Comments on: What’s in the Box? (Finlay Costello)

By: Noyb

Noyb — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 03:50:17 +0000

~65 errors, blind run.

Good use of the twisty arm mechanic in the puzzles, conveys a lot visually without the need for heavy tutorials. (Did I see that mechanic before? Some game involving oil?)

I found holding down direction buttons to be a bit imprecise for dodge-heavy approaches, but was relatively comfortable with tapping. Very satisfying when I found good ways to trap the purple blades without painting myself in a corner.

I wish I had known the number of levels going into it: it’s slightly more than I would have wanted in one sitting, but kept persisting because I continually thought I was almost near the end.

By: frikiloko

frikiloko — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:07:57 +0000

Hi finlay, I think you’ve had a brilliant idea and very well exploited as well,congratulations.Look forward to more games yours!

By: Fin C

Fin C — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:52:01 +0000

Hi everyone, I’ve just updated the game to version 3. Now things are getting very interesting!

By: Fin C

Fin C — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:55:38 +0000

Ah, the contents of the box were unrewarding because you didn’t get there without editing the save file! You get out what you put in

Anyone else reading this tempted to do the same, just remember the contents of the box in my game are nowhere near as disappointing as what’s inside Peter Molyneux’s cube. Unless it’s the same in which case, helloooo lawsuit!

Thanks for the feedback though, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Some of the other stages are also blue, it’s a design feature.

By: Jon R Wallace

Jon R Wallace — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 23:28:28 +0000

OK, beat the game legit and the version I had had the last stage of THIS OFFENDS MY EYE and boy did it. Why is the background color light blue instead of black like all of the other stages?

Actual run was 126 but I played around with the sav file once I saw the errors were unprotected and the contents of the box were a little disappointing given the build up.

The game mechanics were neat, simple, and well designed. A great puzzle game and well worth the effort for those who like a puzzle style game.

Keep up the good work man.

By: Fin C

Fin C — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:10:56 +0000

Hi everyone, I’ve just updated the game to the latest version, in which I’ve made a number of improvements:
*Changed music, optimized game and severely cut .exe size.
*Added save game function.
*Slightly changed “catching” mechanic and added extra level to demonstrate how catching works.
*Fixed “creeping hand” bug – controls are now more precise.
*Restarting a level will now be classed as an error.

By: Fin C

Fin C — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 08:03:20 +0000

Hi, thanks for your feedback. There are actually two solutions to Marching and one of them involves no fast dodging. I tried to stop the fast dodging solution but changing the design gave away the logic solution.

I agree that catching the box from above is tricky but if you hold down X and move back to the box the hand will catch it. This is not elegant and I understand how frustrating it is to have the controls of a game inhibit you rather than the puzzles. I’ll revisit this mechanic, and create a better ‘tutorial’ puzzle to introduce it.

By: secretdoorinvisiblewall

secretdoorinvisiblewall — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 03:14:21 +0000

I see you’re keeping an eye on the comments Fin, so here’s a couple suggestions:

I don’t think the levels that consist only of dodging enemies (e.g. “Marching up and Down the Square”) are a good idea given the finicky state of the controls. I can see them being a nice change of pace from the puzzles if the controls were sharper, but in the current state they’re more of an annoyance. Especially given how good your puzzles are.

Also, needing to grab the box as it falls can be aggravating, especially on levels like “Petit Prix” and “Around the Bend” where if you miss the grab it falls into spikes. It’d be nice if the box sat atop the hand without falling until grabbed.

By: secretdoorinvisiblewall

secretdoorinvisiblewall — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 02:43:18 +0000

Not only a neat and novel mechanic, but also very nice work putting the puzzles together.

By: Fin C

Fin C — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 23:22:05 +0000

Thanks for the feedback, glad you enjoyed it! I had plans to add loads of features to this game, create a story around it (and build a map – I love maps!) I realised this would take me almost 500 years to complete so I reduced the scope. I suppose it’s always better to do that than to get so bogged down you never release it, and I can always add more stuff as I go along. I’d love to keep working on this idea though as I hadn’t seen a core mechanic similar to it anywhere else.

As for the number of errors: you need very very few.