2014 · 20:25 UTC
Thanks Tobias. You make a good point about using the mouse to restart, hadn't really thought about that. I will implememnt after the comp has finished. Philip
koe415
04. May 2014 · 22:43 UTC
Great audio design and very unique gameplay. Pretty difficult to make it far in a level. One thing I noticed was that when ever I made it far, it was hard to pay attention to the overlaid text. Enjoyed it quite a bit!
joe40001
07. May 2014 · 21:21 UTC
I like it a lot, but the only issue I have is that I like to be able to beat all the games I play in this LD, and this one it feels like in the end it wants me to exploit a glitch where they will both float horizontal when they have very close the the same x position. (You can discover this glitch at the very beginning by having them go left). However due to the design of the single blocks leading up to the end it seems virtually impossible to do this, like you'd have to have them be <.5 width apart but still switch that last block when one of the blocks is <.5 on the first black block and this split second timing is at the very end of the game...

So tell me, is there any special if you manage to pull off this miracle? And drift to the right for a while?

(I do like the game a lot though, right amount of difficulty IMO, but that's because I like challenging things).
conormn
07. May 2014 · 23:47 UTC
Really neat mechanic! Very well done :)
🎤 philip_sinclair
08. May 2014 · 08:37 UTC
joe40001! I am amazed that you managed to get that far! and you found the glitch too! and you did actually complete the game, the ending was the last piece of text that appears. i did think that the glitch would make a really nice ending, with the two blocks floating in harmony to infinity but as you rightly point out, it would be very hard to time this correctly. thank you for persisting with the game to the end, i've never managed to get that far without giving myself loads more time. you are the best 'save us' player in the world! thanks again! Philip
joe40001
08. May 2014 · 09:41 UTC
Oh my, thank you. I like a good challenge, and this game was very well made and fun/challenging. I think the going off to infinity would be possible to orchestrate but the lead up blocks would have to be different. If there were like 4 sets of 4 thickness I think getting them synced would be doable. But I don't think anybody but me would probably bother :P

I really liked the game, it's challenging for sure, but it's also not too long. I enjoyed getting to the end of this game, and pretty much every LD29 game I play I try to play to completion, and I promise you this was not even close to being the most annoying one to get to the end of (it was fun!)
:)
Jupiter_Hadley
10. May 2014 · 20:04 UTC
Super challenging game, love the use of theme! I included it in part 20 of my Ludum Dare compilation video series, if you'd like to take a look :) http://youtu.be/LetpuBbjABA