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A jam submission

SubtractiveView game page

Grid based colour puzzle game
Submitted by TheCreator — 21 hours, 44 minutes before the deadline
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Subtractive's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Gameplay#63.8183.818
Fun#123.4093.409
Overall#133.5003.500
Audio#183.2273.227
Visuals#373.1823.182

Ranked from 22 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How have you used the theme "Strength Lies in Differences" in your game?
Yes! I captured it as different colours can do different things ♥

Number in team
1

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Comments

Submitted(+1)

Super hard and really got my brain going , but it was a bit broken (My brain that is). You warned about flashy lights but not about recently crunchy brains! Lol. I shall be keeping this to look at it again in gentler times. Kudos for keeping the colour theory real. Viva Cyan, Viva Magenta!

Submitted(+1)

My brain might be broken.  You broke my brain!  What even is color?  This game is HARD.  I feel like this might be useful in the brain-training genre or for some type of perception therapy (I don't know, I'm not a doctor).  Good job.

Developer

Omg xD me and my friends are loving this comment 


It was my first time making a puzzle game, and I just kept making it harder and harder as my own perception of the game grew xD


going to be making more introduction levels :)

Submitted(+1)

I agree with all the others, it's a very clever concept introduced at a very steep angle which can make things a bit frustrating.  It reminded me of the Rubik's cube, actually.

With a bunch of tutorial levels and a bit more polished UI this could go far.

Submitted(+1)

This is a really clever puzzle game. I found it quite challenging to tell the truth, but that will depend on the player. The music was great too, and the challenge of the puzzles made completing them very satisfying. 

Submitted(+1)

Damn this game is hard, but I appreciate that others will be capable of working it out and it's honestly hugely satisfying to complete a puzzle! It's such a masterful game.


I think you're working against some imbedded game concepts though, for example, generally you'd assume being that colour means you can only go through that colour wall or gate, so even though you've told the player that's not how it works, it's a case of re-wiring your brain to understand it (atleast for me).


Your concept is very clever, but it's introduced at a steep angle. Even the first level introduced me to more than one concept, which was:

1. A square can't move through a wall it shares a colour with.

2. The square can split if you do try to go through a wall it shares a colour with.

3. The squares can be mixed/merged back together again.

I like the level select though as I could complete level 3 but not 2, so it helped me continue playing. :)


Also from a colour theory perspective, it would help to know if these squares are light or paint. I can't remember for sure, but I think when lights mix, their primary counterparts mix to form white, but when paints mix, you can achieve black by mixing all the primary pigments. After analysing it, it's now obvious to me these are squares of light, but when I was playing, I didn't realise.


And the music is super catchy! (I'm still listening to it as I type this.) I think it matched the theme perfectly and it made the experience quite joyous even when I wanted to throw my computer out of the window because i'm not smart enough to work out the puzzles, haha!


Hope this was all helpful anyway. I really loved your submission, you've got a real talent for puzzle games - congratulations!

Developer(+1)

Thank you for such a long review :0

this is really helpful with future development of not only the game but me as a game dev!

This was my first ever puzzle game / my first ever 2D game, so I am super stoked with the amount of positive responses! I understand that the levels (looking at u level 2) are super hard and have the steepest learning curve xD 

After the Jam I am going to go back in and rework a lot of what levels go where, and add in several more levels that explain the features 1 by one, I also have a ton more ideas to implement that the code already supports (just some bool checks) such as buttons that only work when a certain colour stands on it, walls that can only be moved through if the player is a certain colour (this works for combinations as well! like Cyan or White), different ending platforms that you need to stand on all of them as certain colours to end the level (example: blue and green need to be in 1 location, while red is in the other)

Though I have no had too much experience making puzzles, I watched a good amount of documentaries and theories for the first 2 days of the game jam which I think really help me capture that "aha" moment in a couple levels, and I really want to continue development with more levels and worlds ^^

Developer

Also forgot to say, but the game is based off RGB! and the 8th level is based of CMYK! 

they are Subtractive colour methods, so that's why I called the game Subtractive ♥

Submitted(+1)

Oh man, Subtractive - that's such a clue, it's a blatant clue and I missed it! Haha.

You're very welcome though - you've got a bright future ahead as a dev I reckon, and we're all here to improve together, so I'll look forward to updates on your game.

Submitted(+1)

Interesting concept and puzzles. 

They became difficult too quickly though, I believe if you insert some slightly harder levels in between, the player would have more time to absorb and get used to the mechanic.

Overall, its very well-made and fun to tackle. Good job.

Developer(+1)

Yeah I only ever play tested it myself, which I see now was really not a good idea xD

after the Jam I plan to keep working on it, and adding in an entire section just for explaining mechanics, and adding in more content!

for tutorial levels I plan to not have all 3 players active, and just start by introducing them 1 by 1 in simple puzzle designs ^^

Submitted

It's a polished game. Well done.

Submitted

Really awesome set of puzzles, couldn't solve them all haha and the music absolutely slaps!

Developer

Oh if anyone manages to find a secret ending, let me know ;) 

Submitted(+1)

Great game, we also made a color based puzzle game based on color combinations XD.

The puzzles are hard but that's not a bad thing. After the first few level I caught on and got better!

Developer(+1)

I love your game so much! I saw it and legit also though "someone else had the idea for coloured cubes!" xD

I'm glad you liked my game ^^

Submitted(+1)

I love the concept and puzzle element. I found it really difficult to figure out but enjoyed it. The music fit nicely with the overall feel of the game. 

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

This game was really hard but I found it one of the most unique things I played in a while. Great job!

Developer

Thank you ^^ I was really worried the idea would not be unique when I first came up with it, and the whole game when through a lot of different ideas when making it, like light beams that a player could move into, or being able to turn off lights using the keyboard, but that also stops that colour player from moving.

Though I am really happy with how it came out, and want to keep working on it <3

Submitted(+1)

It's a bit hard to go through, some of the levels are reaaaally tough! But the concept is really interesting, I genuinely liked it.

Submitted(+1)

I believe the concept is really good however in terms of level design and progression it has a steep learning curve. In my opinion in order to balance it out, introduce the player to how the game mechanics work with a incremental difficulty increase puzzle in each level. This should visually engage and show the player how the rules of the game work.

Developer(+2)

I think after the jam is over I will add in a whole tutorial section that just teaches the player about the mechanics xD

Developer(+2)

If you find level 2 too hard, you can skip to 3 at the level select screen ♥