cluepixween

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cluepixween

by ElGregos

Cart #cluepixween-4 | 2022-10-03 | Code ▽ | Embed ▽ | No License

11

CluePix is a picture solving game. Draw pixel art using those 2 clues:

• Color bars show mixed pixels from their line.
• Digits show how many pixels around are the same color.

There's an ingame tutorial. Once a picture is solved, it is saved and reloaded on next game sessions, so no hurry, even though the game is short and might be finished in one sitting. CluePix is a proof of concept for an original puzzle game, hence the low number of pictures to solve. So I'd be glad to read your comments, thanks for playing!

Controls

Arrow keys to move cursor
🅾️ to add/remove pixels
❎ to switch between grid and palette. Press twice to pick a grid color.

Solutions

You can watch each puzzle being solved in this YouTube playlist. Walkthrough are only posted once puzzle's day has passed, so no spoilers.

I LOVE the calendar effect, @ElGregos !

Unfortunately I totally suck at these kinds of puzzles. I can see you really put a lot of heart and effort into it though. Gold Star.

Perhaps you might make just a Halloween calendar version with pictures inside that aren't revealed until that day arrives ?

You could do this easily by adding to your existing code - having someone hold 🅾️ or ❎ or both for 2-seconds or so on the "Advent" day (if it's available and that or past day) to reveal it and look at the solution on the edit grid without having to solve it.

Thanks for your reply @dw817, your suggestion indeed makes sense here because of the "past days" approach, I didn't think about that. I may not do it right now though: I first planned to reveal each day puzzle on my Twitter, in a way to raise some interest because, I must say, the lack of reactions to my recent tweets about Cluepix and its Sprites Spirit variation really puzzles me (heh). I also thought people could use tweeted solutions to try and resolve them in game. But be sure I keep your idea in mind.

Hi @ElGregos:

I started writing and marketing videogames when I was 12, and yes that is some time ago.

I will tell you what I have found in all that time of what most people like and don't like.

If they cannot pick up a videogame and understand it in about a minute. They ask themselves, is this worth learning ?

And there are many factors that play into this.

Reward factor for one. Most gamers like a good story. If you can win them over with story and presentation then they may go the extra minute to try and learn the game.

Presentation could be animation, pictures, music, and ability to save your game so you don't have to start over every game.

Failing this, they may turn away.

Match-3 is a good example for Candy Crush. Someone can immediately see how it's done and in fact accomplish a simple level of it. Obviously the more you play, the harder it gets.

But if the opening level, the very first level of the game, is too difficult to understand without having to show an animated video explaining how to do it - then yeah, there may be less reactions and less people wanting to play it.

Sudoku is another example. To me it's not worth playing because you can have different values in some squares and then have to backtrack your work, sometimes a whole lot, when one number does not fit.

I understand the rules, I see how it plays, I just don't think it's fun.

Now I know you have your heart set on this code with 8x8 yet I would have a demo level where you start literally from:

1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, 7x7, and ultimately 8x8.

I know the first level of 1x1 seems silly but people like to WIN. And if you look at the highest rated videogames out on the market today the first level is usually so easy a kindergartener can get through it.

Then you can ramp the difficulty gently from there.

Modern Celeste for Windows for instance has a cheat option built right in allowing people like me to play by having options to slow down the game, take no damage from spikes, etc.

MOST people playing would not use cheats, however if someone plays and they can't even get past the first level of a game, they WILL get discouraged and question whether or not they want to play it at all.

Celeste has these cheats for folk who cannot react so quickly or cannot think so quickly as it is definitely an action game. And those cheats made it so I can actually play it and get past level one.

So in a way by being able to hold down 🅾️ and ❎ for 2 or more seconds to reveal the puzzle, this is essentially a cheat, and those intelligent people out there who readily understand your puzzle will not be using it.

Yet some like myself may not want to play the game because it's too difficult for them to understand, and just want to see your great 8x8 pixeled artwork. One each day till Halloween.

Regarding games that react over time, there is one I favorited and definitely gold starred, called "Got-Ya" written by @enargy.

https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=31955

In it you get a card you can scratch-off with joystick or mouse to reveal an original 16x16 picture. And you must wait a period of time or so before you get new scratch-offs.

Now that "game" may seem completely simple-minded yet I love it. I can play it. I love watching the scratched card particles flying everywhere.

And I love the amazing artwork behind each scratch-off card. And not only do you get the artwork but you get text, a little story about the artwork additionally.

Your scratched-off cards are kept so you can look at them anytime you want as the cart saves off your progress.

This cart is great to me because not only does it save your work, you get to see great scratch-off animation when you work on card, you get to keep and view later all the cards you scratched off, see amazing original 16x16 pixel artwork, read little stories beside each of them. You can play the cart entirely by keyboard, mouse is not required though allowed.

So 2-different inputs are looked for.

And you get to keep anticipating when you earn your next token for scratch-off is so you can reveal even more amazing artwork and read more interesting stories.

Yet ... it is not a game. Some people may turn their nose up at it and say, "Where's the scoreboard ? How does it keep high score ? What can I shoot ?"

But not me. I love carts like this that let you leisurely explore them.

Please consider.

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure if I would get into this at all, but the tutorial was extremely good at breaking down how to solve one of these puzzles. And after being able to play through the first two puzzles now, I plan on playing through all of them as they come out :) very nice work!

Rejoice @dw817 as the game now has a "cheat" option, along with some more juice. Hope you'll like it! You're right too about making kind of a "training" mode that replaces or goes along the tutorial. I'll think of it. I guess having played so much of nonograms went against me.

@Fettuccini: thank you so much! The tutorial and me are glad you went over your hesitation about this game :) Hope you'll have fun completing it.

Hi @ElGregos. I just watched the first video. It's not so much the solution I want as to what the heck is happening.

Some people are not content to post their voice online, yet ... if you did so for instance in the first one you could explain why it is you are clicking the blocks you are.

Or if you can overlay some kind of text. Failing that is a walkthrough granted, but does not really show how to play.

I will try out your cheat option if just to see the artwork for the 1st day and will try again to see if I can understand the rules enough to solve the 2nd.

All puzzles are done!
No screenshot though since I've lost the progress couple days ago.

All puzzles complete! It was cool getting to do one of these each day and see the art you made by the end of each one. Very cozy experience, would recommend.

Thanks for playing the game and congrats for finishing it @Bloodbane and @Fettuccini! A new CluePix is in the making and will be out in a month or so, with a focus on making patterns of variable sizes and more progressive puzzles. Check my Twitter to stay tuned :)

I also finished this one a little late!
@ElGregos really brilliant little puzzler, definitely in my top 10 games this year! Great tutorial and the slow unlocking of puzzles really worked for me. I'd love another set like an advent calendar or I'll just have another go next year haha