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[hmm]

Hi all,

I made a new WebGL thing: Circles Five Ways. Its just a little puzzle-y experiment, trying to get the most out of the humble circle.

Play it online here:
https://lukeoc.itch.io/circles-five-ways

Interested to hear your feedback:
- Did you know how to interact with it?
- General thoughts/likes/dislikes?

Like I said, I just wanted to experiment with some interaction design stuff, but hopefully this will be a pleasant experience. Enjoy!

[lfrazier]

Very relaxing, almost therapeutic. Definitely a pleasant experience! At first I didn't know how to interact (mouse vs keyboard), but I figured it out pretty quickly and that feeling of discovery on each level helped me to stay engaged.

[Karin E. Skoog]

Super cool! It took me a little while to realize the game had started (I just assumed my computer was being slow), but then it was intuitive.

It's been a while since I played something that surprised me in that way, and the sound design is great. Did you grab sounds off the internet?

The music-based one reminded me of when you try out an instrument you don't know, so you just try different patterns until you learn which note is which. I tried it out twice, and the first time I interacted with small areas, thinking there might be certain notes or a pattern I was supposed to figure out. The second time, I spammed it, so the screen disappeared very quickly. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that it went away so quickly. : )

Any plans to continue developing this concept? You may want to add a screenshot to your post so people are more likely to try it out. I almost skipped over it, but the words "puzzle-y experiment" drew me in.

Thanks for sharing!

[Thaumaturge]

That was a neat little game, with a nice sense of discovery and experimentation, I think! ^_^

My main critique would be that the first set of interactions goes on for a little too long--I was starting to wonder whether that was all that the game had to offer when the mechanic finally changed. (Unless I did something that's unclear to me--I did try clicking my mouse at around that time, I think.)

[Chyme]

That was a neat little game, with a nice sense of discovery and experimentation, I think! ^_^

My main critique would be that the first set of interactions goes on for a little too long--I was starting to wonder whether that was all that the game had to offer when the mechanic finally changed. (Unless I did something that's unclear to me--I did try clicking my mouse at around that time, I think.)

I'm going to have to parrot Thaumaturge here and say I was also a bit confused at the very beginning and was unsure if I was progressing or doing something wrong.

Other than that detail, I really enjoyed the discovery the game had to offer as well. I'd say your experiment was a success because I'd love to see more of this in the future! Nicely done.

[hmm]

Thanks all for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed.

Good point about the first mechanic sticking around a bit too long. I think I'll reduce the number of steps required to complete this first "challenge".

It's been a while since I played something that surprised me in that way, and the sound design is great. Did you grab sounds off the internet?

I did get the sounds from the internet: mostly a lot of scouring of OpenGameArt assets, with a little tweaking in Audacity. Finding good audio is always a challenge, so I usually keep my audio design pretty minimal.

[hmm]

Hey all, I've updated the game to shorten the intro scene a little bit. Hope this addresses the issues you were having
Circles Five Ways

[FROGANUS]

Really cool.
Feeling-wise, reminds me of breezy sequences from a good puzzle game.

Aesthetically, reminds me of a Rafael Rozendaal piece.
Check out his mini-art-websites:
http://www.newrafael.com/websites/

[hmm]

Thanks! And thanks for the link. There's definitely a similarity in the style - I'll be bookmarking this for some inspiration in the future.

[belbeeno]

I will always be a fan of minimalist puzzle games, like Okay? or Hundreds.  I feel like the interactions would sell better on touch (especially tablets), but I didn't find it confusing at all on mouse & keyboard.  The way the sounds responded to user input was very satisfying and in some cases it felt like playing around on a sequencer.  I also like how concise the game is (even the name is straight to the point!).

I can't really think of anything to dislike... nice work!  I feel like the mechanics you explored could have useful applications in UI or as parts of a larger game, so be sure to keep these five ways towards the top of your bag of design tricks!