NOTE: Because of the Theme tie, we allowed everyone to pick either Theme. Using both was optional. To keep things simple, there will still only be one Theme category. Every category in Ludum Dare voting is an opinion, so you’re welcome to rate them as you see fit. But we encourage you to be fair in your scores to people that chose only one Theme, and not both.
ALSO: Itch.io has an experimental game downloader over here. You may find it useful.
NOTE
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I've published a postjam version with mouse support and added a few lines to explain how to play.
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My unfinished programming game. (Please use the keyboard and NOT the mouse. controls and manual are also in the game page)
A company named CompCompany has been able to discover a revolutionary machine, they call it 'The Computing Machine'.
The Computing Machine, they claim, is very simple to operate as it has only two buttons.
You have been chosen to work on that machine.
Good luck!
Controls:
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- Enter - next / run machine
- Escape - back / reset machine / stop execution / close windows
- 0/1 - enter 0 or 1 as input
- i - open inputs window
- o - open outputs window
- t - test and submit solution
How to Play
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- Write a program by pressing 0 and 1 on your keyboard
- Every line has 8 bits. you don't need to press enter
- Open the input and output windows with I and O to test your program
- Try out your program by pressing Enter
- Submit a solution for testing with T (for tests)
- Use Esc to stop machine execution or reset program
- Note: programs will only stop when seeing 11111111 (HALT) or on error. be sure to include them!
Machine Manual
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Included in the game page.
Changes
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- Made the controls a little bit more responsive
- Fixed the Input Error bug
Tools:
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PureScript (-canvas, -signal, -etc)
Spacemacs
Photoshop
Downloads and Links
Ratings
 | Coolness | 77% |
| #199 | Innovation(Jam) | 3.59 |
| #573 | Theme(Jam) | 3.61 |
| #693 | Humor(Jam) | 2.31 |
| #935 | Graphics(Jam) | 2.41 |
| #937 | Mood(Jam) | 2.44 |
| #1008 | Overall(Jam) | 2.68 |
| #1065 | Fun(Jam) | 2.14 |
Comments
Very cool concept, but the game never displayed output. I think it just froze up...
I didn't really understand how to play it, maybe it's too hard for my artist brain XD But I like the concept and I can see what you were going for. :)
It's an interesting concept, but I'm afraid it is not very accessible for many people. Good work though.
the core idea seems interesting. I would like to play a full version of this. For now I can't complete first mission because the output window is empty.
Hi All, thanks for the feedback. the game is probably not very accessible for many people as TomenLuca mentioned.
Perhaps I didn't explain it right:
- If you are ending a program without 11111111 (HALT) it will not stop
- You stop execution with Esc
- To test your own code, write a program and press enter
- To submit a solution, press T (for tests).
Really interesting programming game. I'm not familiar with stacks though, so I kinda sucked at it :P
Had fun though!
Good idea. The world needs more ASM programming.
It's a bit hard, and I don't think I would consider it a game, more of an educational tool, but it's neat anyways.
Thanks for the explanation (if only I read it earlier :) ), that helped a lot. What would also help is if the current assignment can be looked up somehow. I'm returning to it now a few hours later and I forgot the details. Refreshing means starting over again.
Anyway, great idea!
Cool concept, back to basics. Interesting take to interpret two buttons as binary. A bit difficult with no clear error messages from the computer
Hmm, am I missing something in the second task?
I'm doing LOADIN, LOADIN, ADD, PRINT, HALT and entered two numbers in inputs window, but I only get "Input Error". Some basic debugging abilities (like showing the line where the error happenend) would be great to have :D
dos, there might be a bug there. try reseting and enter the inputs before running the program.
A very nice and original idea, but it indeed feels raw and unfinished. The main issues being:
* Lack of a way to cancel the current line without deleting the whole program (...AFAIK)
* This plus the slow responsiveness that make inputs prone to errors is quite frustrating
* Why 8 bits? 4 bits would have sufficed I think, with some tweak of the LOADVAL command.
* The opcodes being off screen, I have to progam the whole thing without actually looking at the game. Displaying them as a post-it sticked to the computer instead would have been a good alternative.
Now I still managed to reach the 3rd level! It's a pretty inspiring entry, which I could have enjoyed a lot with some more polish.
Also if you don't already own it, you probably want to check out TIS-100 by Zachtronics :)
Not sure if the game keeps freezing when Running or running tests, or it's me not getting something. The list of instructions, which is crucial to play, is at very the bottom of the page and I noticed only after a while. If it freezes because HALT instruction is not included, maybe you can think about some warning or "restart" button. Anyway, like many said, it's not accessible to the most of people :(
It's an interesting idea. I wonder if this was how people used to program.
I think I had the same problem as others. When I entered an invalid program, I got an error message, but a seemingly valid program didn't produce any output :-(
Okay, I should actually read the description before playing. With the HALT instruction, things actually happen.
I like the idea, the only problem is that I have to re-enter the whole program every time I make an error. I see how you wanted to replicate the burdensome way our ancestors used to program and appreciate the realism!
Great concept, but I think it only appeals to programmers. With a few additional features this would be a game I could play for hours. Still one of the most fun games I've played so far.
Very cool concept! Will admit to getting stuck on the printing down numbers one, but still enjoyed it throughout.
Cool idea, but tricky.
I'd recommend putting the legend next to the game area instead of below it, can't see both at the same time at 1080p =/
(have to rush to my Christmas holiday, sorry for the short comment)
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The game looked interesting. Was it Binary number? The output window did not display anything for me.