Ninox the Nightbringer by Dining Philosopher

[raw]
made by Dining Philosopher for LD25 (JAM)
You are Ninox, the bringer of Darkness!
In this puzzle game, your job is to black out the world, one level at a time. You have to use the switches for this, but beware of the spikes - the darkness can be treacherous!

Use the arrow keys for movement, F for fullscreen and Escape to exit fullscreen.

28-12-12: We added a Windows executable! Please comment if you have problems with it.

08-02-14: Ported to javascript some time ago, available under the web link now.

Alternatively, you can run the source. You'll need python 2.x (works on 2.7, not on 3.x) and pygame to play, README is included.

There are 15 levels, and it includes a goat. ;) Please leave a comment!

Ratings

Coolness 96% 2
Overall(Jam) 3.46 69
Audio(Jam) 2.94 144
Fun(Jam) 3.36 62
Graphics(Jam) 2.77 227
Humor(Jam) 2.74 132
Innovation(Jam) 3.48 50
Mood(Jam) 3.18 99
Theme(Jam) 2.69 255

Feedback

TehSkull
18. Dec 2012 · 06:20 UTC
I, and many others, will be FAR more inclined to play your game if you include all required libraries in your .zip

Looking forward to playing this when you do. :)
DiningPhilosopher
18. Dec 2012 · 07:42 UTC
I thought so, I spent about half a day trying to create executables with py2exe, cxfreeze and pyinstaller - all in vain -.-

I'll see what I can do!
Frozen Fractal
18. Dec 2012 · 20:02 UTC
Wow, great job! That's a very innovative concept, and the level design is excellent. I frequently found myself frustrated with my own bad memory, but never with the game, which is how it should be :) It's interesting how groping around in the dark can add so much tension to what is essentially a puzzle game.
Starspell
18. Dec 2012 · 21:53 UTC
I have never used pygame or python before so I'm not going to try to figure out how to run this ^^; .

I'll be back later to see if the files have been updated - sorry.
zenmumbler
18. Dec 2012 · 21:56 UTC
Nice puzzler here, reminds me of the puzzle games of yore on Classic Mac OS. Designing puzzle levels is hard so it's good to see quite a bunch of them in here, though the ones in the middle (with only buttons to clear) were sort of filler. Good stuff!
pighead10
18. Dec 2012 · 22:00 UTC
Link broken! :(
Hume
18. Dec 2012 · 22:03 UTC
@HumeSpeaks when you get it repackaged...I'd really like to try it out.
pighead10
18. Dec 2012 · 22:25 UTC
Agh, don't have pygame.
DiningPhilosopher
18. Dec 2012 · 22:40 UTC
Hey, thanks for the comments! I tried to create an executable with py2exe, pyinstaller and cx_freeze, but nothing works. Any suggestions? Also, is the link broken for others as well?
Justin Kibbe
18. Dec 2012 · 23:06 UTC
Awesome game, its a shame you haven't been able to get py2exe or other converters working. Also make sure you specify the version of python and pygame you are using because all versions of python 3.x will not work with your code.
NiceAlexanderAS
18. Dec 2012 · 23:20 UTC
heheheh funny little flying guy n.n its awesome :D and i also like puzzle games so its very interesting too :D
MarekkPie
18. Dec 2012 · 23:39 UTC
Controls well, but not really much to the game.
Cake&Code
19. Dec 2012 · 00:10 UTC
Interesting game! The music got me pumped, and darkening the world wasn't as easy as it sounded when you couldn't even see all the switches until you lit them up or accidentally walked over them. Very clever!

Saying the game runs under OSX, Windows, Linux is all well and good, but not saying that it requires pygame is misleading. I hope you get that compiled version working! :D
🎤 Dining Philosopher
19. Dec 2012 · 07:45 UTC
@Justin, thanks for the info about Python 3.x, I changed the description.
@Cake&Code, I did mention pygame in the description, where do you suggest I put it?
🎤 Dining Philosopher
19. Dec 2012 · 11:27 UTC
Edit-ish: Sorry Cake&Code, in fact you were right about python and pygame not being mentioned. I made the game together with my girlfriend and she had already changed the description based on your comment when I saw it. Thanks for your feedback!
Rex Peppers
20. Dec 2012 · 20:48 UTC
Ugh... not sure what I would have to install to get this to run...
Jiddo
20. Dec 2012 · 20:57 UTC
Nice puzzely kind of game. A simple but fun and engaging concept. I didn't like the all-black levels so much tho. They were mostly frustrating.
goulding57
21. Dec 2012 · 19:18 UTC
Will keep checking to see if you update this. Screenshots look fun!
hnjslater
22. Dec 2012 · 02:08 UTC
Very nicely put together, on ubuntu with pygame installed it just worked!
Grungi Ankhfire
22. Dec 2012 · 18:44 UTC
Nice one! Python dev here, so I had pygame installed. Tried to make an executable for you, but I also failed, sorry :( Anyway, great game, simple mechanic, but the levels are well designed. The music was a tad too loud, but the idea is very sound, and the presentation di it justice. Hope you elaborate on this game!
schnerble
23. Dec 2012 · 00:10 UTC
Nice graphics and sound. The idea is interesting, though it does quickly become mostly a game of memory :) A few more types of objects in there might spice it up a bit.
A couple of things you might like to consider for next time:
- an executable version. I see in the comments you tried pyinstaller; I gave it a quick run to see, and yes, the generated executable crashed... odd, because I've used it for a pygame entry before!
- An exit key :) (escape only seemed to exit full screen mode)
JoeCool17
23. Dec 2012 · 02:36 UTC
Protip: if you use py2exe, subject yourself to the horrors of 2.5 on some random windows box in order to get a serviceable windows binary. Maybe later I can get a binary for you, as I have one set up.
jfroco
23. Dec 2012 · 03:48 UTC
Nice mechanic, fun levels, great game...It could become a great mobile game. Congrats
Mista Koo
23. Dec 2012 · 16:17 UTC
Sorry but I couldn't run this game even though I tried to more than once.
sclark39
23. Dec 2012 · 17:48 UTC
I don't have Python, so can't run.
naufr4g0
23. Dec 2012 · 22:57 UTC
I downloaded a pygame installer for windows, that install something somewhere. Anyway your game doesn't work.
the line of code:
import pygame
fails to find pygame.
Dark Acre Jack
24. Dec 2012 · 15:46 UTC
Hope you can figure out how to deploy an .exe by next LD :)
zairon
25. Dec 2012 · 23:30 UTC
Fun game, but a pain to get it running.
Neonlare
26. Dec 2012 · 08:28 UTC
Very nice level design, just needs a bit more to it right now :3.
dragonfi
28. Dec 2012 · 13:34 UTC
Very innovative, I really like the idea. It was also fun that I had to do certain parts from memory, that is something I don't see enough in puzzle games.

The audio and graphics could use some polish, but the music set the right mood, and the bringer of night was quite cute. (I'm especially fond of the victory animation.)
🎤 Dining Philosopher
28. Dec 2012 · 18:23 UTC
Hey all, thanks for the comments! We got back from Christmas yesterday, and finally managed to create a Windows executable. Not sure if it works on another machine than our own though...

@Grungi, thanks for trying to create an executable, that part took us more time than the game itself. In the end it worked by using PyInstaller under Windows, changing font.Font to font.SysFont and copying separate .dll files to go with the executable (to make .ogg sound work). What do you usually use for creating executables?

@schnerble, we considered more complex objects, but that seemed to take away from the simplicity of the game, and time was short (first time participants). Thanks for trying to create an executable too, we succeeded in the end (hopefully ;) ). I wanted to add an exit-possibility, but was surprised how bad pygame handles keypresses in general. I used pygame.time.wait() a lot, which suspends processing of any key-events. I'll try to make things more thread-like next time.

@JoeCool17, you lost me at "horrors of 2.5" :P Fortunately PyInstaller worked for us in the end.
Pacifist Games
29. Dec 2012 · 00:47 UTC
Great game, loved the variety of levels you were able to create!
goerp
29. Dec 2012 · 14:21 UTC
I like the way your owl looks, but the exe didnt work and trying to remember how to get the python source to work was a bit too much for now. Sorry.
🎤 Dining Philosopher
31. Dec 2012 · 10:52 UTC
@goerp, could you describe the problem with the exe?
Jeremias
01. Jan 2013 · 16:48 UTC
That is a really great game with good level design. Just perfect. Some little polishing, e.g. animations and so on, but really good job anyway. Just put it in some store!

Needed 1841 steps in total to complete all levels.

The exe worked fine on my Win7 system.
amassingham
01. Jan 2013 · 23:30 UTC
I find it odd that spikes can kill an owl - cant he just fly ? Silly owl.

Neat concept though, its sort of an advanced form of the card game memory :)
Benjamin
03. Jan 2013 · 04:16 UTC
Simple but very fun idea. The leveldesign tends to become poor when you progress in the game ( I gave up on the black room with one visible spike on start ). I think the first levels was more interesting. Maybe 8-10 levels with top polish would have been better for a jam entry. The music is repetitive but I really like it.
Amos Wenger
05. Jan 2013 · 11:04 UTC
Definitely enjoyed that entry!

To me, the game concept was fresh, and I appreciated it very much. Almost gave up on some levels but eventually kept going up to the level shown in the big screenshot in the description. Then, it started getting too hairy for me, and I bailed out!

Nice one, looking forward to the next one!
HeyChinaski
05. Jan 2013 · 20:13 UTC
2331 steps. Very clever idea and good execution. Perhaps could have done with a bit more variety as the levels went on.
frosty
05. Jan 2013 · 22:35 UTC
Neat little memory puzzler. =)
Datw
06. Jan 2013 · 02:34 UTC
This one is plain awesome. You should consider porting it to iOS and Android because it is innovative AND fun. Didn't see the goat though :(
🎤 Dining Philosopher
06. Jan 2013 · 11:57 UTC
@Datw: You need some imagination to see the goat (in the last level). ;) We don't know yet if we will port the game to other platforms, but probably not, we'd rather make a new game for LD26. ;)
Cryovat
07. Jan 2013 · 21:55 UTC
2545 steps. The game certainly had some frustrating moments (there was a few points where I seriously considered putting Scotch tape on the monitor!), but you got a good mechanic and a very cool concept here. The premise feels very cinematic. :)

Would love to see a "full" (and somewhat more forgiving) game based on this. :)
🎤 Dining Philosopher
07. Jan 2013 · 22:13 UTC
@ Cryovat & @ HeyChinaski: Wow, you don't easily give up. Thanks for playing the game to the end! :D