Life/Routine
This game is from the old Ludum Dare platform. You can try viewing the original page on Web Archive
(may not load correctly).
(may not load correctly).
A minimalist "dynamic rhythm" game.
Concept:
Life/Routine captures the duality of a life built around their daily routine. It describes both the calming beauty and the overwhelming claustrophobia that comes when you run the hamster wheel of the mundane routine. It captures the very essence of "familiarity" created by our own actions and how we can either fall in an endless pattern of a life of same beats or break free from it.
Gameplay:
You either create objects or destroy them. The objects will give out specific sounds when they touch the bottom of the screen and they become part of the pattern and repeat after a short point -- very much like your daily routine.
The difficulty is entirely dependent on the player and their actions in creating/destroying objects will dynamically adjust the difficulty.
Creating more objects results in more sounds and a more vibrant routine/music pattern but also makes the game difficult and more overwhelming(music can turn into noise).
The top bar called "Life" indicates the duration of the life(and of your game). When it is full, the game ends. It increases at a constant rate that is only marginally affected by the number of objects you have spawned.
Below that is the "Routine" bar which increases whenever you are hit by one of the scrolling objects you have spawned. That is the sign of you falling prey to your own routine.
If you hit too many spawned objects, the Routine bar fills up and the game ends prematurely.
Controls:
--Left-Click to Destroy
--Right-Click to Create
--Move around by moving the mouse
Related to the Theme-- "Minimalism":
--Minimal art and music.
--Controls -- only two
-- No overlying narrative/explanation of concept. Everything that needs to be interpreted is conveyed through the gameplay concept.
-- Score and other details are abstracted from players only to be revealed in the final "Death" screen
Additional Notes:
-- Glad I finished my first "complete" game in my first LD that too somehow managed to meet the 48hr-Compo deadline too!
--(EDIT)
Since people are have asked for explanation on the bar on the top -- it's segmented in different colours resembles more like the different phases of life. The music behind and the speed indicate that. Obviously the middle-age is when you get most caught up with the fast-moving routine and you start and end with slow speeds.
Hope that makes it clear to some people who were confused by it.
Probable Bugs:
-- One of the Mac users said the right track-pad doesn't work. Unfortunately,I cannot test it as I don't have a Mac.
(EDIT) Fixed:
-- Right-click on Web player no longer brings the context menu and should work fine.
Concept:
Life/Routine captures the duality of a life built around their daily routine. It describes both the calming beauty and the overwhelming claustrophobia that comes when you run the hamster wheel of the mundane routine. It captures the very essence of "familiarity" created by our own actions and how we can either fall in an endless pattern of a life of same beats or break free from it.
Gameplay:
You either create objects or destroy them. The objects will give out specific sounds when they touch the bottom of the screen and they become part of the pattern and repeat after a short point -- very much like your daily routine.
The difficulty is entirely dependent on the player and their actions in creating/destroying objects will dynamically adjust the difficulty.
Creating more objects results in more sounds and a more vibrant routine/music pattern but also makes the game difficult and more overwhelming(music can turn into noise).
The top bar called "Life" indicates the duration of the life(and of your game). When it is full, the game ends. It increases at a constant rate that is only marginally affected by the number of objects you have spawned.
Below that is the "Routine" bar which increases whenever you are hit by one of the scrolling objects you have spawned. That is the sign of you falling prey to your own routine.
If you hit too many spawned objects, the Routine bar fills up and the game ends prematurely.
Controls:
--Left-Click to Destroy
--Right-Click to Create
--Move around by moving the mouse
Related to the Theme-- "Minimalism":
--Minimal art and music.
--Controls -- only two
-- No overlying narrative/explanation of concept. Everything that needs to be interpreted is conveyed through the gameplay concept.
-- Score and other details are abstracted from players only to be revealed in the final "Death" screen
Additional Notes:
-- Glad I finished my first "complete" game in my first LD that too somehow managed to meet the 48hr-Compo deadline too!
--(EDIT)
Since people are have asked for explanation on the bar on the top -- it's segmented in different colours resembles more like the different phases of life. The music behind and the speed indicate that. Obviously the middle-age is when you get most caught up with the fast-moving routine and you start and end with slow speeds.
Hope that makes it clear to some people who were confused by it.
Probable Bugs:
-- One of the Mac users said the right track-pad doesn't work. Unfortunately,I cannot test it as I don't have a Mac.
(EDIT) Fixed:
-- Right-click on Web player no longer brings the context menu and should work fine.