New Ludum Dare game: The Recursive Dollhouse

Like a swift ninja skittering across a frozen lake, Ludum Dare 37 have come and went swiftly…

Hello, everyone! Sorry for the silent treatment, but we have a new game out! Inspired by an episode of Tales of the Unusual (Japanese version of Twilight Zone), we went full-on surreal: The Recursive Dollhouse is a very strange game about a very strange dollhouse. Created by Taro Omiya, Petey Pezzulo, and Graham Lerch, this open-source first-person puzzle game involves going in deep. Very, very deep.

Full Description:

​A very strange game about a very strange dollhouse. A surreal first-person puzzle game created in 72-hours for Ludum Dare 37.

This game is funded through Patreon. Many thanks to the following:

* Adam R. Vierra
* Joshua Jennings
* XanderHD
* Tommy Pedersen
* Jacob Clark
* David Lin

Made in Tech Valley Game Space!

If you can, please rate the game, and let us know what you think!

Link to Itch.io: https://omiyagames.itch.io/artifacts-of-the-ancients

Link to GameJolt: http://gamejolt.com/games/the-recursive-dollhouse/217729

Link to Ludum Dare voting page: http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-37/?action=preview&uid=20557

Some screenshots!

Not a Clone Update: What’s This? Another Demo Release?

Some of you may have noticed that a new version of Not a Clone Demo has been released. This is quite a rapid turnout compared to the last release, which came out a full month after the demo debuted. What’s going on?

In short, we’ve been syncing the code and assets for the demos with the recent private beta releases so that both will have the latest development changes in the game. This should help us respond more quickly to the comments on the demo and from the beta testers. Of course, since we’re now working on bugs and small enhancements, the changes between the different versions of the demo will be relatively minor.

In any case, we haven’t actually posted the changes made since the first release, so here’s an extensive list on what’s been done so far:

  1. Updated how the loading screen looks to appear more like a text message screen.
  2. Changed the bottom of game over screen to use less screen-estate.  High scores button is now placed in-between restart and home button.
  3. Added a new music for challenge mode.
  4. Added more sound effects, both for pop-up events and a couple of microgames.
  5. Updated credits to include our current beta testers.
  6. Reduced WebGL memory usage by packing sprites into less image files.  PC/Mac/Linux build remains unchanged.
  7. Updated Angry Monkeys’ physics.  The monkeys no longer collides with the slingshot or each other, and the shot-direction is based on the position you’ve let go of the slingshot, not the direction the sling moves.
  8. Background music now fades-in before a microgame starts.
  9. Reduced memory usage on all platforms by loading most sound effects and music on-the-fly.
  10. Clicking on the pause button no longer triggers a mouse-down event on a microgame.
  11. Made challenge mode a lot easier by dramatically increasing the amount of time available to the player.  The previous times assumed the game was played on a multi-touch-supporting touchscreen, but there is now a different time set for mouse.
  12. Fixed a few typos in the loading screen’s text messages.
  13. Doubled the animation speed of Light Tiles.
  14. How the first couple of microgames are selected is a lot less random.  If the player’s best score is below 15, they will always be served with a predetermined order of microgames.  If they score higher than or equal to 15, the first 10 microgames are those that either have low number of plays, or a low rate of winning.
  15. Fixing “Clone of:” label not being translated properly in Pig Latin (fun fact: the language’s purpose is to confirm our localization script works).
  16. The speed-up is calculated differently.  It’s a little easier in the beginning, but gets harder towards the end.

Let us know what you think of the changes!

#OneGameAMonth July Entry: String Theory

Remember the prototype I was working on this month called, “Prototype: Monet”? Great news! I’m finally done with it, with a new title: String Theory!

For the uninformed, String Theory was intended to be a fishing simulation. It’s now a first-person puzzle game about gathering brightly colored objects by touching them with things attached to the fishing pole. As more objects are collected, more objects light up. Utilize this ability to reach to the red gate!

You can play the Unity webplayer here. I’ve also made Windows builds, both 32-bit (here) and 64-bit (here), and a Mac build (here)!