LudumData

PlayBack by Joe Cowman

[raw]
made by Joe Cowman for Ludum Dare 46 (COMPO)

A 1980's-themed physics puzzle game about trying to keep a mysterious orb in your grandma's old VCR alive.

I had a blast making this game, and I hope you enjoy playing it! Polishing the mechanics took most of my 48 hours so it's a little short, but if there is interest I may expand after the results come out!

If you're interested in being notified when I add more content to the game, shoot me an email: joe.r.cowman@gmail.com

Goal

Manipulate time and the objects onscreen to get the mysterious orb into the goal.

Controls

  • SPACE: Play/Pause time
  • WASD: Move controlled block
  • QE: Rotate controlled block
  • CTRL: Toggle control between blocks
  • SHIFT (Hold): Rewind time
  • R: Restart level

Browser Compatibility

  • Chrome: Best (Recommended)
  • Firefox: Decent
  • Safari: Poor
  • Others Untested -- feel free to comment!

Hotfixes

  • 0.1.1 (4/20/20): The music didn't always load on Chrome due to Chrome autoplay settings. Updated game container to detect first interaction before triggering the music.

PlayBackCover.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-19 at 8.50.15 PM.png

Youtube https://github.com/jcowman2/play-back
Youtube https://jcowman2.github.io/play-back/
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/playback

Ratings

Overall 50th 4.056⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 83th 3.944⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 12th 4.315⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1021th 2.704⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 588th 3.352⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Audio 135th 3.74⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Humor 664th 2.432⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 83th 3.942⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 16🗳️ 22🗨️

Feedback

Foursay
21. Apr 2020 · 05:06 UTC
This pause-and-rewind really teaches me alot. I need to take some time to research this game. how the rewind works? I could see two patterns: trace position and trace increments, but I am not sure which is the selected one. nevertheless truly impressive game. nice job!
Furtive Pygmy
21. Apr 2020 · 05:44 UTC
Wow, this is original and awesome!
Love the concept and the music is fantastic to capture the mood.

It would have been nice to see how the rewind would play out before having to use it, but wasn't terrible without it.

Would love to see this worked on more, let me know if you get around to expanding it further.
🎤 Joe Cowman
21. Apr 2020 · 14:07 UTC
@foursay Thank you so much! To answer your question, the rewind works by capturing the object's change in position on every tick, then when you reverse it adds all the vectors and translates the object by the opposite of that combined vector. [Here's the code.](https://github.com/jcowman2/play-back/blob/master/src/data/bodyHistory.js#L15)

@furtive-pygmy I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the constructive feedback as well, I'll be sure to take that into account when I update the game. I can't see a way to contact you on your profile, so would you please shoot me an email at joe.r.cowman@gmail.com so I can let you know when I add more content?
Joe Bustamante
21. Apr 2020 · 19:17 UTC
Dang, this is a really cool game. It's a really simple core mechanic but you nailed the execution. It's a perfect jam game - simple, fun, makes you want to keep playing, and the background music you used just adds to the overall ambience. Graphics are great. I'm really impressed by this, well done!
fullmontis
21. Apr 2020 · 21:25 UTC
This was a really nice entry! I liked the way you combined all the mechanics in the last puzzle, and I think it would actually be the base for a nice puzzle game! The music is soothing and the graphics pleasant.
nick0124 creator
22. Apr 2020 · 16:07 UTC
Kool idea with physics and time pause.
Mopkoo
22. Apr 2020 · 16:08 UTC
Wow this is so good ! The two main mechanics are so clever and the minimalist style fits very well with the purpose of you game. Very impressive !
Lars-Erik
22. Apr 2020 · 16:26 UTC
Really nice gameplay in this one. Found the fourth level to hard for a quick run, but defo a very nice entry. The music was especially well made for compo. All in all very good job!
PostMeridianGames
22. Apr 2020 · 16:27 UTC
Awesome concept ! The mechanics are simple yet powerful. I enjoyed playing this game !
Sabeurre
22. Apr 2020 · 16:32 UTC
I must say that it's an excellent game. Concept is simple, but very efficient. I like this kind of puzzle game, totally would play it on my switch :smile:
SlimmerBurger
22. Apr 2020 · 18:47 UTC
Amazing game, I loved the aesthetic, especially the art, it really looks like an old VHS tape, but since it's simple shapes it's easier to understand the puzzle.
keanutah
23. Apr 2020 · 00:21 UTC
Great concept, nice job!
Hoyr
23. Apr 2020 · 03:14 UTC
Very Very Cool! Just the sort of thing to sit down and play if you want your brain to hurt a bit. Something that could easily be turned into published game!
AnarchoApathy
23. Apr 2020 · 05:08 UTC
really unique puzzles. and a surprising amount of atmosphere considering the minimalist presentation.
Ace17
25. Apr 2020 · 20:49 UTC
Great idea, reminds me of Braid!
I had a hard time figuring out the last one, very clever puzzle design!
rodel77
25. Apr 2020 · 22:32 UTC
Very nice, got a pretty reminder of Braid mechanics but very different! Definitely would buy and finish a full version of this.
ProdigalSon
25. Apr 2020 · 23:25 UTC
Very very cool. I like how you slowly introduce us to the mechanics, which feel very solid by the way, and how the music does not make the situation tense at all. If I mess up it is easy to recover and the variations comes so quickly that it keeps the experience fresh. For some reason I felt that the red-square was thrown too quickly and I had to replay so many times. Maybe making its introduction a little easier would help. This was a very fun experience and I enjoy anything that makes me use my brain. Thanks :)
BlueCalx
27. Apr 2020 · 16:06 UTC
Simple yet elegant gamedesign. I really like those kind of compo entry that feels like a complete Proof of concept. The puzzles are well designed and the last one actually forced me to link my remaining brain cells together !
The take on the theme is a bit light though (especially considering the main focus of the game seems to be its gameplay).
Overall I had fun, so congratulations for your entry !
a333
29. Apr 2020 · 18:45 UTC
That was really beautiful experience. I almost felt being there, watching that TV. I'm really happy on how it ends, too. Was it a child fantasy? Real thing? Day dream? Doesn't matter, it's just one of the childhood summer mysteries. Kind of envy that you was able to capture that feel. Mad respect.

Gameplay wise, your mechanics felt really smart and fresh. I thought about mouse controls, but keyboard fits better with the theme. Levels were nicely designed, too. My only complaint is that the whole game level sequence felt like a good tutorial and just one level after - which was a bit harder than expected. But give the complexity of mechanics, I'm surprised you've managed to make and test that much in the.. `*checks*` ..compo!? Damn, that's respectable.

Oh well, I guess I've many things to learn and improve.
🎤 Joe Cowman
30. Apr 2020 · 06:05 UTC
@a333 It's so rewarding to read comments like yours. I can't tell you how glad I am that the feeling I was going for made it through. Thanks for the kind words and the great feedback. I also have many things I feel like I could improve on (especially after playing awesome entries like yours), but that's part of the beauty of this community.
Thibaud Ligneul
30. Apr 2020 · 21:26 UTC
Whoa, really cool concept! It becomes hard quickly if like me you can't proceed the use of time mechanisms. Hope you can make a good puzzle game out of this!