April 26th-29th 2013 :: Theme: Minimalism
Ludum Dare 26 — April 26-29th, 2013
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Jump-and-avoid game with a topological and a musical twist. Four parts Canabalt, one part bell ringing and some undetermined amount of square dancing, Canon is a simple but challenging action/rhythm hybrid where you have to control four jumpers on the same level in canon.
Relaxed Mode is slower and with shorter levels, but the jumps are still pretty tight. If you are stuck but want to see some later levels, check out the gameplay video I posted.
Use WASD/arrow keys to jump, space to start/exit a level. Dvorak controls (,AOE) are supported because I'm crazy!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you had trouble with levels 6 and 7 before, a new version has been uploaded that fixes them. They were more difficult than intended because of a bug/typo. Note that although the fix was uploaded after the compo deadline it was actually made three hours before the compo ended---I forgot to upload it once it was done, oops! Those levels were still possible with the bug there (the gameplay video was made with the version that had the bug) but they were just much harder.
For more information, including the obligatory "it's my first LD48 entry yay!" see my blog post here:
http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2013/04/28/canon-my-ld-26-entry/
Downloads and Links
Ratings
 | Coolness | 100% |
| #58 | Innovation | 3.99 |
| #82 | Theme | 4.13 |
| #84 | Audio | 3.65 |
| #133 | Mood | 3.55 |
| #167 | Overall | 3.64 |
| #234 | Fun | 3.38 |
| #615 | Graphics | 2.95 |
| #756 | Humor | 1.96 |
Comments
@Saturnyn Thank you! Yeah it's pretty hard, even I have trouble beating it! =)
I really like the concept but I think that having to do it 3 times is a bit much. It's a neat idea and I like the difficult of coordinating the four sides, though. :)
Nice one... relaxing and stressful at the same time. very "gentle"
It gets extremely hard, as soon as the second block appears! I'm not complaining! Good job!
Brilliant concept and a solid implementation. It is hard, but it forces you to really break out of dull and mindless gameplay. It's a welcome change.
Really neat and fun, Font was a nice choice too. I had to give up on level 5. I think I would have preferred if the tone sounded when I jumped rather than land, though.
@Mark: That's totally weird, because it's actually supposed to go off when you jump! I think it's another case of Flash sound lag, unfortunately. =(
Really smart and original concept, great choice of audio too. One of the best in the compo I've seen!
Fascinating concept - I like it, but it's a bit too much for my reflexes, lol.
Amagad, this is... waw, incredible, best atmosphere i've found yet in this LD!
Lovely sounds. Soothing, simple gameplay that is easy to learn and then rewards patience and practice. Very nicely done.
Very unique, but horribly frustrating. It's hard to get into the proper rhythm.
I absolutely love it, smart and minimal and challenging. It also has a relaxing quality :).
Fun game, but a little stressful. Too fast for me...I couldn't keep up in relaxed mode! I really like the game play though. The sounds are beautiful and the muted grey graphics are very appropriate. Very nice job.
Ok, I give up ^^ But I will come back on this. I will win it !
Cool game! Really hard, I will come later to finish this challenge!
Tricky and very challenging! Nice work, really original.
I like the minimalist sound effect style. It's also a very cool game, like how more cubes accumulate. Overall great.
wow, that's difficult! :D very nice gameplay, wish it was slightly slower ;)
Neat concept - super hard to keep it going though. I wish I could rewind time slightly instead of starting from scratch.
Clever idea. My only complains is that the font might be a little better choosen. Somehow the current one doesn't seem to fit.
@aare Yeah, I hear ya! I just got one of those "omg 5000 fonts" packages and I was dazzled, so I just picked some random ones and chose the best. Turns out having so many fonts isn't a good idea! Think I'll stick to the Fixel font next time.
Very original, but pretty tough. The collision was't very forgiving so died a ton. I did like the sound effects, how the notes would play a simple melody as you played the level. almost like Guiter-hero style rythm games. Nice work!
Hypnotic and charming! A clever twist on rhythm games.
I like it, kind of has some rhythm elements to it like mine. The level select screen was a little confusing - wasn't sure how to start. Audio and graphics are good.
When I first played it I thought it was too dang hard; and then I realized I was on challenge mode - very fun!
@qdowngames Challenge mode is actually "normal" since the game was balanced around it, but yes I found it too hard which is why I made "relaxed" mode. =)
@cwilloughby Yeah, I think the menu was the weakest part of the game. It was hard keeping it minimalist but also keyboard only. Definitely something I needed to spend more time on if I had more.
Hard game! Fits the theme perfectly, nice concept and well implemented! Great entry!
That a good idea and nicely implemented. Especially like how each dot correspond to a note.
But.. 1 block is ok. 2 block is well.. really hard!
Once I got the hang of it I really enjoyed it. For me it was a strange mix of calming and intense.
Holy crap, that's really cool but really really hard lol. Honestly, it took me a minute to figure out where the heck the game was. Regardless, awesome idea. I just beat hop skip whatever, which was definitely the hardest so far. At one point, I tried being clever and used the same approach as in polarity, but that wasn't working that well for me! lol. anyway, awesome job! =D
Original concept, well implemented. Tricky gameplay. Great work!
At level 2 my hand-eye coordination basically stopped working ;) I very much liked the idea and the sound fit well.
Great minimalism approach! It's a very interesting game mechanic that challenged my brain :P
I kept trying to be frustrated, but because of the bells, I physically couldn't! Best sound design 2013
(I only switched to relaxed on the 2nd to the last stage, pretty proud of myself)
Lots of fun, and really hard. Awesome use of sounds. It's all very fitting to the theme. Really cool idea, well done on making a very complete game.
Great game! I really suck at it though, so I didn't got far. :P Good job ;)
Definitely not my type of game, too nerve breaking. But the sounds are great and it really fits the theme. I would like to be more patient/skilled to heard how the game sounds at heigher level.
@Beldarak Take a look at the gameplay video! That's why I made it. =)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
I'm reminded of my violin classes. "You are getting ahead of yourself" the professor would tell me every single time xD
Boy, I need to go back to playing violin.
I had to give up at V. because my computer was starting to lag (too much stuff open) and it was throwing me off, but the game is perfect just as is. I'll try again tomorrow.
All fives!
And I finished challenge mode! That was amazing. Great job.
Perchance the most frustrating part was when I'd press a button one millisecond before the block fell down, so it wouldn't jump. But I guess that is my fault.
Really nice game. Very immersive and perfectly fits to the theme. Congratz!
@Zim Yeah, the timing is really tight on the last three levels. That said, it *is* still possible to jump too rapidly.
Too hard too early. Great concept and very addictive. Great job!
This really neat, it get's really tricky really fast, which may be it's only downside.
(Also you tried to play my game but it was down, it's up now if you're interested!)
I really love this game, it fits the theme, the sounds are nice, and the game is really challenging and even teach you coordination.
I spent more time on Mazurka than on Canonblat :)
First LD, I say "Congratulations!"
Excellent game - very difficult, but I really like the subtle musical theme that helps the player get the patterns down.
One of the best games I've played this Ludum Dare.
Very Hard, but a beautiful game. I really like the gameplay, yet more the sound effects. Great Job!
Really nicely done. :) Longest time spent on a Ludum Dare game yet. ;P
@zhenshin Hooray! With like 2000 games out there that's high praise! =)
Well done! Very nice take on the theme. Quite hard, but the challenge is fair and enjoyable. It's the good type of hard :) My only suggestion would be to add some sort of sound feedback when you are hit with an inactive (bright) block - that would help with getting in sync. Very good entry!
Really fun and challenging gameplay concept and the graphics and audio match the theme perfectly.
Amazing! I found it to be really fun trying to get into the perfect rhythm! I just wish you were able to make more difficult levels.
Reminds me a lot of Bit.Trip Core, easily my favorite in the series. Tough as nails, it is! Would be greatly enhanced if there were any background music to help sync with the beat (I even played it with the music "Control" from Bit.Trip Core just to make sure of it!)
Thanks for all the feedback, guys!
@Exclamation Mark: That's a great idea! It makes perfect sense!
@EatenAlive3: You're the first person I've ever heard saying that! =D
@Taro Omiya: There were two reasons why I didn't put in a background music or at least a metronome. First was that there wasn't time. But the bigger issue for me is that Flash seems to like having music lag on slower computers (even now I'm hearing from people that the sounds don't play at the right time) and I really don't know how to deal with that. Making a game with in-synced background music is one thing I really want to figure out how to do though. :3
I love the concept. The atmosphere is poetic and uncluttered.
Extremely hard, I'm very bad! x'D
You need to make slight background music, I often lose the rhythm. Other than that, the game is very nice. I liked the menu buttons.
Dodging blocks and playing musical notes interested me. If you continue to develop this, I felt awkward using arrow keys to perform a semi-musical task, and was wishing the interface were teaching me the mapping to playing the piano.
Definitely not an easy game to play but I think you did a great job staying true to the theme.
It's distrurbing because the sound is relaxing and the gameplay is pretty hard and frustrating. But good work.
Uh, that was cool, but also quite hard... must try this relaxed mode... :)
This was exquisite. I loved so many things about it.
I loved the help menu, right off the bat.
I loved how the board looked as an abstract symbol even before you started moving.
I loved how I couldn't play at first because I was much too busy just playing with the arrow keys trying to make tiny instrumental music.
I loved how the center block was just barely large enough to put all four "players" in your peripheral vision, meaning you couldn't rely on platforming and had to focus only on the rhythm. The block movement became a metronome.
I love how this is— seriously— as far as I can remember, the only rhythm game I've ever played that made me feel like I was playing a musical instrument. AND I'M INCLUDING HERE THE GAME WHERE THE CONTROLLER WAS A LITERAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.
I loved the "oh, heck yes" moment where I realized "how to beat" level iii-- a precise set of muscle instructions that allowed me to "play" the level on a groove-- and I loved the moment where I realized, after like 3 attempts to beat the level ended with me screwing up on the last jump attempt, that my level iii strategy derailed completely when the first block left the screen (thus putting a hole in the rhythm/groove I'd put myself in).
I loved how throughly the game resisted my efforts to put it down and do anything else.
My one frustration was how the jump was very small and the game was thus quite unforgiving, even more so than seemed necessary to keep the rhythm feeling consistent. I wished the squares' hitboxes were circles.
I got to level V and stopped there, exhausted and with aching fingers. I will be playing more of this. A lot more of this.
Wow, this is pretty fantastic. I feel like playing it a lot could actually help with rhythm/coordination for playing actual instruments :)
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Hi, I love the concept, it's beautiful (but it is really really hard !)
Anyway, good idea and good work !