next »

[TheLastBanana]

Yep, by default, C skips dialogue. Sorry, I probably should have made that more clear.

In level selection menu, make level selection standing out more. At the moment, levels completed as "perfect"(yellow line square) stands out more than level that is currently selected. It's not a big deal but it is better for understanding.

It's funny, I've actually changed the colour of that a good three or four times now, each time a bit darker, and I still felt it was a bit dim. I'll definitely fix that next update, thanks for pointing it out again

I really really like this, very very nice. I love the style. Did you use time based frame's or SDL.delay to make it move so smoothly? One problem I have with it though, I have to keep reading the text, is there a way to turn it off? Or perhaps have a tutorial level that doesn't need to be played that explains the game mechanic away from the main game.

Thanks for the kind words! The games runs smoothly because it scales simulation relative to the FPS. I have a constant that defines the ideal FPS (100), and every frame, the game determines the ratio between that and the real FPS. For instance, if the game is moving at a third of the ideal FPS, the ratio will be 3. From there, I just run the physics steps relative to the ratio, leaving rendering until the very end. I think the part that smooths is out the most is that if, for instance, the ratio is 3.5, the game simulates 3 physics steps, and then 0.5 of a step so that there isn't too much jerking motion. It does mean that some simulation may be off by a few milliseconds, but I think it looks a lot nicer that way. I'm glad you agree

[Dauss]

I'm kind of curious to know if anyone has blasted through all 25 levels yet, or if anyone found the secret code or the other easter egg.

Anyone?

[TheLastBanana]

Gravity Garden was featured on JayIsGames today!

[jop]

Love the music, gameplay och dialogs

The one trouble i had was when I tried hitting the 'X' in the upper right corner to close to settings menu. Also the menu felt just a tiny bit sluggish. Don't know if thats due to SDL being slow or some bug in your code.

[TheLastBanana]

My code is probably really inefficient for drawing, so that may be the reason.
Also, that "X" button doesn't actually work! I probably should have taken it out - it's just to make the menu look more like an OS of some kind.

EDIT:
I uploaded a new version with some GUI fixes. The misleading buttons are gone, and I made the selected level more obvious. Let me know if anything else needs tweaking!

[nmondal]

Great game! Had me up all night. I also enjoyed the music for level 9 - I found it very atmospheric. Did you notice that level 24 can be done in as few as 15 turns (instead of 17)?

[TheLastBanana]

Nice catch! I hadn't noticed before. In fact, I think you can do it in 14 turns! I'll update the game and replays for that.
Glad you enjoyed it

[AaronLee]

The intro was very camp, some bits were gold and some bits were, honestly a waste of time. But you MUST keep the "so space experiment is start" and "russia is conquer space" bit. The AYB refference was a little too un-subtle so it was kind of a groaner. If you give the intro some real bearing on introducing the player's role early than it's fine. Otherwise, make it so off the wall it will make people's brains hurt, that could be entertaining.

The pre-level dialog was mildly entertaining, but sort of ground on. I was usually too worried about missing something fun to just leaf through it all, but too bored to be content with doing so, I just wanted to get into playing the level.

I'm usually not great with puzzle games, but this had a nice, low entry barrier that climbed decently. So keep up the good work, this is definitely worth it.

Also, a hard alcoholic drink allows you to alter gravity? AWESOME!

EDIT: DAMN YOU firefox spellchech!

[TheLastBanana]

Hey, glad to hear you enjoyed the gameplay.
I agree with you on the opening cutscene - that was a product of Dauss and I sitting around going "man it would be funny if you included x" for about an hour. Inevitably, some of that is less funny than the others. Even so, I'll keep those things in mind for next time I'm working on a cutscene
Also, sorry you didn't love the dialogue. Most people seemed to like it, but I'll admit that a few of them were a bit long-winded. Any thoughts on what in particular could be changed to make it more bearable?

[AaronLee]

Hey, glad to hear you enjoyed the gameplay.
I agree with you on the opening cutscene - that was a product of Dauss and I sitting around going "man it would be funny if you included x" for about an hour. Inevitably, some of that is less funny than the others. Even so, I'll keep those things in mind for next time I'm working on a cutscene
Also, sorry you didn't love the dialogue. Most people seemed to like it, but I'll admit that a few of them were a bit long-winded. Any thoughts on what in particular could be changed to make it more bearable?

I think the dialog would be fine if you combed it for more spots to insert comedy. A few other jokes here and there would go a long way. Also no one can secure that channel? Come up with a hilarious excuse why and you'll win an internets for sure.

And;

[TheLastBanana]

Huh, we actually went out of our way to put in as many jokes as possible. I guess we need to try harder next time Also, their inability to secure the channel was actually explained later in the game, and in my opinion was funny. Did you get that far? If you did and you're not remembering it, I definitely did something wrong

[AaronLee]

Huh, we actually went out of our way to put in as many jokes as possible. I guess we need to try harder next time Also, their inability to secure the channel was actually explained later in the game, and in my opinion was funny. Did you get that far? If you did and you're not remembering it, I definitely did something wrong

Regrettably, I didn't. I tend to only be able to hold my own in puzzle games so far.

As far as this goes; I'll submit what I've learned as a writer. When a reader's question needs explaining, make sure the answer arrives as directly as possible. Until you do, the question comes off as unanswered due to failure to notice it by the writer. IE: Bob the Alien Abductee is talking with Svlaztnztl, hot green alien space babe and never once does he ask why he's been abducted, or why she can speak English (or he can speak hotgreenspacebabaneese), thus it's assumed the writer didn't give a damn. Even if it is answered eventually, the reader still is left with disbeleif for however long it takes.

Sorry for the cool story, bro.

The point is; use this as an opportunity todeliver a quick, hook joke that whams in some humor early, that would be my best suggestion. Good luck with the game, hopefully that was helpful.

[TheLastBanana]

Fair enough, I can see where you're coming from. Personally, I found that the joke was funnier when it was left for a bit like that, and it's actually a bit of a Chekhov's Gun. I sort of figured that with a puzzle game, there's not going to be enough focus on the storyline that it has to be particularly convincing. That said, if I'm writing a more serious game in the future, I'll definitely keep your advice in mind. Thanks for the tips

[Winterous]

Hello, long time without activity here. I remember really liking this game back in the day, and I recommended it to my mum but the download link isn't working anymore. Would it be possible to have it reuploaded?

[TheLastBanana]

Wow, blast from the past! I've fixed the links in the first post (except to the discussion forum, which, excepting thousand of spam bots, never did seem to accrue more than the 3 members I mentioned).

[Winterous]

I know right? 7 and a half years since the last post.