the video is far better! (seizure warning at the the end, it gets pretty crazy! ) --> 

Really looking good. I like what you've done with it since GDC.

And this is why I experiment and ask for feedback, in general: elsewhere, I got some feedback from someone who has experienced significant aphasia, and he said that the mechanic I had didn't match his personal experience with the condition. Since the game was originally about memory in general, shifting the focus isn't a huge problem. I'd still like to make a game that's specifically about aphasia at some point, but it turns out that is not this game.

Still interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with aphasia and other forms of memory loss. Or anyone who plays the prototype in its current, very unfinished state.

I came up with what I think is a clever mechanic to represent memory loss, forgetting things, and not being able to remember the name of whatever that was. So now I'm trying to make the rest of the game to match.



There's a prototype here: Meromy Prototype

And a development blog here: meromygame.tumblr.com

Saw it at GDC Play. As with every procedurally generated game, I'll be following it with interest.

Currently sitting in the lounge at the hostel.

Anybody have any recommendations for stuff I should check out in the vault?

What does the art pipeline look like? Is that a custom-built voxel modeling program?

Big gap since the last post, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been making progress...most of which has been under the hood so it's not very visible. The most visible change is my recent addition of actual graphics for the planets and rocket ships:





Edit: I also updated the web version, though I haven't tested it for new bugs yet: Gravity Web Version. It still requires the Unity web player.

Hey, I saw you guys at the Christmas party. Glad to see that you've taken it all the way to beta release.

Being it procedurally generated, maybe the levels could taunt you even more by being super easy if you had the thing you're after, having for instance more fire enemies/obstacles if you're going after an entry suit.

That's the most aggravatingly awesome idea I've heard all day. It would add a bit of meaning to the level themes too.

I like how your video gets right to the gameplay, though the intro (while awesome) may be a little confusing if someone hasn't played the game before.

One thing I would suggest is to make the "Play Now" button a little more obviously a button, since I missed it the first time reading the page, and playing the Alpha is probably one of the best ways to sell people on the game.

Other than that, I'd personally like to see how the tools you're adding can be used: I feel like there are more people who enjoy playing mods than making mods, so maybe some examples of what you've come up with already?

Hope this helps.

Nice. I've often thought that a text-only Darklands-like would make a great platform for experimenting with interesting emergent storytelling ideas. I'm glad to see someone has actually made one.

I'm on Windows and had to update my JAVA_HOME variable after updating Java...which looks like it was what was causing the Java bugs I've experienced in the past, since it was still pointing to version 6!

Anyway, I managed to get my two-person party into an infinite loop of buying leather armor in a village: is there any way to escape that menu?

And now updated with the beginnings of audio. Just sketching out what I'm going for here; the basic effect of gradual fading in in-sync with the gameplay is there, but the details need some work.

First off, this game is pretty awesome; but the control scheme is a bit loose. I found myself just going in circles to try and collect as many words opposed to having any kind of strategy or coherent path. It could be better if the turning didn't go quite as far, and the acceleration was toned up for when I press the up button, and toned down as it looses speed. I mean that when I press the button I want to go slower, but faster, and when I release it I want it to slow down a bit faster and retain less speed. If this was intentional then I like it, and some kind of power up could make it tighter and make you want to get them.

It's a bit intentional, yes. Part of the idea is that you have to keep moving: since the game records your path and plays it back, subsequent plays work better the more chaotic the previous paths were. I'd be nice to balance that with the player having a bit more control, but the balance has arrived at a local maxima for the moment, so I want to do any tweaking with care.

I've debated adding power-ups, but I hadn't thought about one that affects your friction. I'll have to think about it.

Some rather substantial changes. It's a much more solid experience. It's not a very traditional game--I took out the scoring because it was interfering with the feel it was driving towards.

Ideally, it's played by a bunch of people, sequentially. Right now that requires physical proximity. There are a few small changes I'm thinking of making to this version, but I think the core interaction is in there. Now there's a different form of long-term feedback.

Also, the color palate has changed to be pretty much entirely shades of blue.

Well, I took the weekend off to make a game for Ludum Dare #23. That was fun.

For Gravity, though, I'm not sure of the direction it was going in. I got some playtesting feedback on Friday, so I had a few changes that I knew needed to be done: fixing things, making things clearer, etc. Hence, an update:

the actions each player takes are recorded and affect the next player's playthrough

This reminds me one of the achievements proposed during the Global Game Jam 2012.
Interesting game mechanics to develop with this idea!

That might be one of the sources of the original idea. It was in the air at the time I was brainstorming ideas. One other influence was the N-body problem, where calculating the orbits of planets is an unsolved problem for more than two-ish bodies. Play enough rounds of the game right now, and you'll see what I mean.

Added a few things. I don't think I've found the fun yet, so I'm still counting this as being in the prototyping stage.

Still not much to look at, but there's a bit more interaction in there now...

And now I've added the start of the scoring system, fixes to the physics, and some other stuff.

The plan is to use these updates to keep me motivated for working on the prototype.

Yeah, there isn't much there yet. It's mostly under the hood. Short version: you're playing around the planets trying to collect the words. Your path is recorded, and when your round is over a new planet is spawned that follows the path you took.

I've just uploaded a new version that actually lets you collect the words, so there's actually a point now.