Less is More by Joror

[raw]
made by Joror for LD26 (COMPO)
== ABOUT THE GAME ==

This is a game of exploration & experimentation. Look around. Then follow commands, if you want.
Replay to experience all the different aspects!

Don't like the looks? Reload! Its procedurally colored & (partly) generated.


== DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO? ==

Then look at these hints. But try not to. Leave your feedback below. (I would like to hear if I was too subtle / things are broken)

Hint 1: Click on the Monolith when he wants you to 'reach out'.
Hint 2: The red menace are the red cubes running around, you might need to search
Hint 3: No effect? Get a little bit closer perhaps.
Hint 4: =Keep clicking= on things, critters, and see if they change! The more you change, the more powers you will get, and the closer you get to 'the end'.

== EASTER EGG ==

Find the Potato! First one to spot & post it in the comments gets an extra-extensive review + comment for their game! :)
(if I have not already reviewed it ofcourse)

== WHERE IS I AT? ==

Twits at https://twitter.com/McDaan
Bloggins at http://joror.tumblr.com

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.11 619
Audio 2.15 871
Fun 2.70 817
Graphics 3.37 331
Humor 2.15 615
Innovation 3.17 515
Mood 3.22 282
Theme 3.28 810

Feedback

gilmore606
29. Apr 2013 路 08:27 UTC
I couldn't figure out anything to do. But it was weirdly compelling just to run around...
ilo
29. Apr 2013 路 08:35 UTC
Cool and cryptic. But what does it all mean? :D

"I'm getting a strong Proteus vibe..." I mumbled, as a glowing sphere merrily passed me by.
馃帳 Joror
29. Apr 2013 路 09:59 UTC
@gilmore606:
Approach the Monolith and it will instruct you.

Hint 1: click on the Monolith when he wants you to 'reach out'.
Hint 2: The red menace are the red cubes running around
Hint 3: Keep clicking on things, critters, and see if they change! The more you change, the more powers you will get.

@ilo:
Ah you have met the Wisp - the 'opponent' to the Monolith. Where the Monolith is the Minimaliser, the Wisp is the Enricher. Sadly I did not implement the Wisp 'branch' of the game due to time constraints.
robertcupisz
29. Apr 2013 路 11:27 UTC
That's a pretty damn funky game! ;)

Btw, to disable the context menu: http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/Manual/WebPlayerBehaviorTags.html
馃帳 Joror
29. Apr 2013 路 11:41 UTC
Ahh thanks robertcupisz! I hope I can still fix that, so annoying otherwise...
domrein
29. Apr 2013 路 18:12 UTC
Interesting game. Great fit for the theme. Everything was pretty intuitive but it froze when I started clicking the snake of red cubes.
Languard
29. Apr 2013 路 18:14 UTC
Not really feeling the theme, other than 'mimimal' instructions :p
馃帳 Joror
29. Apr 2013 路 18:16 UTC
I have heard that there are crashes, which version did you use, Windows or Web?
pereubu
29. Apr 2013 路 18:17 UTC
That was ... cool, very "Proteussy" with this dark monolith telling you what to do, i liked it a lot. Nice FX by the way :D
cmayhem
29. Apr 2013 路 18:19 UTC
Quite weird, I love the procedural colors.
Brassawiking
29. Apr 2013 路 18:26 UTC
Abstract to say the least...
Jeremias
29. Apr 2013 路 18:36 UTC
A very strange experience (in a positive way) and interesting take on the theme (minimalizing the world). I solved all the puzzles but needed the first hint (didn't expect clicking as a relevant input method).
Norritt42
29. Apr 2013 路 18:46 UTC
Strange but interesting. I'm the potato ;)
馃帳 Joror
29. Apr 2013 路 18:55 UTC
That is good to hear Jermias! As always, the ability of the maker to anticipate the player is hard. :)
馃帳 Joror
29. Apr 2013 路 18:56 UTC
@Norrit42 Haha yes, excellent! ;)
馃帳 Joror
29. Apr 2013 路 19:00 UTC
Oh darnit, just got home from work, and played the version I submitted. I broke half the game accidentally in the last push. :( Bugfix alert! For those who played before this... there was a whole bit skipped in the middle of the game! I have fixed this now.
*grumble* numbers *grumble* refactorsplactor *grumble*
multikorv
29. Apr 2013 路 20:58 UTC
Quite abstract, but I still had weird fun playing around. Didn't quite make it to the end (I think?)
Cyboot
29. Apr 2013 路 20:59 UTC
Strange but interessting.
Didn't really figue out what to do at first, had to read you tips (and click on everything)

Minimized.
Simplified.
In 6 Minutes. ;)

good job!
Martin_Monosys
29. Apr 2013 路 21:54 UTC
Cool game, kinda psychedelic... must play again when not soooo sleeeeepy... :)
Norritt42
29. Apr 2013 路 22:45 UTC
I give you an more extensive version since i realized my last one was a bit short compared to your creative feedback.:)
The game relay need to be played multiple times to understand the best feelings of the game. I smiled so when i did found the small cute red blocks bouncing around in a group. I got scared/surprised when the green arrows suddenly did start to attack me. I did felt sad for the last guy(with text). But my point is that I did only "understand" the game after my fifth run and all of the runs where so different. You should relay point this out so the player understand the replay value.
Rutger Megahertz
29. Apr 2013 路 22:47 UTC
A very different game. I felt like I was being tricked by this monolith. Curious how one can feel such distrust for a square and some text.
Ludipe
30. Apr 2013 路 16:02 UTC
I thought I wasn't going to like the game but as I played I began to love it. Really original, must minimalize everything!
馃帳 Joror
30. Apr 2013 路 20:56 UTC
@Norritt42

Thanks for the review - the feels experienced are fun to know! And have added the 'replay is good' to the about-the-game section. ;)
SuperDisk
30. Apr 2013 路 22:18 UTC
I like it quite a bit. The "crap-ify the world" theme was interesting.

Menaces are funny!
Kyle Bolton
30. Apr 2013 路 22:18 UTC
This is great! It's appeals to my OCD traits much in the same way that Katamari does, though instead of rolling everything up I want to try to minimize everything.

The only thing I would look into is the somewhat wonky camera controls. If I right click and hold, and then move my mouse outside of the game's viewport, I'll be able to move the camera around regardless of whether or not I'm holding the right mouse button down.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed it!
CNIAngel
30. Apr 2013 路 22:18 UTC
This is pretty fun. Hard to look around while moving. I didn't mind it tho.
chowdy
30. Apr 2013 路 22:29 UTC
I didn't enjoy it at first, but once my powers became clear, I had a lot of fun painting over the world's unnecessary details ;)
psychomonster
30. Apr 2013 路 22:32 UTC
I was falling out of the map and I couldn't restart the level by pressing any key :D But I loved the Setting very much... Work of art..
Purplescape
01. May 2013 路 10:02 UTC
Interesting concept. I enjoyed running around the world, and being called a potato for falling off! A little confusing, but I had fun once I got the hang of it.
mrexcessive
01. May 2013 路 19:57 UTC
Awesome! 9.9/10 for "that is suboptimal". Very fun. Hate the green/cyan spaceship disc things, tough to paint
MinionStudios
01. May 2013 路 20:16 UTC
An amazing game! Great use of FPS, the view is never confusing and the speed is thrilling.
netmute
01. May 2013 路 20:48 UTC
What a great experience, reminded me a bit of Proteus :) I liked the tiny clues given by the giant letters, the feeling of true exploration, and the many little things one can find.
Morgawr
01. May 2013 路 22:27 UTC
I didn't know what to do, then I clicked on the monolith and it became clearer. Controls are weird and "oily" but the game itself has some really great mood. It's really weird. Not sure if good or bad, haha.
S0larCode
01. May 2013 路 22:33 UTC
This is suboptimal. You potato.
messiano
01. May 2013 路 22:44 UTC
Weird atmosphere. Controls are confuse but after a while I got to acomplish a few things (but didn't finish the game). Original.
ArkadyDracul
02. May 2013 路 18:59 UTC
Nice!
lanz
02. May 2013 路 19:29 UTC
Nice atmosphere and idea.
pikmin4000
02. May 2013 路 19:41 UTC
Mmm, maybe I'm just not skilled enough, but I had trouble completing this. I couldn't find anything red, the game movement was hard to control, and there was no atmospheric music. I did like the graphic style and thought the pink trees really made me seem in a foreign environment, but can't really see how it has anything to do with the theme
plash
02. May 2013 路 19:45 UTC
Notes:

- Pre-game options! First one I've seen for LD26. Good on you.
- In! I see a monolith.
- Very loud sound effect. "Reach out to me!"
- I hit the monolith. Nothing happened. Hmmm.
- Woah, I am very high up right now.
- Oh. Heheh. If you hold down S while facing the ground, you can go as high as you want.
- The view from up here reminds me of the time I broke Assassin's Creed.
- I fell off the map. The monolith is calling me suboptimal and a potato.
- I will restart the game. Weird, Windows says it crashed when I closed it.
- Oh. You have to click on the monolith. "I HAVE GIVEN YOU POWER", "SEEK A RED MENACE". Very well, then. Off we go.
- I clicked on some red bouncing cubes and that grating sound played again. "CONGRATULATIONS". "THE SKY IS THE LIMIT". Not my limit, pal!
- I see flying triangles. Anything to do with that?
- I can paint the map. I see a potato.
- That grating sound played again. "THE WORLD RESISTS. MINIMALIZE".
- I am painting everything. It is now winter. Welcome to Skyrim.
- How much do I have to paint?
- Those red cubes don't like me. They are pushing me away.
- Can't seem to do anything about these cubes. Ah, I just have to be very close and click a lot.
- That sound again. "THE FINAL STEPS", "THINK BIG".
- Now I am removing those sprout-like things.
- I removed the entire map. "IT IS DONE". "DON'T YOU FEEL BETTER NOW?". Now that I am done!
- "WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY?", the sphere asks. Yes.
- I am hanging out on top of the monolith. I can't destroy this thing!

Things I would change:

- Make the sound effect less painful.
nintendoeats
02. May 2013 路 19:51 UTC
I really liked the aesthetic and the vibe. Bouncing around was surprisingly fun, even though that control scheme feels extremely weird. I quite liked how it ended, and the way everything was devolving (the opposite of most games that follow this general line of reasoning).

I just really wanted more audio. I started playing my own music, and I don't really think that Led Zepplin was what you had in mind.

(11 minutes BTW).
plash
02. May 2013 路 19:55 UTC
I can fly! http://i.imgur.com/w14vmW2.jpg
HuvaaKoodia
02. May 2013 路 20:07 UTC
The graphics remind me of Outcast and First contact Planetfall.
There could have been some ambient sounds to heighten the mood.
Otherwise a spiffy production.
Tifu
03. May 2013 路 14:23 UTC
Interesting concept! I minimalised everything >D
PsenFilip
03. May 2013 路 16:37 UTC
Mood is very good, yet strange, but controls are odd and slippery.
Overall atmosphere is excellent, yet intriguing.
caranha
05. May 2013 路 16:22 UTC
Thanks for the game, I like the directions from the monolith, but the controls made me feel lost quickly - it would be good if the movements of the player had a bit more of drag to them.
euwaku
05. May 2013 路 17:48 UTC
The controls are pretty hard to take in hand, and I was a bit confused on what to do at first... In the end, very nice mood, the psychedelic but yet simplistic aspect of the graphics and level design make this game fit the theme.
atraxgames
07. May 2013 路 21:43 UTC
Strange game, in the good way. When i go near the monolith i feel like the monkey in 2001: a space odissey
Sylvain.p
15. May 2013 路 04:34 UTC
cool aestethic, but i would prefer with more gameplay.
AestheticGamer
20. May 2013 路 04:40 UTC
Interesting launching mechanic and liked a lot of the small touched. I did reach the thing, but nothing happened... Ah well, intriguing but a bit confusing and empty feeling.