Puppy Shelter

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.65
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.18
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.57
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.39
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.02
Audio★★★★★★★★★★2.43
Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.41
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.05
Community★★★★★★★★★★2.89
Coolness★★★★★★★★★★74%
the post-compo version has a longer ending.

screenshot

Comments38

SonnyBone
SonnyBone19 Dec 2011, 07:04
THIS IS THE SADDEST GAME I'VE EVER PLAYED... THAT STILL MANAGED TO BE HILARIOUS! Great use of theme!
mcc
mcc19 Dec 2011, 07:50
Aww mean :(

The puzzle concept here is very clever, simple but original and sets up a lot of interesting situations. I guess one could say that about basically all of Stephen's games. I liked the smiling/frowning puppies as a way of providing feedback on puzzle progress a lot.

I did have some confusion figuring out how to interact with this one exactly. Part of the problem is on my first playthrough I accidentally triggered the level editor, as a result failed to notice click&drag worked because I was focusing on the editor features, and also having activated the level editor was unable to complete any of the levels. Even once I figured out dragging worked, I didn't realize you could "swap" puppies until near the end.

What's the deal with the #3/swirly block?
increpareauthor19 Dec 2011, 08:50
oh, oops. *kills editor*

the #3 block that isn't used in game is just a movable wall. couldn't find much justification for it.
binary_girl19 Dec 2011, 15:08
i like the puzzleness of it all..sad for puppies tho :(
matthias_zarzecki19 Dec 2011, 18:28
Well, this was unnecessary cruel :-)

I like the puzzle-aspect. they're just complicated enough so you can't quite master it, and even if you think there still is room for experimentation.
Ishisoft
Ishisoft19 Dec 2011, 19:53
Nice puzzle mechanic. Took me about 6-7 levels to get to grips with it; I think I got caught up on "a puppy is happy if moving one square won't leave it alone" and forgot that the puppy should also be next to another puppy to start with. I felt it got easier, but also more interesting, once there were all three types of puppy in the puzzles. Good use of writing to provide a bit of interest and context, something I should adopt.
volando19 Dec 2011, 22:26
pretty cool
ryantouk19 Dec 2011, 22:37
Another great increpare puzzler, more dark increpare humor... unfortunately I didn't submit and can't rate this time. Well done.

Totally off-topic and nerdy... but moving the dogs around Level #14 made me think of semiconductors... "it's not the electrons; it's the holes between them"... sorry :)
kibertoad
kibertoad19 Dec 2011, 22:41
Wow, it actually has gameplay in it :). Good job overall, although it has a rather weird use of theme...
marudziik
marudziik19 Dec 2011, 23:20
You're a horrible, horrible person, mister. An I like this game, dammit! :)
Great puzzle game.
ladron
ladron20 Dec 2011, 02:05
Clever. I got stuck on the neutral dogs, though :(
Matt Rix20 Dec 2011, 03:46
Great puzzle mechanic, and the "put the dogs down" part is hilarious. Really solid game, and it ties the theme in perfectly. Sound was minimal, but even that single sound at the start of the levels really fit in.
Dark Acre Jack20 Dec 2011, 03:54
It was okay, kind of wish there was something I could do about the puppies being put down, like if it depended on how many moves it took to complete a board.
eigenbom20 Dec 2011, 04:48
Nice one increpare, but as always, you make me sad ...
deepnight
deepnight20 Dec 2011, 14:10
Very clever puzzle :) I'm a real fan of your work : great gameplay, as always.

I've played it til the end, expecting for a trick to actually make puppies adopted. I even tried to hit every single key of my keyboard during the open phase to make something happen... Is there any actual way to have puppies adopted? For spoiler free, you can mail me at ld AT deepnight.net ^^
waynebeam20 Dec 2011, 16:43
that was awesome. great puzzles. the pacing was good too. built up really well. the face on the puppies too...heartbreaking everytime
Draknek
Draknek20 Dec 2011, 19:38
Love the twist. I wish the puppies would whine as you put them down, might make me feel guiltier.
Danik
Danik20 Dec 2011, 20:58
Very clever puzzle concept, I liked it a lot!
I found it intuitive after a few levels, the last few were kind of easy when I got the hang of it. I would have enjoyed a little more challenge.
eld
eld20 Dec 2011, 23:10
Clever puzzling, poor puppies, giving their life for humor!
magicrat21 Dec 2011, 06:26
interesting game mechanic, a bit confusing to understand at first but nothing too difficult, also the dark humor added that extra touch
cobhc621 Dec 2011, 14:49
I liked how putting puppies down made them unhappy, very clever design.
hipon
hipon21 Dec 2011, 21:11
awesome game, great puzzle, all you need is just great music to make this perfect
jeffz22 Dec 2011, 03:38
original, I like it.
Randomasta
Randomasta22 Dec 2011, 08:43
much easier than your usual stuff
davidwparker22 Dec 2011, 15:57
Funny puzzler. Epicly sad though. Good job
Shigor
Shigor23 Dec 2011, 16:54
I'm a sad puppy :/
Cell23 Dec 2011, 19:33
It somewhat reminds me of an game by conway. (Gol?)
Tifu
Tifu24 Dec 2011, 17:11
You are evil, and this is awesome :D
Cosr
Cosr25 Dec 2011, 03:23
Funny and depressing at the same time. Nicely dark humour, with a jab of truth. Good puzzles done with only a few simple mechanics.

It's a little tedious having to euthanise each puppy after every level, rather than having a button that put them all down, particularly in the later levels with more puppies. It wasn't so bad once I figured out you could just hold the mouse button and drag over all of them, but that took me a while.
tcstyle25 Dec 2011, 09:41
Great puzzle concept. But why to click every puppy at the end of the level. Seems to be an unnecessary mechanic.
angrygeometry
angrygeometry25 Dec 2011, 15:14
cool puzzles but pretty unnecessarily cruel
Tom 7
Tom 725 Dec 2011, 20:54
Good puzzles as usual. :) I played through them all!
ScreamRawr
ScreamRawr28 Dec 2011, 19:41
I agree with Tifu... Evil and awesome... Great job!
shuanDang
shuanDang31 Dec 2011, 05:06
Why can't I save any of the puppies? =(
whilefun31 Dec 2011, 20:34
not bad, but the cruelty would have been way more effective had you given the player some method to save some puppies. Having no power or choice just makes it a necessary and boring mechanic. Give me the power to save some puppies however, and not all puppies, and I'd feel more guilty as I have to choose which puppies to put down.
Dan C5 Jan 2012, 19:54
I love this. Small, neat, and perfectly put together.

Extra community stars awarded for organising CB2 Indies :)
Sos6 Jan 2012, 18:45
Pure evil. My favourite part is slaying the puppies tho.
lukka517 Apr 2012, 02:25
really awesome game

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