Synapse by Geckoo1337

[raw]
made by Geckoo1337 for LD 40 (JAM)

Hello my dear fellows. This is my entry for the latest Ludum Dare - the 40th. I did an intuitive-puzzle game in which you have to fit red synapses with a white pattern. If you can understand how mecanics work, I guess that you could receive a good rating. There is seven little puzzles - and more you do movements, worse rating will be. Use arrows to rotate synapses. Start game pressing spacebar. I wish you the best. Thank you for playing ++

Synapse4.png

Synapse2.png

Synapse3.png

Synapse4.png

Ratings

Overall 231th 3.783⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 179th 3.761⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 13th 4.239⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 910th 2.932⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 587th 3.477⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 264th 3.545⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 316th 3.591⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Given 26🗳️ 18🗨️

Feedback

Split82
04. Dec 2017 · 20:13 UTC
Nice job! I finished all the levels pretty fast :) I would maybe just tweak the controls a little bit. They felt a little bit laggy.
Virtual Turtle Studio
04. Dec 2017 · 20:24 UTC
Now, this is a fantastic little game! The puzzles really aren't too hard, but that actually makes it quite a relaxing game. You did a great job on the puzzle creation part, they feel really thought out, but also easy enough to understand and finish. The only critique I would have is the input. It's definitely not bad, but I think it would benefit from being able to also use the mouse to drag the balls up or sideways, because the arrowkeys feel like they have to be timed very well sometimes. Good job on this entry!

btw, my score was 70
nusan
04. Dec 2017 · 21:28 UTC
Nice game! I like the mechanics and figuring out what really is happening was fun. It's a bit short but so relaxing I replayed it 3 times, finally reaching 14 motions, which I suppose is the minimum (2 per puzzle). The controls are a bit weird at first, with the key needed to be hold just the right amount to make one motion, but it work ok after a bit. The visual is very polished and the music is relaxing too. Great work!
Linus
04. Dec 2017 · 22:27 UTC
Hey, cool entry. It was polished and the mechanic was quite innovative. I did not completely understand how the mechanics worked but somehow I still realized what sequence to use to finish the level. I managed to finish all the levels but could not find the optimal sequences using only 2 moves per level.

This game would be really awesome if the levels could somehow be procedurely generated so you can take a break from work and play this relaxing game for a while :D

The graphics, sound effects and music was great but in my opinion blue would be a better colour than red taking into account the overall setting the game gives. Blue is a more relaxing colour in my opinion :)

Great entry!
Rombus
05. Dec 2017 · 02:04 UTC
Hey man! you did a great job here, the game feels very solid overall. I still can figure out the controlls but I'll keep playing :D

Congrats on the entry
SubZtep
11. Dec 2017 · 00:09 UTC
The game atmosphere is very good, the minimalist design with the music made me feel I'm in some kind of 80s cyberpunk world. :)

I had no problem with the controls, I got used to it after a few levels. Overall it's easy but I could replay to get better scores, my best rating is A with 14 movements. B)
Eva Abollivier
14. Dec 2017 · 16:22 UTC
I love minimalistic puzzle games and when I saw your cover I though I would enjoy it. And you didn't disappoint ! Overall a relaxing and quick experience that would benefit from a fine tuning of your controls.
LooksLikeSomething
14. Dec 2017 · 16:23 UTC
Loved your game & its atmosphere, wish there was more levels haha
pixeye
14. Dec 2017 · 16:26 UTC
Good entry, although sometimes I didn't understand logic of red synapse moves. Also it would be nice to have limit for moves per level.

Прошел за 71 ход. Респект тебе автор и удачи с новыми играми : )
PUR3
14. Dec 2017 · 16:39 UTC
Amazing game, really fun to play! Haven't really seen a puzzle game so far, so this was a nice change! The music worked well and the graphics were overall pretty good too! Nice job. :)
sparewizard
14. Dec 2017 · 17:58 UTC
Nice game, it took me a while, but I figured out what was going on in the game. The graphics and sound were very stylish, and worked together well.

The controls didn't feel very good to me, with the rotations snapping forward and back. Maybe if a key tap corresponded to one rotation?
jk5000
14. Dec 2017 · 18:10 UTC
The idea was good, and both the music and graphics fits the game. The controls is a bit weird. But overall fine little puzzle game.
Siepiau
14. Dec 2017 · 19:34 UTC
Nice work! I enjoyed the light puzzle though the controls seem a bit sticky. The music and audio is of high quality and fits the mood very well. How do you create such quality audio?
Wheffle
15. Dec 2017 · 06:12 UTC
Nice puzzle game, and really original! The movements seemed a little janky, would be nice if they were a little smoother. Also I didn't fully understand what I was doing sometimes, some levels I beat and I wasn't completely sure what I did. But maybe that was the point, to "feel" out the puzzle? Really interesting, enjoyed this entry!
btwj
15. Dec 2017 · 14:35 UTC
Cool puzzle game! Has a lot of potential for different puzzles. Felt like I was looking at a slice of something higher-dimensional. Minimalist graphics serve their purpose well. The puzzles can be completed rather quickly, however (maybe generate levels or make more?). Great job!
LeReveur
15. Dec 2017 · 23:00 UTC
I love clever puzzles. After I understood the mechanic, I didn't let this one until I got 14. The worst part was the times when I did know wich rotation to do, but the inertia made the mobile pattern moving one more "face" than expected, because I released the arrow key a second's quarter to late. :P
(I stayed with a best of 16 for a long time because of that)
Memorize the two minimal rotations for each puzzle was challenging too. By chance, there is only seven of them. X)
Good job (and fine minimalist arts too)
pinneh
23. Dec 2017 · 15:01 UTC
Fun game! I'm not sure if I ever truly understood how to properly move the synapses around but I had my own method of madness to complete the levels.
Noble Robot
25. Dec 2017 · 14:03 UTC
Our team does a weekly indie gamedev podcast called Nice Games Club, and we just did a Let's Play episode where we played thirty-six (!!) Ludum Dare 40 games, including yours (which we fell completely in love with)!

[Check it out here!](http://nicegames.club/2017/12/nice-plays-ludum-dare-40-games-2017/)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BGt66ZnLME
gustavo.christino
26. Dec 2017 · 19:49 UTC
Very interesting to find a puzzle to play.

I did it with 56 moves, I do not know if I should have done it with less than this ... Because at one point this happened (image).

The sound was good.

![LD40G.png](///raw/bc7/6/z/ec02.png)

Anyway it seemed to be expected as it is equal to one of the images you used (maybe, hahahahah).
furet
27. Dec 2017 · 01:12 UTC
I like the aesthetic, and the puzzles are simple, but interesting enough to be a nice calming experience. I used the strategy of lining up synapses vertically first, then horizontally, then vertically again if needed. The controls were frustrating though- most of my extra movements were because the synapses slid past where I wanted them, often many times in a row. I'd prefer if a single button press just caused one clean rotation. Overall, cool entry, a solid basis for iterating new challenges to the puzzles.