Gravity Bombs : Game?!

[jayenkai]

I've been playing with this most of the week, but I'm still not sure if it's a good "game".
It's fun to play with, and it's very swirly, but is it a game?!
I tried to tweak it into a game... But I don't know if I managed it!!



Download here
Or from CWF here

Any thoughts appreciated.

[Drasir-Vel]

Downloading with the speed of light. Then i'll see when i have the time to try it..

[Pater Alf]

I can't really say that I completely understand how the gravity works (some of the shots take way that I didn't foresee at all), but I think I understood the basic rules and I would say thatit's a game. Maybe not a very good one as much of the player's success depends on pure luck. If the stars appear at the right places, you can end a level with four shots, while other levels are hard to complete with twenty.

But even if it might not be a very good game, it is without any doubt a very relaxing game. I think I could play this for hours.

[Drasir-Vel]

It's quite an interesting puzzler. But it gets harder when you have to plot a course through other gravitational fields. You have to be very precise. Maybe making the like-colored orbs a bit more attracting than the unlike colored orbs would make it easier.

[jayenkai]

Tried that, it didn't seem to work as well as I'd hoped. Upon an explosion, all bombs headed directly to their destination.
I also added a Yellow "hole" that would explode in a multitude of colours, but that made it even easier!!

I added the "You can fire at the wrong coloured object, but only really hurt it with your fired bomb" rule after that, as kind of a halfway thing.

I actually spent WAY too long trying to settle on a good set of rules, and am still unsure of how good, exactly, it is.
.. And yet, I keep playing it! What's with that?!!?

[Drasir-Vel]

I think it's the chained explosion that does it. It feels like winning the jackpot when you set it all off. I wouldn't mind it being a little easier, if you can just get those explosions

[jayenkai]

Might be upgrading this at some point, this week. (I'm going to spend this week playing fixups, and recompiling a few things)
Thoughts on "gameplay" are much requested!!

[Pater Alf]

Maybe you should get bonus shots when you clear a level with just four shots?

[Chroelle]

I think it's the chained explosion that does it. It feels like winning the jackpot when you set it all off. I wouldn't mind it being a little easier, if you can just get those explosions

I totally agree with this statement. The game could be easier, so you get to play past level 1 at some point or another. I made it only to the second level when I played with "less", and that annoyed me as I really liked the game, but hat to quit because playing the same level over an over doesn't appeal to me.
Have you played any of the Binary Zoo games? Mono, Duo, Echoes? Those might give you a few ideas. Also some of the other games with some similar gameplay-stuff here might be worth a try. Whats it called... Scythe? The game with the opposites that attracts and detracts?
Also there are a few other games here that have some gameplay like it with lots of puzzleelements.

I think upgrades could be a great addition. Like when you kill a big one off you could get multishot, where you fire two bullets at the same time, or an upgrade where you get bigger bursts when the orbs explode, or you get a tougher bullet that "lives longer", or hits harder... Do you want more suggestions for gameplay?

[jayenkai]

I finally (!) got around to playing Peggle, the other day.

I'd always put it off as a stupid little "The ball pangs about a bit" game.
And, to be honest, that's exactly what it is..
But.. There's something there.
And it's right at the end.
It's one teensy tiny little effect that changes EVERYTHING about the game.
It made me grin from ear to ear, and changed "The ball pangs about a bit" into "WEEEeeeee!!!!!!"

If you haven't played it, go and play it RIGHT NOW!
and make sure you get to the end of the level!

.. What I'm saying is, this game needs one of those moments..
If I can figure out what the "that" is for this game, then I'll go for it!

In fact, what it probably needs more is a structure.
Maybe I should build an editor, and make the levels more progressive...?
And then add a "that"!

[Chroelle]

Unfortunately its not a freeware game but shareware or "trialware". But it looks interesting - I wonder when they will release it for free.

[Pater Alf]

I think it's the chained explosion that does it. It feels like winning the jackpot when you set it all off. I wouldn't mind it being a little easier, if you can just get those explosions

I totally agree with this statement. The game could be easier, so you get to play past level 1 at some point or another. I made it only to the second level when I played with "less", and that annoyed me as I really liked the game, but hat to quit because playing the same level over an over doesn't appeal to me.

Hmm, maybe you haven't figured out the best way to destroy the planets by now. I think the last time I've played this, I made it to level 35 (or something like that). It isn't that hard and once you know how to play this, you can beat many levels with the minimum of four shots.

[Zyx]

Unfortunately its not a freeware game but shareware or "trialware". But it looks interesting - I wonder when they will release it for free.

Peggle Extreme is free, but only available on Steam. It is more of a joke, as it's just 10 levels with backgrounds from various Valve games... and there's nothing extreme about it.

However, I agree that the Extreme Fever at the end of the level gives the player a satisfied, i-think-i-accomplished-something feeling.

(Yes.. I've played the all three games. ...through.)

[Chroelle]

I think it's the chained explosion that does it. It feels like winning the jackpot when you set it all off. I wouldn't mind it being a little easier, if you can just get those explosions

I totally agree with this statement. The game could be easier, so you get to play past level 1 at some point or another. I made it only to the second level when I played with "less", and that annoyed me as I really liked the game, but hat to quit because playing the same level over an over doesn't appeal to me.

Hmm, maybe you haven't figured out the best way to destroy the planets by now. I think the last time I've played this, I made it to level 35 (or something like that). It isn't that hard and once you know how to play this, you can beat many levels with the minimum of four shots.

Help me out here. How should I be playing this? A spoiler please.

[Drasir-Vel]

Heh, i wouldn't call it a spoiler if it works, rather a patch.

[jayenkai]

It's pure luck, as far as I'm concerned!! But do remember that you can whittle down "other colour" planets (is that what we're calling them?!) with your initial shots. So, if something's in the way, whack it!!

[Pater Alf]

Exactly! And you should play in "more" mode. It's the easiest, because there are so many planets that you can normally hit one of the right colour right from the beginning. And because of the amount of planets you get nice chain reactions that kill all planets of one color very often. It isn't that hard to finish the level with four shots in that mode. "Less" is much, much harder...

[Chroelle]

Weird... How come I got past level 1 in less and never in more.. I will go try this out. Might return for more specific spoilers.

EDIT: Ok. Now I figured out some kind of system. I just need to figure out the last couple of pieces to the puzzle and I got this nailed I think.

[Chroelle]

Some form of hint as to what color you should be aiming for would be nice.

[Pater Alf]

I don't think that's a big mystery. Shoot red rockets at red planets, green rockets at green planets, blue rockets at blue planets, etc...

I don't think it's that hard to figure it out.