next »

[Swaggermuffin]

First thread of my own, go me.

Anyway. I've been playing FEZ a lot lately, and I've been trying to think of games like it. It's a little difficult, partly  because FEZ is kind of a hard game to pin down (and mainly because I honestly don't play a lot of games). My first thought was that it was like a Metroidvania, with the big world that you slowly end up exploring, but that seems completely wrong; besides the fact that there's no combat, the puzzles in FEZ are of completely different type. It's like, they're puzzles that you figure out in your head, with a pen and some paper. I think it's pretty close to Portal, specifically because they both have a unique mechanic to them that forces you to think hard about the game's environment.

What other games are there that are like FEZ? To Phil Fish, if you see this thread: can you name any games in specific that you used as inspiration for FEZ? Also, am I wrong in thinking that it's not similar to a Metroidvania?

[SirNiko]

http://www.nitrome.com/games/faultline/index.html

The only thing this lacks is Metroidvania elements. Otherwise, this game captures Fez's combination of an unusual mechanic and emphasis on monster-free puzzle platforming.

[rdein]

la mulana requires you to take notes of everything, all the time. it's not laid back like fez, though.

knytt/knytt stories reminds me of fez (pretty much open exploration, no enemies, scenery-based)

[fraxcell]

You might check out Myst. Not a platformer, but it does have similar puzzles which require some thinking. The sequel, Riven, is also good, but it's pretty difficult.

[alastair]

Flash platformers.

[Udderdude]

If you're just looking for more games that use the 3D-to-2D perspective gameplay mechanic, there's Crush (PSP), Echochrome, Ortho Robot and Super Paper Mario.

[poe]

la mulana requires you to take notes of everything, all the time. it's not laid back like fez, though.

knytt/knytt stories reminds me of fez (pretty much open exploration, no enemies, scenery-based)

KS had enemies. You just couldn't kill them.

[TomHunt]

First thread of my own, go me.

Anyway. I've been playing FEZ a lot lately, and I've been trying to think of games like it. It's a little difficult, partly  because FEZ is kind of a hard game to pin down (and mainly because I honestly don't play a lot of games). My first thought was that it was like a Metroidvania, with the big world that you slowly end up exploring, but that seems completely wrong; besides the fact that there's no combat, the puzzles in FEZ are of completely different type. It's like, they're puzzles that you figure out in your head, with a pen and some paper. I think it's pretty close to Portal, specifically because they both have a unique mechanic to them that forces you to think hard about the game's environment.

What other games are there that are like FEZ? To Phil Fish, if you see this thread: can you name any games in specific that you used as inspiration for FEZ? Also, am I wrong in thinking that it's not similar to a Metroidvania?

The metroidvania comparison is sorta valid because there are certain areas that are only unlocked after obtaining various amounts of the little cubes. Where it differs is that all the collectibles are more or less the same, don't grant you any new abilities, and only serve to unlock certain doors. It's about quantities of a single item, rather than collecting each one of a set of items which all have different qualities.

I did a game for the Ludum Dare 23 Jam which goes in a similar direction of mapping 2D gameplay into a 3D world. That (very early and rough) version can be played here. I've been working on adding more stuff to it - random levels, AI, sound effects, better controls, etc - and polishing it out, and have flirted with the thought of completely overhauling the gameplay and just doing something completely different and innovative with this concept. The whole notion of mapping 2D into 3D is a very interesting, if a bit complicated challenge.

I suppose I should get around to posting a feedback or devlog thread on it..

[Aik]

I saw a game called Ghost92 in the hour+ long video of game trailers coming out at Comiket 82 (this weekend) that looked Fez-ish.
Actually, video down the page a bit here: http://wahiko94.at-ninja.jp/

[VDZ]

I saw a game called Ghost92 in the hour+ long video of game trailers coming out at Comiket 82 (this weekend) that looked Fez-ish.
Actually, video down the page a bit here: http://wahiko94.at-ninja.jp/

Actually, that's not Ghost92, it's the group's other game, HACK9 SOLID. Ghost92 might or might not be related. A trial version (along with some of their older games) can be downloaded from that site.

The game contains a lot of Japanese text though, and I didn't really get it.

[Aik]

Ah, you're right. The Ghost92 trailer looked like it had identical mechanics to the video there though, anyway.

I played around with the demo a bit. Looks interesting - working out the perspective is kinda hard though. Seems to be some kind of stealth thing going on there as well?

[Paul Eres]

i haven't played fez, but there's a whole genre of 'zen platformers' started by seiklus and popularized by knytt; there's at least 30 such games that i've played but i don't remember the names of all of them. but the "best" of them is glum buster

[Fallsburg]

In terms of platformer that encourages you to use pen and paper, La Mulana can't be beat. 

[Morroque]

In terms of platformer that encourages you to use pen and paper, La Mulana can't be beat. 

You actually can beat La Mulana. Just once is all it takes.

The game's greatest strength is how it forces you to take so many notes, but that also becomes its greatest weakness when you breeze through absolutely everything on subsequent playthroughs.

When the PC version becomes a bit more moddable, I'd love to see a mod that randomizes at least a few of the setpieces, like interchanging the weights of the gemstones or the sequence to the dance of life, or anything like that.

[iffi]

When the PC version becomes a bit more moddable, I'd love to see a mod that randomizes at least a few of the setpieces, like interchanging the weights of the gemstones or the sequence to the dance of life, or anything like that.

La-Mulana actually does have an editor, but unfortunately it hasn't been translated to English, nor does it work on the fan-translated version of La-Mulana, and I highly doubt anyone actually knows how to use it. I'm not sure if randomizing puzzle solutions is within the capabilities of the editor, though.