IMHO, this is a great idea. The platforming levels could use some non-static hazards, so you could use timing more as a gameplay element. The hidden spikes are an example of non-static hazards, but they too are static with regard to position. Something like moving spikes and self-moving boxes (that push the player around and try to squish him) could really make both the platform and puzzle levels more diverse. Also more interactivity with the environment through doors and switches, possibly even teleporters could make the game world richer.Half of Greyout is to get exactly that, the other half (including levels like "Greyout") is just a hard platformer, because I thought mixing puzzle levels with some pure platformer levels and having some change in gameplay is a good idea in general. (well they are not pure platformer levels to be precise, there still is some thinking involved, but the focus is shifted).
I agree with you here 100%. I can't really see how this would work in 3D, except by restraining the mechanics to 2D but using 3D graphics. Even that would probably mostly suffer because the lines between white/black/grey areas would be less clear (due to perspective). So yeah, 3D doesn't really contribute to greyout's mechanic.Also I don't think the game would work that well in 3D.
I am very critical about 3D, on the one hand you can build nice worlds with it, it makes the game more closely related to anything real, on the other hand only some games really benefit by that and it often is over-used or wrongly used just to add some "3D looks cool/better"-effect, which is utterly stupid in my eyes (think latest Sonic titles for example).
With Greyout I wanted to have a interesting gameplay mechanic and try to fully explore it (VVVVVV is an example of this done right) - as I said, I don't feel like I have done that yet, so this is why I am still working on more levels.
In general I think I have not fully explored the 2D space yet and will most likely not make a 3D game in the near future.
Well, now this gets a bit scary as it is exactly what I have planned or rather what has been implemented with the last update (just has not been used in any level yet)IMHO, this is a great idea. The platforming levels could use some non-static hazards, so you could use timing more as a gameplay element. The hidden spikes are an example of non-static hazards, but they too are static with regard to position. Something like moving spikes and self-moving boxes (that push the player around and try to squish him) could really make both the platform and puzzle levels more diverse. Also more interactivity with the environment through doors and switches, possibly even teleporters could make the game world richer.
Consider Braid you used as an example. The basic rewinding mechanic is constantly amended with different environmental hazards and elements. Having a solid basic mechanic- which you in my opinion have achieved -is of course paramount, but to keep the player hooked you need to vary the gameplay with the environment.
Dude you got to get that company to release the game for pandora![]()
They are not even making a PC version![]()
Well, I guess we think alike thenWell, now this gets a bit scary as it is exactly what I have planned or rather what has been implemented with the last update (just has not been used in any level yet)![]()
Such waste to limit a game like that to a single platformThey are not even making a PC version![]()
=======================================================================================
PND_SCRIPT      : pnd_run.sh
PND_ARGS        : -p /media/mmcblk0p1/pandora/menu//Greyout.pnd -e ./greyout -b greyout
PND             : /media/mmcblk0p1/pandora/menu//Greyout.pnd
PND_FSTYPE      : Squashfs
APPDATADIR      : /media/mmcblk0p1/pandora/appdata/greyout
APPDD_FSTYPE    : vfat
PND_CPUSPEED    : <unset>
EXENAME         : ./greyout
ARGUMENTS       : <unset>
=======================================================================================
[19h36m59   START ]=== Mount the PND ==================================================
[19h37m00    INFO ]   Mounting : mount -t squashfs "/dev/loop2" "/mnt/pnd/greyout"
[19h37m00    INFO ]   Mounting the Union FS : mount -t aufs -o exec,noplink,dirs="/media/mmcblk0p1/pandora/appdata/greyout=rw+nolwh":"/mnt/pnd/greyout=rr" none "/mnt/utmp/greyout"
[19h37m01 SUCCESS ]=== Mount the PND ==================================================
[19h37m01   START ]=== Starting the application (./greyout ) ==========================
[19h37m02    INFO ]   ././greyout
[19h37m03    INFO ]   Penjin says: No command line args provided.
[19h37m03    INFO ]   Savegame successfully loaded!
[19h37m04    INFO ]   Input driver version is 1.0.0
[19h37m04    INFO ]   Input device ID: bus 0x18 vendor 0x0 product 0x0 version 0x92
[19h37m04    INFO ]   Input device name: "nub0"
[19h37m04    INFO ]   Input driver version is 1.0.0
[19h37m05    INFO ]   Input device ID: bus 0x18 vendor 0x0 product 0x0 version 0x92
[19h37m05    INFO ]   Input device name: "nub1"
[19h37m05    INFO ]   Input driver version is 1.0.0
[19h37m05    INFO ]   Input device ID: bus 0x19 vendor 0x1 product 0x1 version 0x3
[19h37m05    INFO ]   Input device name: "keypad"
[19h37m06    INFO ]   Input driver version is 1.0.0
[19h37m06    INFO ]   Input device ID: bus 0x19 vendor 0x1 product 0x1 version 0x100
[19h37m06    INFO ]   Input device name: "gpio-keys"
[19h37m06    INFO ]   Input driver version is 1.0.0
[19h37m07    INFO ]   Input device ID: bus 0x0 vendor 0x0 product 0x0 version 0x0
[19h37m07    INFO ]   Input device name: "touchscreen"
[19h37m07    INFO ]   i:0Pcal:-13868
[19h37m07    INFO ]   i:1Pcal:53
[19h37m07    INFO ]   i:2Pcal:54178276
[19h37m07    INFO ]   i:3Pcal:43
[19h37m08    INFO ]   i:4Pcal:-8681
[19h37m08    INFO ]   i:5Pcal:32884616
[19h37m08    INFO ]   i:6Pcal:65536
[19h37m08   ERROR ]   Penjin says: No errors detected.
[19h37m08    INFO ]   Surface cache cleared - deleted 0 images!
[19h37m08    INFO ]   Cleared music cache - deleted 0 music tracks (0 still playing).
[19h37m11    INFO ]   Surface cache cleared - deleted 0 images!
[19h37m11    INFO ]   Cleared music cache - deleted 0 music tracks (0 still playing).
[19h37m11    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/menu/title_800_480.png"
[19h37m11    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/menu/title_marker_800_480.png"
[19h37m12    INFO ]   Loading new music track to cache "music/title_menu.ogg"
[19h37m12    INFO ]   Now playing: "music/title_menu.ogg"
[19h37m14    INFO ]   Loading new sound to cache "sounds/menu.wav"
[19h37m15    INFO ]   Trying to open chapter file "chapters/default/info.txt"
[19h37m15    INFO ]   Trying to load strings file "chapters/default/strings.txt"
[19h37m15    INFO ]   Surface cache cleared - deleted 2 images!
[19h37m16    INFO ]   Cleared music cache - deleted 0 music tracks (1 still playing).
[19h37m16    INFO ]   Trying to load level file "chapters/default/06.txt"
[19h37m16    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/levels/06.png"
[19h37m16    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h37m17    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/levels/06.png"
[19h37m17    INFO ]   Trying to load custom music track "chapters/default/music/together.ogg"
[19h37m17    INFO ]   Custom music track not found, loading default!
[19h37m17    INFO ]   Loading new music track to cache "music/together.ogg"
[19h37m17    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/player/black_big.png"
[19h37m17    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h37m18    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/player/black_big.png"
[19h37m18    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/player/white_big.png"
[19h37m18    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h37m18    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/player/white_big.png"
[19h37m18    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/units/exit.png"
[19h37m18    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h37m19    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/units/exit.png"
[19h37m19    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/units/exit.png"
[19h37m19    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h37m19    INFO ]   Level has 2 players and 4 units.
[19h37m19    INFO ]   Successfully loaded level file!
[19h37m20    INFO ]   Now playing: "music/together.ogg"
[19h37m20    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h37m20    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h37m20    INFO ]   Loading new sound to cache "sounds/die.wav"
[19h37m22    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h37m22    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h37m22    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h37m23    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h37m52    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h37m52    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h37m53    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h37m53    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h38m39    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h38m39    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h39m15    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h39m15    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h39m18    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h39m18    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h39m52    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h39m52    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h40m00    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h40m02    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h41m11    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h41m11    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h41m14    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h41m14    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h41m52    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h41m52    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h41m55    INFO ]   ALSA lib pcm.c:7234:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured
[19h42m59    INFO ]   Progress saved!
[19h43m00    INFO ]   Surface cache cleared - deleted 4 images!
[19h43m00    INFO ]   Cleared music cache - deleted 0 music tracks (2 still playing).
[19h43m02    INFO ]   Surface cache cleared - deleted 0 images!
[19h43m03    INFO ]   Cleared music cache - deleted 0 music tracks (2 still playing).
[19h43m03    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/menu/title_800_480.png"
[19h43m03    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/menu/title_marker_800_480.png"
[19h43m05    INFO ]   Now playing: "music/title_menu.ogg"
[19h43m05    INFO ]   Trying to open chapter file "chapters/default/info.txt"
[19h43m05    INFO ]   Trying to load strings file "chapters/default/strings.txt"
[19h43m05    INFO ]   Surface cache cleared - deleted 2 images!
[19h43m06    INFO ]   Cleared music cache - deleted 0 music tracks (2 still playing).
[19h43m06    INFO ]   Trying to load level file "chapters/default/06.txt"
[19h43m06    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/levels/06.png"
[19h43m06    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h43m06    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/levels/06.png"
[19h43m07    INFO ]   Trying to load custom music track "chapters/default/music/together.ogg"
[19h43m07    INFO ]   Custom music track not found, loading default!
[19h43m07    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/player/black_big.png"
[19h43m07    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h43m07    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/player/black_big.png"
[19h43m08    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/player/white_big.png"
[19h43m08    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h43m08    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/player/white_big.png"
[19h43m08    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/units/exit.png"
[19h43m08    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h43m09    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/units/exit.png"
[19h43m09    INFO ]   Trying to load custom image "chapters/default/images/units/exit.png"
[19h43m09    INFO ]   Custom image not found, loading default!
[19h43m09    INFO ]   Level has 2 players and 4 units.
[19h43m09    INFO ]   Successfully loaded level file!
[19h43m10    INFO ]   Now playing: "music/together.ogg"
[19h43m10    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h43m10    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h43m10    INFO ]   Trying to load custom sound "chapters/default/sounds/die.wav"
[19h43m10    INFO ]   Custom sound not found, loading default!
[19h43m14    INFO ]   Loading new sound to cache "sounds/menu_back.wav"
[19h43m14    INFO ]   Surface cache cleared - deleted 4 images!
[19h43m15    INFO ]   Cleared music cache - deleted 0 music tracks (2 still playing).
[19h43m15    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/menu/title_800_480.png"
[19h43m15    INFO ]   Loading new image to cache "images/menu/title_marker_800_480.png"
[19h43m17    INFO ]   Now playing: "music/title_menu.ogg"
[19h43m19    INFO ]   Penjin says: Shutting Down.
[19h43m19    INFO ]   Progress saved!
[19h43m19    INFO ]   Surface cache cleared - deleted 2 images!
[19h43m20    INFO ]   Cleared music cache - deleted 2 music tracks (0 still playing).
[19h43m20    INFO ]   Cleared sound cache - deleted 3 sounds (0 still playing).
[19h43m20    INFO ]   Penjin says: Goodbye!
	@foxblock, I just press "start game", and I always start on the same level, then after I'm finished the level, it goes back to the main menu. Here's the .out file, which shows me finishing that level after a few deaths, whereupon the game goes back to the main menu, I press "start game", and the same level starts again:
You could also add some kind of indicator that the player has played through the available levels before sending him back to the title screen.
ThanksI want to add my voice to the choir of praise hereExcellent fun, very mind-twisty. Too few levels, though - I crave more!!!
(or possibly not, since I need to do ordinary life kind of things, too.
I don't, however, get the level select screen - I get two choices, where one puts me back at the level I played last (the "Greyout" choice) and one puts me in some strange space with two men and strange movements. Apparently I can materialize blocks, but they explode...wut?
Still, that probably has an explanation. Excellent game! Minimal, and with a weird mechanic.
Oh, I assume that is the second level called "The Tower" (every level has a name).@ foxblock
The first level with the elevator thing that goes down and spikes below.
Actually, I finished it once, but then tried the level another 100 times with no luck.![]()
	