There are 29
contestants in this year's uDevGames
contest. I'm going to try them out and rate each entrant. And probably
keep the best 5 or so (all the games are free as part of the contest
rules, though they can be changed to shareware after the contest).
Strangely, contestants can continue to update their games throughout
the voting period, which makes it hard to vote properly. Then again the
programmers get quick direct feedback so overall it helps the games.
There are also blogs and forums for even more interaction and
developers are encouraged to write up their experiences.
Thunder Blast by
Kyle Leary
Apparently you play this car and can move left, move right, jump, and
shoot. So I start out in a pit and can't seem to jump out of it.
There's a trick where you can jump then press the jump key again to
hover and I can't seem to get the hang of it.
Ok, I think I got it. I'm moving around, jumping from platform to
platform. Bad guys, I'm dead. That was quick. I have a big health bar
and died in less than three seconds. You also have a hover fuel bar
which replenishes automatically. Hmm, not a very interesting game.
There is also a level editor, though I can't imagine that people could
come up with interesting levels given how basic the game is.
Gameplay: Poor (2) Levels need a lot more work.
Graphics: Poor (2) Big car, big platforms, small screen.
Sound and Music: Very Poor (1) No music, basic sounds.
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BitRacer 2072 by Will Thimbleby
A simple (maybe OpenGL) racing game. No complicated car physics here.
You have this little vehicle with an accelerator, brakes, and left and
right controls plus a reset control if you get completely turned
around. You race around the various tracks against three computer
racers (who are very good). The graphics and game play remind so much
of my Computer Graphics class in college.
Only one track is available and apparently even my computer is a bit
slow for the game (though I couldn't tell from playing the first
track). The interface is fairly intuitive (and there are absolutely no
other instructions). There is a soundtrack which is fast paced and
suited for the game though perhaps a bit repetitive after a while. This
game shows promise.
Gameplay: Good (4) Smooth animation, responsive controls.
Graphics: Average (3) Clean, no surface mapping here!
Sound and Music: Average (3) Music pumps you, some crash sounds.
Cubic's Rube by
David Rzepa
Colored 1x1 blocks fall down, you can place them ala Connect-Four on
any of four sides of a cube. You're supposed to make patterns but I
have no idea how they score and as far as I could tell you can't get
rid of blocks except with the occasional bomb. And the game is way too
fast.
Gameplay: Very Poor (1) Too fast, can't tell what I'm supposed to
do.
Graphics: Poor (2) Simple colors.
Sound and Music: Poor (2) Blocks dropping, bomb exploding. |