Loops of Fate

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.23
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.14
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.88
Theme★★★★★★★★★★2.31
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.02
Audio★★★★★★★★★★1.29
Humor★★★★★★★★★★1.74
Mood★★★★★★★★★★2.75
Coolness★★★★★★★★★★77%
A simple puzzle game where you guide your avatar through tracks.

I favored completion over content, so there are a bunch of features I didn't implement: more interesting levels, state-based music, and different abilities for each avatar. Look for these in future versions!

Post-compo changelog:
- The fourth level (pictured in the screenshot) was unwinnable - how embarrassing! So I added extra paths to ensure that level 5 (the best level!) can be accessed.
- The joints between tracks were a little hard to click in some places, so I tweaked them so that they were more precise.

screenshot

Comments27

aeveis
aeveis16 Dec 2013, 07:36
very interesting, took a bit to get the hang of it but was able to figure out the puzzle. The ui is a bit unclear where to click, maybe if you could see a circle to click where the line is tangent?
agwblack16 Dec 2013, 08:04
Very nice. A load more levels and I could see this doing well on touch devices.

Some sound would have been nice. Also I thought the link to the theme was a bit tenuous. But great job overall!
vallde16 Dec 2013, 09:14
Like the mechanic, but it's a bit frustrating when you are not sure which paths are open and the ball just starts looping around by itself, and can't properly close them because the button is too small and overlaps with others >_<
Ithildin
Ithildin16 Dec 2013, 10:29
Interesting and clever mechanic! I had some trouble at the beginning to realise what I had to do, though, but after that the controls are really straightforward.

Nice! :)
AlanZucconi16 Dec 2013, 13:27
So finally I had a chance to play this! :p
Is a very nice concept! :p I imagine it must have been a nightmare to implement the mechanics! :D
TijmenTio16 Dec 2013, 16:06
Best idea of the month. You should elaborate on this!
celsyum
celsyum16 Dec 2013, 20:58
very good idea
whiteknife16 Dec 2013, 20:59
Cool concept, although I felt like the 'hit box' for the loops was a bit small. Still, pretty fun and creative!
Udell Games16 Dec 2013, 20:59
Clever little puzzle, but would have liked more complicated levels. Also some ambient background music would really support this. Something very zen.
Rhinan
Rhinan16 Dec 2013, 21:01
Great concept! Love the idea. Didn't really get the link to the theme.
Symmeteerauthor16 Dec 2013, 22:06
Thanks for all the comments!

I wouldn't say it was a nightmare to implement, but it was tricky - it took some concentration and deep breaths to get the details down.

Yeah, the part that needs the most work is the mechanic's UI (showing where to click the tracks). I actually made the clicking circles smaller a couple hours after the competition, because when they were larger, some of them overlapped so much that each circle only had a few pixels of non-overlapping clickable space.

I definitely want to extend this game. I'll put my thinking cap on about the UI; the solution might be to simply design all the levels so that there are no problematic spots.
dcampos
dcampos17 Dec 2013, 04:53
Very innovative concept. I too found it difficult to figure out where exactly to click in order to move the body between the tracks.
taocayo17 Dec 2013, 18:48
Fantastic game! I also see it doing well in touch devices :) it was great meeting you last night and hope you keep working on it!
H-Bomb
H-Bomb17 Dec 2013, 21:00
Clever game, I had some lag on Firefox.
Some music would have been cool ;'(
Anyway, this is what I want in LD games: a good idea!
noobsticks
noobsticks18 Dec 2013, 08:01
The concept was great. I'd love to see this fleshed out in a bunch more levels, maybe with an easier way to open/close paths. The whole connection to YOGO was tenuous at best, however. You only get one player? Most games only let you play one character...
frogcheese
frogcheese18 Dec 2013, 08:11
Short and sweet. Some clickable roads overlapped a bit in the UI, though, sometimes leading to my closing an earlier path rather than opening the one I intended to click. The link to the theme was more metaphorical than anything, but I guess that's okay too. I know my life occasionally feels like it's going through a series of different loops... though maybe it hurts the theme a bit that in this case I get to restart as many times as I like ;)
Diptoman
Diptoman18 Dec 2013, 08:44
I quite enjoyed this! I somehow got through all levels through hit and try/backtracking from the finish though xD
This was very innovative, though the theme fit is a bit loose.
Nelien
Nelien18 Dec 2013, 20:51
Too short and too easy! I wish I could play 100 more levels. Very pretty and relaxing in a way. Spend some time polishing and making levels and you can easily release this game! Would work especially well on portable platforms.
Static 6418 Dec 2013, 21:11
That's a fantastic puzzle mechanic. It took me a minute to figure out how the blocked paths are only blocked-one way (can go off but not on), but once I did, I realized how well-designed the game is. Great job! More levels would be awesome.
Kayelgee19 Dec 2013, 00:50
Very interesting game.
I would like to see more levels and how far you can go with this mechanic :D .
SaintHeiser19 Dec 2013, 02:30
Not bad!
Like the idea of puzzles but game is quite laggy.
Manuel Magalhães19 Dec 2013, 15:33
I've enjoyed playing it. The game starts to feel a bit laggy on more complex levels but no problems aside from that. The main mechanic is pretty clever.
mortus
mortus20 Dec 2013, 17:19
I loved the idea, was looking forward to play this game since your first progress posts. Too bad you didn't have more time to complete it.
Photon21 Dec 2013, 05:06
Pretty cool actually. I found it to be rather easy, but the concept is still a good one. Nice entry.
smash ball22 Dec 2013, 18:24
If the click precision was a bit more forgiving, this is something that you could put on mobile (I'm confident I can't tap with that precision). This is certainly something that would keep me entertained for some time.
cesisco23 Dec 2013, 12:58
Great concept, but with a new control scheme would be a lot better.Good Work!
saulopz
saulopz26 Dec 2013, 17:35
Interesting... A little confuse at start.

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