Cubric by noethis

[raw]
made by noethis for LD28 (COMPO)
Cubric is an abstract puzzle game about production and consumption. One move per level--make it count! Hit N to skip to the next level if stuck.

NOTE: I *think* I managed to fix the win condition bugs! Please let me know if you have any problems.


CHEAT SHEET (if you need it):
-----------------------------
BLUE - clones adjacent blocks and pushes them out
WHITE - regular blocks, can be cloned, "magnetic"
OUTLINED - these blocks are fixed and can't be cloned/eaten
ORANGE - consumes adjacent blocks


Attributions:
http://freesound.org/people/ihatetoregister/sounds/31822/ (modified)

Ratings

Coolness 92% 2
Overall 3.26 296
Audio 3.34 123
Fun 2.91 459
Graphics 3.13 386
Humor 1.60 750
Innovation 3.74 72
Mood 2.84 447
Theme 3.55 141

Feedback

jillytot
16. Dec 2013 · 06:24 UTC
I couldn't win the first level. I skipped around a bit, seems pretty neat, but i think either i dont get it, or the win conditions need some tuning.
Baknik
16. Dec 2013 · 06:25 UTC
It wasn't obvious how the blocks were supposed to interact.
conormn
16. Dec 2013 · 06:25 UTC
Unsure what to do on the first level. I tried putting the white block all over the place. Cool environment tho and the title screenshot looks killer.
apwolf
16. Dec 2013 · 06:29 UTC
Good concept and I like the look, although I couldn't get passed the first level.
ThatGuy
16. Dec 2013 · 06:31 UTC
Great puzzle game, it's definitely open for a lot of growth if you keep working on it (new blocks, bigger maps, more complicated puzzles). The biggest problem is the lack of guidance during the first level, since the player doesn't know about blue blocks (I thought it was bugged). Great work!
Robinerd
16. Dec 2013 · 06:31 UTC
I like the graphical style, but I really didn't understand what to do except from hoe the blue cubes work. Tried first and second levels, but couldn't pass anything. Kudos for the nice ambient sounds though :)
WhoaConstrictor
16. Dec 2013 · 06:31 UTC
Maybe I'm an idiot but I honestly cannot figure out how to play this game. After a lot of trying I figured out that placing a white block next to a blue block caused it to grow in that direction, but all options resulted in failure. This has the potential to be really cool but it needs to be explained better (or at all). Looks and sounds nice, though.
squibbons
16. Dec 2013 · 06:34 UTC
Level 1 wouldn't complete for me, and I assume it's suppose to be completed by just having a line go between the blue and the red square. I did just skip it eventually and beat the other 9 though. Really fun, I would buy a game like this. I could probably kill quite a bit of time playing this concept.
🎤 noethis
16. Dec 2013 · 06:36 UTC
For those saying they can't get past the first level--did you put the white block adjacent and to the right of the blue one? And then did it grow? Trying to figure out if it is a bug or you're just not figuring it out. :)
dalbinblue
16. Dec 2013 · 06:37 UTC
I couldn't get any of the level's win conditions to trigger; however, that said I did like the puzzles and the concept a lot. I did get the game to crash on level 4, but I couldn't replicate it so I can't give to details.
mcgraw
16. Dec 2013 · 15:52 UTC
Needed a little more help getting things going, but once I discovered it I enjoyed it. Solid work!
burgerdare
16. Dec 2013 · 16:09 UTC
really, REALLY confusing and poorly explained. I want to like it, but nobody has explained to me how.
nicso
17. Dec 2013 · 16:02 UTC
great concept, could become a really great little game with more levels
sekaru
18. Dec 2013 · 05:45 UTC
It's a pretty good idea but like others have said objectives aren't entirely obvious (probably should've included a tutorial inside the game).
Devon
18. Dec 2013 · 05:46 UTC
was very confused at first but eventually got that putting white blocks next to blue made them grow or something. got to level 4
Super Hamster
18. Dec 2013 · 05:54 UTC
Cool game, I wish the directions were a bit more clear.
dudsen
18. Dec 2013 · 22:24 UTC
You know, there are games I play a few seconds, and some a few minutes. Sometimes closing the tab, because the game lost me. And then there are games I do play to the end. This was one of these. Kept me going with its simplicity. Everytime I think there won't be a game with cubes that makes me stick to it, something like this comes around the corner.
Once you understand the system its pretty easy. With some more work put into it and some more levels it would be a solid puzzler! Said someone touch controls ? ;)

All in all, very well done sir!
GeorgeBroussard
19. Dec 2013 · 04:19 UTC
Love the graphics, audio and overall style. Top notch. I got to about level 6 or so. I confess to not really understanding the blocks and just sort of trial and error'd it. I think you have a very nice puzzle idea here though and would keep working on it. Very well done for 48 hours.
GeorgeBroussard
19. Dec 2013 · 04:25 UTC
Ok I went back and finished it at level 10, so it was compelling enough to pull me back. Good stuff.
yosh
19. Dec 2013 · 07:14 UTC
It's always refreshing and mind bending to get to meet new puzzle game mechanics. Thank you for that! The fact we have only one move limits the complexity but I'm pretty sure the game could go very far with this concept.
Great job!
popogames
19. Dec 2013 · 07:15 UTC
Very interesting puzzle mechanic, and it got quit challenging early on!
joe40001
19. Dec 2013 · 07:17 UTC
Very solid game, level 2 actually gave me the most trouble, because of assumptions I made. Anyway really can't give any complaints pretty much the perfect Ludum Dare game. (And it fits the theme)

I'd be interested in how the game evolves if you took it further.
bitserum
19. Dec 2013 · 07:22 UTC
Audio here is superb. I enjoyed the puzzles too, though they could use some further explanation.
Also a keyboard should really not be necessary to play (with an addition of two buttons it could be mouse optional, a minor not-so-relavant detail but something I would have preferred).

I got stuck at levels 6 & 8 (I stopped with 8th), I just can't figure out what I'm supposed to do there.
Zerkruemler
19. Dec 2013 · 07:26 UTC
Great idea. I like it very much. Also very cool sound and sound effects. I was however not able to find out what the orange blocks are useful for. I had to skip all levels with orange blocks. An easy example level where the orange block does something useful would be helpful. The last level seems to be bugged. I connected the blocks, but it was not recognized. I was a bit annoyed that the game is controlled by mouse, but I have to use the keyboard(space) to go to the next level. This doesn't make sense for me.
Nice work with great potential. With a good tutorial, more block types and more levels this could be a great game for a tablet or phone.
DaleP
19. Dec 2013 · 07:49 UTC
Unique and challenging puzzle game. Apart from the somewhat vague hint about the blue block on the first level (maybe there also should have been another level before with nothing but white blocks and the super-obvious solution of dragging one into line, to teach the win condition before teaching more complicated elements like the blue block), it generally did a decent job of teaching the player as they go (i.e. the game is its own tutorial; Portal is another great example of this).

Sometimes it felt like some of the starting arrangements were misleading. E.g. on level 5, I kept trying to come up with a solution that involved placing both blue blocks in the same corner since that's where most of the blocks started out. One arrangement I tried almost solved the level but was off by a block or two, so I kept trying different ones and ended up accidentally making some crazy self-moving automata that somehow ate the red block (I then felt like an idiot when I realized how simple the actual solution was). Maybe that's just me though.
AlanZucconi
19. Dec 2013 · 15:21 UTC
An interesting gameplay! :D
WhoaConstrictor
21. Dec 2013 · 06:50 UTC
Played again after win condition bugs were fixed. Significantly better, actually a pretty cool mechanic. Well done!
Doctor Broccoli
23. Dec 2013 · 17:12 UTC
Good stuff, I like the graphics and audio. It was a bit short though and I think the puzzles could be greatly improved if you'd added the ability to do more than 1 move.
MaTX
23. Dec 2013 · 17:12 UTC
I like the idea behind, but I think the first level is too much trial & error. I had to come and read the cheats in the description to understand what to do.

Game design is a very subjective field, but I think that you cannot leave the player like that in your first level. The array of possibilities is too big to have a trial & error level. I did try at least 10 combinations before putting it near the blue cube.

I know that is not logical, as the player may try all the combinations with the coloured cubes, but in my mind I thought I did place it once on the blue cube but apparently I did not.

At the end, a nice idea anyway :)
celsyum
23. Dec 2013 · 17:17 UTC
first level was hardest , but game was awesome!
van noctar
23. Dec 2013 · 17:28 UTC
I can't win the 2nd level! It's very hard :D I little tutorial is welcome :)
ViliX
28. Dec 2013 · 15:14 UTC
The 2nd level was hardest of all of them. I didn't knew, that I can move the white box as well.. Yet after that I had great time playing this game :)
aeveis
31. Dec 2013 · 07:41 UTC
took some time to figure out, creates some interesting interactions though. :)
shatley123
31. Dec 2013 · 09:19 UTC
Hard game, farthest i got to was level 4.
SaintHeiser
03. Jan 2014 · 04:10 UTC
There are strange rules but I really like it =)
One of most interesting puzzle games for me.
Excellent work, man!
thegoofromspace
03. Jan 2014 · 04:15 UTC
Great puzzles! Took me a while to get some of them, but I got 'em all.
xrm0
04. Jan 2014 · 13:19 UTC
Great visuals. A bit more of explanation on how sometimes a white box could push another white box would be nice.
IHateATMFees
06. Jan 2014 · 23:24 UTC
Very unique and challenging, great job!