Cool!  Glad I stuck with it after the first level (didn't seem super glitchy/interesting at first).

Really nice visually for a first game!  Plays well.  It was a little strange that the circular saws were behind the rocks, because that makes me think that they're in the background.... though I figured because of what they were that they weren't.  I like that the game in general isn't too punishing.  Nicely balanced.

It's coming along well, thanks for asking!  I've got several uninterrupted weeks to work on it this summer so I'm excited to finish up the environment.

Hi,
That's impressive for 17 months solo development!  My only suggestion would be to talk about the more interesting mechanics earlier in the video, since some people might not make it to the 40 second mark.

I'm enjoying it, the visuals and atmospheric sounds are really nice.  I wish you would vary the jumping sound, though, even if slightly in pitch.  Also it seems to kill you somewhat randomly—oh, I just realized level 7 has an insanely short timer.  So this is where I'm giving up, but it had a nice look and feel, and the opening cut scene was well done and amusing.  The jump felt a bit wobbly, not too smooth, but otherwise the movement felt solid.  There were mostly pretty standard videogame elements and I didn't feel like I had to think much about how things interacted, such as how to get the block to land on the trigger.  Maybe there are more puzzle-like elements after level 7, but it felt like the game traveled through mostly well-worn territory.  It would be nice to see more variation on the standard spikes and falling things and item collection. 

Hi, it looks good, nice visuals and sound.  It takes a long time to go from the title screen to menu, so it feels like it doesn't work at first, but eventually worked fine on both Safari and Chrome for Mac.  I really didn't like the control layout... it would make sense for behind the bike facing forward, but not for side-scrolling.  If I'm punching up and down, why are the punch keys to the left and right of each other, it makes no sense.  I would have much preferred to use arrow keys and something like A/Z.  Otherwise it has a nice feel to it and would love to play it longer when I don't have to concentrate so much on controls that feel unnatural to me.

It's a cute game.  I'm not sure how I feel about the controls yet.  The fact that you have to touch exactly where you want him to go rather than just shifting left and right is interesting, and I imagine it could be faster if you get used to it... but so far I'm wishing for the incremental left/right.  It's also pretty difficult to judge which type of jump you should use, it took me a while to figure out that I was supposed to jump lower to get through holes which are hard to see.  Maybe a more intuitive jump layout wouldn't be putting the two different jumps to the left and right to each other, but putting one above the other... then you'd have to think less about which one made you jump higher (or at least spend less time double-checking the symbols).

Nice music, though, I'll give it another go.

This looks really nice and polished.  It wasn't clear to me what the major difference was in entering someone else's mind, at least visually—I guess I expected a hugely-different alternate world as in Psychonauts.... I noticed the hue and framing change, but not much else.  Maybe it should feel more drastic?  Either way, great environments.

BTW is there a way to accelerate in the Android version?

Yeah I really enjoyed this, it was pretty easy to figure out the gameplay without knowing anything.  I'd pay for something like this if it had some more variation (and actually probably even if it didn't).

There's something that doesn't feel right to me about the way the difficulty scales up or you lose... I guess when I start to get off track I don't have a strong enough sense that something bad is about to happen... maybe some kind of audio or visual feedback the farther off the square you get?  I mean it's obvious how you lose, but there's no real negative (or even positive) feedback aside from continuing gameplay or not.

But then again I noticed the comparisons to Super Hexagon, and those kinds of games don't give you a little audio reward every time you make it through one of the obstacles... but in this game since you're trying to enter something rather than avoid, and because it can often go off screen and get lost before you pass it by, maybe there should be some kind of audio feedback when you start getting farther away from the box.

Just my thoughts.

This is a game I'm working on based on time I spent staying with a brujo last summer in a town founded by witches.  The gameplay involves taking photos at night and showing them to characters who tell generative stories about them.  I'd love to hear your impressions.

Trailer:  



Website:  http://aaronoldenburg.net/cachiche/

I had a great time with this.  At times I thought there might be a saddle point, and the same strategy worked over and over.  But there were still plenty of times that I got stuck.  My only complaint is the same for all iOS games... I wish full versions knew where you left off in the lite version   Enjoyed the music!

Thanks oulipan, let me know if you get a chance to try any!

Thanks for checking it out!  I haven't tried it on a wifi only device, let me know how it goes.

[Optic Echo]

Last year I did a series of experiments in audio-based game design and am now doing a write-up on them.  I would be interested in hearing about your experiences playing any or all of them.  They're for a variety of platforms (mobile, PC).



Optic Echo http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/optic-echo/id446568333?mt=8
A voice-activated silent soundscape for iOS.



Sound Swallower http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sound-swallower/id457718382?mt=8
Explore a hidden sonic environment outdoors using your iPhone/iPad GPS and built-in microphone. Avoid the Sound Swallower.  (This is the most fully-realized/finished of the bunch.  Making it free for the next few days for feedback)



Invisible Landscaping http://aaronoldenburg.net/s_invLand.html
In this game the player is landscaping their sonic environment, trimming the loud sounds and watering and growing the small ones, which begin sub-audibly like seeds, underground.  The goal is to flip and transform the auditory garden until one is surrounded by the subterranean. (Mac/Win)



Escape the Cage http://pinothefrog.blogspot.com/2011/03/escape-cage.html
An asynchronously networked collaborative composition inspired by "Escape the Room"-style Flash games. (Mac/Win/Linux)



ThatTimeIAlmostDiedAtAConcert https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=processing.android.test.thattimeialmostdiedataconcert&feature=search_result
This is a silent game that proceduralizes the experience of trying to follow a story though interaction with the waveform. (Android)



Ohrwurm https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=processing.android.test.ohrwurm&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEwMiwicHJvY2Vzc2luZy5hbmRyb2lkLnRlc3Qub2hyd3VybSJd
An experiment in procedurally-implied sound. (Android)

The monster was pretty obviously clickable to me, at least knowing going in that it was someone's website.  And I think if anyone is confused that would be the first thing they try anyway, since it's so foreground.  I liked not being told expressly what to do. 

I also like the fact that it's over to the left.  No need to center everything.

The issues I had were with clicking "games", I got two reviews but it took me a while to discern which game it was talking about, if it was one or two games.  If you had the two reviews, then below them a link to the game title specifically it would help.  Also, it's just one game, right?  but it says games...

Under research, the only way it seems to scroll through the text appears to be to click and drag/highlight.  No scroll bar, nothing happens using the scroll wheel.  This is using Safari.

Otherwise, love the design/layout.

Yeah, halfway through the first flying head fight I realized the game felt weirdly minimal.  Then when I realized it was a series of heads (notice that I didn't read much of the post), it was pretty hilarious.  I love the drawing style.

2nd play, I made it to the guy who was dropping kidneys.  The extra lives were a good addition, although a continue point might have also been nice.  The bombs that turn into four indestructible balls when you shoot them were a nice, sadistic touch.

I did agree, though, that it felt like the first few enemies took a bit too long, and the back and forth movement could be broken up a bit.

Has been up in the app store for a little while now, I just never got around to posting it: http://itunes.apple.com/app/sound-swallower/id457718382?mt=8

Explore a hidden sonic environment outdoors using your device's GPS and built-in microphone. Avoid the Sound Swallower.

Thomas Edison believed that “sounds may linger as elusive auditory ghosts - physical clutter or memory residue that can be accessed by recording technology. . . .”
- David Toop, Sinister Resonances

In this game, your goal is to run and collect fragments of your environment's auditory history before it is erased.

Well, I've made a few comments here but haven't formally introduced myself (does anyone read up to page 320??).  I've made a bunch of games:  http://aaronoldenburg.net/ as well as other interactive and video work.

I tend to work in series of experiments, like a couple summers back I made several games with mechanics based on religious experience.


And this summer, I explored audio-based games.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/optic-echo/id446568333?mt=8

http://pinothefrog.blogspot.com/2011/03/escape-cage.html

For some time my favorite game was Cosmology of Kyoto.  I grew up on weird 90's CDROMs like Haruhiko Shono's Gadget, Alice and L-zone, The Residents' Freakshow and Bad Day on the Midway, The Dark Eye (with William S. Burroughs).

Nice atmosphere, great music.  I got a bit tired of getting stuck and having to wait to die when I accidentally pushed all of my crates onto the ground (particularly the "friend" level).  Then I realized that I could use the mouse to stack them.  Was this intentional?  I enjoyed the lion boss, creepy and had an interesting win strategy.  How about a pause button (I'm listening to the character die over and over again as I write this...).

I like the fact that you based it on your own out-of-body experience, but many of the elements of the game (moving of boxes...) are so standard in platformers that it didn't feel very personal, I didn't really feel like I was getting much of your experience, aside from a few narrative interjections.  What aspects are directly taken from your experience?  Are they more narrative elements or are there actions that the player is performing that you did while you were OOB?