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[dock]

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the official trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf06P-_1lkU
There are some really interesting level layouts in the final game too.

Those weren't so bad. The only one I got stuck on was "a difficult chord" and that was mostly because of the controls. This game really needs pad controls.

The game comes with Joy2Key pre-configured for 360 controller. I'm editing it to use Saturn USB controller.

 

[Herbspiceguy]

I've been looking forward to VVVVVV since I found out about Terry's games after reading about Judith in a Halloween games topic on NeoGAF.
I preordered the game for 10$, and I think it was 20$ or more if you wanted your name in the credits of the game.
I really like the game so far.

I'm not sure if this is in the demo, but the retail game has a big spacey overworld you can explore where you can find messages from your lost crewmates and hints of their possible location. Everytime you find a crewmate he/she will return to your ship and there will be some dialogue. The shiny trinkets are saved on your ship where they are used to unlock songs. I think this adds a lot to the charm of the game.

 

[Ecrofirt]

So I beat the demo, and I'm sorta confused by level 1. Is there an obvious place to go off the beaten path and find hidden areas with more shiny trinkets? the only place that seems somewhat likely is the screen where you have to reverse, go down two screens avoiding spikes, and reverse again to get to the other side of a spike chasm. Other than that, the level looks to have a fairly closed path (aside from the areas you are taunted with but can't get to).

 

[n0b]

So I beat the demo, and I'm sorta confused by level 1. Is there an obvious place to go off the beaten path and find hidden areas with more shiny trinkets? the only place that seems somewhat likely is the screen where you have to reverse, go down two screens avoiding spikes, and reverse again to get to the other side of a spike chasm. Other than that, the level looks to have a fairly closed path (aside from the areas you are taunted with but can't get to).

I think the only ones that are really out of the way are things that are only open when you have access to the full hub/overworld and can navigate freely through the whole game world in the full game.

 

[luka]

Good lord. It took me like half an hour but I finally did Veni Vidi Vici! D:

 

[-WindYoshi-]

Argg, every time I think of an idea for my game this happens lol.

Was just working on anti-gravity controls last night. Back to the drawing board I guess.

Well that doesn't stop it from being a fun idea! At the very least implement the anti-gravity aspect into some parts of the game...don't be afraid of it being seen as unoriginal.

Did anyone find the Anomaly and Purest Unobtainium in level 2?
That was awesome.

Spoiler

get through the small space above the spikes in between I'm Sorry and Please Forgive Me!

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Just finished playing the demo and I liked it quite a lot. And yes the music is awesome!

 

[Why would you do that?]

My netbook in Linux is too slow to play the demo online. The character randomly moves a slow speed, so this part with the exhaust pipe or something in Level 2 was just too hard...

Otherwise, the game's pretty great.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I hear Guile's theme in stage one

 

[Exclamation-One]

Damn, GAF is fast on this one.

Anyway BUY THIS GAME! It's one of the best platformers since Megaman 2. No joke!

Soundtrack by SoulEye is outstanding as well.

 

[Lord Phol]

Fun little game, can't wait to get home and try it with sound/music .
Speedruns of this game are going to be enjoyable to watch.

 

[luka]

Game complete! Final time 1:51. Deaths:

Spoiler

783

Stupid Veni

Awesome game but I hoped it would be a bit longer, only found 9 shiny trinkets though.

EDIT: The picture at the end was creepy

 

[dock]

Game complete! Final time 1:51. Deaths:

Spoiler

783

Stupid Veni

Awesome game but I hoped it would be a bit longer, only found 9 shiny trinkets though.

EDIT: The picture at the end was creepy

Wow, that's a pretty fast first playthrough. I saw someone rack up 3000+ deaths earlier today.

Yeah, I think the trinkets are the real challenge in this game. I wonder how many people will ever get them all!

 

[rohlfinator]

"PC Game Tax" is the digitally distributed "Indie Game" tax. For example World Of Goo was $15 on WiiWare, $20 on Steam. Serious Sam HD will be $15 this week on XBLA, $20 on Steam (with numerous sales in between). Bionic Commando Rearmed was $10 on XBLA and PSN, $15 on PC.

It's the opposite of retail games, where PC games are usually $10 less. It's strange, but it happens all the time.

Weird, I didn't realize this was a trend. I remember Braid also being a bit pricier when it came out on PC, but it was adjusted to match the XBLA version soon after.

I wonder if the PC market is just more tolerant of higher-priced indie games than the console markets. XBLA games in particular seem to have their prices hyper-analyzed by the gaming community.

I feel like I encounter these sort of ultra touchy controls in lots of flash games and indie games. I wonder if it's because they all have a similar engine back end or if because many indie devs are from more of an art background and don't have the programming/math experience to polish the controls and get them right?

After messing around with a platformer engine in Game Maker for a while, my feeling is that tight platformer controls are just deceptively hard to get right. Even a lot of 8- and 16-bit games from commercial developers have kind of wonky controls.

My guesses for why it happens more often in indie games:
-The controls need to be pretty much 100% nailed down before starting on level design, and maybe indie devs don't have the time/patience to perfect them before moving on to more interesting stuff.
-It's easy to get used to a control scheme if you're replaying the game dozens of times, so as time goes on it gets harder to recognize problems that newcomers might face.

 

[bjork]

Reminds me of Jet Set Willy, just faster and with the gravity swap thing. Pretty cool.

 

[shuri]

I cant try this right now,

but doesnt this game feels a lot like a commercial remake of that impossible platformer pc freeware that was all made to look like it was made in ascii art? It featured a room with pedobear.. I remember that It was made by people on the japanese 2ch site. The entire game was like a collection of super hard levels based on forum memes. There was a huge thread about this on gaf.

I remember a room with Guile doing a flashkick

From the screenshots, it looks like an heavily inspired version of that.

 

[Threi]

the music is amazing.

 

[Archie]

I cant try this right now,

but doesnt this game feels a lot like a commercial remake of that impossible platformer pc freeware that was all made to look like it was made in ascii art? It featured a room with pedobear.. I remember that It was made by people on the japanese 2ch site. The entire game was like a collection of super hard levels based on forum memes. There was a huge thread about this on gaf.

I remember a room with Guile doing a flashkick

From the screenshots, it looks like an heavily inspired version of that.

I Wanna Be the Guy? Nah this game is nothing like it.

 

[Herbspiceguy]

only found 9 shiny trinkets though

There's a way to have all of their locations appear on the map.


Speaking of trinkets has anyone gotten the one from "Prize for the reckless"???
When you first enter the room you realise you have to go around through other rooms to unlock a moving platform, but when you leave the room and go back the moving platform is resetted and stuck again.

 

[n0b]

I finished too, but my time was a bit slower. Great game. Even though the controls are a bit floaty I never really felt that they were the main reason for my deaths.

Time: 2:14
Trinkets: 10
Deaths: 1034

My worst room was veni with 83 deaths, and I just gave up on it. Such an evil trinket. I could see the last 10 trinkets taking a while, just because the ones I have left are so evil.

Speaking of trinkets has anyone gotten the one from "Prize for the reckless"???
When you first enter the room you realise you have to go around through other rooms to unlock a moving platform, but when you leave the room and go back the moving platform is resetted and stuck again.

To get that one you have to hit the checkpoint in that room, and then not hit ANY checkpoints as you go around to unlock the moving platform. Then you kill yourself on that screen and that will allow you to respawn without resetting the moving platform. That's why the next room has a name like deceptive (can't remember the exact name), because its very hard when you have to AVOID the checkpoints.

 

[ITA84]

I cant try this right now,

but doesnt this game feels a lot like a commercial remake of that impossible platformer pc freeware that was all made to look like it was made in ascii art? It featured a room with pedobear.. I remember that It was made by people on the japanese 2ch site. The entire game was like a collection of super hard levels based on forum memes. There was a huge thread about this on gaf.

I remember a room with Guile doing a flashkick

From the screenshots, it looks like an heavily inspired version of that.

The life-ending adventure? This game sure looks and plays nothing like that.

Tried and enjoyed the demo, but I doubt I'll buy the full game.

 

[DigiMish]

Not worth $15.00 though.

 

[falconzss]

finished the demo a few seconds ago. it's definitely addicting and challenging at times and that's exactly what i like about it. i really dig games like this, that rely on a one simply gameplay mechanic (splosionman etc.). the music is awesome, especially in the first level. reminded me of my childhood days :lol
i really wished this was a psn or xbla title...

 

[jett]

Really awesome, I might like the music more than the game itself even. $15 is kinda steep though...

 

[PetriP-TNT]

I Wanna Be the Guy? Nah this game is nothing like it.

Not IWBTG, but http://www.kongregate.com/games/IlIlIlIlIlIlIlIl/owata-i Owata - Life Ending Adventure.

I think that I was the only one who finished it back in the "impossible games" thread year or two ago! Well, I didn't exactly finish it, as it wasn't finishable, only had signs "turn back" and stuff in every route.

Oh, and I liked the game. Some parts were rather annoying but saw couple of things I could go back and explore, like that small hole in "I'm Sorry" and such. Great chiptune music too and very metroidy overall look

 

[SturokBGD]

Indie platformer with a retro feel, eh! Now there's a fresh genre!

Seriously though, the demo for this is pretty good. I actually did get a Jet Set Willy/Manic Miner vibe from some of the enemies.

 

[JEKKI]

I wanna check this game out!

V V V V baby baby baby!!

 

[Herbspiceguy]

I just finished my first playthrough:
15 trinkets
2:54
1096 deaths
hardest room: the tower 86 deaths

To get that one you have to hit the checkpoint in that room, and then not hit ANY checkpoints as you go around to unlock the moving platform. Then you kill yourself on that screen and that will allow you to respawn without resetting the moving platform. That's why the next room has a name like deceptive (can't remember the exact name), because its very hard when you have to AVOID the checkpoints.

Ah, thanks. I feel abit dumb for not figuring that out myself.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

great game

 

[Katzenjammer]

First playthrough done!

It was a fun ride, but a bit on the short side. The music was awesome, and it should have been included as a bonus for downloading to justify the price, which was a bit steep.

I will surely return to this again in the future, and can recommend it to most of GAF

 

[Chris Remo]

I'm feeling kind of dumb, but I can't find the last crew member. I have nearly the whole map explored. Anyone have any ideas for me?

 

[Barkley's Justice]

here's the thing: it's 2010, a fucking space odyssey. get your graphics up to par. this shit aint cute.

 

[Katzenjammer]

I'm feeling kind of dumb, but I can't find the last crew member. I have nearly the whole map explored. Anyone have any ideas for me?

Explore the whole map? Have you found all the teleporters?

 

[Campster]

here's the thing: it's 2010, a fucking space odyssey. get your graphics up to par. this shit aint cute.

There's a legitimate argument to be made that the faux-retro aesthetic plagues indie games in general. It's the result of the necessity for low-fidelity graphics when working with one-to-four man teams combined with a bit of the ironic hipster thing and a lot of nostalgia for old titles and days that were. It's not a bad choice in and of itself, but it is a little overplayed.

But it's sort of unfair to simply say "up to par" as if this isn't a conscious choice on Terry Cavanagh's part, especially when combined with the simplicity of the mechanics and SoulEye's work on the music. It's an intentional and loving recreation of low-fi graphics and 16 color palettes of the late 80's. VVVVVV is a bit unique in that it's emulating pixel art of a very specific (and arguably under represented) era of computing. Its the fact that it's not emulating 8-bit NES pixel art or a much fuller SNES style color palette that makes it stand out.

Also, Veni Vidi Vici is incredibly frustrating, but it's going to be so awesome when I finally get that damned thing.

 

[luka]

Also, Veni Vidi Vici is incredibly frustrating, but it's going to be so awesome when I finally get that damned thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPWO2HN3VmA

 

[dock]

VVVVVV has better and more interesting art direction than a lot of 2009's commercial releases. I agree with Campster that this is definitely tackling a less overdone era of graphics, and this game does a very good job of it.

Some people are posting some terrifying feats on Youtube. I wonder what would have happened if we had Youtube when Jet Set Willy been released.

 

[Talamius]

As much as I loved the demo, $15 is a bit steep. $10 and you've got yourself a deal. I love the C64 art direction and music, and the platforming is brutal.

 

[n0b]

First playthrough done!

It was a fun ride, but a bit on the short side. The music was awesome, and it should have been included as a bonus for downloading to justify the price, which was a bit steep.

I will surely return to this again in the future, and can recommend it to most of GAF

I got twenty (two hours beyond my initial playthrough), but there are twenty one? ):< I've been playing around with the endgame content and enjoying it now, I like how each crew member has their own dialogue for the intermissions, and even though I hated the gravitron when I got to it in the main game, I am loving playing around in the super gravitron you unlock with 20 trinkets.

 

[oracrest]

yeah, it is pretty fun, only got a little ways in.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

so fucking awesome. just started the full game. getting slaughtered on the dragging blue crew dood along part. fucking hell the three platforms up and down bridge is nuts

 

[bounchfx]

pretty sweet, love the music

 

[KanZolo]

Too floaty.

The characters look like pixel sackboys.

@_@


Anyways, I loved this. If I had the technology and the know-how this is the sort of game I would create. Simply controlled platformed with old school graphics and music.

Some people mention Machinarium and Cannabalt, is there a thread dedicated to these kind of games?

 

[Tokubetsu]

Most amazing shit ever.

 

[Campster]

@_@


Anyways, I loved this. If I had the technology and the know-how this is the sort of game I would create. Simply controlled platformed with old school graphics and music.

Some people mention Machinarium and Cannabalt, is there a thread dedicated to these kind of games?

There have been a number of "post neat-o indie games" threads. But since indie games come in so many flavors (flash, freeware, for pay, PSN/Arcade/WiiWare) they normally end up being either game specific or "post all the awesome free games you know and then the thread will fall off the face of the earth" sort of dealies.

If you're really curious, great indie resources include Indiegames.com and TIG Source. The latter also hosts The Indie Game Database which features a fairly extensive (but by no means exhaustive) list of neat stuff.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

well. easily worth 15 buckaroos

 

[totowhoa]

God damn. Just played through the demo for the third time and in the last two or three days. I wish I had the cash to toss at this game... will buy in the coming months, certainly. So much fun... I love masochistic games like this. Reminds me of the pull-you-hair-out parts of mega man... I loved those and replayed them endlessly just to complete them without a second thought because they were so damn fun.

 

[Stencil]

Finally beat the demo. Took about five minutes on the first level. Could not figure out that damn Exhaust Chute<Sorrow screen.

I like that it puts you right back at the continue, right away. Without that this game would be bullshit. But, it's an amazing game.

15 is steep. Rather have a physical copy for 15. On my DS.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

the edge games room is crazy. someone tell me how

15 is steep.

easily worth it

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

so fucking awesome. just started the full game. getting slaughtered on the dragging blue crew dood along part. fucking hell the three platforms up and down bridge is nuts

This is the bit I'm stuck on. Can anyone help? Can't even work out what I'm supposed to do, let alone how to execute it.

 

[Herbspiceguy]

Some people mention Machinarium and Cannabalt, is there a thread dedicated to these kind of games?

There's a topic with really good recommendations at hardcoregaming101's forum, it's still on the first page in 'general video gaming'. That's where I found out about a lot of awesome indie games.
There's also the finalists and winners of the indie games festival you could check out: http://www.igf.com/02finalists.html
and some best of 2009 lists at indiegames blog:
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2009/12/the_best_of_2009_top_10_indie.html
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2010/01/feature_top_freeware_platforme.html
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2010/01/feature_top_freeware_puzzle_ga.html
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2009/12/feature_top_freeware_shoot_em.html