October plays it by the NUMBERS
October 1st, 2009
A new month, means a new theme and while it’s hard to top something as perplexing as “Failure”, this month’s theme should result in some interesting games I’m sure.
Numbers in games typically lurk in the background – hiding in code (or in many cases, script), rarely showing themselves except to pop up as a piece of UI. Other than Brain Training, Sudoku, and Mine Sweeper there really aren’t too may number games out there.
So what do you guys think? Anyone up for NUMBERS this month?
We're a group of indie game developers, running a friendly competition every month. The rules: Make a game based on the month's theme, and don't spend more than 7 days. New games posted at the end of every month. 
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58 Comments, Comment or Ping
“Why yes, I do love to count! Ha-ha-ha!”
The ideas are already starting to flow… :)
October 1st, 2009
Wow this is a good one. I am definetly entering this one.
October 1st, 2009
Wow. About two days ago I came up with a really entertaining idea involving numbers that I decided I’d try to get done this month once I was finished with the EGP.
I guess it’s fate.
October 1st, 2009
Might give my first Experimental Gameplay game a go
One! Ah-ah-ah!
October 1st, 2009
Sign me up. Been waiting for a chance to use that arithmetic I sort of learned all those years ago.
October 1st, 2009
Why is it that ideas always come flying when I see the themes? Even before I see them I’m always overloaded with ideas.
October 1st, 2009
A new one already, with only one full post Failure game? Awww.
October 1st, 2009
Well this one seems interesting :D I’m sure I can come up with something!! :D Good luck to everyone ! :D
October 1st, 2009
Interesting. I wonder why more games don’t involve numbers? Curious to see what comes out of this one!
(Perhaps speed could be a good element.)
October 2nd, 2009
Can any developer enter this competition?
October 2nd, 2009
Yes, anyone can enter.
It’s an interesting theme, although quite difficult. You could easily force numbers into a game, but making one that is centred solely on numbers without making it a boring mathematical puzzle game is difficult.
October 2nd, 2009
Numbers? Sounds interesting enough. I’m in :) Already have an idea, even.
October 2nd, 2009
I might’ve gotten the wrong end of the stick… http://lefishy.googlepages.com/SanorWin2.zip This is just my PoC.
October 2nd, 2009
Not a fan of double posting but I think the first level is done. It has sheep!
You are a first person controlled robot who has to close holes in space/time. By close holes in space/time I mean collect throbbing black cubes. There are six.
http://lefishy.googlepages.com/SanWeb.html It is a webplayer. Unity.
October 3rd, 2009
We have an idea for a game whose mechanics is a blend of several classic games. Does it count as an experimental game?
October 4th, 2009
http://www.manateegames.co.uk/sanor
This will be your place for all things Sanor.
Also if you go to my homepage I have a devlog of sorts.
October 4th, 2009
Let’s see if I’d get something done for this!
October 4th, 2009
How do we submit our games into the competition? :)
October 4th, 2009
I think most people just post links here in the comments.
October 5th, 2009
I’ll be glad to participate as well.
Is there any kind of forum so that we can spy, err, follow eachother’s progress ?
October 5th, 2009
Hey i might enter this i’ve got quite a few ideas flowing :)
been on a game making streak recently so i’m feeling lucky.
October 5th, 2009
This will end up with a lot of -odd- submissions.
-Even- the simplest game could -add up- to something big.
-Additional- rules may apply.
I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist.
October 5th, 2009
@Ashley Gwinnell: You just zip it, and upload it on the web, and comment it in this news with the link to the game :D
October 9th, 2009
Done!
Números is ready for testing.
no docs, no big info, all code done in one day (today)
http://games.loide.net/files/numeros.love
Explanation of gameplay:
this explores the basic math operations, sum, subtract, divide and multiply.
use the right mouse button to change operation,
use left mouse button to performe the operation,
the number scrolling from left to right is the first operator is the second.
add up to the target number.
This requires Love 0.5.0 binaries, available at http://love2d.org
enjoy!
p.s. this is a hack version, I may do some background art and/or score table. for now it is in the experimental spirit.
October 10th, 2009
Gonna try an enter this one. I need to make more games.
October 12th, 2009
I like the theme, it will be hard to make something really fun with that but that’s the whole fun ye? :)
October 12th, 2009
Ok that’s my mini game. Done today. Got one more idea so might submit one more game next week.
have fun:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1214188/hidden%20numbers%20experimental%20project/hidden%20numbers.exe
October 12th, 2009
I had an idea for a little puzzle that is sort of like Sudoku crossed with a Rubick’s cube. This is not a casual game and is actually quite a challenging puzzle. The gameplay is pretty self explanatory once you start playing. Here’s a link to my post where you can download it…
http://frankforce.com/?p=1246
October 12th, 2009
related to my entry for this month’s theme, here’s is a revised announcement in my dev blog, along with the basic gameplay instructions:
http://games.loide.net/dev/lc?post/2009/10/13/I-made-a-game
enjoy!
October 13th, 2009
If you liked the classic Block Dude, or any puzzle game for that matter, then you’re going to love my game. Here’s a link to the game with instructions:
http://madeoftree.net/blog/MenuCity/
October 13th, 2009
I made a quick numbers game in a few hours this week. You can play it online here: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/513794
October 13th, 2009
Ha har!
I’ve hacked together a game over the weekend, just had time to upload it.
http://matthewellen.co.uk/index.php?page_name=portfolioitem&item=zerosum
It’s an ugly looking thing, but it works!
October 14th, 2009
Hello, here is my game, Number Guy. It’s a puzzle game, kind of mixture of sokoban, vexed and a pocket calculator :)
http://cositos.no-ip.org:8080/numberguy
I made it in a week of net time.
Players can play and/or edit the levels, and the system will sort the levels by difficulty (based in number of steps in wich are solved).
I hope you like it!
October 14th, 2009
my first game, updated http://bit.ly/37xvkM for this month’s theme
resolution changed from 1280×800 to 800×500, and in window mode.
btw, due to the worderful Löve engine, this game is platform, tested in Windows, Mac And Linux.
for those who care, the game was developed with Fedora 11 Linux
October 15th, 2009
I probably should mention that my game is Windows only and requires .NET 2.0
October 15th, 2009
A friend of mine said, “I learned to count watching Sesame Street, but now I can’t do math without a Bavarian accent.”
October 15th, 2009
Okay, I have an entry. As much as anything this was an opportunity to learn how to do Object Oriented Programming in Lua and also to actually finish a game for once (yes, I do have that awful habit of starting something and not completing it).
*Gameplay*
Computers, at the most basic level, run on a code of 1s and 0s, known as binary code. Several virii (aka viruses) have attacked your computer by changing some of these 1s and 0s into… 2s! Use the + and – keys to add or subtract from any number on your screen, but be warned: every time you change a number the virus will attempt to spread. Surround a virus with either all 1s or all 0s and it will be neutralized. Press ‘r’ on your keyboard to reset the puzzle.
*Download*
http://www.mediafire.com/file/fiw02gtml4n/virii.love
The game is made available as love file and requires the LOVE “game engine” to run. You can download it at:
http://love2d.org/download
October 15th, 2009
Hello, I changed the url for my game:
http://bucles.com.ar/numberguy
I hope you like it.
October 17th, 2009
Hi,
I’m a NZer and saw this cool blog and felt the need the show you a little prog I made for the Maths dept in my school.
Kids love splatting things and squirrels make for good comedy.
It’s real simple multiplaication game (not too polished) where the aim is to squish the squirrels by answering the maths questions. When you press enter the Giant Hammer falls on the unsuspecting squirrel.
Have fun………
http://www.box.net/shared/x4ixqfkjyc
Hope you like the idea if the execution isn’t all that good.
October 18th, 2009
Well, here we go again!
This month’s game: Make The Number Bigger.
http://www.mandible-games.com/release/number+-1.0.exe
(or alternatively http://www.mandible-games.com/release/number+-1.0.zip if you prefer)
As usual, I’ve got a discussion post up on my dev journal, at http://www.mandible.net/2009/10/21/make-the-number-bigger/ .
October 21st, 2009
Man, you send it to a second half-dozen people, three of them notice an issue that the first dozen didn’t. That just figures. Let me release a 1.1 here.
http://www.mandible-games.com/release/number+-1.1.exe
http://www.mandible-games.com/release/number+-1.1.zip
October 21st, 2009
http://www.mandible-games.com/release/number+-1.2.exe
http://www.mandible-games.com/release/number+-1.2.zip
My word I hope this is the last one. Why cannot people find major gamebreaking issues *before* I officially release
(feel free to edit my original post if you can and wish to)
October 21st, 2009
Just started on my game for this month. In the mean time, are there are game prototyping communities/resources around which are worth looking at?
October 21st, 2009
http://www.lostgarden.com is brilliant for prototyping advice and if you dig around there are some nice graphics too.
October 22nd, 2009
Cheers Lefishy.
Here’s my entry for this month, Addsplode.
http://clubclubgames.com/blog/?p=19
October 22nd, 2009
My entry for this month,
http://numberninjas.thegiftedintrovert.com
Only the first 4 levels are playable. Hope you like it!
October 22nd, 2009
Hi, that’s my second project. Not exactly a game but still nice :). It’s sort of a brain training thing.
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1214188/MBT.zip
October 23rd, 2009
Finally finished- this month was really busy for me, but I stuck with it.
I call it: Infinite Number Adventure
http://vazor222.livejournal.com/17745.html
October 25th, 2009
Here’s my submission. Purple Rain.
http://www.filefront.com/14802985/Purple-Rain.zip/
I got an article talking about it here…
thunderware@blogspot.com
October 26th, 2009
Hey everyone,
I admire all of the work everybody here does. I am a novice programmer looking to get into game development. I took a stab at learning SDL seriously for the first time, and I wanted to share my creation.
It’s unpolished, but I’m hoping to finish a few things before the end of the month.
Stacked: A numbers game.
http://code.google.com/p/stackednumbergame/
The objective is to stack blocks which will add up to the bottom number. As long as any blocks in a colum that are touching add up to it, they will disappear and the number will be replaced. You lose when A block spawns at the top and cannot move anywhere.
Anyway, have fun, and happy deving :) Cant wait to see next months theme.
October 27th, 2009
I’m seriously amazed by what creativity can come out of one-week products. Am a 13-year old math and science lover, and probably will create games as a side hobby. =)
The thing is, I don’t know where to start. :(
October 29th, 2009
Unity just went free and it was my introduction to programming. I have been using it for about a year now and I am trying to make the leap to XNA.
http://www.unity3d.com I recommend it for anyone who seriously wants to learn. It does require some effort.
I used the tutorials at http://www.learnmesilly.com and found them to be incredibly helpful.
October 29th, 2009
Hello every one, this month was a long month with a lot of work. But I still find some time to make a game for this month theme.
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/516245
That is my first game using flash, that was an interesting experience, it took me 5 days I think.
The game is pretty simple, you are the guy on the left, you need to find the answer to the left-side equation in other to hit you opponent. When the fight is over you level up. Enjoy! Post Your best score on the Newgrounds’ page.
October 29th, 2009
Hi everyone.
This project is awesome: that’s the only time I found the motivation to create a complete game and not to just experiment around.
http://imposs.ible.jp/2009/10/trade—experimental-gameplay.html
Have fun!
October 29th, 2009
my game: http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/other/eat-number/980/
I create it in 5 days.I get the idea from Pac-Man, player eat number to get score in the game.You can eat more number when you up level.I also add some simply enemys,they are also number
October 30th, 2009
In Shoot 1UP, you control a fighter attacking enemy aircraft infected with creepy, machine-controlling alien parasites. Your ship harnesses the alien power and is using it against them!
The twist on the vertical shooting action is that instead of gaining extra lives and taking them in turn, any time you gain an extra life that ship comes into play right then!
http://mommysbest.blogspot.com/2009/10/shoot-1up-7-day-sketch.html
Please enjoy.
October 30th, 2009
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