Minimum Friction by pvwradtke

[raw]
made by pvwradtke for LD26 (COMPO)
A minimalist platform game, without platforms.

To control the game, use the space key. To quit the game, press ESC. Any key to skip the splash/credits screens.

- Windows instructions: extract the zip file somewhere before playing. Running the game creates a file, which fails if running from within the zip file.

- Linux: compile from source using g++ 4.3 or higher. Depends on SFML 2 RC and C++0X.

- MacOS X: I don't have a Mac, but thanks to Thiago Alves, now there's a MacOS X binary version. Some reports are that you need the SFML 2.0 package installed. Try downloading it from http://www.sfml-dev.org/download/sfml/2.0/ (sorry for the extra work).

Updates after initial submission:

1 - splash and credits are skipped with any key (a typo).
2 - clock font was slightly increased for better visibility on smaller screens (another typo)
3 - Added a MacOS X port.

All game features remains the same.

Ratings

Coolness 95% 2
Overall 3.43 303
Audio 3.30 204
Fun 3.04 509
Graphics 2.84 706
Humor 2.37 462
Innovation 3.63 185
Mood 2.93 518
Theme 3.94 198

Feedback

saint11
29. Apr 2013 · 04:00 UTC
Very simple and very intelligent! I love it!
Infin8
29. Apr 2013 · 04:04 UTC
I think you missed out on the chance to put in the main game? I completed the tutorial and that was that. Also... having to sit through all the unskippable credits and the entry screen
whitetigle
29. Apr 2013 · 04:40 UTC
Escape key is your friend :)
🎤 pvwradtke
29. Apr 2013 · 04:41 UTC
Hi, there's a main game. It's enabled after you play the tutorial once (not even necessary to beat it). It requires writing a file (so you can skipt the tutorial next time), so you need to extract it somewhere, maybe that was the problem?
🎤 pvwradtke
29. Apr 2013 · 04:43 UTC
Thanks whitetigle,I was going to point this out as well, I'm so used to the ESC key that for me it was a given, but it seems I was very wrong :). I don't know if I'm allowed to change it now, but if there's ever another build, I'll remember to use any key to skip them.
Crowbeak
29. Apr 2013 · 06:00 UTC
I love the barely noticeable squares in the background. Gave it some depth while still keeping the minimalism thing going.
Tahooey
29. Apr 2013 · 07:01 UTC
Simple yet Fun, very nice!
texel
29. Apr 2013 · 07:40 UTC
Neat idea! I could see this coupled with some pulsing music and bouncing to it. Nice job!
TheMrDakotaWood
29. Apr 2013 · 08:08 UTC
Really well done! Went with the theme perfectly and the music was really good.
attagcatc
29. Apr 2013 · 09:28 UTC
This is really good. So simple yet really well polished. It feels like a good indie game.
netmute
29. Apr 2013 · 17:36 UTC
So... Mac users only get the source code? ;)
AlanBazan
29. Apr 2013 · 21:50 UTC
The gravity is weird auhhuauhahu
And the game is good!
bvanschooten
29. Apr 2013 · 21:52 UTC
Pretty polished, and innovative, though I get frustrated quickly after having to restart every time.
Foxtacy
30. Apr 2013 · 00:42 UTC
Very nice pv! You nailed it! :D
biscuitdough
30. Apr 2013 · 04:00 UTC
had trouble figuring out when it would switch sides, cool idea though.
matter123
30. Apr 2013 · 06:15 UTC
hard but sooo fun
FaBrito
30. Apr 2013 · 11:10 UTC
One of the best games played so far on this LD! Great idea, great accomplishment, well polished mechanic and minimalist art!
I really liked the well timed tips throughout the game! Congrats and, always nice to see brazilians doing this good on the Compo! ;)
rzfmzn
30. Apr 2013 · 15:58 UTC
Loved it! =OD
(hard tho)
Rafael Sales
30. Apr 2013 · 16:13 UTC
Cool game. Interesting and hard mechanic. Congratz!
TheBenjaneer
30. Apr 2013 · 19:59 UTC
Very Nice!
Milo
01. May 2013 · 02:05 UTC
The binary didn't work on my Mac; I think it needs to be packaged with SFML libraries, or at least that's what the error message seemed to say. I'll see if I can get it to work tomorrow.
🎤 pvwradtke
01. May 2013 · 02:34 UTC
@Milo: sorry for the extra work. If you manage to make it work, could you please send me an update so that I can update the instructions for everyone?
Tyro
01. May 2013 · 03:03 UTC
Wow, I'm loving this. A simple idea executed brilliantly, with polished graphics and audio to boot.
stqn
01. May 2013 · 04:49 UTC
Great simple idea, well executed and perfectly in line with the theme! I like the music and the paralax squares in the background :). However it is annoying to restart from the beginning every time. The sound when an obstacle is passed is annoying too. (And why do so many people make games with totally white backgrounds? Arrgh... Painful.)
AdventureIslands
01. May 2013 · 16:57 UTC
Nice! Slightly difficult to get hang of, but pretty fun and challenging. Liked the music and graphics.
netmute
01. May 2013 · 21:47 UTC
Nice that you got a Mac version now! :) The "Sinus-Jump" mechanic is a pretty awesome idea.
jayemjee
01. May 2013 · 23:34 UTC
The graphics leave trails behind, obscuring everything. Not playable on my computer.
nathanj439
01. May 2013 · 23:55 UTC
Loved the music. Graphics were simple but stylish. I wish there was a checkpoint system to avoid havin to restart from the beginning every time.
🎤 pvwradtke
02. May 2013 · 01:14 UTC
Hi jayemjee, care to share your setup, most specifically, your graphics card? Thanks!
Blinked
02. May 2013 · 04:00 UTC
Very cool, minimalistic idea! Love the music. Good entry :D
kyyninen
02. May 2013 · 07:57 UTC
Slick style! This could have benefited from procedural level generation, doing the first 30 seconds over and over again became frustrating to the point of ragequit. Then again maybe I'm just bad at these sort of games.
Alex Camilleri
02. May 2013 · 10:53 UTC
Our games look very similar hahaha they play very differently though :D I really liked the concept, even though it took me some time to figure out how to jump downwards (the tutorial didn't really help me). Would be interesting to make it more fast-paced :) Great job
HybridMind
03. May 2013 · 01:27 UTC
Well, I feel like I _almost_ wrapped my brain around it! :D I tried for a long time and got an OK distance but it was tough to remember sometimes which way I would jump first. Maybe if some indicator reminded you? I do like the idea though and it is pretty fun for sure.
whilefun
03. May 2013 · 01:28 UTC
I had the same problem as jayemjee. I'm running windows 7 and an ATI Radeon HD 6800, AMD FX 4100, 8GB RAM
GingerMess
05. May 2013 · 00:25 UTC
I didn't have any problems on Windows7, just so you know.

A lovely little game that really does need lots of attempts before you get anywhere due to the nature of the oscillation. I love the parallax background as it gives the game that little extra something without going beyond the theme, which is something I should have considered actually.

Overall a great entry in my opinion.
🎤 pvwradtke
05. May 2013 · 02:59 UTC
Thanks for pointing out the problem. I'm looking into it, at least on a Radeon 4500 mobility this wasn't an issue (will try others later). However, as I was using a release candidate for SFML2, maybe they fixed that on the library final version, which is just out now.
Cybearg
05. May 2013 · 21:27 UTC
I love the idea! Very cool and it has a lot of potential.

Unfortunately, my screen kept bugging out. I'd see lines everywhere, like the platforms and player leave residue everywhere. See this screenshot to see what I mean: http://i43.tinypic.com/2nrhjb9.jpg

It could be very distracting.

Also, it was kind of frustrating that it took so long to retry the game. This game has a very rapid death rate, so there are going to be a lot of failures. Allowing the player to try again as fast as possible is a good idea, or else it begins to get frustrating. If you make it very quick and easy to try again, it helps to make the game more addicting. For a good example of this, see here: http://www.adamatomic.com/canabalt/

Overall, great concept and I'd like to see it expanded. Kudos!
Zhrack
05. May 2013 · 23:13 UTC
Very good game! In theme and challenging!
🎤 pvwradtke
06. May 2013 · 03:28 UTC
Thanks Cybearg. As far as I can see, this is an issue related to the library I'm using (SFML2) and some video drivers. Which video card are you using?
PsenFilip
07. May 2013 · 13:50 UTC
This is pretty inventive and somewhat mind bending. I like it a lot!
Oye Beto
08. May 2013 · 02:05 UTC
Great game, it was fun. I haven't seen the same mechanics before, so it's something original to me.

1:29 is my record, beat my game and I'll beat yours.
Tiago Ling Alexandre
08. May 2013 · 14:00 UTC
Cool little game. The tutorial is a nice addition, however, the text changes quickly, took me a few deaths to discover the inverse gravity mechanic. It takes a while to let the player replay: when you die, the game could allow the player to instantly press space and reload the level. Also, there could be some graphics (other than solid color rects).

Aside these facts, the game is pretty nice, challenging and innovative. Good job!
TheSheep
08. May 2013 · 17:44 UTC
$ make
g++ -std=c++0x -c main.cpp
In file included from main.cpp:10:0:
Game.hpp:48:5: error: ‘RenderTexture’ in namespace ‘sf’ does not name a type
make: *** [main.o] Error 1
TheSheep
08. May 2013 · 17:46 UTC
Ah, it requires an unreleased library, sorry, didn't notice.
🎤 pvwradtke
12. May 2013 · 05:45 UTC
@TheSheep: yes, while most Linux distros come with SFML 1.6 packaged, I used the current SFML 2.0 release candidate. The final library was released on the same week as the compo, and is available at http://www.sfml-dev.org/.