RedditLudum Dare 21
August 19th-22nd 2011 :: Theme: Escape
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Escape! Data Entry Sentry - Shaun Inman - 48 Hour Competition Entry
Your job as Data Entry Sentry is to escape any gremlins hiding amongst the chunks of incoming data. Just tap (or click if you don't have an iPad) any chunk of data to escape/unescape it.
Progress to the next level by filling the buffers (the blue columns at the bottom) without allowing any one column to overflow. The Overflow warning will change color as you get closer and closer to a buffer overflow. Tap the warning to clear out some room at the bottom of the buffer.
Meet the Chunks:
- Norm, the sleepy gray guy. He's good people. I mean, data. If you escape Norm he'll burst before he even hits the buffer.
- Chubbly, the rotund greeny. He's cheerful enough but if you don't escape him he'll take up three times as much space as Norm in the buffer.
- Chomply, the toothy ill-tempered Chunk. Left unescaped he'll chew up all the data between him and the next Chomply Chunk. Best escape him posthaste.
I'm really pleased with how this turned out. The first couple of hours this weekend were spent writing the clunky little JavaScript/canvas framework (view source on the game to see). Then I just started programming. With ugly colored rects. Just trying to get a grasp on the game logic and data structures. This morning I got up and designed the sprites and board. Then around noon I essentially rewrote the entire game to use the new assets. I'd love to do some 8-bit sound effects and chiptunes but I'm out of time (and HTML5 audio isn't there yet).
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Ratings
| #27 | Innovation | 3.95 |
| #51 | Graphics | 3.80 |
| #125 | Overall | 3.25 |
| #198 | Humor | 2.07 |
| #207 | Fun | 2.80 |
| #298 | Theme | 2.79 |
| #371 | Audio | 1.00 |
| #418 | Coolness | 0% |
| #457 | Community | 1.56 |
Comments
Only loosely related? The theme wasn't "run away from something!" or "get out of that place!" it was "escape!" :)
I like the use of the theme and the graphics. It's a pretty cool mechanic, although more types of blocks would be necessary to make it truly interesting.
More block types? I had enough trouble doing well when there were only 3 block types. Loosely related to the theme, but probably one of the best games in the compo.
Thinking about adding one more, very rare block type: Phillup, a fluffy white cloud Chunk that if left unescaped fills each buffer column to the height of the current tallest one. Could be dangerous if you're close to a buffer overflow but helpful if an unescaped Chomply has prevented a single column from progressing with the rest.
I love to see weird nerdpuzzles show up in LD! Also the art here is super charming. Would buy the iOS version.
Somehow the game doesn't work on my PC. The controls are broken, when I click with the mouse, a totally different block gets highlighted. Or did I misunderstand the game logic?
That's a drag. Which browser? I was pretty lax with browser testing (developed in Safari on an iPad). Last Dare I used Flixel and didn't have to worry about it. We can still make bug fix changes to our code right?
I can't beat level one. What is wrong with me oh god this is hard
Ah, didn't realize Firefox didn't support the CSS `zoom` property. I've patched it to use `-moz-transform: scale() translate();` too. Works now in FF6 Mac. Still, good luck keeping up without a touch screen :)
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Although an interesting way to view "escape", it felt only loosely related to the theme. Or perhaps that's because puzzle/matching games aren't my forte. However, it was a fun diversion and I've never seen that mechanic before. It felt complete, and worked smoothly.