Minimal Blocks! by messiano

made by messiano for LD26 (COMPO)

Gameplay preview: http://youtu.be/E1Bci1ZySq8

UPLOADED A POST-COMPO VERSION WITH SOME MINOR GAMEPLAY CHANGES (Please rate the 48h version though):
- Running is not required anymore, the player runs by default
- You don't have to move with moving platforms

Top-down platform game centered about jump and interaction with different kind of blocks. It features 13 levels and an original soundtrack with 3 hypnotic songs :).

I'm an 8-bit gamer at core, so this game gets hard pretty soon. DON'T EVER RELEASE THE RUN KEY, not running is sort of worthless.

There's an alternate set of keys: arrow + space + shift instead of WADS. AFAIK, some keyboards have trouble pressing many adjacent keys at the same time, try mixing the altrnatives if you have any problems (such as with diagonal jumps).

This is my first Ludum Dare, I'm an amateur so I'm proud of the result!

It was written in C# using the XNA 4 framework. Tools used: SFXR, Cubase and numerous VSTs, Audacity, Paintbrush, GIMP, Visual Studio and XNA.

(C) TDAH GAMES 2013

Windows (Installer)	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55900077/LD26/MinimalBlocksLD26_installer.zip
Windows (Binary)	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55900077/LD26/MinimalBlocksLD26_Binary.zip
Source	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55900077/LD26/MinimalBlocksLD26_src.zip
Post-Compo (minor gameplay changes)	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55900077/LD26/MinimalBlocksPostCompoFixes.zip
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-26/?action=preview&uid=22060

Ratings

Coolness	100%	1
Overall	2.83	914

Audio	3.00	374
Fun	2.63	882
Graphics	2.33	1070
Humor	1.97	748
Innovation	2.57	951
Mood	2.43	984
Theme	3.37	722

Feedback

thersus

29. Apr 2013 · 03:23 UTC

The game is starting on the 13th level... I think you can fix it under the "typo" rule described on the bottom of the page ;D

🎤 messiano

29. Apr 2013 · 03:32 UTC

Fixed, thanks!

@SamPotasz

29. Apr 2013 · 16:21 UTC

I really liked the music! The controls were a little too "loose" for me, which made the game really really difficult. Thightening these up and giving a clearer sense of the player's boundaries (indicating when they will fall and when they wont) would be a big help :) Thanks for sharing.

🎤 messiano

30. Apr 2013 · 02:16 UTC

Thanks for the comment, I don't have great expectations on my ratings but I would be happy if the music gets well rated, even though that was by far the quickest thing to make.

Hint: don't ever stop holding the run key :).

Kaphonaits

30. Apr 2013 · 03:03 UTC

I liked the music, however the controls weren't great. :(

sP0CkEr2

30. Apr 2013 · 03:05 UTC

sorry -- could not get it to run on Windows 8 -- any ideas?

Otoris

30. Apr 2013 · 03:07 UTC

Can't uninstall? There isn't an uninstaller?

thenmal

30. Apr 2013 · 03:15 UTC

Unable to start game on Win7.

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: Minimal Blocks.exe
Application Version: 1.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 517de9a4
Fault Module Name: KERNELBASE.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7601.17965

richtx

30. Apr 2013 · 03:27 UTC

I like the concept of a top down platform/puzzle game. It's a bit difficult especially when you have to keep the player character moving on moving tiles. Overall, it fits the theme well. Good job.

MaxSzlagor

30. Apr 2013 · 03:33 UTC

Fun! Enjoyed the different types of jumping platforms and interactions. I wish the character moved with the platforms while you are standing on them to make jumps easier to time. Also, jump does not work when you are holding two arrow keys at the same time (in a diagonal).

🎤 messiano

30. Apr 2013 · 04:02 UTC

Otoris: see if you can uninstall from the control panel, as far as I remember that's how it works with XNA.

Thenmal: Not sure about the crashes, I'm sorry. Can you run other XNA4 games?

MaxSzlagor: Could that be your keyboard? Mine does that sometimes. See if using the alternative key scheme works (keys instead of WADS and jumping with space.

Cybearg

30. Apr 2013 · 04:03 UTC

Very interesting experiment. There's reason why we don't tend to see top-down platformers, but I won't fault the attempt. It was innovative, at least!

A couple things, though. It was odd that the player doesn't move with the moving platforms that were being stood on. It just made for a lot of frustration when I would over-correct and fall off while trying to keep up with it. Also, some of the levels seem to be set up in such a way that the puzzle forces you to stand and wait for it to be ready for you to act. Now, there's nothing wrong with a puzzle that requires you to pause a moment before continuing, but forcing you to stand still for a few seconds at the very start or else everything will be off-sync kind of grinds the nerves after a while.

But still, overall a solid attempt at a rare gameplay style. Kudos!

OnlySlightly

30. Apr 2013 · 04:34 UTC

Love the aesthetics and feel of the game. It definitely gets challenging. Great job!

Pinkerator

30. Apr 2013 · 11:51 UTC

It's pretty hard, but truely minimalistic :-D

Corofides

30. Apr 2013 · 11:52 UTC

Nice game. Pretty fun and definitely gets challenging.

🎤 messiano

30. Apr 2013 · 17:54 UTC

Cybearg: thanks for you thoughful comments, I hardly play any video games so these are great lessons for me, I'll take them for my next attempt.

nseward

01. May 2013 · 05:18 UTC

Good game. I found it very challenging.

ecool377

01. May 2013 · 05:42 UTC

great game, glad to see awesome games like this one

gmaker

01. May 2013 · 05:58 UTC

very interesting and fun ) i like it

TehSkull

01. May 2013 · 06:24 UTC

This is SO HARD. And it's a MASSIVE game for how simple it is. 60 MB? Also, I can't seem to jump diagonally to the top-left. The platforms moving without the player was VERY awkward.

Dietrich Epp

01. May 2013 · 06:38 UTC

This game is just way too hard... I got over thirty deaths and never beat the third level. That diagonal platform is just impossible to stay on.

🎤 messiano

01. May 2013 · 06:46 UTC

Dietrich: hold RUN all the time, otherwise you'll be way too slow to do anything (note to myself: running shouldn't even exist, character should move faster!)

TehSkull: It's massive because of the soundtrack, XNA doesn't compress the sound by default, so there's about 50MB of wave files.

Dark Acre Jack

01. May 2013 · 08:16 UTC

Congrats on finishing your 1st LD.

aeveis

01. May 2013 · 08:22 UTC

Controls could be tightened up, but the visuals for jumping up I thought were pretty good. The music is nice, reminds me of portal.

ShellfishGames

01. May 2013 · 12:21 UTC

Cool game, although it really is rather frustrating. I only got to Level 5, but from what I can tell so far the concept is great, and its execution as well, for the most part. The only weak point seem to be the difficult controls.
The graphical style is convincing as well. Clean and simple, yet nice and unique.

multikorv

01. May 2013 · 23:08 UTC

Could not run it on Windows 7. :(

JustinMullin

01. May 2013 · 23:33 UTC

Looks like I'm mostly repeating things that have been said before, but my main gripe was just that the player didn't move with the moving platforms. Other than that, this was pretty fun, and the music was pretty cool.

Jellycakes

02. May 2013 · 01:37 UTC

Good game, but really difficult to the point where I had been tearing my hair out. Didn't even manage to beat it but it kept me hooked despite dying so many times (200).

🎤 messiano

02. May 2013 · 01:55 UTC

Sorry for the syphilis Jellycakes, and thanks for playing my game on your channel.

mattperrin

02. May 2013 · 02:33 UTC

Little tricky navigating the moving platforms, neat idea though.

dapierce

02. May 2013 · 05:08 UTC

Clever concept doing platforming from this perspective. The disappearing platforms gave me Mega Man flashbacks. The angles you have to run and jump between many of the platforms screams out for analog stick gamepad controls.

Typedeaf

02. May 2013 · 17:29 UTC

It was a nice game, but very annoying that i had to run with the moving blocks. Overall pretty fun :) Good job!

cardboard

02. May 2013 · 23:36 UTC

I don't think my keyboard wanted to let me run and jump at the same time, which made things more difficult. Neat game though, I like the concept of jumping "out of the screen." Oh, I also like the player's animations ;)

SonnyBone

03. May 2013 · 19:41 UTC

Had a blast watching jellycakes get to 200 deaths in this. Great challenge and nice top-down platforming action! You really nailed the theme from an aesthetic standpoint!

tankete

04. May 2013 · 05:11 UTC

Fun game. Liked the idea and music. Wish the moving platforms carried the player.

Congrats on your first Ludum Dare! (It was mine too!)

wrongcoder

04. May 2013 · 05:49 UTC

This is quite refreshing-- it's simple, well-executed, and surprisingly fun!

M0N0QUARTZ

04. May 2013 · 08:52 UTC

This game looks cool but I can't play, I'm on Mac...

someone

04. May 2013 · 18:26 UTC

Runs in Wine, but far too fast to be playable.
Managed to get past the first level somehow with about 80 deaths...

Arkazon

04. May 2013 · 19:45 UTC

Nice idea with the top down platformer. As others have said though it's really hurt by having to move in order to stay on the moving platforms, this is made worse by having no indication that they are about to change direction.

ghostinthesoft

05. May 2013 · 07:31 UTC

Nice concept, perfectly in the theme. I agree with some comments telling the character should move with the platform.

🎤 messiano

05. May 2013 · 15:35 UTC

Uploaded a post-compo version with two minor changes: RUNNING doesn't exist anymore, character runs by default. Also, in this version you don't have to move with the moving platforms.

Please rate the 48h version though.

TinyDrakkarStudio

05. May 2013 · 16:52 UTC

It is fun for first time ... i like

Adipson

05. May 2013 · 17:48 UTC

Good job and nice concept

commanderstitch

05. May 2013 · 18:53 UTC

i played till level 12. that one will take a lot more effort to finish it. lol. those moving platforms i keep expecting my guy to "ride" the platforms, but then it doesn't work like that. i loved the music! the top down 2-d jumper was neat. good work.

lightnarcissus

09. May 2013 · 03:29 UTC

Few issues with controls aside,I think I really enjoyed this entry. Props for the excellent music!

LoneStranger

12. May 2013 · 05:07 UTC

Not a fan of having to move to stay on a moving platform, and the diagonal movement is kinda hard on keyboard, but it's an interesting idea and fits the theme very well.

Sylvain.p

14. May 2013 · 17:37 UTC

Good, but the jump is hard to predict.

Spelchan

15. May 2013 · 19:54 UTC

An interesting perspective on the platform game, but I found the controls needed more work. Having to walk/run when on a platform just to stay in the same spot was counter-intuitive.

RawBits

17. May 2013 · 19:04 UTC

Nice for minimalism. I would expect moving blocks to take me with them though - I saw it fixed. Level design is good and it hardens just fine. (That's what she sad.) Maybe some z-ordering would be good so the guy isn't shows under the blocks - gives more feel of height.

All-in-all it's ok, but please never make a game fullscreen by default again!