Topic: The Ancient Art of Staying Alive

[CaptainD]

With apologies to both Sun Tzu and the Bee Gees, I guess.

I've released a new minimalist retro arcade game - so retro it uses actual rectangles instead of sprites! - but when there are two or three hundred of them bearing down on you at once, I think you'll be less worried about what they look like and more concerned with... well you know, staying alive.

20 levels, 5 game speeds, 2 game modes and a challenge mode to play through all 20 levels if you dare.

I plan to update with new content when I can, and also release on Steam if it seems there would be a reasonable market for it (if I do this, anyone buying on Itch will get a free Steam key of course).

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2416-the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive/

(In case you have any problems accessing it from there, the direct link is https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive)

[lorenzo]

Congratulations on the release!

The game looks fun (and quite hard) in the video!
I wonder what terrible crime the blue pixel committed, to make all those red pixels angry...

[Slasher]

Another yippee space game from Disaster himself: CaptainD   

Sings Bee Gee's 

[CaptainD]

Haha thanks both.  As for the blue rectangle, you can provide your own backstory! 

I've added the direct Itch link to the initial post as some people have had trouble accessing it via the AGS game page.

[CaptainD]

v1.2 released:

New features:
•   You can now change the background colour, some truly horrific colours available for true retroheads (some nice ones too of course!)
•   You now choose how many times you can teleport per level
•   You have bombs that clear a small area around you, also choose how many of these you can use in a level
•   You can add obstacles to the level to help you – naturally you want to avoid bumping into these though!

Available at Itch.io

[CaptainD]

v1.4 released!

- Synthesized speech for each level start

- High score table added


Linux version coming later today now available.

https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive

[lorenzo]

I've played the first 7-8 levels of the game. Very simple concept, but also quite fun!
It's quite tricky to win those levels, but each round is quick enough that even when you lose, you always want to give it another go.
It's also very customizable, you can set how difficult you want the game to be. Obviously, I set the speed at Fast, with no teleports nor bombs, because I'm a tough guy.

[CaptainD]

If you were a real tough guy you'd play it on Fastest with Player Cannot Stop...

[Cassiebsg]

He's a tough guy, not suicidal. 

[lorenzo]

If you were a real tough guy you'd play it on Fastest with Player Cannot Stop...

Well, I did manage to beat the first two levels with those settings. The third, however, has already proven to be too difficult!

[CaptainD]

I have just uploaded v1.41 for Windows.

For left-handed players (or those who may merely prefer it!) I have added WASD as a control mechanism.  Part of the reason for this was trying the game on my laptop and realising how impossible it is to use the cursor keys for gaming on some laptops due to the keyboard layout!  O and M can be used for Teleport and Bomb now.


Just don't try to use both control mechanisms at once!!


I will include this in a later update for Linux - next thing I want to add it a title screen with 8-bit loading border ;-)

https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive

[Ponch]

I was not enough of a blue rectangle to get very far in this game on the hardest settings.   

Good way to kill some time while I'm supposed to be working from home.

[CaptainD]

I'm sure you were a valiant blue square, Ponch!! 

[CaptainD]

v1.54 released for Windows and Linux:

- Optional 8-bit loading screen complete with horrible screechy sounds :-)



(Title screen by Kastchey and Lorenzo  )

- High score table for Challenge Mode as well as normal

- Animated characters

- Some more synthesized speech


https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive

Steam store page coming soon!  (If you have already bought it on Itch, you will be able to claim a Steam key after release)

[CaptainD]

​If you want to wishlist the game on Steam you now can:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1285960/The_Ancient_Art_of_Staying_Alive/



Obviously when the game is released on Steam, people who bought the game on Itch will be able to claim a key! :-)​

[heltenjon]

I finally dared to be square. What a hoot! The turbo tape-ish loading screen brought me back, and then the game brought me back even further.

This game has nothing going for it, except playability. Graphics, sound and story have all been skipped. But never mind, you've got to steer that square of yours in a fashion that makes the others bump into each other. And playability it does have. It's got that "just one more go" feeling. I played five times in a row, and probably will when I have five minutes for quite some time. After all, the game is too small to bother kicking it off my hard drive. 

[CaptainD]

Hey I'll have you know those red enemies have a whole two frames of animation and the blue square actually has three!  THREE I tell you!

Glad you weren't put off my the simplistic graphics. As you say it is all about the play-ability and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out in that respect. Thanks for playing and commenting, I really appreciate it!

[heltenjon]

It would seem the red squares have been eradicated. (1) They were wise to try to hunt down the blue concuistador. But now hesheit is all alone in the squaredom, with noone to rebuild the Squareworld with himherit. I cry out for a sequel! I say to-mato, you say no-mato!

***
Sorry, but you said we could make our own background story.

(1) They were sent to Dagger Hell.