Exciting Electrons by Tumaini

[raw]
made by Tumaini for LD23 (COMPO)
Sounds made with the excellent sfxr.
Engine used: jMonkeyEngine 3.
Run with java -jar excitingElectrons.jar
You can also use the run scripts provided:
* run.bat for Windows
* run.sh for Linux
Alternatively, you can use the Java Web Start link to start directly from the web.

Ratings

Coolness 46% 688
Overall 2.21 828
Audio 2.26 519
Fun 1.48 886
Graphics 2.46 652
Humor 1.10 802
Innovation 3.54 148
Mood 2.06 774
Theme 3.25 314

Feedback

V0ID
23. Apr 2012 · 09:06 UTC
I like that game :)
The graphics/sounds are neat and I like the scientific background. Electrons are so tiny that it fits very well into the theme.
Sometimes it felt like my clicks where not registered properly but that has not been a big cutback.
SBareS
23. Apr 2012 · 12:18 UTC
The game throws an exception when I click start.
Suese
23. Apr 2012 · 12:29 UTC
Got a menu and a crash. Sorry.
berkano
23. Apr 2012 · 12:30 UTC
Neat idea, but found it a bit frustrating! (but I'm a bit impatient)
De10ter
23. Apr 2012 · 12:32 UTC
Hmm, I get that it's based on real data and I like the concept but it seems needlessly fiddly :/
It wasn't clear at first to use the mouse wheel but even after reading that, the default setting moves the electron but obviously isn't the (whole) answer/solution but _any_ other value I use either has no effect or sends it flying off :(
caranha
23. Apr 2012 · 12:36 UTC
That was a very interesting idea. I liked the concept, the sounds and the interface.

But there are some problems that prevent the game from being very fun: It seems that passing to the next level is simply a question of luck -- you excite the electron to the highest level, and hope that it decays to the correct level by itself, generating the light that you need.

Also, I got dozens and dozens of "level complete" message, but the game didn't seem to change at all.

Well, it was a great idea anyway, and I hope you take the time to polish it!
Evgis
23. Apr 2012 · 12:44 UTC
Interesting concept!
🎤 Tumaini
23. Apr 2012 · 13:03 UTC
Thank you all for trying it!
There was a critical bug with a shader for OS X that should now be fixed - it could perhaps explain the crashes on "Start".

@De10ter: Unfortunately I started on in game docs too late and never had time to finish them properly. This is also why the Credits button does nothing.

@caranha: Thanks for the feedback!
Indeed, advancing to the next level depends fairly much on luck, but you have a greater chance if you excite the electron to certain levels.

Unfortunately there are only two levels, so after you complete the second one, it just loads that one again and again. If it had only been a 49h compo! :)

I will most definitely work more on this, as I had several more ideas on how to make it better and more research to do and I didn't have the time for it during the compo.
This game will probably be a mini-game (along with other mini-game ideas I have) in a larger game I'm working on, in the next version.
MarekkPie
23. Apr 2012 · 14:04 UTC
I think the computer I am using sucks to hard to play this.
cornedor
23. Apr 2012 · 14:08 UTC
Very hard to understand.
Raptor85
23. Apr 2012 · 14:30 UTC
interesting concept but the controls/what to do is a little hard to figure out. The text at the beginning also is black on black so it's really hard to read.
piterlouis
23. Apr 2012 · 21:43 UTC
I don't understand the gameplay very well, It isn't funny :(. The interface is Ok and the effects of particles are good. Credits in main menu not working, right?.
ComaToes
23. Apr 2012 · 21:59 UTC
I want to like it because it's science, but it seems too fiddly to absorb a gamer. Keep it up though, cos I'd love to see a fully-fledged version :)
Mach60KAS
23. Apr 2012 · 22:27 UTC
Overall a very interesting game - as someone who id deeply interested in physics they concept seemed very innovative and appealing! My only gripe is that there seem to be at most 2 levels built in, and that the game is unfortunately not that fun. However, it is indeed a very interesting toy!
🎤 Tumaini
23. Apr 2012 · 23:24 UTC
@MarekkPie: It requires OpenGL2.

@Raptor85: Yes, the tutorial was thrown together in the last minute and was unfortunately not finished.

@piterlouis: No, credits are not working.

@ComaToes: Thanks! I agree that the game mechanics can be improved quite a bit and I hope to be able to do that soon. A fully-fledged version will be available at a later time! :)

@Mach60KAS: Thank you! Indeed, only two levels, that was the thing I think I would do differently if I did it again - set aside time for making more levels.
I hope it can in the future become a small educational game to be used in schools (and elsewhere) to get more people interested in science.
whitetigle
25. Apr 2012 · 13:48 UTC
I could not test your game : Opengl2 crash on my netbook :(
(java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException: GLSL and OpenGL2 is required for the LWJGL renderer!)
Lawrence Esswood
28. Apr 2012 · 17:28 UTC
A nice idea, but not really a much challenge to it. You simply excite the electron to its highest energy state and wait for its random path down to give the correct wavelenth to 'complete' the level.
ericdpitts
08. May 2012 · 23:53 UTC
I loved the idea of this game, but I couldn't get it to do anything meaningful. When exciting it with to first energy level, it just flies off the screen. Cool cursor effects though, and a great idea!
azurenimbus
10. May 2012 · 02:56 UTC
Fascinating concept. This was quite unique. You should polish the gameplay to make the experience more accessible and fun.
gormio
12. May 2012 · 19:44 UTC
I just couldn't figure out the game mechanic at all. I got the electron to excite twice with pure luck during the 15 minutes I tried. I can't say whether I'm supposed to touch it with the mouse pointer, click a mouse button, both at the same time or what. Just way too hard to get the electron excited.

The graphics and "poing" sound was cool though.