|
T. R.
United States
Minneapolis
Minnesota
Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life. I thought of their unfathomable distance, and the slow inevitable drift of their movements out of the unknown past into the unknown future. H.G. Wells
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. Chief Seattle
-
Background
Spin the Black Circle is a physics game. The goal is to rotate the large circle in such a way as to cause the ball to move to the goal.
Gameplay
The gameplay is quite simple. You control the game with the left and right arrow keys. When you move the arrow keys, the larger circle outside the playing field rotates along with the playing field, thus changing the center of gravity. This can cause the ball to change location within the playing area. Thus you are controlling the main game's "character" indirectly. If you have ever played the board game Labyrinth this game is similar.
Rather than falling into less advantageous holes as in Labyrinth, there are deadly obstacles to avoid, or which hinder your progress.
- The most common obstacle is spikes. If you touch a spike the ball will be destroyed in a satisfying explosion. Spikes are deadly and will end your turn.
- Another obstacle are jets of flames. These cause your ball to go up in flames. They also reveal a skeleton when touched, so the ball seemingly contains a human being. The jet flames alter phases from active to inactive. So it can be possible to pass safely through an area containing this obstacle, provided you time it correctly. Jet flames are deadly and will end your turn.
- The third obstacle is blue fields of electricity. These cause an electrical discharge sound and also reveal a skeleton in the ball. The electrical field is deadly and will end your turn.
- The fourth obstacle is a blue one-way section of floor. There are blue sections of floor that will support the ball from one direction, but not on the other.
- The fifth obstacle is a dark orange area which, rather than absorbing the balls energy when it crashes into it, it repels the ball. Thus the ball will bounce off of the area.
- The sixth obstacle are rotating sections of the board which rotate independantly of the rest of the playing field and cannot be controlled by the player.
The challenge of the game is to rotate the level in such a way as to maneuver the ball to the goal without it touching any of the deadly obstacles, and properly utilizing the rest of the maze.
One of the more common challenges in the game is to give the ball enough inertia to pass a barrier, but not so much as to hit a deadly obstacle. The game can be tricky since you don't control the ball directly. Thus once too much inertia has been provided, it can be difficult if not impossible to reduce it. It is not uncommon to find yourself eliminating any resistance to the ball in one direction to avoid an obstacle, and then not being able to correct in time to avoid another.
Another way this game challenges you is by requiring precise timing. This is done either through the flame jets, rotating aspects of the game area, or both. You will have to guide the ball through a narrow opportunity of safety.
The other goal in the game is to pass levels quickly. After you beat a level you can play it repeatedly and attempt to reduce the time spent beating the level.
This game has an addictive "one more try" nature. It is not unusual to get very close to passing safely through a level, and you want to try just once more only to glance at the clock and see you have played much longer than you had wanted to.
One thing I really like about this game is how little downtime there is. After the ball is destroyed the level pops back up starting over very quickly. You can also start the level over at anytime using the space bar.
Graphics and Sound
The graphics are very minimalistic. Most of the levels are a flat metallic grey. There is a slightly browner shade used for rotating elements of the board. And the larger circle in the background is done in grey and black. The ball is two tone, a lighter grey and dull green. There is not at lot of detail here, the level design changes only in how it is laid out.
The music is a nice electronic number. It melds nicely with the game, and I enjoyed it. It is repetitive, but has a hypnotic, trance-inducing quality. The sound effects are all associated with the ball coming in contact with an obstacle.
What did I think of it?
This is a game I quite enjoy. You can sit down and try over and over to beat a level, or you can play one or two times before bolting out the door. I found it very satisfying to try and pass the levels, and the later levels are quite tricky to execute and wrap your head around what needs to be done. There aren't a terribly large number of levels, just 24, but they do get quite tricky and there is replay value in trying to reduce your time for individual tracks and collectively. This is a game I recommend to anyone who enjoys physics games.
Game options
The game music can be muted, the quality can be toggled from low, medium to high and you can return to the main menu all from the game screen.
-
Andrew Hodkinson
Canada
Kemble
Ontario
兵者詭道也
-
I tried it out at Kongregrate. It does bring back memories of that Labryinth puzzle, or more like that other one that came in a big ball, Superplexus or Perplexus. I might listen Pearl Jam while I play though.
Quite fun. Nice nab.
-
T. R.
United States
Minneapolis
Minnesota
Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life. I thought of their unfathomable distance, and the slow inevitable drift of their movements out of the unknown past into the unknown future. H.G. Wells
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. Chief Seattle
-
I'm glad you liked this Andrew.
-
|
|
