snowglobe

by manax
Overall★★★★★★★★★★2.33
Fun★★★★★★★★★★1.85
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.03
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.85
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★2.82
Audio★★★★★★★★★★1.38
Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.32
Mood★★★★★★★★★★2.28
Coolness★★★★★★★★★★61%
Not very "game-like" at this point. But it is interactive, so left-click-and-hold. Escape to quit, space to pause.

Warning: I have no idea how well this works across different distros for linux (and have some limited evidence that it might not work at all without a rebuild), haven't tried to do that very often, so let me know if you have problems.

See the README for build instructions.

I will attempt to do a windows port later.

"current" will always be latest version (for next few hours), other versions are in same directory.

UPDATE 2012-04-30: After several more hours than I spent on the original entry, and a failed attempt at using emscripten, I learned javascript enough to port the whole damn thing. It is as close to a straight port (no enhancements or bug fixes) as I could manage. Events aren't as well handled as I'd like, but good enough.

screenshot

Comments23

hulahulahest
hulahulahest23 Apr 2012, 09:24
Cannot run (no Linux system to run it on).
Raptor8524 Apr 2012, 11:36
can't test, you only compiled for 32 bit and you didn't pack the 32 bit SDL lib with the executable..only the addon libs.
Pierrec25 Apr 2012, 10:24
It looks great, but unfortunately I'm on Windows (Wow...I never thought I could say this about a game)
manax
manaxauthor26 Apr 2012, 02:17
Okay, so I'm working on porting it to js, so hopefully I'll have this working in a day or so.
wademcgillis
wademcgillis26 Apr 2012, 22:54
I cannot run this entry. I don't have a computer that runs linux.
caranha
caranha3 May 2012, 01:45
It is a very interesting idea -- I really like "world simulation" games, and it is very interesting to watch the little globe inside the snow globe develop.

That said, there seems to be very little to be done in this case - all that shaking the globe does is to destroy the trees, right? It doesn't seem to influence the little men or animals inside.

I think with a few more interactions, this game could be really fun! Keep up the good work :-)
manax
manaxauthor3 May 2012, 02:18
Once I came up with the idea, I liked it too much not to build it, even though it wasn't very interactive. I had started some code to allow you to switch to a top-down view, and intended the little dudes to build houses and farms, but ran out of time... :)
HybridMind
HybridMind3 May 2012, 02:52
I think it is a fun setup for a game but as you've stated, not really any game in here. Too bad my only action is too destroy the little world. I'm letting it grow while I write this to see if something else happens. I like the old school graphics, reminds me of Amiga days.
KevinWorkman
KevinWorkman3 May 2012, 03:11
This is definitely an interesting concept, but like you said, this isn't much of a game yet. I'd like to see what you can do with more time to explore the idea!
dcolgan3 May 2012, 03:17
The idea of a snowglobe fits this theme very nicely. I would have loved to see what this would turn into with more time.
manax
manaxauthor4 May 2012, 21:18
Spoiler: Here's a list of all the things that can happen:
o Animals move around
o People move
o Trees fall (when they get too old)
o When a person is near a deer, the person will chuck a spear at them.
o Snow accumulates on the ground, which can be shaken.
o Bubbles form when the globe is shaken
o Trees lean & fall over when shaken, bigger trees are more likely to fall over.

Stuff I really wanted to get to:
o People would build houses, then farms, then other structures.
o Wanted to make the snow swirl when shaken, but didn't come up with a clever algorithm for that.
o Want to allow you to tip the globe, and look at it from the top (actually started on that, you can see some frames from tha anim in the pngs).

Still didn't have any ideas for a good game mechanic. :)
vilya
vilya4 May 2012, 21:29
Great use of the theme, but it's not a game as such. Maybe you could have turned it into some kind of a god game?
Hazematman
Hazematman5 May 2012, 05:37
Very cool idea, but I'm gonna go with what everyone else said here: it's very unfinished. This would have been a perfect game with this theme, but sadly it is unfinished. I would have loved to play a game where I build my own little world in a snow globe :D
Catman
Catman7 May 2012, 16:38
Weird, but interesting! I really like how the trees grow and the animals appear. Should put a game in there!
VoidChronos
VoidChronos8 May 2012, 00:59
Not really bad, although it is not a game. I could look on this for quite a long time. Thanks for the web version. Anyway, Good Job!
Rabbits...
Rabbits...10 May 2012, 05:11
Take that...trees...I liked that the trees could fall down..
Pacifist Games11 May 2012, 01:25
As you said it isn't quite a game. I wasn't sure what exactly was causing the trees to stand up, and sometimes they would randomly disappear. I really wish I could shake it up and down too. You should keep working on this! :)
tomhunt11 May 2012, 03:38
lol'd at the stuff falling down when i shook the snowglobe!
saint11
saint1112 May 2012, 02:54
It felt a little pointless :/
JellyFame12 May 2012, 14:28
Really interesting to watch what's happening. Would like to see more stuff happening.
trylle
trylle12 May 2012, 15:01
Very cool, lovely atmosphere(!) Now make the game! :)

It's a shame you couldn't figure out how to make the snow swirl after shaking it, since that's the first thing people expect to happen.
gormio
gormio12 May 2012, 16:49
Nice start although there's not much of a game in here. I wanted to shake it up and down too but that didn't seem possible :)

I had to rename libstlport.so to libstlport.so.5.2 before I could run it.

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