Quell - I am a huge fan. Blockoban - I dare anyone to complete all of the levels. Edge Graveyard Shift karoshi A monster Ate My Homework Perfect Cell Magnotrox
SpacePuzzle Review It's great to get another developer's view on puzzles. That's true, the top of the charts are filled with modern puzzle games that do take timing. I wish there was a better word than non-deterministic to describe this. Let's call it 'time-sensitive'. I like time-sensitive games and can understand why they're so popular. But the games that I love the most have a lot of pre-planning. Plus it has to be hard enough that I make a lot of mistakes. That's what I like about the Boxed In series. You run into deadends and have to start over...but to know what you did wrong, you have to rewind all the actions that you took to get here and hope that you notice where the mistake was made. Then you have to restart the level and hope you remember all the corrections. Now that I think about it, Percepto is time-sensitive. As you know, I rated Percept highly, and even put it in the category of being an old-school/pre-phone type of game. But now that I think about it, it's more modern. It's time-sensitive and the solutions take very few moves. And there use of the 3 star scoring system was genius, yet annoying, because I don't like having to solve it under a certain time. I like to relax, have a Pina Colada. This game also doesn't leave me with the feeling of satisfaction like pre-phone puzzle games do. But clearly I still think the game is great for reasons that are beyond my understanding. So I tried your game SpacePuzzle. It's funny that your two favorite games are Trainyard and UnblockMe, because your game is the unblockMe of trainyards!!! And I'm going write that in my itunes review. I liked your game a lot, and it was exactly how you described it--you have to plan it out then watch it unfold like a movie. If I had three more thumbs, I'd give you five thumbs-up! I offer one piece of advice. When you launch everything into action, your score should only depend on the tracks that were used. Because I'm a lazy gamer. I don't like having to erase the unused tracks...it's too much like cleaning my room.
Good to see Trainyard here. I think it's the best puzzle game here. I see boxed in too. But that's way too easy a puzzler. Iced in, by same devs as boxed in, is a much better game with a slight twist on the Sokoban style.
Among the games I played, Cut The Rope would be qualified as time-sensitive coz sometimes you need to cut the rope in some precise interval (which might be quite small), i guess it does make the game fun to play but i somehow feel put off after a few tries to get the timing right. On the other hand, I would still say angry birds is non-deterministic. Unless one has very sharp eyes for things, it is very difficult to get the same shot twice, especially if its not immediate. This too puts me off. Maybe that's why I am in the minority group who think angry birds is an ok game. Glad you liked my game. And LOL about it being UnBlockMe of Trainyard!! Now to think of it... yes . I have submitted an update y'day with 12 more levels, few of which are, i think, tough. As a game designer, I guess you would agree that designing levels is an art in itself and I am getting better at it . Almost everyone commented about the number of tracks and those actually used. I am considering changing it but not sure if I should because of levels which have Hyper Jumps. Still thinking... I do want to try out your game but unfortunately, a few months back, I lost my credit card and am unable to enjoy any paid games . Will try it out at the earliest.
I've tried the free version of Trainyard but I'm not convinced yet to buy the full game. What makes it so special in your opinion?
Trainyard Express has barely 2-3 levels which are really difficult. In fact it doesn't even have one of the puzzle elements which splits train into it's constituent colors. Trainyard on the other hand has several levels which are really, really challenging. The splitter enhances the puzzle levels as well. If you are holding onto not buying the full game because you found too easy, then I would sincerely suggest you get the game. You will be scratching your head quite a bit. PS: Trainyard express is still more difficult then a lot of other full puzzle games like boxed in and psychoban and quell, etc.
Congradulations on your game, Jayanth. How you came up with SpacePuzzle is pretty obvious....trainyard, cough cough!...but your execution of that idea is very unique. I'm also impressed that you did the design, prgramming, the sound, and the art...all by yourself. I had a lot of friends help me with my game. My friend, Mike, designer of the very successful DareDevil Dave, did my artwork. My friend Luke did the sound and music. My friend John did the programming. I just made the puzzles. I can't imagine doing all the work myself. How many hours did it take you to make the game? I bet it's over 1000. [/QUOTE]I have submitted an update y'day with 12 more levels, few of which are, i think, tough. As a game designer, I guess you would agree that designing levels is an art in itself and I am getting better at it .[/QUOTE] What I discovered when making Block the Laser is that designing a puzzle is more rewarding than solving a puzzle. When you solve a puzzle, you're just trying to find the solution. Designing a puzzle is a lot more like exploration. I throw a few simple things out there and then I analyze it very deeply until the puzzle sort of tells me what to do, if that makes sense. But along the way, I am constantly playing around with different choices, different directions, and I'm having to feel the puzzle from another player's perspective...is it too easy, too hard, too frustrating, is it annoying or satisfying. It is hard to get the balance right. Some days I am incapable of making a puzzle because I feel like my IQ dropped by 20 points. I am at the mercy of my brain! Block the Laser isn't actually the way I want it yet. First of all, the game was originally going to be called 'StarDuster' and the main character was a robot who goes around and vacuums up dust piles on a isolated spaceship. I like mundane premises. But the programmer didn't want to add the dust piles...damn him! No vision! LoL. And secondly, at the moment there are colored floor buttons and when you step on them, you toggle everything that shares the same color as the button--doors open and close, lasers turn off and on, and turnstiles rotate...ie, the labyrinth moves. However, my original design included wall buttons that could be toggled by directing a laser onto it. Perhaps these element will show up one day in an update. Then the game will be complete! [/QUOTE]I do want to try out your game but unfortunately, a few months back, I lost my credit card and am unable to enjoy any paid games . Will try it out at the earliest.[/QUOTE] Write an honest review on itunes and I'll give you a promotion code. You don't need to give it 5 stars just to be nice. It is what it is and I can take criticism. And if you find ways that I could have done something better, please let me know. I want to learn as much as possible before I start my next project. I'll message you with the code.
Firstly, no promo code. I already asked my friend to gift it to me. Didn't get it yet. Guess I need to remind him. Yup . TrainYard. I mailed Matt Rix about the game, he loved it and tweeted it here TrainYard Tweet Programming took me around 2 months. Actually I didn't have a Mac so I programmed in linux first, then ported it to windows and finally when am convinced I am going to take this thing seriously, I bought a Mac. Its nice looking back . Art work, sound, level designing and making it look presentable took 3 months. So yes a little over 1000 hours. Designing puzzles is the same story with me. Sometimes, a seemingly hard puzzle would be solved in seconds leaving me crestfallen. I was elated when one friend spent 4 hours trying to solve one of the puzzle (part of the update ) without getting frustrated. Regarding Block The Laser, will let you know my feedback, yup a honest one, after am done with it.
The quiet puzzle I can see why you'd consider these two games to be your favorite Kai555. In my opinion, they are each completely different games with different game mechanics, and yet, they are definitely in the same genre of puzzle games becasue of the way it feels to play them...if that makes sense. They are not too difficult, with a fairly consistent level difficulty, and there is a subtle satisfaction from solving the puzzles that come with just pleasantly passing the time. UnblockMe was one of my first apps and I recall considering whether a hexagonal or 3-D version would work. I decided it was doable, but it wouldn't be very much fun to play. I actually remember my first impressions of Quell as well. I was thinking...these are not challenging me at all and yet, here am I, still playing. Perhaps its the tranquil music? This is a good forum for me because I would like to know what it is about different types of puzzles that people like and why they like them.
If this is a list of good puzzle games (and old-fashion non-timed puzzle games), i think we should add Chicken & Egg to the list. Good, challenging game. Just the right amount of puzzles. Lots of ways to solve them, the best ones tricky to find.
A brain storming session "What makes a puzzle really unique?", me along with a couple of my friends started brainstorming. We started picking out unique features from legendary puzzles we came across - angry birds, unblock me, trainyard, and last but not the least, my own SpacePuzzle. Puzzles with great graphics, simple game play requiring more thought than a deft hand and of course physics based among other things go on become the best. With all the discussion going on around me, I started thinkingÂ… "All these are common now, isn't there anything more?" Then suddenly it hit me! It was staring at me all along, in fact for months now but I never put our finger on it, until now. "What's more interesting, a chat with Artificial Intelligence or your best friend?", I cut in. There was absolute silence in the room. "What the hell!?", bellowed Maddy who, yet again, started his favorite topic - history of angry birds. "What's more interesting - Chatting with artificial intelligence or a friend?", I repeated. "Isn't it obvious but why now?", asked Maddy a little irritated "All modern puzzles are great but still they are like a chat with the AI. Don't you get it?", I asked looking at their puzzled faces. "Why did we enjoy developing the game so much especially in the later stages? We started designing levels and started challenging each other. Right?" "Of course! Do you remember the day when Maddy burst into the room challenging us to solve 'The Unsolvable' puzzle which he designed staying awake all night and I solved it in a minute", asked Vandana I started laughing and Maddy gave me a venomous look. "Fine! I was thinking in a different perspective! There was a loop hole which I didn'tÂ….", Maddy was trying to defend himself "And then you were trying to fix the loop holes but she was solving each one you threw at her in a jiffy. "Ok ok! Why that now?", asked Maddy "Any guesses? Remember how that incident started the culture of designing levels and challenging?", I asked "A Level Designer", answered Vandana and Maddy let out a low whistle. "I still remember that puzzle you designed which Vandana could not solve and I took 2 days to solve. It was quite some puzzle. And if it was designed by someone I didn't know I wouldn't have bothered trying so hard to solve it" "Exactly! A level designer would add a whole new dimension to the game. It would make it social! Design levels, share them, challenge friends, it would be great!" So well, am hard at work creating a Level Designer. Till now I had a rough app to aid me design puzzles. Its needs to be fine tuned for release. I just cannot wait to get it done!
