Hey guys, when I was brainstorming, I had a somewhat similar idea to yours! After thinking of several others, I changed it and arrived at something a bit different, for the sake of originality and practicality; I think our games are still somewhat similar, although I opted for a different core mechanic. I was very curious and eager to find an idea that other people would not think about, and I see that was a close call. XD
We tried to think of an idea for a game that strayed away from randomness as we knew that would be a common interpretation of the jam theme.
We really went through the same thought process. I guess you have to think ten (chess) steps ahead to really differentiate from the others — that’s what I did, but we were still close! Now, I wonder if there is any other entry in the contest that also looks like ours… :o
I will try not to think too much of my game for reviewing yours, but it’s hard. ;) I may make some comparisons, as I feel they are relevant. (Discard that, having now written most of it and rereading myself, I am mainly taking the comparison as the pivotal point of this little ‘review’!)
Various comments:
- I often have to ‘grumble’ (gently ;)) because of games using only the QWERTY convention for movement, but I am pleased to see yours was programmed to take into account the keyboard display: my AZERTY is satisfied! :) I wonder if we think about it more easily because we are not English native speakers (I am unsure of the Spanish keyboard layout convention, but the French one is definitely AZERTY). (I have just checked and it turns out the Spanish keyboard is QWERTY, I had no idea; I would have expected it not to follow the English language convention, given that its lexicon seems closer to French to me. ¡ Vete a saber !)
- I like the clean style and the soothing music. (Funnily enough, I made opposite choices: a ‘natural’ environment and a driving mysterious theme. A disadvantage of mine is that it was more difficult to get a representation of the sides of the dice both for technical reasons — 2D vs. 3D — and conceptual reasons — my die does not have the classic ‘seven’s complement’ which lets you deduce an opposite side.)
- I have a small question: why did you choose 2 as the winning number? Is it only so that you could use your (cool) logo or is there any deeper reason? ;)
- Level design: as other commenters said, you let multiples solutions, which is indeed fine. (My own criterion also lets you do that, actually.)
- I see we also both decided to take the classic ‘let’s give our levels witty names’ puzzle/reflection game approach, in Baba-Is-Youesque fashion. XD
- What a coincidence, I must say level 11 ‘Journey’ has me laughing: it is the polar opposite of my own level 7 ‘Jittery Mayhem’, where you can get bounced off chaotically into infinite loops by the arrows! XD
- I think I spotted another bug than those you listed on the game page: in level 4 (‘One Way’), I managed once to get on the arrow without getting moved, and at the end of the level, I won with the 6 side upwards instead of the 2.
- I know for a fact that my former levels are more thought-out, while my latter levels are way more experimental (I had then very little time left to craft them carefully), and this may also be the case for some of yours. For example, your level 7 can be finished quite early and is called ‘Beta’ (was that some kind of test you used?), and level 11, although poetic, is a simple (yet effective) demonstration of how arrows work.
By the way, another (quasi-)coincidence: you provided 12 levels, I provided 11. Some telepathy at work there? - As a last coincidence, we chose our main titles in our respective native languages. XD (Spanish dos and French idiomatic phrase face à face.)
If I should compare our games on the ‘technical’ side, I would say that yours is neater (both visually and as to some level design) and clearer, while mine is more colourful and (I hope!) bugless (I think I spotted zero bugs in mine, which is a little miracle, as any programmer probably knows). Although it is very easy to restart a level or choose another one in your game, so there is very little to no bother anyway. :)
On the conceptual side, yours focuses on the ground tiles, while mine focuses on the die (and a bit on the tiles through the stamps). Yours uses a classic numbered die with homemade tiles, while mine uses a homemade die (and matching stamps).
So, kudos to you, I enjoyed your game. :) (I even forgot to mention it! XD I was too obsessed by the resemblance.)
One big question I ask myself is which of the two is more complicated (which can be either a drawback or a boon, depending on how you see it) for both the player and the level designer to deal with? They may be of somewhat equivalent potential. Very interesting.
(Once again, I do not mean to compare out of pride or anything, it’s just that I am literally struck at the partial resemblance. XD I am glad we did not settle upon the very same idea! And also glad that the puzzle/reflection genre has other enthusiasts here. ;))