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[0rel]

linee
[game?]

play the current version here




(old versions: linee3a, linee2b, linee2a, linee1b, linee1a, linee0b, linee0a)

[what?]
a game about drawing lines.
"but what's educational about this?", you may ask.
well, you can't really learn something useful here,
but in a broader sense it's about "management".
how can you manage your actions in time/space
most efficiently? analyze, decide, execute fast,
concentrate, react...
and, of course, your pixel drawing precision
can be improved by playing this game as well.
so... all can be explained.

but i was not really motivated to do something for this compo, at first.
the theme is not really my thing... and i didn't like the vibe of this compo,
aside from the themes...
anyways, i've managed to complete a very rough version of the initial idea.
nothing too exciting really, but still playable... 
so, it's better to put it out than let it sleep on my hd for ever, i've decided.

feedbacks and ideas of any kind are welcomed!
...it's more sort of a prototype than a finished game.

[genre?]
fuzzy puzzle

[how?]
use the mouse cursor to draw lines.
no keyboard or clicking needed.

[objectives?]
draw many lines from side to side.
don't collide with black objects.

[scoring?]
lines from one side of the playing area to the opposite side give 2x score.
lines starting from one side to one of the neighbor sides give 1x score.
and lines, which begin at the same side as they end, score 0x.

the score of each line depends on its length.
the drawing ink is limited per line (300 scoring pixels).
at max, you can get 100 points per line (mutiplied with multiplier from above).

at the end of each level,
the gained score value will be automatically added to and compared
with a global highscore list.

[title?]
linee (Italian) == lines

[tech?]
Flash Player 9 needed
(made with AS3/FlashDevelop)

[todo?]
<tons of things>
(sorry for the ugly sound samples =))

[Theta]

I like some of the later level designs - so much going on at once, and the effect is pretty psychedelic.  The game is definitely educational - I think there is some sort of higher math concept that deals with non-intersecting, abstract curves in a given area (please excuse me - my math level is currently at college Calc III).  The last level might be a little ridiculous, though.

The gameplay is quite original, and really makes the player think in different, abstract ways.  I say keep going!

[Vanguard]

I just got the high score for every level - hooray for me.

Anyway, it's an interesting idea you have there.  I kind of like it when games are made about abstract concepts rather than actual characters and events, just because you don't see it as much as you used to.

[Gainsworthy]

Haaa, 0rel! Was hoping you'd enter this contest. Though, to be honest, I wasn't sure if a super-slick abstract adult game was your kind of thing. 


Agreed with Θ and Curseman. Interesting both to play and to look at - I started looking at the playfield in a different way, maximising line length and trying to herd in obstacles. I'm not very accurate, but it's strangely entertaining nonetheless. I've been needing my Qix fix letely, and this reminds me of it - moving line breaking obstacles, minimalistic visuals and a very interesting end result.


The voice samples are funny - I feared they'd get annoying, but they don't. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's nice to hear a "good." after nervously drawing out a long line. I'd like to hear some calm, lo-fi music whilst playing though. Some of those procedural tunes you're so fond of, perhaps?

Being able to save a screenshot of your score for later viewing would be a nice feature, if its not too difficult to impliment. And seeing the High Score piece would also be great. Though more difficult again, maybe. I'm not familiar with flash. First flash game, by the way?

As for the gameplay itself, fun as it stands. Only thing I'd add is an indication that "ink" is only a score limiter - I initially thought it was a length limiter!


Hmmm, so, yes! I rather enjoy this. You say you have plenty to-do, so I'm looking forward to whatever additions you have planned.

 

[0rel]

hi Gainsworthy!
i was looking for some vids about 'Qix' right before.
thanks for the hint about it, this is definitely
a nice reference to get some more ideas (the sounds are quite funny on some platforms)...
actually, i've already tried to find other "line puzzles",
but couldn't find much yet, besides 'snake' maybe.
this is it! i really need to play this somewhen...

The voice samples are funny - I feared they'd get annoying, but they don't. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's nice to hear a "good." after nervously drawing out a long line. I'd like to hear some calm, lo-fi music whilst playing though. Some of those procedural tunes you're so fond of, perhaps?

i'll think about this... when there's enough time, i'll try to add some quirky puzzle tunes again. but then, the computer voices would probably have to be replaced, because they would fit better with some cold technoid beeps and glitch noises, i think. somehow i'm more into that at the moment.. we'll see

for the highscore, i've played around with some database scripts lately
to resolve the IP of the players to country names (it's called ip2nation).
maybe i'll add that to the highscore list later, instead of nicknames...
that could get a bit unfair though and too nationalistic looking, but it would
give the game some kind of sports feel... hm, i just don't really like
to enter nicknames somehow.

As for the gameplay itself, fun as it stands.

thanks. the basic mechanics of drawing lines has something statisfying... but to make it real fun, better levels will be needed, i think. maybe collectibles (as score boosters) could make it more fun too...

Only thing I'd add is an indication that "ink" is only a score limiter - I initially thought it was a length limiter!

your point! i've changed it... just makes more sense, and adds some tension to the gameplay (maybe some alarm sounds or blinking will be needed). - quick fix against not-enoguh-ink-frustration: the ink gets refilled automatically when the player stops moving, but that costs score points in return... maybe too gimmicky.

first flash game, by the way?

maybe you want to try my other flash game, i've done for  LudumDare compo a while ago. that one was my first flash game... i think you might like it (it's rather short though).

You say you have plenty to-do, so I'm looking forward to whatever additions you have planned.

first, i didn't want to make any additions at all, and just let it be, as a "prototype".
but somehow i already got a little TIGS compo boost again.
so... i've added some visual flash effects today... and some other tweaks.
it's a little more fun to play already.
there's more to come... (probably (no guarantee!!))

Curseman,
 
the updated version will be harder!

but, some of the highscores were already unbeatable for me...


Theta,
thanks!
...i'm hoping to get some levels done which actually involve some real puzzle thinking, rather than trial and error pixeling around...

[Melly]

You write your posts in an unusual fashion 0rel

I'll check the game later.

[0rel]

whoohooo!!

Code: (select distinct country from game0 order by country asc)

+--------------------+
| country            |
+--------------------+
| Australia          |
| Brazil             |
| Canada             |
| Germany            |
| Great Britain (UK) |
| Japan              |
| Malaysia           |
| Norway             |
| Sweden             |
| Switzerland        |
| United States      |
+--------------------+

if that's not remarkable...
only around 20 alpha players, but literally from all over the world!!
really impressive...

so,
i've added a highscore screen, reachable form the title menu, using those ip2nation scripts.
for each level, there should appear the right country name now, with the according highscores.
i hope it works...

[Melly]

The internet has its good side.

[Synnah]

I actually found this to be a lot more compelling than I thought it would be; I guess because I was chasing high scores. Eventually you're going to get to the point where the high-scores are unbeatable, though; are you planning on putting Daily, Weekly and All-time scoreboards in?

I think my only frustration with the game at the moment is that I can never be quite sure where the collision area around the mouse pointer is. Was this uncertainty intended? I think I'd prefer a cursor that matched the shape of the collision area.

One final suggestion: If you wanted to allow players to customise their high score presence without using nicknames, you could let them create a small (8x8 or 16x16) black and white avatar, which would appear next to the country on the high score list.

[Cymon]

I like this one. I don't know why, but I like it. Wish I had a tablet. I'll bet it's lots better with one.

[0rel]

Melly,
yea, interent is something great!!
...well, at least idea of it.
same as with computer games.

Synnah,
thanks for the suggestions.
this helps. since i'm not that motivated doing this game somehow,
but the basic gameplay mechanics turned out surprisingly compelling,
so it just needs to be developed further, i guess.

i do agree with all points mentioned.
daily or weekly scoreboards could make it more fun
mainly for daily coffee break type of players, i think.

and the problem with cursor was really obvious,
feels more accurate now with a smaller square...

as for the nicknames, i think, i'll still add normal ones
cause the challenge is really core to that game.
i just don't like nicknames in flash games,
because i often just hit some random keys there,
and don't take it serious... but that's just me.
it would be best to let the player enter the name
only after beating the top score.
and after entering it once, a flash cookie could remember the name,
that should be possible i think... (i'm currently learning actionscript)
it's on the todo list now.

...
small improvement:
i've tried to add generated noise while moving the pen.
but - sadly - it's too unresponsive... too much lag.
maybe a normal looped sound sample will do a better job...
that's next.


Cymon,
oh yes, with a tablet it's much smoother to play.
and easier, of course. too bad i can't track if somebody uses one.

[0rel]

okay! new update is here.
some new levels, now with collectibles, and a little polish on the rest...
and it's also possible to leave a nickname.

i had some more ideas for new levels, but i didn't have the time to try them out yet,
so i can't say it's finished yet... so, let's call it beta finished...

and, btw:
i'm not sure if the preloader works properly everywhere.
sometimes i had to reload the page, because the game didn't start.
please let me know, if it doesn't work....

[Theta]

I like to see how this has come along.  The game is quite addicting, and the minimalist art style is very nice.  The game really does require careful planning - it hurts your score a lot if you just try to "bludgeon" through the level.

[agj]

It's very tough. I like how it's presented; the audio design works very well in conjunction with the stark black & white. Some stages really surprised me with how they animated.

[0rel]

thanks for playing everyone!

and for the feedback, Theta and agj.

The game really does require careful planning - it hurts your score a lot if you just try to "bludgeon" through the level.

to make max points, in some levels, yes. but i'm not sure if that's the kind of objective, that's also making it fun... the actual drawing isn't rewarding at all.  and the movement often feels rough and jerky...

i've decided to make no games with strong competition character anymore, nor such with score oriented goals. i will concentrate more on the actual playing, rather then the final outcome. - playing itself should be rewarding enough to keep one interested... otherwise it's like tedious work, you only do it to get some points at the end...

i always wanted to make games that feels like playing an instrument... so, no " highscore games" anymore by me...

It's very tough.

it's open ended, basically. that's why i called it "fuzzy puzzle"... you optimize, rather than solve the levels. but probably it's exactly that what makes it feel unsatisfying somehow... and it gets though after a while, of course, when the highscore was set high enough (competition in limited systems always has to end somewhen... )
and the pixelated look + collisions makes it quite harsh to play.. i have to say, that it was more a decision out of technical limitations, than for the aesthetics. i would have preferred smooth vectors here, but i didn't know how to handle the collisions with ActionScript...
actually, i'm not too fond of this game. and i probably won't add new levels soon.
an implementation with clean vector graphics, and nice rope physics would have been cool i think, but since i'm new to Flash, i didn't try it yet, and that would require a complete rewrite anyway. that's too much work right now.
probably, i'll be moving back to my old c++ framework for the next thing, for various reasons...


some minor changes:
- problem with blue collectibles solved (they kept activated without being touched by a new line)
- inverter field enlarged, too many collisions there
- problem with scoring in 'inverter' level solved (now it only counts the actually drawn blue pixels. there was a problem in the that level, one got always max score per line... highscore was also reset (i'm sorry, LeFuz...))
- 'chased' level is a little easier now