Gridlock

[SilentxxBunny]

Gridlock was the first title in our “Game a Week” series. It was originally released on January 6th, 2014. This game will always hold a special place in my heart, because it was the first HTML5 game that I ever created.

 

As we mentioned in our February Reflection, we’re going back and updating some of our January games to reflect our new quality standards. I’m very proud to announce the new version of this game in particular. It turned out better than I ever dreamed that it would!

 

 

What do you think of the new version?  Please let us know in the comments section below.  We have another graphic update planned for next month, and your feedback is how we improve!

 

Click Here to Play Gridlock

[alex_h]

I played the first couple of levels, really fun! Great idea for a puzzle.

It would be nice if there was some feedback on completing a level though, rather than instantaneously being in the next level.

[MyFault]

I am a big fan of these sliding puzzle type games and the graphic style is very clean. I do agree with Alex though, would be great to get some kind of feedback before just appearing in the next level.

 

Might be nice to see a total of how many moves you have completed and what the lowest total of moves was going in as well. Give the player something to want to go back to, always wanna beat their best score.

[Eamon]

I have now played a couple of levels and I have to say I really enjoyed it! The levels weren't too hard to be a chore but weren't massively easy either. 

A little feature I liked, and may have not been noticed by others, is that the pieces change colour randomly on each level. In addition to this the fact that you do not get penalized for taking lots of moves was great. Overall well done mate!

[SilentxxBunny]

I played the first couple of levels, really fun! Great idea for a puzzle.

It would be nice if there was some feedback on completing a level though, rather than instantaneously being in the next level.

 

Thanks, and that's a very good suggestion, I didn't get to do everything that I wanted to, due to time constraints, but I feel that this is definitely something that I shouldn't have overlooked.  Thank you for bringing that to my attention.  

 

 

I am a big fan of these sliding puzzle type games and the graphic style is very clean. I do agree with Alex though, would be great to get some kind of feedback before just appearing in the next level.

 

Might be nice to see a total of how many moves you have completed and what the lowest total of moves was going in as well. Give the player something to want to go back to, always wanna beat their best score.

 

Thank you.  John and I were very proud of how the graphics turned out.  I'll definitely implement some sort of a transition inbetween the levels, to provide a sense of accomplishment to the player, before throwing them into the next level. 

 

 

I have now played a couple of levels and I have to say I really enjoyed it! The levels weren't too hard to be a chore but weren't massively easy either. 

A little feature I liked, and may have not been noticed by others, is that the pieces change colour randomly on each level. In addition to this the fact that you do not get penalized for taking lots of moves was great. Overall well done mate!

 

Good catch!  I wasn't sure if anyone would notice that or not.  It was done to give the game a sense of randomness every time you play it, even though the levels don't change.  The challenge of the game, more or less, is just to finish all 40 levels.  I didn't implement scores or a move tracker intentionally, because I felt that completing all 40 levels was challenging enough, and I didn't want to penalize the player further. 

 

However, if this game is popular enough, I may eventually consider creating a sequel with a lot more levels, and different game play modes.  

 

- - -

 

Thanks for the kind words, and the constructive criticism everyone.

[Felipe]

Nice game!
I only could get up to level 12 after my brain started frying. It's a very fun game though.

Tested on my android phone and it runs smooth as silk.

[alex_h]

I know you are happy with the graphics and everything but I just wondered whether you have considered adding a 1px bevel effect around the edge of each tile? It would add a sense of depth and could look quite nice, at the moment it all looks a bit flat, just my opinion of course.

[SilentxxBunny]

Nice game!

I only could get up to level 12 after my brain started frying. It's a very fun game though.

Tested on my android phone and it runs smooth as silk.

 

Level 12 stumps quite a few people.  I've heard that number a lot over the past few days, perhaps that one is a bit over-tuned?

 

Thanks for the play, and the feedback.

 

 

I know you are happy with the graphics and everything but I just wondered whether you have considered adding a 1px bevel effect around the edge of each tile? It would add a sense of depth and could look quite nice, at the moment it all looks a bit flat, just my opinion of course.

 

I hadn't considered it, actually.  I'll mock something up and see how it looks.

[alex_h]

Cool, I was thinking of something as simple as this snapshot from windows explorer:

 

[SilentxxBunny]

We just released a major graphical update to Gridlock, and I'm very happy with how the new version turned out. Please let me know what you think.

[alex_h]

If I had to be negative...

* With the new 'ice block' design I found it quite a bit harder now to tell where one tile ended and another began. So when all the tiles are clumped together I can't tell at a glance which tile is which. I think it would be a good idea to make their edges stand out much more.

* perhaps the water animation is a bit distracting (it was for me at least!) If you have to have it going all the time then maybe it would be better if it was a bit slower maybe?