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lukostello

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A member registered Jul 23, 2017

Recent community posts

(2 edits)

jump should be x while grapple is c. Its really natural to roll the fingers inward but unnatural outwards. although I wouldn't use x or c in the first place. wasd with k as jump and j as grapple

Love this game! How did you accomplish the vector type style? I thought you could only use sprites or meshes?

hey Im having trouble running the source code. I was able to import it but I cant get eclipse to run it as a java application. Maybe there is something wrong with the build path but I wouldn't know which element to right click to edit that or what to edit it to

Yea I love antichamber. It probably should have been mentioned in the first list I gave. That ludum dare is the one I played in browser! Oh I don't think you should make a sequel but rather a continuation. These first 5 levels would be a demo then you could have like 25 in the actual game. Get it out on steam and make the big bucks off this masterpiece and get the credit you deserve. But I think if you added curved surfaces to indicate that you can walk on them to change gravity that would open a whole new world of ways to warp the players mind. I haven't heard of disoriented but after watching the trailer it is now on the top of my wishlist, but that mechanic is exactly what Im talking about and I think you could do wonders with it, just like Escher did. Also here are some browser games that play with gravity well: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/645502 and http://limexgames.com/portal/games/pivot. Although those are 2d a lot of the puzzles could still translate well. I have a whole collection of mindbendy browser games these 2 are the most relevant. I hadn't heard of NaissaneE it looks intriguing and I added it to my wishlist but it doesn't quite get me hype with Echer vibes its like if Escher had an evil twin or something. Maybe the trailers don't quite represent the game. Im sure I'll like the game but not for the same reasons I like yours. 

idk If I'd recommend dream. It would be a really great game if they finished it but it doesn't feel finished at all. I haven't finished the game yet but I don't think there is more game to finish. Either that or the puzzle I'm supposed to be solving isn't apparent at all and there have been some previous puzzles in the game that are so obscure it isn't fair and I had to look them up. So here is a video of the room I was referencing . It works just like your game. I do highly recommend playing puzzle dimension though I think you should use it as an inspiration for how you can play with gravity. Although I haven't finished the demo yet from what I have played (first 2 levels) you have a nice ratio of puzzle to exploration. I like how there are totally optional paths that don't have puzzles that you can just get lost in if you want. I'm probably an anomaly when it comes to this but if the game were just a giant maze with no real goal other than to explore it I would be totally fine with just being lost in an Escher painting for a whole day with no sense of direction. But I think most people would think that is a mean thing to do game design wise. I haven't heard of "Museum of simulation technologies" but I played a game with the same exact game mechanic that took a much more simplistic art direction using solid shapes and colors, for all I know it was the same game in its very infancy. I couldn't find it but it was playable in browser. I haven't heard of depictura but it is a very unique premise and it looks like every ounce of potential is squeezed out of it. You said you are working on a sequel are you saying that you made depictura? in which case bravo looks amazing but I cant find how to buy it and if you are working on a sequel I'd recommend making sure people can buy the original first

I tried unplugging all my USB devices to no effect. Eventually I got the game to work by guess and checking the inputs. Although I was never able to disable a controller input I was able to over ride it with a controller that uses Xinput. Although I didn't have any devices plugged in I do think I have Vjoy drivers because when I use my GCNUSBFeeder (Gamecube controller driver) it registers the gamecube controllers as Vjoy devices. Im not sure the problem I was having is the Vjoy driver's fault or this game's. But I was able to twist the game's arm by setting up the most ridiculous control scheme, I've got all the primarary and secondary inputs to match where they could then the xbox controller inputs the same as the Playsations... then any input I wanted to disable I just set to O... its a disaster. But I got it to work. I haven't finished the demo yet but from what I have seen I absolutely love it! I love spacial reasoning games and Escher is my favorite artist. Portal, Antichamber, TRI: Of Friendship and Madness, Puzzle Dimension, are all great but Back to Bed, Monument Valley/Evo Explores, and Echo chrome go one step further in the Escher direction but with this game and Manifold Garden coming out soon I think I will have the Escher exploratory game I've always wanted. Oh then there is that one level in Dream that I have a feeling you might have played because it is probably implemented the same way. I remember playing that level and wishing there was a whole game that was like that and now there is! Thank you so much for making this masterpiece. I will definitely purchase the final version I love it so much. That being said, I found the filters very annoying. Thanks for including a thing to change that setting but even with fixed noise I don't think it is a good artistic choice. I'd rather just turn it off entirely. If you wanted to include that handdrawn game feel I recommend applying it to the textures rather than the camera, but dont apply it uniformly use it more heavily on object that should be darker or out of focus. It would also be dope if you included curved surfaces that you can walk on to change gravity. I saw a halfpipe thing leading up a wall and I was like "Oh shit here we go this game is gunna be crazy!" then I just walked up to the wall without changing gravity. But other than that your level design is amazing both from a visual and puzzle perspective, keep up the good work!

(1 edit)

I reallly really really want to play this game but all that happens when I start playing is I look up and start spinning. I've had this problem before with other games and it either had to do with me needing to restart my computer or the engine. But I just restarted my computer and I played some other unity games and they worked fine. If I could get some help to play this Id really appreciate it. Ok I tried changing the inputs to prevent this but I only made it worse and there is no reset default controls so I just deleted the files and redownloaded them but the awful controls I put on there still persist. How is that even possible? where are these configurations being stored? Why are there 3 fire buttons why can I set the controls for the X and Y 4 different times then another 4 times for a secondary controller? Why isn't there a way I can disable a button input all together? 

I think it must have been my computer, after restarting my computer it worked fine. My input is first off it needs checkpoints or at least one. I feel like I got pretty close to the end then died because I was digging a staircase though a giant block and accidentally popped out the other side.  I think the left click mechanic is a bit too OP seems like it could get you out of about any situation except for the one where there is a bridge that you need to make solid. then when that is the case I feel weary of using the right click ability because idk which of the other 2 colors Im about to turn.  There could be some sort of color queue visual on the gun. like the tip of the gun could be blue then if the next color coming up is red then just below the tip should be red then green. Then as you change colors the colors move up close to the tip and the one at the tip cycles back to the back. I think a cool mechanic to add would be if a color is negative then all the blocks that were carved from that color would become solid. This would create another way for the 2 main mechanics to interact. But even with that mechanic I can't think of any way to make truly engaging puzzles. This idea might be a dead end but I can see why you would want to explore it

I absolutely loved this. very simple to understand idea, or maybe its not and you just designed the beginning levels so well that it became intuitive. I thought it was very cool how you segmented out the level but still had them all interconnected even though you didn't have to, it really unified the piece. That last section was amazing. This game has a lot of potential to design around and from the small preview I have of the level design you are up for the task of fulfilling that potential. Congrats!

Another potential solution to getting on top buildings is you could have a wallkick where if you are hanging a short distance below the edge of the building and you wall kick you will do a circular motion starting going backwards from the kick, then up, then forward onto the top of the building. This wall kick could also be used for other situations when you would otherwise be stuck to a wall

oh also this is how I always wanted Spiderman to traverse in games and even before I played your game I was thinking about why they didn't do it this way. I came to the consensus that when you are swinging as fast as spiderman does that it would be impossible to accurately aim, although you could slow it down to solve that problem but then you wouldn't feel like spiderman going that slow. But in your game it feels like I am moving fast while still able to aim fairly accurately that must have been one tough sweet spot to find and I commend you for finding it

What no comments or ratings? This is way better than anything I've played from this jam so far. So satisfying to move around in this game. Feels like spiderman. I'm assuming that the left and right click webshooters have the same properties. If ratings were still up I'd give you perfect score in everything except theme because the only thing that is really dual purpose about it is not only can you use the shooters to grab buildings but also objects (mail) but that was by far the least engaging part of the game. Had the mail system instead worked by equipping the mail by touching it then dropping it off by being in the drop off area the game would have not lost anything from it in fact it might have improved by it. Because the most fun part of this game is going around using both webslingers, the only argument I have for keeping the tether for carrying the mail is that by limiting yourself to only one during the delivery restricts your movement and therefore makes it more of a challenge, but at the cost of making it less fun I'd say is not worth it. Maybe there could be a way to make it more fun like using the tension of the slingers to whip the mail to the target but I realistically can't see myself doing that because I have no doubt I would whip it inaccurately and lose the parcel. But if there were enemies I wouldn't really care where they go I could just grab one with the slinger and whip them wayy of into the distance now THAT would be fun. The environment is beautiful and a lot of fun to traverse. I found getting on top of buildings a bit challenging because the tension is determined by the length of the shot and if I am really close to the top of the building and I make a short shot I will hardly be flung at all. My recommended solution is to have a minimum inertia such that if I am just below the top of the building and I shoot the top of the building it will give me just enough inertia to fling myself on top. Or maybe the ability to climb up walls/ledges ;) Also its not very clear when I have a shot or not, I figured out that it does have a max range but there is no indicator that I can or cannot shoot. I think the cursor should change if my target is within range

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I didnt feel like I was shifting dimensions at all. I felt like I was playing one level from left to right then another level that had nothing to do with the first from right to left. I didn't feel like the game was benefiting from having a fixed speed at all. The fire graphic is a bit misleading probably use a spring instead. Then for the forward warp things use some sort of arrow pointing to the direction it will push you. Also I found that the window to press the spacebar for the warp was too small so either it needs a larger hitbox or maybe it could work while holding space too

I get that you were going for one thing with multiple functions and you did that. But I don't think it enhances the gameplay experience at all. Im doing the same thing I would be if the controls were just press the direction you want to go except now if I want to go down and I just went left I have to press the button 3 times, its just inconvenient . 

dang I was really looking forward to playing this game but unfortunately when I loaded it up all my character did was run backward and to the left

What a beautiful sight to behold. Makes no sense as a platformer but I was too stunned by beauty to care. Here is why it doesn't/probably wont ever work as a platformer. 1. The goal of platformers are to get to the end, if the level is a endless loop then there never is an end or at the very least if there is one there is no way of knowing if you are getting closer to it. 2. since you can't know what is on the upcoming section until it flips over that means you don't have enough time to prepare yourself from what is about to come up. 3. Even if you know exactly what is coming up because of the warped nature of the level it is near impossible to predict where you will land especially considering the variance in speed and if you are making a platformer predictable jump arcs are a must. I think the slow and contemplative nature of these graphics would lend themselves better to the puzzle genre. Here is what I propose: rather than a newly generated map after each spin have it be one constant map throughout the level. You already have tiles so it would be perfect for a tile based puzzle game. Here are some mechanics that would work well in this format. You could have cracked tiles that after walked on disappear. You could have blocks that you can push around then if the blocks that you push around look just like the ones you walk on you could have a mechanic where if you jump on a block that you have been pushing around you can push it into the ground such that on the side you are on it is flat but if you keep walking around the strip you will find that you pushed what used to be the floor up such that you can now use that as a block. But in order for this mechanic to be necessary it means that it shouldn't be possible to push a block all the way around the strip so there could be walls too.  If the walls are only 1 block high then you can jump on top of them just like the block and if they are a certain color you can ground pound them onto the other side too. But if they are 2 blocks high then the player can't jump over them. Then there could be a tile that if you jump on it then it flips you around to the other side. I could really go on all day about the puzzle potential of this game. If you want to hear more about how this works let me know

Dont advertise that you have 30 levels then make me play the same 2x3 level 20 times. I was originally skeptical of the control scheme but it grew on me  feels a lot like mowing an actual lawn does. I think it would have been more intuitive if the camera moved when the mower does though. The aesthetic is charming and was the main reason I kept playing the same level over and over again. Not quite how I would have approached a game about lawn mowing but for 2 days I'm very impressed

I like the way it squishes and stretches jump arcs and wall jumps feel great. Level one was designed very well forced me to understand the mechanics before progressing, the other levels were well designed too. Here is where I could see this game going: precision platformer with multiple solutions to most levels. Moving platforms/walls and walls/platforms that change color periodically. A collectible type thing that floats in mid air that changes your color when you  touch it.  Enemies are different colors and shoot different colored projectiles that interact with the player differently based on what color they are. Plenty of potential here I think this idea has been done before but Im sure you could put a new spin on it

Interesting concept obviously not going to be able to explore the full puzzle capabilities of it in a 2 day development span. I had to read your description to understand what was happening. To better convey to the player what is going on you should turn the effects from translucent to opaque when holding an object. or at least more opaque or change color really just anything to let the player know visually that the behavior has changed due to some action they have done. The other thing is the level shouldn't start on the same yellow square that it ends on this conveys mixed messages. You don't need a marker to indicate where they began that information isn't useful but if you still feel the need to convey it don't use the same visual as the ending. The level design in that last room was pretty bizarre I didn't need to use that flat glass shaped object at all and had no reason to explore that corner. If you plan on turning this into a full fledged game here are some mechanics that I would add if I were you. 1. buttons to put the big blocks on that do something, probably open a door or create new translucent bridges. 2. have receivers on the walls that take the smaller cubes as input those could power bridges and doors too. Maybe you could have red bridges an objects that are solid when the blue ones are not and vice versa. 

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?

Hey my name is Luke Costello. I'm finally have have the courage and tenacity to start making games like I have always wanted to.

2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?

This is my first game jam. I've heard about them but never knew how to get involved. I found itch while watching  a Mark Brown video of him reviewing games made on it for a game jam he had. 

3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?

Pretty much everything Shigiru Miyamoto and Johnathan Blow. I probably have spent more time playing video games than just about anything else. My favorite game of all time has to be Super Smash brothers (4 is my favorite). I like games that bend your spatial and temporal reasoning like Fez, Tri of friendship and madness, Puzzle Dimension, and Portal.

4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?

I have 2 games under development one on Game Maker the other on Java. I went to school for Computer Engineering for 2 years but most of the things I've learned have been self taught.

5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!

Other than Smash bros? probably puzzles, both of the games I have in development are puzzle games that are about spacial reasoning. 

6. What are your goals for this game jam? 

To put myself out there,  to be able to go "see Im a game developer, look here is a game that I have developed"

7. Any advice to new jammers (if you're a veteran)?