- Pronouns
- He/Him
Finished in 2024 #3: Annalynn
Take the premise of Pac-Man - collect items, avoid enemies - and turn it into an arcade sidescrolling platformer. Annalynn trades sharp cornering through mazes and escaping through side tunnels for freer running and jumping over obstacles. The snakes (this game's equivalent of the ghosts) primarily go in straight paths, but they can easily ambush you from above or through popping out of burrows you cannot enter. Similar to its inspiration, the game is about finding the right path through the level and outsmarting the enemy patterns, but the increased asymmetry between player and enemy give it a unique feel. Loved seeing all of the nods to other Pac-Man games beyond the obvious ones, too. A short list of the ones I noticed:
Finished in 2024 #4: Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain
I think I'll let my post from the game's dedicated thread speak for itself:
Take the premise of Pac-Man - collect items, avoid enemies - and turn it into an arcade sidescrolling platformer. Annalynn trades sharp cornering through mazes and escaping through side tunnels for freer running and jumping over obstacles. The snakes (this game's equivalent of the ghosts) primarily go in straight paths, but they can easily ambush you from above or through popping out of burrows you cannot enter. Similar to its inspiration, the game is about finding the right path through the level and outsmarting the enemy patterns, but the increased asymmetry between player and enemy give it a unique feel. Loved seeing all of the nods to other Pac-Man games beyond the obvious ones, too. A short list of the ones I noticed:
- The snakes wearing hats accessibility feature feels like a throwback to the 80's Pac-Man cartoon and Pac-Land
- The level progression and final boss are very reminiscent of Pac-Man Arrangement
- Turbo mode as an unlockable, just like the speed-up chip!
- Floating bonus items call back to the Midway Pac-Man sequels.
Finished in 2024 #4: Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain
I think I'll let my post from the game's dedicated thread speak for itself:
I've collected 26 of the 30 strawberries, but I'll call it for now since I have work in the morning. Overall this is an extremely impressive effort. I would not be surprised to see this on my games of the year list for 2024.
The mechanics of Celeste were translated really well into 3D, and the tweaks and new moves they did add made for a fun exploration platformer. I had a few difficulties with depth perception with some of the more precision segments (that kinda gameplay is always gonna be easier in a 2D space), but deaths are as forgiving as they were in the prior games. There could be some refinements here and there - I found myself slipping off platforms at points and I would have appreciated a button to re-center the camera - but for two weeks of dev time and the low price of free, these issues fade away and I instead think of how cool it was of the team to learn 3D and make this little project. It's legitimately inspiring as someone who wants to make games!
While Earthblade is surely their top priority, I'm excited to see EXOK eventually tackle a full length 3D game. If this is what they can pull off with 2 week's time, imagine the gem we'd get with even just a few months, let alone years of work.