Pressure Run by Phil Strahl

[raw]
made by Phil Strahl for LD34 (COMPO)
Oh no! The factory caught on fire and it's your duty to help the workers reach the exit. But steam pipes and floor gaps threaten them on their way to safety, be sure to disarm those obstacles before the worker reaches the hazard. But beware: Holding a door platform or valve closed for too long will deplete your energy.

How many workers will you get to safety?

---

This one went quite well. After some fussing about I recalled how well those good old Game & Watch handhelds from 30 years ago played with just two buttons. I always wanted to make one of those things anyway, so I took the chance to make it a reality this weekend.

The game is a little challenging but once you got the hang of it it's quite fun. The trick is to hit and hold the platform/valve key before the worker reaches the obstacle. After the tick, you can release it. I've also made a little video if you just want to watch ;)

Controls:
* A and D. Hit either to start the game.
* Esc to exit.

Notes:
* Game is Windows standalone .exe
* You can resize the window to your liking
* 5 lives
* The steam pipes activate after the first round after each miss
* With each saved worker, the game gets faster
* After a couple of saved workers, your energy energy bars increase
* Also, the steam will get more intense the longer you play

Gameplay Video:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt9RXnip9oc

Making-Of Documentary:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mmsjc97VH8

Ratings

Coolness 56% 3
Overall 3.72 144
Audio 3.12 258
Fun 3.17 463
Graphics 4.36 36
Humor 3.26 142
Innovation 3.25 413
Mood 3.83 66
Theme 4.03 218

Feedback

Reccy
15. Dec 2015 · 18:18 UTC
Fun little game, but a bit hard to get used to the valves. I love the retro Game&Watch aesthetic of it though.
exhidor
15. Dec 2015 · 18:21 UTC
great job ! i really feel like if I was playing a "pysical" Game and Watch ! The graphics is really nice !
ripatti
15. Dec 2015 · 18:23 UTC
Excellent implementation. I like graphics and the style. But the game itself is too simple to play for long time.
in3orn
15. Dec 2015 · 18:26 UTC
Pretty hard when steam goes to 4th level but I really enjoyed it! Great work!
Tony Coculuzzi
15. Dec 2015 · 19:04 UTC
Very cool! I loved the look of it
Dooskington
15. Dec 2015 · 19:05 UTC
Cool little game. I love the aesthetic.
Ben Allen
15. Dec 2015 · 19:06 UTC
I don't think I completely understand how the game works but I love the whole look and feel of it! Would be cool if the buttons physically pressed while holding the A or D keys.
Ampera
15. Dec 2015 · 19:14 UTC
Neat but challenging game. It feels like a real game and watch.
🎤 Phil Strahl
15. Dec 2015 · 19:19 UTC
@Ben Allen: Thanks! Maybe I'll do a mobile port of it. The trick is to hold the key down when the little guy is 1 step in front of the obstacle and release it after the following tick so you won't deplete your energy.
Taffaz
15. Dec 2015 · 19:37 UTC
This game is great, reminds me of a turtles game I had as a kid or my Mario watch.
GoodwolfStudio
15. Dec 2015 · 20:16 UTC
I love the aesthetic and atmosphere. The gameplay however is a bit too harsh for me.
sorle
15. Dec 2015 · 20:27 UTC
Well you really nailed the game&watch looks. That game gave me nostalgic feelings. Good one!
TerraCottaFrog
15. Dec 2015 · 23:00 UTC
Great ode to the game and watches of the past! It gets pretty hard!
GFM
15. Dec 2015 · 23:08 UTC
Great job! Even though I've never played in a game & watch, it really captured the feeling of playing in those old, low-res handheld games (we used to call 'em "mini-game", here...)

My two cents: I think the activation of doors and valves should had been sync'ed with the game tick. It would make a lot more sense, to me...
cynicalmonkey
16. Dec 2015 · 19:54 UTC
You have absolutely captured what it was like playing these type of games as an 80's kid, and i had about as much fun playing it as i did them then. its tough to grade it because you clearly nailed what you went for. but i can't say i enjoyed playing it :(
Bobrocket
16. Dec 2015 · 20:14 UTC
This game is beautiful. Very awesome :D
hiki911
17. Dec 2015 · 18:49 UTC
after this game i have found my "elektronica" with game about wolf and eggs and spent a lot of fun time. but this game is fun too
MAnimal
18. Dec 2015 · 21:52 UTC
interesting idea, but not so fun to play, great visual...
Knowledge
19. Dec 2015 · 15:26 UTC
Got error "not valid win32 application"
🎤 Phil Strahl
19. Dec 2015 · 17:54 UTC
Knowledge: What's your Windows version? Are you logged on as admin or standard user? Did the download finish? Game should be around 7 MB, so maybe just download again? Thanks for trying :)
DarkGrisen
21. Dec 2015 · 19:47 UTC
It's a funny game and it would also be fun if you added more variation to the game. Maybe different maps or something.

Well done!
loxo
21. Dec 2015 · 20:46 UTC
Great work, the game looks and feels like it's real, only the animation of the buttons is missing. When I played the second time, the doors stayed closed the whole time (only the graphics).
hexagore
21. Dec 2015 · 21:09 UTC
Tricky game to judge because of the limitations of the game & watch things... but as a loving recreation and a new game of that type? This is awesome.
Jod
21. Dec 2015 · 22:43 UTC
Great style choice, both in music and graphics!
Levi D. Smith
22. Dec 2015 · 00:47 UTC
Nice remake of the classic hand held games of the 80's.
Dmitrix
22. Dec 2015 · 08:35 UTC
Nice Documentary!
freaknarf
22. Dec 2015 · 12:03 UTC
Very nice design choice :)
It reminded me memories of Bomb Sweeper...
The game becomes quite hard after level 10, especially when steam is getting higher... It's hard to go beyond level 15 for me :p
Great old school vibe !
WERT Studio
22. Dec 2015 · 22:31 UTC
i want to be honest with you i don´t like the game maybe i am to stupid but i do´nt get it and this makees me cry anyway great graphics.-
Galvesmash
23. Dec 2015 · 01:04 UTC
Good tribute game. Interesting mechanics and a bit hard to get the right timing.
I liked your initiative to revive an old game mechanics.
Great Job!
Jupiter_Hadley
03. Jan 2016 · 21:33 UTC
I think it glitched for me, but I like the feel of this game. I included it in my Ludum Dare 34 compilation video series, if you’d like to check it out :) https://youtu.be/3B2_gBg5rhI
Thingo Studios
04. Jan 2016 · 22:07 UTC
On the one hand, this is a perfect recreation of a Game and Watch, with charming graphics and an obvious ton of attention to detail.

On the other hand, it's not very fun. I also wish the buttons for the inputs were A and L so that you had to use two hands like you would on an actual console, even though that would be kind of annoying.