Composition with Yellow, Red, and Blue by DaveDobson

[raw]
made by DaveDobson for LD26 (COMPO)
I used minimalist painter Piet Mondrian as my inspiration for the game. It's also minimalist in that you are playing a blue square under attack by an abstract impressionist splatter painting. It's still more minimalist, gamewise, in that you don't actually control the square directly; instead, you have three buttons that all do essentially the same thing, affecting the environment for the blue square.

And it's also a love story, of sorts, if you can sit through the too-long intro.

Controls are the 1, 2, and 3 number keys. That's it. You can skip ahead or go back to earlier levels, or restart your current one, by clicking on the arrow buttons at the lower right.

Written in JavaScript (HTML5) using the Crafty library (http://craftyjs.com). My own art (GIMP and PowerPoint) and sounds (GoldWave audio).

Let me know what you think!

EDIT: 5/1/2013 - I figured out what was making sound not play in Firefox and some other browsers, so I made a typo fix as permitted in the rules (just needed to add two square brackets to make it work).

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.57 201
Audio 3.11 314
Fun 3.24 323
Graphics 2.93 638
Humor 2.95 191
Innovation 3.88 75
Mood 3.14 358
Theme 4.15 73

Feedback

erdos
29. Apr 2013 · 02:43 UTC
This is really fun! You introduce new features in the perfect spots, at first I was like "ok bed time", then i was like, "ohh what's this thing/keep playing"!
Broxxar
29. Apr 2013 · 02:52 UTC
Very interesting. Love the home made sound fx, especially the "Oh yyeeahh".

The pull of the nodes felt a bit weak at times, which became especially apparent when the areas that kill you were introduced.
eterps
29. Apr 2013 · 02:55 UTC
Awesome! Love the clone mechanic in the later levels
tnovelli
29. Apr 2013 · 03:18 UTC
The duplicator thingy... not after 48 hours of coding.. maybe tomorrow, heh.
daniel
29. Apr 2013 · 03:35 UTC
Fun and quite tricky gameplay :)
avidgamerNino
29. Apr 2013 · 03:47 UTC
Great game, I still don't know If I like being able to skip the levels. But I did it.
justin35f
29. Apr 2013 · 04:16 UTC
Great game! So many games this time with color being a center of focus/mechanic. Game progression was very good.
paulopn
29. Apr 2013 · 04:41 UTC
Controllable gravity sources...Amazing AND a lot of fun!
lun
29. Apr 2013 · 05:44 UTC
Nice game :) it was very funny
flyingrobot
29. Apr 2013 · 06:08 UTC
nice game. cool mechanics!
martijn
29. Apr 2013 · 07:29 UTC
Fun, original, overall good game
Tozy
29. Apr 2013 · 08:24 UTC
at first the interface puzzled me a little, then i read the description, then the physics puzzled me a little... then i kept playing and enjoyed a nice level design progress.
Yacodo
29. Apr 2013 · 09:22 UTC
Really enjoyed this compo, nice game mechanism : really fit to the theme.
I got a small screen so I had to fullscreen my browser to play it.
Muu?
29. Apr 2013 · 09:34 UTC
Slow paced fun and clever level design. I really liked this entry.
sanojian
29. Apr 2013 · 09:53 UTC
Clever game with great mechanics. Nice original sounds. Audio did not work for me in Firefox but did work in Chrome.
SuperlevelSebastian
29. Apr 2013 · 10:28 UTC
Surprisingly good! Thanks. :)
Yezu
29. Apr 2013 · 11:46 UTC
That's how a minimalist game should look like :D
Magewalkr
29. Apr 2013 · 14:36 UTC
lol very interesting man very cool well done :D
HelkeGames
29. Apr 2013 · 15:04 UTC
I love this game, well done! Congrats :)
Diamonde
29. Apr 2013 · 15:22 UTC
Very solid gameplay. I really like it!
fishbrain
29. Apr 2013 · 16:36 UTC
My brain hurts.
Andy Go
29. Apr 2013 · 16:45 UTC
Very dood LD in such a short time.
The mechanics are good also.
Congrats :)
infernet89
29. Apr 2013 · 16:53 UTC
I felt a little uncomfortable with controls, but it was a really clever gameplay idea!
Martin_Monosys
29. Apr 2013 · 17:22 UTC
Cool idea, good execution! Sadly it doesn't seem to play the sounds in firefox...
SenorDiablo
29. Apr 2013 · 17:30 UTC
beautiful fun game.
stefenism
29. Apr 2013 · 18:09 UTC
For some reason I couldn't hear any sound. But that alright because I didn't need it. This game was very entertaining. I really enjoyed it. I'd love to see this on the market someday.
iamorim
29. Apr 2013 · 18:49 UTC
Nice!! I played the whole game and had a lot of fun :)
Skywilly
29. Apr 2013 · 20:34 UTC
Beautiful concept ;)
runonthespot
29. Apr 2013 · 20:37 UTC
Great fun. The gravity control mechanic was satisfyingly imprecise.
Msquirrel
29. Apr 2013 · 20:46 UTC
Nicely done, nicely polished
Galvesmash
29. Apr 2013 · 21:51 UTC
Awesome Game! Easy to play! xD
KunoNoOni
29. Apr 2013 · 22:05 UTC
What an interesting and amazing game you made. Very good use of Theme.
klianc09
29. Apr 2013 · 22:59 UTC
Very cool game. And it looks really polished. But could you make the intro the next time a little bit shorter?
theomnis
29. Apr 2013 · 23:08 UTC
That level change animation blew my mind!
Zccc
29. Apr 2013 · 23:15 UTC
Very fun and great ideia!
jackspinoza
29. Apr 2013 · 23:37 UTC
great, this really worked for me. the sounds really complimented the gameplay (oh yeah) and the use of Mondrian really fit naturally into the game. good stuff.
Angerus
30. Apr 2013 · 09:43 UTC
Clearly a good idea, concept, realizations and use of the theme. More important, I had a lot of fun playing it and I'm just fond of the way you use the Mondrian's painting!Really, great little game!
anatolat
30. Apr 2013 · 14:02 UTC
Original idea and nice implementation.
metadept
30. Apr 2013 · 16:02 UTC
This is great! The puzzle mechanics are surprisingly challenging and interesting, and the graphics and sounds do their jobs well. The later stages get hard, but not too hard; I think the balance is about right. I think my favorite part is the stage transitions. My only complaint is that on one of the later stages the 3 attractor is on the left side and the 2 is on the right, making it a little counterintuitive. Nice job, though!
mildmojo
30. Apr 2013 · 20:27 UTC
Good to see another CraftyJS entry. =)

Great use of simple animation to make the game feel alive during setup and level changes. I like the physics a lot. They're a bit floaty but it makes the control feel good.

I'm guessing you skipped sound, which is understandable but unfortunate. It'd be great to hear some blips when the square bumps into walls, even if they're just sfxr-generated.
Puzzlem00n
30. Apr 2013 · 21:16 UTC
Haha. The love story is a bit long, but it's appreciated.

I made a Mondrian/De Stijl game too, but you stuck closer the the whole "Composition #10" vibe.

The mechanics are pretty nice. I agree with metadept on that counterintuitiveness.
🎤 DaveDobson
30. Apr 2013 · 21:18 UTC
Thanks for the great feedback and kind comments. Sorry about the sound problems - there are a lot of sound effects (13 of them, I think), but they're not playing properly in the current version of Firefox on Windows. Not sure why that is - I'm looking into it with the Crafty development community.
🎤 DaveDobson
01. May 2013 · 04:45 UTC
EDIT: 5/1/2013 - I figured out what was making sound not play in Firefox and some other browsers, so I made a typo fix as permitted in the rules (needed two square brackets to work).
TehSkull
01. May 2013 · 06:05 UTC
All I have to say is: "AWUWUWU AWUWUWU"
🎤 DaveDobson
01. May 2013 · 06:37 UTC
TehSkull - that's awesome :-)
Christina Nordlander
01. May 2013 · 21:25 UTC
First game I play in this comp, and it's a zinger! The attractor mechanic is innovative (at least in my experience), and the gameplay is fun and challenging, with enough new features added to keep my attention. The combination of simple-but-colourful graphics and tough gameplay reminds me of the freeware games I'd play on my dad's computer way back when.

Going with the minimalist theme, I like how the villain is a lot more complex-looking than the good guys. Er, squares.

Seriously, my only complaint is that the cutscenes are a bit overly-long. Also it's a bit hard, but that might just me being bad at this.

Kudos for a great little game.
ashdnazg
03. May 2013 · 15:45 UTC
Wonderful and challenging!
meszka
03. May 2013 · 18:11 UTC
Damn you splodgy rectangles! I like the movement mechanic. Some of the levels are a bit frustrating but overall I think the difficulty level is good.
SnoringFrog
03. May 2013 · 20:44 UTC
Very nice! Never would have expected a game like this to have much story to it lol. Interesting mechanics, a few levels were a bit challenging, but overall it wasn't difficult at all.
kurrik
04. May 2013 · 07:07 UTC
I really liked this one. The mechanic made sense but the puzzles made the game challenging. The sound effects make me laugh. It had a story! Great work!
whilefun
05. May 2013 · 16:45 UTC
Hah, I love the audio! "OH YEAH." :D Very interesting idea, too. I found the mechanic hard at first, but got used to it and it works well I think. I did have the blue block get stuck a couple times on the wall though, which meant I had to restart the level. The upside of course that the levels were nice and short, so it wasn't a hassle. Good work :)
🎤 DaveDobson
05. May 2013 · 19:02 UTC
@Everybody - thanks for the kind words and useful suggestions.

@Whilefun - I'm glad you liked it - if you see this, can you tell me what browser you were using? I have played it a ton since the compo ended, and haven't had any issues in Chrome for Windows, but I haven't tested extensively on other browsers. Was it stuck on a vertical wall, or a horizontal wall, and was it resting on the wall or through it? Thanks!
Xanjos
07. May 2013 · 23:57 UTC
I really loved how you've incorporated Mondrian's art style into your level design plus those are some of the best recorded sound fx I have ever heard :D
f7f5
11. May 2013 · 17:18 UTC
This is my favourite game so far! Original controls, difficult enough to provide a challenge, yet so addictive I had to finish it.
[but I think I'm getting sick of this Mondrian guy... :D]
🎤 DaveDobson
12. May 2013 · 06:22 UTC
@f7f5 - thanks for the very kind words. Re: Mondrian - Yeah, I know - I thought other people would use it too, but I didn't realize just how many.
Sebastian
12. May 2013 · 18:38 UTC
I'm terrible at this, but I found it very fun nonetheless.
kill0u
13. May 2013 · 12:04 UTC
Fun :)
Jhelle
13. May 2013 · 13:13 UTC
Fun game. Didn't enjoy the tacky sounds but enjoyed the gameplay features. Good job.
Sylvain.p
14. May 2013 · 19:42 UTC
Nice idea. Hard to understand at beginning.