Pipefitter by Abdul Zakkar

[raw]
made by Abdul Zakkar for Ludum Dare 54 (JAM)

A tiny puzzle game about connecting pipes. Make sure you don't run out of space!

Combine like pipes to destroy them, or connect them to the entry and exit points.

Earn as many points as you can! Longer connections earn bonus points.

The game is over when the board is full, and no new pipes can be added.

Only works in Chrome-based browsers. Does not work on Mobile.

Capture1.JPG

Capture2.JPG

Capture3.JPG

Capture4.JPG

Engine: Godot

Art: Krita

Ratings

Overall 358th 3.79⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Fun 181th 3.919⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 482th 3.453⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Theme 220th 4.141⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 450th 3.813⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Humor 908th 1.923⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Mood 953th 2.897⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Given 17🗳️ 37🗨️

Feedback

txomin
02. Oct 2023 · 23:00 UTC
Great job on the difficulty design! Felt impossible at first, but after a few tries I figured out the mechanics and ended up being in a sort of flow, placing the pipes at the right spots like a robot. It felt pretty addictive! Art and UI look really clean. Well done 👏

![score.JPG](///raw/590/94/z/5e7fa.jpg)
Xindil
02. Oct 2023 · 23:39 UTC
The gameplay feels nice and straightforward and the UX is very well handled. The idea is simple but it's extremely well executed, all the elements go together really well, it's a full package! Congratulations!
Timo5034
02. Oct 2023 · 23:41 UTC
Great idea and really well done! Very tricky :D
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 00:00 UTC
@txomin thank you for giving it a real shot, you scored higher than me! Very happy you liked it :)
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 00:02 UTC
@xindil glad you enjoyed! Thank you for the kind words
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 00:03 UTC
@timo5034 thank you!
digital bacon
03. Oct 2023 · 05:27 UTC
Fiendishly tricky puzzle game, loved it! Pretty graphics, though sounds would have been nice. Excellent work!
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 05:29 UTC
@digital-bacon Thank you!! So much sacrificed lol, it was a busy weekend
LDJam user 142558
03. Oct 2023 · 06:09 UTC
Really tricky but still fun :D
LDJam user 0
03. Oct 2023 · 06:13 UTC
This was a very cool game to play. It really made me think lol. I love the concept, its a great idea and turned out really well. Nice job!
GaryNinja
03. Oct 2023 · 06:21 UTC
Best Jam game i've played for this one :)
RobbzenOne
03. Oct 2023 · 06:36 UTC
Wow, very fun puzzle game :)

![puzzle.png](///raw/d9f/d2/z/5f11e.png)
Igli
03. Oct 2023 · 15:16 UTC
Great game, I like the simple design.
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 17:32 UTC
@allenski haha thanks!
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 17:34 UTC
@garyninja @igli Thank you for the kind words!
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 17:35 UTC
@robbzenone that score is blowing me away rn, that's amazing!
vrerabek
03. Oct 2023 · 19:07 UTC
Very cool game! I am very very bad at these type of games, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, well done!
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 19:18 UTC
@vrerabek Thank you for giving it a try!
Ani
03. Oct 2023 · 19:38 UTC
This is really fun, kinda addictive. I admire a good set of simple rules like this and I'm glad there's no timer or rush to the game too. Very nice!
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 20:02 UTC
@ani thank you so much, I always aim for a game that does requires reading minimal or no instructions.
Euix
03. Oct 2023 · 22:33 UTC
Simple (in a good way), addictive, attractive, and definitely limited space. The pressure from the pipe generation is just the right amount. This is a very good micro puzzle game, and the only thing it's missing are sound effects and chip-tune music.
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 23:05 UTC
@euix thank you so much! That is very high praise :) I really wish I had more time for music and sfx, instead I dumped hours into making the pipes water animations timing line up… with moderate success
Asieke
04. Oct 2023 · 00:26 UTC
Really fun puzzle game! Great job on the UI, made it really easy to figure out how to play.
GoBigRedFan
04. Oct 2023 · 01:06 UTC
Love a game with simple rules but a lot of complexity in terms of the puzzles those rules can generate.
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
04. Oct 2023 · 01:34 UTC
@asieke @gobigredfan thank you all! It’s always a risk to go for a mechanic like this because it’s hard to know in advance if you’ll really get the exciting complexity
Scribbl_Games
04. Oct 2023 · 01:37 UTC
Making those glorious combos feel sooooo good. Great work!
GoBigRedFan
04. Oct 2023 · 01:51 UTC
@abdul-zakkar I enjoyed it so much I played a bunch more after I rated - it does become too easy to stay alive forever once you understand how to abuse the destruction mechanic to ensure you never have an overly crowded grid. Since destruction eliminates two pipes and only one is added per turn, even if you need to rotate or move a pipe to get an adjacent pair, you can pretty much always break even over two turns. And with the RNG gifting you destructible pipes fairly often, it's hard to get stuck if you just do routine "maintenance" to keep the grid about half full.

Two minor tweaks that might help with this: make the pipe placement antagonistic (i.e. have it never place a pipe adjacent to an identically rotated one); and/or make the destruction only eliminate one of the two selected pipes.![pipefitter.png](///raw/457/b5/z/5f7aa.png)

Even knowing this, it's still really satisfying to play, not trivial. Great entry.
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
04. Oct 2023 · 16:21 UTC
@scribbl-games Thank you so much! Glad you liked :)
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
04. Oct 2023 · 16:24 UTC
@gobigredfan Your feedback is invaluable! I did know that the game wouldn't get harder over time, and I do wish I did something about it. Making it more and more likely for spawning pipes to be antagonistic is a nice idea.

Regarding the idea of only destroying 1 pipe- I felt that might make it too difficult from the get-go, based on play testing with some family/friends.

I also considered having non-pipe pieces that simply interfere with gameplay, with higher likelihoods of spawning in the late game.

Lol you made you want to finish this game now! I wish I had more time...
Ismael Rodriguez
05. Oct 2023 · 20:41 UTC
Cool twist on Pipe-Dream. Once the destroy mechanic is understood it gets a lot easier, but also more fun because you feel less helpless. There's a lot of potential ways to empower the player, but also to make it more difficult.
A piece you cant rotate, a piece you cant move, both. Knowing what type of pieces would come next could help the player, or offering a piece they can place down anywhere, being able to destroy any piece, or move an inlet/outlet.

Visuals looks great, could use a bit more juice.
Audio would be a nice option (maybe not music, but just some cool sound effects)

Great job overall!

![score.png](///raw/cdb/31/z/5fcff.png)
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
06. Oct 2023 · 00:29 UTC
@ismael-rodriguez all wonderful suggestions! Currently the game does stagnate quickly once you know what you’re doing, and those ideas would help. Thank you for the feedback!
JuicyBrucey
06. Oct 2023 · 15:51 UTC
I played this for longer than i was expecting, i think you hit a good spot for keeping it fun and engaging while keeping it simple, nice work :)
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
06. Oct 2023 · 19:36 UTC
@juicybrucey Thank you! Very glad you enjoyed :)
BlueDandelion
08. Oct 2023 · 18:48 UTC
Very cool game! I was definitely not smart enough for it but I enjoyed it nonetheless!
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
08. Oct 2023 · 22:37 UTC
@bluedandelion lol don’t say that! I’m glad you enjoyed though :)
David Mason
14. Oct 2023 · 07:26 UTC
very cool take on the theme. Good scope. Congrats
🎤 Abdul Zakkar
14. Oct 2023 · 17:39 UTC
@david-mason Thank you I appreciate it!