Hatrack River Forum: Cloud & fl0w

This is topic Cloud & fl0w in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

I apologize if someone's posted this before.

One of the cutest, most lighthearted, engaging games I've seen in a while.

Cloud. (Unfortunately, Windows 2000/XP only, no mac version)

quote:
From the Wikipedia Entry:
Cloud, also known as That Cloud Game or Cloud: The Game, is a third-person computer puzzle game, designed by Jenova Chen, based on weather and atmospheric aesthetics. The game features distinctive hand-drawn art, as well as non-violent, whimsical play inspired by Keita Takahashi's Katamari Damacy. The URL for Cloud, thatcloudgame.com is drawn from a remark by Bing Gordon, who referred to Katamari Damacy as "that garbage game."

The first version of Cloud was released as a free download on the web in the fall of 2005. Designed in the Interactive Media Division at the University of Southern California, Cloud was funded by a grant from Electronic Arts, and built using the student-developed Bushido engine evolved from a previous Independent Games Festival submission, Dyadin.

Also very much worth playing is fl0w, Jenova Chen's MFA thesis on what elements make a game engaging. The results are fun, and engaging. (Flash, so cross-platform compatible)

The game is based on Flow Theory, and I'd say Jenova got it down pat.

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Thanks erosomniac!

Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :

Does it not like firefox or something? I wasn't able to download.

Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

It should be fine; I use Firefox primarily, and I could download/play both games.

Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :

Oh! Jesus. Flow. Flow ate my brain this one time. I had an avatar made out of my little flow dude. I was also super excited when they added play mode #2.

Flow Theory actually makes sense in Chen's interactive thesis. The only abrupt cycle is the method of switching between levels; everything else is seamlessly integrational. There's no cutscene, no removal, no complete delineation of different sequence.

Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :

Darn, that Flow is addictive. Thanks for keeping me up an extra hour [Razz]

Posted by Earendil18 (Member # 3180) on :

Jenova Chen is good, it scares me. [Wink]

I hope s/he starts a game company.

Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :

I've been playing cloud for a while. I time myself and try to beat my own records.

Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :

Wow, Flow is definitely... flowy. I could easily have spent much more time with that game, but I didn't want to get sucked in.

Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

Bump: fl0w is now released on the PS3. Uh oh, a reason to buy the console? O_O

Posted by Earendil18 (Member # 3180) on :

Sorry, I'll stick with the flash version and add more "glow" to the "fl0w"

Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :

I have no idea how to play this flow game. What am I missing? Just looks like a blue screen wandering aimlessly to me.

Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

The entire thing is mouse operated. You control the creature (that looks like it has a "C" for a mouth) and glide it around the screen by leading it with the mouse. Holding down the left mouse button increases speed and decreases maneuverability. Part of the fun is figuring out the rest by trial and error. [Smile]

Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :

Yeah, but after like 2 minutes of nothing happening, the fun is gone [Frown]

Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

Eating the thing that looks vaguely like crosshairs takes you up one level. Eating the one that looks like crosshairs with a red dot in the center takes you down one level. The difficulty increases the deeper you get. At first you'll be faced with edible detritus and other passive sea creatures; eventually the sea creatures start trying to eat you. (Hint: to get at the multicelled organisms, you want to eat the glowy parts of their bodies).

Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :

Alright; I have 4 circles in a row. No food finding, anywhere. What to do?

Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Phanto:
Alright; I have 4 circles in a row. No food finding, anywhere. What to do?

Go lower?

If you've reached the bottom and can't find anything to eat, you're likely missing some stuff on previous levels. One thing to watch out for: the sentient, multi-cellular creatures often move inbetween the levels.

Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :

Um, what the heck? How can I go lower? I can't find any red circles either!

Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

You broke it! @_@

Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :

*cries*

Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :

There is a radar-like "ping" made of black concentric circles which radiates out from the level-up and level-down targets every few seconds. If you can't find one, swim around and look for the "ping," then swim towards the center of the black circle.