I personally think the charm of the game is in its simplicity, and adding a bunch of content wouldn't actually improve it, it would just make it more complex. My personal feeling is that the game could be made really fun just by tweaking what's already here, without making it more complex at all.

I do tend to be biased in favor of simple games, though.

I think the basic ideas you're using- jumping and tethered jumping- are good. I find the basic idea of the game compelling. I also like how minimal you're keeping everything.

I confess I'm finding the controls a bit awkward. I can climb basic slopes and descend cliffs, but I'm not sure how to climb cliffs with overhangs. Maybe it's possible to use the rope somehow?

Also it's only possible to turn clockwise, right?

P.S.-
I fell through the mountain once too- it was while falling extremely quickly.

[Edit:]

This seems promising! I'm keeping tabs on this for sure.

Possible bug: the game runs more slowly after the first death (I'm on Windows 7). Quitting and restarting the program seems to fix it.

Do the save points work yet? When I press A after dying, I'm taken back to the menu.

Edit:
I like the idea of having the boomerang attached to a separate button than the primary weapon. It could make for some neat situations.

Ha, neat. I enjoyed this. I'm impressed at how atmospheric it is.

The combat is fun- the cover based bits work quite well.

I have a couple of tiny recommendations-

• The ape man dodge is neat already, but I think I'd like it more if it were accompanied by a little leap animation or something along those lines.
• Projectile impact effects would be good. Sometimes it's hard to tell if I'm hitting or not (especially in the final fight against the big robot).

Oh neat, this is pretty solid. I'm really liking your quality standards- this is good stuff. The puzzles seem very well thought out- there's a lot of room for exploring possible solutions.

I'm looking forward to the finished version.

Nitpick:
The soft glows look off to me given the style of the artwork, did you try using hard edged effects instead?

Would the small icons still be used for other purposes?

Oh, I've been curious about this project since Rudolf first mentioned it. I'm glad you're starting a log, it will be interesting to hear how the game progresses.

Andrew and myself have been busy lately, but release draws near. This is from the intro sequence:

Hey, best wishes Droquen. You're right to believe in your game and stick it out. You already seem to be off to a good start in terms of presenting your game well. I think it's just a matter of getting the odds in your favor.

I like the visuals, but I'm not really finding the play engaging yet. It doesn't feel tangible enough- I'd like it more if there were some sense of motion, and if both firing and hitting things felt more physical.

On the other hand, it does seem like a good demo of your technical skill. I hope it helps land you a job! I don't have a good feel for how the game will end up once it's a bit more complete. I'd be curious to play it again once it's further along.

I'm playing The Legend of Zelda and drawing a map as I go.

This is looking pretty good, I'll go head over to Flash Game License and check it out.

So let's see if I can come up with some specifics for you.
I've played a little bit more. I've completed only 7 puzzles so far, but I'm really enjoying the game.

I think there's a hiccup in the concept building between puzzles 2 and 3. People might be better off with one or two simpler sorting puzzles before "accept if there are three or more blues."

Some random notes:

• It's counterintuitive that placing a second conveyor belt only overwrites when the belts run along the same axis. I'm not sure what a better solution is, because the double layer belts seem to be necessary in many cases. Perhaps having a second tool for overpasses would be more intuitive? Hmm, I'm really not sure.
• The sound button does not seem to affect the music

I'll respond in more depth once I've made it further into the game.

I must say, it's really fun to see so many people enjoying the game. I love the enthusiasm .

Ooh, an expanded version!

I'm sorry to hear it didn't go where you expected it to. I still think the core ideas area great, and this was a worthwhile experiment.

I loved this, it was probably my favorite entry last Ludum Dare. Thanks .

This is pretty neat. I've only played the beginning of the game thus far, but I'm enjoying it.

I think the concept really isn't that overwhelming, but you're likely losing some people because the way it's presented is less clear than it could be. I think the game's ramp is quite well suited for people somewhat familiar with this sort of game, but for less experienced players it might really help to build up concepts more gradually at the very beginning.

I'm liking the game so far, thanks for making this. I have a soft spot for circuitry and machinery construction puzzle games. Your UI is much nicer than most similar ones I've seen, which makes playing the game a lot nicer. Cheers!

I agree that you should keep the font the same resolution as the game. I really like it when games have one consistent resolution for everything.

As for size, I think 3x or 4x would work well for me.

Just one little thing... You should draw a software cursor. Being stereoscopic, without a proper pointer in both views, it's awkward to use.

Yeah, you were right about that. It was really odd when the two views only partially match up.

H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T

I absolutely LOVE this. I especially love the possibility of switching between relative and absolute magnitude, although its incorrectly labelled as <L>

Ah, thanks! It's fixed now. (By the way, I'm already getting distance from parallax, so it's just a question of which unit to use for display purposes.)

(Still) Experimental Stereo: http://vacuumflowers.com/stars/star_map_2
Normal version: http://vacuumflowers.com/stars/star_map.html

increpare-
I just noticed your music program screenshot. That looks like a neat project.

Core Xii-
Will do.
Edit
This is still experimental. I'm considering red / blue as well, I know some people prefer that.
http://vacuumflowers.com/temp/starmap2

14113-
Oh, are parsecs the way to go? I'm afraid I'm all enthusiasm and no formal knowledge.

Ha, I was totally weirded out by the twisty tiles of doom as well.


I'm making a little interactive map of the nearby stars.

This looks pretty neat, Jason. I like the monsters, and the idea seems alluring. I look forward to seeing more as this progresses.