Alright, here’s a dump of all the games I ended up loving from the Global Game Jam 2012. Going in no particular order…
Susie’s Summer Home
Yay, my game! It’s a maze where you play as Suzie, attempting to escape her haunted summer house. Best played with no preconception of the game.
Largely inspired by Yume Nikki and Paper Mario. Seriously.
You Again?
Here’s a rather incomplete game that, despite seeming to have no ending, have an extremely promising gameplay. You Again? is a simple dodging game that changes music and graphics as you collect power-ups and collide into enemies. You Again? has an interesting transition: enemies makes you older, until you eventually die of old age. In the after-world, however, colliding into enemies reverses your age, therein allowing you to reincarnate again.
It’s hard not to like the excellent graphical and musical effects this game played. Where it lacks in gameplay, this game excels in presentation.
#Snake2
#Snake2 plays like a terrible Japanese advertisement, and it’s well worth your time to play it from start to finish.
Tenderizer
Typically in a game, you want to stay alive. In Tenderizer, it’s better to be dead. An excellent, moody platformer about a lone soul who wants nothing more than peace. Yet, in this grainy black-and-white world, death is the only way.
Eurydice
Here’s a call-out to my pals from IGDA DC: Eurydice is a game with absolutely no graphics, only sound.
Wait, what?
Yup, a game with no graphics. The entire game is narrated and played via audio, and you have to be careful in what choices you make. The narrator will provide the actions you can take, via a text-adventure fashion. It’ll confuse many new gamers, for sure, but the old text-based guys will feel right at home.
Immaturity
A strange game with a foreign gameplay. Immaturity is a puzzle game where your action is recorded as a ghost, and you use this to solve puzzles. It’s pretty short and uncomplicated, but as a prototype, it’s very promising.
BIG HELL
Here’s a strange HTML5 game that I personally wasn’t sure what’s going on myself. BIG HELL is a simple communication game where you talk to other characters, and learn about their story. Then…you become that person.
I’m not sure if there’s an actual ending to this game. Still, its presentation and narrative are truly commendable.
Ascent | Descent
Another call-out to my pals from IGDA Albany! What’s a game that’s programmed by you? Well, the Game of Life, of course! Ascent | Descent adds an extra twist where Game of Life are the blocks you have to use as stepping stones to your final destination.
GPS: Gracius Princess Savior
OK, I couldn’t resist this sorta-strange, sorta-not game, since it’s very fun. Here’s GPS: Gracious Princess Savior from South Korea. It’s an adorable 2D puzzle game, where death is a necessity. An all-around adorable game.
Day of our Lives
Day of our Lives is a strange visual novel, where your choices leads to a different conclusion at the end of the day. Game’s story is with little surprises: you wake up, go to high school, meet up with your girlfriend, and then the school explodes.
And then you wake up. Then go to high school. Then meet up with your girlfriend. The school explodes.
…then you wake up.
An extremely intriguing story, with a rather disappointing ending. As they say, though, it’s the journey that counts, and this game certainly has one!
Don’t be square aka “The revenge of the psychedelic boring boxes” aka “vice versa”
Most people don’t like abstract art…unless it’s moving. Well, it’s a lucky day for you guys, because D.B.S. is most definitely a moving art. Granted, the gameplay is a little pointless: collect all the shape, and move on to the next level. Worse, the game loops itself, really deprecating the art factor. Despite this, it’s a visually pleasing game, and I definitely recommend giving it a spin.
Past Life
Past-Life is another game where you have to die. Unlike the last few games, though, you trigger your own death, rather than succumb to it. It’s a very neat 2D puzzle game, where you can die only so many times.
Trapped! In the Chamber of Eternal Darkness
And my favorite game from Global Game Jam 2012 is…Trapped!
Seriously, awesome game all-around. A simple (if typical) gameplay with excellent music, artwork, and presentation. I’ve got no complaints on this game. Well done, team Miniboss of Brazil!
Note: yes, I admit, this really doesn’t classify as a strange game, but I recommend it all the same.
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