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[0rel]

ZICZAC final



update:

ZICZAC current test version



original post:

hello TIGsource!

just have to leave this mark here,
because it's kind of a contract with
myself that i really will do this!
i always wanted to make a real game
sometime... so, my game starts here!

the topic of this compo just fits my
interest at the moment... (was very surprised this morning)
it's great, because it encourages everybody to really try
out new ways... maybe it would have been even more
challenging with more restrictive rules.
such as:
"no precalculated data assets allowed",
or kind of a size restriction?
just because i think these games are absolutely allowed to be
waccky in terms of hd graphics or realistic secksiness.
it's just not the point of interest to be natural this time
we have to use computers as what they really
are: calculators!

that's gonna be hard... but at least i will not loose
my motivation in endless data twiddling or frustrating
blender sessions... compiler only, for me this time.
that's gonna be hard... but all the more, i'm very curious
to see the results.
28 days left... :)

good luck everybody!

[increpare]

the topic of this compo just fits my
interest at the moment... (was very surprised this morning)
it's great, because it encourages everybody to really try
out new ways... maybe it would have been even more
challenging with more restrictive rules.
such as:
"no precalculated data assets allowed",

That'd rule me out :/

And: Good luck! And: great title!

[0rel]

mh... i've posted it by mistake directly as a new thread
but ok, now it's official: i'm in

btw: the title is more meant as "concept" than the final name,
i can't give it a name before it is really born...

[0rel]

ZICZAC

What? A small realtime puzzle. Tetris inspired. Arcade: It's mainly about making highscore, the area where all my previous tries lacked hard. Procedurally generated. Features (cheesy) generative music. First test of my realtime audio library. How? 2 keys: Use the left/right arrows or 'A'/'D' or the left/right mouse buttons to navigate the steadily falling blocks. Stack the blocks so that they form loops of the same color. the bigger the loops, the higher the score will be. And if there are other cells inside the loop, the points will be multiplied by the number of "anticells". Limit: The Game gets gradually faster, so your strategy will have to change from time to time. And it won't end up in endless looping... Tech? Graphics: Standard OpenGL. Audio: DirectSound. CPU: Needs a rather new machine to calculate the audio in realtime. I don't know if it works on other PCs than mine, really, especially on Vista. The window handling is a bit special, and the sound init might not work there... please let me know.

[Gainsworthy]

Quite Delicious. And, dare I say, Original!

Love the contrasting colours and square styling. Looks very swish. Sounds great too! The loop-making sound is very nice indeed.

Though, I'll admit, the instructions aren't too clear on the goal. Could you maybe include a diagram or two to show what the aim is?

From what I've inferred, you have to make a full loop of (the same coloured?) squares, and it's better if there's some space between the edges of the loop. But, I still don't know if I should be aiming for certain coloured loops, or why I get 4x4 loops semi-randomly. This, like many games in the compo, confuses me. Maybe I should see a doctor or something.

Also, the music is procedurally generated too? That's brilliant!

[0rel]

thanks a lot
yea, i really should replace that word 'anticell' from the instructions. too confusing... infact, anticells are just filled cells with other color than the loop. these "anticells" acts as score boosters. it's the goal of the game, so to say, to make as big loops as possible around these other cells. empty ones give no points... i sould add some animated diagram to explain it, it's simple, but hard discribe with words.

Also, the music is procedurally generated too?

ya, i'll have to mention that not all sounds are realtime generated. only the "music". all other event sounds are prerendered at startup.
i just wanted to add some backgroundmusic wich never repeats. too bad, there's no interaction with it at the moment. first i wanted to make the game more rhythm based, but it didn't work very well, so the sound has no real function here, but it probably will have i further games...

[cactus]

Fantastic style you got there 

[Gainsworthy]

Ah! The context, it helps. Some animations would go down very well indeed.

Also, after further playthoughs, I'd like to say that the audio is genius. Your so called "cheesy" music is perfect for the game- neither repeating itself or sounding too random, whilst fitting in with the overall rhythm of the game. Also, the sound effects are wonderfully fuzzy and very rewarding.

Not a musical person or anything, but, I know when something sounds good. Feels right, you know? Really adds to the game.

And a complete last minute surprise, too! Delighted.

[ichi]

This is hard, but really cool! I also dig the style.
I could see this concept working well as a Tetsuya Mizuguchi-like game - lots of skins and variations on the theme.
I can easily imagine all sorts of crazy patterns for the snake-like blocks. or maybe it's just because i've been playing so much Lumines lately..

[grickmin]

Love the style. Looks very professional. The music is also very smooth.
The gameplay feels very original and almost... well, new!

The only negative thing would be that my head starts shaking cause of the "move and stop, move and stop" movement of the green and orange lines.

Anywho. Nice and original game you got there. ^^

[Gainsworthy]

Hey, you should mention it has an online high score table. That's the smoothest integration of one I've ever seen. Normally they just crash. Good job.

NENAD, I WILL TRIUMPH! Although, first I've got to get back in the top 10...

[Noyb]

Very fun! It was a bit nonintuitive at first that the wall cannot count as part of the loop, but once I got over that mental hurdle I loved it. I personally think that the combo scaling for larger loops and enclosed blocks is pretty low, to the point where someone who can survive longer by making 2x2 blocks with reaction times in the late-game will get a larger score than someone who can puzzle out huge loops in the early game but dies when it gets fast, but that doesn't matter much. Great job!

[0rel]

wow, i'm really happy it works for you. thanks for beta testing!

now, that there is still one day left,
i can probably even fix some faults in
the game. on saturday i was still completely
convinced the deadline is on midnight, whee,,,

cactus: just have to state: i am a big fan of your games!
your comment actually made my day

gainsworthy: at first the highscore worked in other way.
it was only possible to show up once for every player.
i don't know, do you think i should change it back?
only the highest score of one person counted for the
highscore...

ichi: at the beginning of the compo i started working
on a game similar to 'Rez' of Tetsuya Mizuguchi but i
had to realize it is too difficult to finish it in this
short time. funny, completely forgot about 'lumines'

grickmin: yea, that annoying choppy tic-ering. it's still
a point on my todo list. i'll try to fix it with some
alpha blending, so that the blocks smoothly fade in and out.
and the tic-sound is too loud too...

Noyb: that's true. it is actually possible to form
loops which give more than 1000 points, but it's hard.
i will slitghly raise combo bonus so that one can focus
on bigger loops at the beginning.
...a matter of balance...
it should still be fun to play it at highspeed.
maybe i should increase the bonus for big/enclosing loops
and at the same time the value of one cell during the game,
so that small loops in the late phase will still be worth the stress

[Gainsworthy]

Hmm, one high score per person... Yes, we think that's a good idea. As nice as fanning one's ego with 8 entries in the top 10 may be, it's much nicer to see the top players rather than the top scores. Also, it could mean I have a chance to get in  .

Cool to hear that it will be even more polished, too!

As a suggestion, would it be possible to increase the time for when each block appears? By this I mean, when one lands a block and the first square of the new block pops up, the game would give the player slightly more response time to shift focus. Not sure if it's easily do-able, but, thought I'd put it out there.

[0rel]

g-worthy is high now :D

it's much nicer to see the top players rather than the top scores.

point taken