Prison Escape by Tyren

[raw]
made by Tyren for LD25 (JAM)
Official Walkthrough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnmgcEGvRfM

Story:
You have been found guilty of destroying an entire planet. They have locked you in a maximum
security prison deep in space. The day before your scheduled execution, you receive a cake
from an unknown "friend". As you mutter that the cake really isn't a lie, you bite into something
and drop the cake.

A red key card falls out of the cake and you realize this is the key to your door. If you
are ever going to survive, you must escape now. However, the high tech security system detects
the key and goes into lock down. The artificial gravity is immediately disabled and you now
have 60 seconds before all of the air is pumped from each floor. You must descend the tower
and reach the exit!


Controls:
-In Menu
- UP/DOWN to move the selection up and down
- ENTER to select an option
-In Game
- SPACE to grab a wall
- Release SPACE to push off toward the mouse cursor
- Once you have the jetpack, the left mouse button is thrust
- ESCAPE to pause the game.


Tips:
- Use the SPACE bar a lot to grab walls and control your flight.
- Be sure to aim straight down hallways and thrust constantly to gain lots of speed.
- You can bounce off the back wall and thrust the opposite direction to turn around quickly.


Requirements:
- Windows Only
- Requires XNA 4.0 available at: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20914
- Resolution of 800x600 or higher


Engines Used:
- Farseer Physics

Ratings

Coolness 64% 3
Overall(Jam) 2.74 233
Audio(Jam) 2.46 203
Fun(Jam) 2.90 150
Graphics(Jam) 1.97 310
Humor(Jam) 1.86 270
Innovation(Jam) 3.26 86
Mood(Jam) 2.36 264
Theme(Jam) 2.45 282

Feedback

dalbinblue
18. Dec 2012 路 00:59 UTC
Fun. but really hard game. Didn't get too far.
BipolarMike
18. Dec 2012 路 01:00 UTC
Fun idea, wish there wasn't a time limit, and the user was just being tested on his abilities instead of speed.
馃帳 Tyren
18. Dec 2012 路 01:05 UTC
dalbinblue, all of the levels can be completed, most with more than 5 seconds remaining. There is a "skill" that you need to gain with bouncing off walls and grabbing at the right time. Thanks for the feedback!
nathanj439
18. Dec 2012 路 01:06 UTC
Lots of fun. A continue system would be nice to avoid having to replay the first few levels over and over.
馃帳 Tyren
18. Dec 2012 路 01:07 UTC
There are only 4 levels, we figured we'd put a retry if we added more levels. As it is now, the game is < 4 minutes long! :)
TwilightFlandre
18. Dec 2012 路 01:12 UTC
Neat idea, felt like an actual version of Breakout. Wish there wasn't a time limit though and maybe a couple more gimmicks added.
master4523
18. Dec 2012 路 01:21 UTC
I had a lot of fun playing that game, the idea of grabbing walls and using a jetpack (the first time I've played it I thought he was actually farting :| ) in order to complete the levels. The only downside is there's only 4 levels. Besides that, good job on making that game!
馃帳 Tyren
18. Dec 2012 路 01:24 UTC
Thanks Master! Yeah, we had a huge list of things that got cut to make the game more deep. But, this is one of those games where you need to get proficient at grabbing the walls at the right time and using the jetpack to fly on straight stretches. Thanks for the great comments!
Rex Peppers
18. Dec 2012 路 02:05 UTC
Can't play windows games :-(
馃帳 Tyren
18. Dec 2012 路 02:11 UTC
Sorry Rex... maybe the next time I'll try something cross platform.
Toadpud
18. Dec 2012 路 03:11 UTC
Considering the insane difficulty I really wish you could just restart from the last level instead of replaying the game from the start every time. Not bad though.
馃帳 Tyren
18. Dec 2012 路 05:03 UTC
Doh! Sorry guys. I guess I'm learning that when you make a game, you get really good at it. I designed the levels to be tough. Just practice a lot using the jetpack and grabbing the walls to control yourself. :(
psychopsam
18. Dec 2012 路 06:22 UTC
I really like the free floating feel as if I was in zero G. However it would have been nice to show the guy leaping with arms out to add a little polish. I really enjoyed it, but I couldn't even finish level 2. The air running out made it very tense - nice work.
psychopsam
18. Dec 2012 路 06:26 UTC
Just wanted to update to review audio. Sounds are adequate bleep and bips. Music is really nice. Very atmosphereic. I tried again and got to level 3.
馃帳 Tyren
18. Dec 2012 路 06:33 UTC
psychopsam - Thanks for the feedback. My co-dev did all of the audio work (and spent a good amount of time on music), I'll be sure he sees this comment. Yeah, level 3 is a bit tough. You need to try to shoot straight up those thin paths to get the jetpack quickly. Then try to get out. Once you do that, make straight shots down to the keys at full speed. Bounce off the back wall and shoot back up the path. I'm going to have my son record a "fly through" tomorrow.
Udrian
18. Dec 2012 路 07:17 UTC
Fun game with a fun use of solving puzzles in zero gravity!
Monxcleyr Productions
18. Dec 2012 路 07:49 UTC
Originally I bounced in the wrong directions, assuming since I was pushing off, my arms would need to face opposite my desired direction of travel. After I understood how it worked, it was quite challenging and fun.
vrav
18. Dec 2012 路 07:55 UTC
Nice challenge, lost on the second-to-last level and had to play through again, was relieved the final level wasn't as nerve-wracking. Cool concept, escaping prison while bound in zero-g.
SmallDeadGuy
18. Dec 2012 路 10:50 UTC
Yeah, fun but hard.
馃帳 Tyren
18. Dec 2012 路 23:58 UTC
Okay, an official walkthrough has been created and posted to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnmgcEGvRfM
PIXEL^3
19. Dec 2012 路 03:06 UTC
Pretty good mechanic you have going here, but this mechanic alone kinda makes the game feel a little bland, though the time restriction helps. It was also a little difficult getting the angle right. (I haven't beaten lvl 2 yet) I think in the future you should add a continue setting, and make it so the player slowly move towards the mouse. Not only would this make it less difficult but it's actually more realistic for zero gravity. I like the title/play music, but I felt the pause music was displaced.

~AlucardX60
goulding57
19. Dec 2012 路 03:13 UTC
Could not play (Not running windows:( sounds fun and hard from the comments though)
mcc
19. Dec 2012 路 03:56 UTC
interesting mechanics. i'm not sure if i understand the reasoning behind them in the context of a game about a prison escapse, but interesting nonetheless.
HeyChinaski
19. Dec 2012 路 21:28 UTC
Nice game. Pretty tricky. Interesting that it was rarely worth grabbing the jetpack.
馃帳 Tyren
19. Dec 2012 路 22:19 UTC
HeyCinaski!? Were you able to beat the levels 2, 3, and 4 without a jetpack? Level 1 doesn't "need it". It was more to give you some time to practice using it. I can't imagine the other levels are possible without the jetpack however.
zenmumbler
20. Dec 2012 路 13:48 UTC
Sorry, can't play this. If you can, please make a version using the "Reach" profile to support DX9 cards.
馃帳 Tyren
20. Dec 2012 路 21:41 UTC
Updated link to use reach profile. No DX10/11 features were used.
Birchmountain
20. Dec 2012 路 22:09 UTC
Unfortunately i couldn't play it as i'm on a mac. But i watched the walkthrough and it looks like an interesting idea with solid core mechanics that, with a little work, could turn out as to be an awesome game! Great work!
Beerman
20. Dec 2012 路 22:24 UTC
Damn, that's hard. Fun though. Like a few people have said, a continue would have been good. Gets a bit frustrating being kicked back to the start every time you screw up a level.
zenmumbler
20. Dec 2012 路 23:58 UTC
Blimey, gravity based movement is always hard. Like someone else I first got confused and faced toward the wall given the wording "push off" from the wall.

Levels 1 and 2 can be quite handily beaten without the thruster, but the in 3 it actually gets in the way if used incorrectly. I like that you showed restraint and not added spikes all over the place like some other "hard" games. Hard but not too hard and mercifully short given the single life.

Good music, home made?
馃帳 Tyren
21. Dec 2012 路 04:12 UTC
Yup, the music was homemade by my development partner. He did a great job with it, I agree! Awesome feedback zenmumbler.
dj_pale
22. Dec 2012 路 21:58 UTC
Interesting concept, but too hard :)
ramoncb
22. Dec 2012 路 23:07 UTC
too hard xD
but pretty fun too! ;)