And Yet Moving is a video game platform developed by independent developers of Broken Rules. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux on April 2, 2009, and a Wii port was released on the Wii Shop Channel in August 2010. And Yet It Moves was originally designed as a computer science project at Vienna University of Technology in 2007. When the original prototype won or was nominated for awards at various independent game festivals, the team decided to create a full version of the game.
And Yet It Moves focuses on moving player characters through a series of hazardous environments. Players have the ability to freely rotate the entire game world, turning walls into floors and vice versa. Game and puzzle levels are designed around this concept. The game features a paper-style collage image designed by Jan Hackl and the beatboxing soundtrack performed by Christoph Binder.
Both the PC and WiiWare game versions received positive reviews, with many critics praising game and visual mechanics. And Yet Moves was also released as part of the third Indie Humble Bundle.
Video And Yet It Moves
Gameplay
And Yet It Moves is a single player puzzle platform game created in a paper-like collage-style world, where background and character elements consist of torn paper. An anonymous player character, which appears as a pencil stripe drawing on white paper, is moved through a series of levels by running and jumping across obstacles and avoiding danger. Players have the ability to "play" the entire game world in 90 or 180 degrees at any time. Because rotation is instantaneous and gravity will always point "down" relative to the game screen, rotating the world has physical consequences on the player's character and on the environment: the walls are too steep to climb flat, the surface can walk, and the object may move or react to gravity changes. All objects retain their momentum relative to their frame of reference.
Levels in And Yet It Moves are designed so that rotating the world at certain times is necessary to move forward. Because the character will break apart if it falls from too far away, the player must often rotate the world in such a way that the characters can safely cope or descend from the big hurdles. Other hazards such as wild animals, fire and big rocks, or falling into a black void that limits the playing field will tear the characters. However, the player has an unlimited life and will reappear at the last checkpoint he passed before being torn.
The main campaign mode offers 17 levels that span three different environments. There are other game features available, such as online leaderboards, various time attack modes, and optional accomplishments provided for specific purposes.
In the Wii version, players control the game using the Wii Remote that is held to the side, and the game world is rotated by rotating the controller in different directions. Nunchuk and Classic Controller are also compatible for alternative control schemes. This version also removes restrictions just spinning in 90 degree intervals and offers three additional levels compared to PC versions.
Maps And Yet It Moves
Development
And Yet It Moves is the first video game developed by Broken Rules, an independent game developer based in Vienna. The game began as a graduate project organized by the Department of Design and Technology Assessment at the Vienna University of Technology. The four computer science students involved want to design a game that gives players more freedom than is possible in a regular 2D game; a side-scrolling platform game with the ability to play the entire game world selected. A prototype of this game takes half a year to be developed using a Torque game machine, and the name And Yet It Moves is chosen because of its ambiguity and "it implies the rotation of the world," alludes to Galileo Galilei's famous (but apocryphal) commentary "Eppur the muove". The prototype was exhibited at various independent game development festivals and garnered positive feedback; it was a winner in the 2007 Independent Games Festival Student Fair category and a candidate for the Top Europrix 2007 Talent Award. The interest in the title inspired the students to develop a full game, which took about two years. Damaged Rules are established when it is realized that "it is a necessity [to] better deal with all the organizational, financial and juridical issues involved when making business."
Rusak Rules do not have a dedicated artist, so the designers choose a graphic style that they believe is both aesthetically and easily made. A pencil look on paper was first tried, but looked "empty and boring" until photographs, collected from public sources like morgueFile, were added. This style evolves into a collage display of a torn paper end, which is meant to appear "rough and analog." Designer Christoph Binder created background music games and sound effects with beatboxing, echoing this motif. Felix Bohatsch, project leader, stated in an interview that adding narration or backstory is avoided in order to prioritize gameplay. He added that the level design follows the ultimate motive that conveys "travel from the limited to free" as the game progresses, first starting in dark caves and ending in vast empty spaces.
In October 2008, Nintendo contacted Broken Rules and asked if a downloadable WiiWare version of And Yet It Moves could be developed for its Wii console after seeing a game demonstration at the IndieCade 2008 Festival in Los Angeles. Bohatsch stated that "we did not think much about this decision because we always wanted to bring Dan But Move to the console and I have a sweet spot for the Wii." However, the PC game's projected release date is April 2, 2009; it's too late in development to start a joint development for the Wii and launch simultaneously on both platforms. The development of the PC version was completed first and then the Wii development started in June.
Because And Yet It Moves was originally designed to be played with digital controls, the Wii Remote analog motion control needs to be executed in such a way that it feels natural and unobtrusive. The Damage rule is specified, following a number of tests, allowing players to rotate freely to the most appropriate level of motion control; initially players can only rotate in 90 degree intervals. Four different control schemes are applied to meet a large number of players, three of them using Wii remote control or remote pointing. While the file size limit imposed on WiiWare games is not a problem, visuals are required to be customized with Wii hardware. Standard definition television is used in development; Bohatsch feels the visuals look better on SDTV than on PCs or Macs with higher screen resolutions, but warns that some HDTVs may not improve the Wii resolution correctly, recommending that component cables be used while playing the game. Online leaderboards are removed from the Wii version because PC version leaderboards are not used often. Three new levels, unlocked when the player completes the main campaign mode, is added. The final version of this game has been sent to Nintendo's Quality Assurance team in May 2010 to check for and find bugs. And Yet It Moves was released on the Wii Shop Channel in North America on August 23, 2010 and later in Europe on August 27th.
Current Damage rule has no plans to develop a sequel to And Yet It Moves , due to time spent on the game. Bohatsch commented that he was unfazed by the idea and agreed with the proposal to develop such a game.
Reception
And Yet Moving received generally favorable reviews. The PC version received aggregate scores of 71.50% and 75 on GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively, while the WiiWare version obtained aggregate scores of 85.30% and 83. Critics praised the unique taking of games on the platforming genre and visual style of game collage papers, but felt the game was too short. Some critics noted the absence of narration or backstory, but felt that the game ultimately did not need it, although GameSpot noted it as one of the game's weaknesses.
In his review of the PC version, IGN's Daemon Hatfield states that And Yet It Moves "succeeded in making this fourth-century-old genre [2D platformer] feel new again." Hatfield praised the game plot, which was "challenging but avoiding frustration", but felt there was not enough content to warrant a $ 15 price, although additional game modes are available. Hatfield scored 8.4 games out of 10. GameFocus scored a PC version 8.0 out of 10, complimenting gameplay, sound, control, and physics usage. The review also states that players are unlikely to get drunk even though they often play the game screen. GameSpot prints PC version 7.5 out of 10, stating that while the rotation mechanism is "thin to the end of the game," "an increasingly exotic level design manages to keep a good time rolling through to the end."
Justin Haywald of 1UP.com stated that "even when I feel I have to guess which way I should go, the levels are set well enough so the way forward is always easy to know." Haywald praised the visuals as well, but stated that "because the scene is getting messy, sometimes it becomes difficult to find a safe place to land after sending the world around." Haywald rated And Yet It Moves a B. NintendoLife rated WiiWare version 9 out of 10, stating that the new additions and updated controls make it a "definitive version of the game" even though no online features are visible in the PC version.
Sales
Felix Bohatsch of Broken Rules reported in May 2009 that PC sales were "not at the level we expected". There is no digital rights management (DRM) protection placed on the game because "we... believe that every game will crack, no matter how we try to protect it, so our philosophy is that adding DRM or anything similar just annoys people- people actually pay for it. "The bootlegging rate is about 95.5%, which means" for every game [sale] there are 22 cracked versions [ sic ] being played ". Bohatsch speculates that poor sales are partly due to the levels shown in free game demos, which are not focused enough on game puzzles. Over 370,000 units of the game are sold as part of the third Indie Humble Bundle.
References
External links
- Official website
- Rule Sites
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments