Game of Rows by Zim the Fox

[raw]
made by Zim the Fox for LD26 (COMPO)
To Mac players: The source will run on your computer but you need to first have Python 3 installed.

To Linux players: I believe you have to change permissions of the folder before running the game. sudo chmod -R a+xw [directory]
(I think that would be the correct command)
---
I made a quick WordPress blog for anybody interested in following my game or contacting me.
---
You are the nastiest pirate-- wait, no. The silliest pirate of the seven seas and you left your treasure spread around a deadly cave. Go retrieve it! What were you thinking!

This is the first game I make and the first programming project I finish and boy was it hard. I had to cut many things, like animations and sounds, either because I had no time or didn't know how to make them, and the game is rather short, but I think it is enjoyable even if it lasts five minutes.

My interpretation for minimalism can be seen in the control scheme. You can only move rows (deques) left and right, simple as that.

My heart kept beating faster and faster at the last few minutes and it almost exploded when I saw the compo had ended eleven seconds after I click submit. Then I saw there was another hour to submit the entries... What a relief...


Thank you for playing and good luck with your games!
Simon Echeverri/
Zim the Fox.
https://bitbucket.org/Zim_the_Fox/ludum-dare-26

P.S. I don't even watch Game of Thrones.

Ratings

Coolness 82% 2
Overall 3.09 644
Audio 1.67 1015
Fun 3.27 300
Graphics 2.91 652
Humor 2.32 487
Innovation 3.36 372
Mood 2.76 668
Theme 3.13 933

Feedback

馃帳 Zim the Fox
29. Apr 2013 路 03:17 UTC
Had to do some last minute fixes:

Added a line to not create a shadow context, doesn't run on some ATI cards if it creates one.

Directions were reversed. Fixed it.

Added module collections.

Changed readme to include my repository.
馃帳 Zim the Fox
29. Apr 2013 路 23:02 UTC
Made some changes to the readme, added a bug fix to support previous versions of Python and finally, removed Python executables from the source (apparently, you don't just drop python.exe on a zip and be done with it...)

Packaging is such a mess!
I'll try to make Linux executables later.
vinull
30. Apr 2013 路 01:25 UTC
Nice little puzzle game. I think my favorite level is the one with the open area at the bottom only and you need to build your way up.
stqn
30. Apr 2013 路 01:33 UTC
Well done! Good graphics, fun and smart gameplay, works perfectly. Why does this game have so few ratings?

I ran the "source" under Linux with python 3.
Topaz
30. Apr 2013 路 06:11 UTC
Nice game. I like the mechanics
mollymus
30. Apr 2013 路 10:27 UTC
I like the game! Simple and good puzzles!
imagnity
01. May 2013 路 05:15 UTC
Your download link to dropbox is broken - "Error (404)"
馃帳 Zim the Fox
01. May 2013 路 05:26 UTC
Yeah... I was changing the download links to BitBucket... I also added Linux executables!

Thank you all for the nice comments!
gmaker
01. May 2013 路 06:03 UTC
nice game!) good job!
TenTonToon
01. May 2013 路 06:34 UTC
Can't play your game. I get an error when trying to launch the .exe: "cx_Freeze: Python error in main script", followed by one heck of a traceback.
I took a screenshot that you can find here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/101571362/PyError0000.jpg

Good luck! :)
imagnity
01. May 2013 路 06:49 UTC
The puzzle concept is nice. Missing sfx for movement. A great start.
Tyro
01. May 2013 路 07:03 UTC
When I start up the game, it goes to what appears to be a title screen (there are two swords) and I can move them up and down. But the screen is blank... I can't seem to select any options. :(

Your game looks very well done though, especially for your first. Will try it once the issues are fixed!
fullmontis
01. May 2013 路 07:09 UTC
Doesn't run here :(
Windows 7 64bit
pyglet.py: unable to share context
馃帳 Zim the Fox
01. May 2013 路 07:10 UTC
Thanks to everybody for your comments!

@imagnity: Yeah... I wanted to do falling animations, too, but I had no time for that and audio editing is soooooooooooooooooooooo beyond me. And I'll play your game after I get some sleep!

@TenTonToon
Thank you for the screenshot! It was really helpful.

Most of the traceback is the freezing utility, which makes it so that you can run the script outside of my computer without installing Python. The important bit is at the bottom: OpenGL can't create a context. What graphics card are you using? What version of Windows are you running? Do you have the latest drivers? I'll look for bug reports with your problem, see if I find any solutions. Thank you for reporting the problem! :3
馃帳 Zim the Fox
01. May 2013 路 07:14 UTC
Aaaah, so many problems.

@Tyro: I've had your problem before, I think. ATI card, right? It goes away when you update your drivers, though I'll try to find the hack I've used before. If that is not the problem... I'll try to find a solution later!

@fullmontis:
I think you are having the same problem as TenTonToon. It'd be great if you provided me with your system specs and tried updating to the newest drivers.

Thank you guys for reporting the problems.
Dietrich Epp
01. May 2013 路 07:15 UTC
Download link doesn't work for me.
hypp
01. May 2013 路 07:18 UTC
I like it! Nice puzzles to solve.
Dietrich Epp
01. May 2013 路 07:21 UTC
Gah, actually the download link was working, I just wasn't paying attention. Beat the game! Some of my solutions may be unorthodox...
TenTonToon
01. May 2013 路 10:47 UTC
Yo! Follow up on your comment: I'm running a Win 7 x64 PC, using a crappy integrated graphics chip from Intel, with the latest drivers (updated prior to LD).

Thanks for taking the time to look for a solution to this problem :)
Cosmologicon
01. May 2013 路 13:39 UTC
Really creative mechanics and puzzles, that was fun, thanks! I couldn't get your Linux version to run so I ran from source. It worked great, but did you really have to call your directory "fix 02 --final sourcecode"? :P
馃帳 Zim the Fox
01. May 2013 路 17:32 UTC
@Cosmologicon:
I... have the tendency to be messy with my directories. Shhhhhh... Don't tell anybody. Also, I wonder why the executable wouldn't run for you. All I can think of is that you needed to give it write and execute permissions using chmod.

Once more, thanks to everybody for your comments and I'll get right on finding solutions to the bugs.
馃帳 Zim the Fox
01. May 2013 路 20:24 UTC
OK! I think, hope, wish that the bugs have been fixed. If they aren't, I'm not sure there is much else i can do.
fullmontis
01. May 2013 路 20:26 UTC
Hey Zim, tried again to run the game and somehow now runs smoothly! Thanks for the help anyway.
Really like the concept of the game. Simple yet very fun puzzle game.
馃帳 Zim the Fox
01. May 2013 路 20:33 UTC
@fullmontis

HAHA! :D

Yeah. After a while of working with Pyglet, I've learnt there are a couple of bugs that I have to patch when releasing. Your problem was in fact the first bug fix I did to the game, but I did it wrong, apparently. I'd still like to know what graphics card you are using.

Thank you for playing and commenting! <3
zatyka
02. May 2013 路 00:40 UTC
Very simple and fun puzzler. Nice job!
TenTonToon
02. May 2013 路 04:13 UTC
Ok, I tried your game again, and now it works perfectly! :D Thanks again for taking the time to fix whatever bug was responsible for preventing some of us for playing!

I admit your main game mechanic didn't seem much at first. Boy was I wrong! You managed to pull off one of those rare "easy to learn, hard to master" designs, and had me thinking furiously to solve some of the later puzzles. Add some polish, and you'll have a cool game for mobile platforms.

Congratulations! :)
Tyro
02. May 2013 路 05:22 UTC
Oh hey! So your game works now, huzzah! :)

Apparently those swords aren't for selecting options on a title screen, but actually choosing and arranging the row you're currently on. Not gonna lie, I had a blast playing this. It really challenges you to think creatively to get the treasure.

Oh yeah! One thing: when I first got to the stage with the treasure on the top row and the player say, oh, three columns to the right I thought, "Wow, this will be easy." But apparently, having a treasure chest dropped on your head isn't something a pirate should let happen to himself if he likes living. Might want to clarify that it's hazardous to his health in the instructions or something. :)

But yeah, this is a great game. I can tell you put a lot of effort into it and would love to see your future LD entries. Keep at it!
馃帳 Zim the Fox
02. May 2013 路 18:52 UTC
@Zatyka

Thank you for your comment! :3

@TenTonToon

I hadn't thought of that! The possibility seems a little distant because... Well, I don't have a cellphone, for one. I have waited for my boyfriend to give me his iPhone four months now! It also means learning a new language and working with new libraries, which is kind of scary. But that is a fantastic idea. I'm soooo excited thinking of that possibility!

@Tyro

Haha, I was debating whether to explain that, but I left that as a surprise for the player. I mean, you dropped 10 tonnes of gold on your head! What were you thinking, Mr. pirate!

I'm thinking on continuing development on the game. Comment the code, which is under the MIT license if anybody is interested; make a menu, of course; allow for custom levels (you can easily edit the levels in the source code), add one or two new tiles, like lava (you don't want your treasure to fall on it!). Any and all ideas are welcome!
mebibyte
03. May 2013 路 05:19 UTC
Fun and a bit of a challenge. I loved all the levels! Takes a bit of time between levels, but not too long.
馃帳 Zim the Fox
03. May 2013 路 05:49 UTC
@mebibyte

Yeah. Instead of instantly changing levels, you have a bit of time to appreciate that you won. If I had had time I would have made it more clear, maybe by a sound or a small message.

Thank you for your comment :3
sparkleswirl
03. May 2013 路 06:22 UTC
Cute game! Started out thinking it would be very easy, but I was definitely wrong...
Ryusui
04. May 2013 路 02:31 UTC
This is officially one of my favorite puzzle games. I really love the gameplay mechanics and I only wish there was more of it.

If you had a polished full version with more levels on Steam, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Cake&amp;Code
04. May 2013 路 22:07 UTC
Very, VERY, clever little game! Harkened back to the early dos/win32 games of yore. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective and I think that applies here.

I really enjoyed the level where the treasure was above, it was a smart design that forced a whole new way of playing the level without changing or adding any new gameplay rules. It's things like this kind of progression that is admirable in a game's design.

Thanks for a fun little game! :D
TehSkull
06. May 2013 路 05:48 UTC
Love the gameplay style. Love the puzzles. Seen a game or two like this, but they were action puzzles. It's nice to have a slow paced puzzler every now and then.
Benjamin
11. May 2013 路 16:11 UTC
Chest + Pirate + little sabers to select row = You know how to dress a game ! For the row mechanic itself I think it lets only few leveldesign options. Some of your levels works some others feels weird. Maybe with more square types ?
- Stairs : If above hero, the hero climb stairs until he reach an empty square. ( hero dont climb if no empty square on stair top )
- Bomb : Explode if hero or rocks fall on them ( 9 square blast )
- Sand : Vanish if hero stay on it more than one turn
馃帳 Zim the Fox
13. May 2013 路 06:55 UTC
First of all, it is 2 in the morning so I apologise if I speak nonsense.

Guys, I am just overwhelmed by your comments and I'm sorry I've taken so long to answer. I have been busy with stuff in my life, and working on my game slowly. I want to finish a more versatile level-loading mechanism, should be done and up by tomorrow, which means you can make custom levels very easily. After that, I will work on refining the mechanics (read the last response) and I'll be back to rating LD games (especially the games of you guys who have commented <3). I've also been thinking I should make a quick website for people who want to stay updated.

Thank you all for your support! <3

@Ryusui

Thank you so much! It makes me so excited to hear that. I plan to eventually release a full version, but it will take a while.

@Cake&Code:
I really appreciate it! That is my favourite level, too, because it forces the player to think differently.

@TehSkull
I'd love it if you'd told me what games like it have you seen. I want this game to be fully a puzzler where you can take as much time as you want, but I can always take a hint or two from similar games.

@Benjamin
Thank you! The swords were kind of a last minute idea but I think it really adds to the game. I disagree with you regarding the mechanic: I think the game as it is has a loooooooooot of potential but I couldn't make use of it in the short time for the Ludum Dare. However, I do plan to new tiles and maybe a new mechanic. Some tiles I've thought of are:

Lava: Kills the player and melts the chest.

Torch: Caves can get very dark and you need to illuminate them somehow.

Goop: It is very dense and it can lift the player and the chest. It can also be set on fire. (I am very wary of allowing things to rise. I'm not sure if it would improve the game).

Rotation: You can rotate the level clockwise or anti-clockwise, simple mechanic but it allows many new possibilities.

I'm not sure I like the bomb, it may become a very unpredictable mechanic, but I will try it and the sand out!
馃帳 Zim the Fox
14. May 2013 路 06:44 UTC
Ok, make that another day.
GarethIW
16. May 2013 路 08:22 UTC
Nice little puzzle game!
TehSkull
17. May 2013 路 03:37 UTC
Here's the game similar to yours that I've played before.
http://www.neopets.com/games/game.phtml?game_id=660

Just because you asked. :)
Mach60KAS
19. May 2013 路 23:52 UTC
This was a pretty neat concept. Fit the theme very well, and the puzzles had a nice progression of difficulty. Some music would have been nice, but still a solid entry.
馃帳 Zim the Fox
20. May 2013 路 02:04 UTC
@Mach60KAS

I know! I spent like two hours shaking radiographies and having water fall on pots and editing those sounds to do some ambient. Alas, I don't know anything about recording or editing so I wasted my time! :P

Thank you for commenting!

@GarethIW

Thank you very much!

@TheSkull

I will check the game when I have a little more time. Thankies!
MinionStudios
20. May 2013 路 13:57 UTC
Clever and fun!