Where's my computer gone?
UPDATE: Now works on mobile!
NOTE: Click the game to give it focus before pressing Z/Circle button to play.
Use the cursor keys to move the player around and collect all the microchips in the forest. You can use Up or Z/Circle button to jump.
I decided to take part in the Ludum Dare #LD48 gamejam (theme "Deeper and Deeper") because I wanted to have some fun and get back to my 8-bit roots before having an operation the day after the jam ended!
I decided to use Pico-8 because it's really easy to quickly get results, and the limitations help to reduce scope. I highly recommend it.
This is a short non-violent game that I really enjoyed making - especially the art and level design. People who follow me online know that I go on lots of countryside walks and I sometimes post photos of me sitting on something staring into space with the caption "Where's my computer gone?". This game is an homage to that series of photos, and to a certain computer (play to the end to find out more!)
Enjoy!
Comments
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This was cute and fun. Just enough challenge to make me feel I was doing something, not so much that I rage quit, lol.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Would you play a similar but longer game with more variety but still kept chill?
Yes, that'd be awesome!
Cool, thanks for letting me know.
Jake I liked this! Fun, 5 minute game. I like the game design of this sort of game overall.
Thanks George! Glad you liked it. It's pretty old-skool but I tried to make the controls feel modern and responsive.
I love that you took your Twitter series and made it into a game haha. A fun lil time indeed.
Thanks Graham!
Nice one, and liking the Commodore Easter Egg :)
Cool, glad you found it.
The best computer! ;) Nice game. Also inspirational. I have to look into pico-8 now!
Thanks! Glad you liked it and were inspired. Pico-8 is great fun. Limits are good for creativity but it's not as limited as a real 8-bit computer in some ways e.g. palette/gfx modes, and has built in tools for sprites/tilemaps/sfx/music.
I've got another pico-8 game coming out on here soon. Cyberjam. Keep an eye out for it.
As a fan of the IRL "where's my computer gone?" series, this was immensely satisfying to play. To be true to the series, I stopped for a while to relax and enjoy the sound of the river, appreciating the light feeling granted by not having a computer on hand and the grinding, constant pressure to be productive that goes with it. Which reminds me, I need to get back to work.
Ha thanks for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed the river. I didn't put a timer in the game so that people don't rush through it and can stop to appreciate the vibe.
Thanks! Nice speed run there.
I can't find the link to the ldjam.com page. Help?
Hi, I didn't actually submit to the official page. I just used the LD as inspiration/motivation for this.
Good thing. I'd feel weird deducting stars because this is super short, but also very polished, and a cool reference to Ghosts'n'Goblins, but also you don't lose any clothes, and you don't go that deep, so... Anyway, cool game, you saved me the trouble of rating it on a scale from 1 to 5 in a way that's fair to all the other contestants.
No probs and well done for spotting the Ghosts 'n' Goblins homage.
The idea was going deeper "into the forest" rather than deeper into the ground or whatever.
Now the systems are all up and running it wouldn't take long to double the length but I ran out of time in the 3 day jam, and I'm happy with it just a super-short fun little thing. Sometimes it's better to leave people wanting more than to bore or frustrate them.
Finished this twice now and I'm going for a speed run record. My only frustration is that there isn't enough English countryside to view during the search. :)
Maybe I'll make a bigger sequel some day. What's your best time so far?
Unofficially, about four and a half minutes. My almost 10 year old son who acted as my timekeeper says he added penalties because (as he puts it) I "lack the skill of an eSports master". :D
lol. Ok thanks!
The physics are nice on this and I like the graphics. Wasn't able to find your LD48 page to rate and comment there!
Thanks, glad you liked it! I didn't officially submit to LD48, just posted here.
this was a lot more fun than expected! I liked how you educate the player on more advanced movement as they go.
Nice level design ! it was fun to play
well, it's okay, just very simple and very straight forward, not really much challenge in it.
Enjoyed it nonetheless! :-)
Good little old school challenge
I enjoyed it! I hope your operation went/goes smoothly.
Thank you, much appreciated! It's done now and I'm recovering.
The game is great, but nothing beats the feeling of finding Jake's computer after all these years looking for it on the countryside.
The controls feel pretty good.
Thank you. It's 60FPS so that helps. Also I made sure there's a bit of forgiveness when jumping from edge of platforms. There's also air control, and sensible gravity.
What is sensible gravity in a 2d game movement? Would it be to have a maximum vertical speed? I have always had a somewhat crude mobility when trying to make platform games.
Well there are two components, the jumping and the falling.
For the falling I just have a gravity value that is quite fast so it feels somewhat realistic. Gravity is added to the player's delta y each frame, so that it accelerates.
For the jumping I allow the player to do small jumps or large jumps depending on how long they hold down jump for. I do this with a jump power value which starts fairly high and decreases as the jump button is held down until it reaches a certain minimum value and then falling begins instead.
It's also possible to have a maximum falling speed (terminal velocity) that cannot be exceeded so if the player falls a long way they don't move so fast that they clip though platforms.
I like it