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CosmonauticJoe's Faster Than Light (PC)
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| [September 24, 2012 09:41:51 PM]
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So I've been playing FTL and oh my god it is so hard. I managed to make it to the final boss the other day, completely unprepared, and was annihilated. Still, it felt great. I'm still in awe of a game that can make me feel SO connected to my ship and the events that befall it while still having such lo-fi programmer art. I think part of it is, for lack of a better word, realism--that the oxygen needs to be maintained, for instance. Or that drones are used to attack things (paralleling a real-life shift in military technology). But mostly it's just such a tight little game with 'nothing left to subtract,' totally simple and containing only what is contributes positively to the appreciation of the game. I like that I'm only just getting started, and I've logged multiple hours. I'm playing on easy--which is still crazily hard--and then there are 7,8,9 ships I can unlock and I can't wait to give myself new challenges with these more difficult ships. Once again, I find playing FTL to be a very inspiring experience, because with so little the designers were able to accomplish what big-budget AAA games so often can't--they make you feel immersed in a new world, just as effectively as literature or film. And all of this with the tiniest of pixel art and VERY few animations other than a rather static combat screen. Makes me want to work on my own projects more.
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| [September 18, 2012 07:47:44 AM]
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Just started playing this new indie game that's all the rage on Steam, Faster Than Light. It's a space-exploration roguelike that is absolutely incredible. There is very little art to speak of--just your ship, and teeny-tiny little sprites moving around, as well as the ships of others, neither of which moves on screen. Not much plot either: you are a Federation ship carrying valuable information, and the rebels are chasing you. But an elegant design, combined with genius mechanics, makes this one of the best indie games I've ever played. Your ship has shields, oxygen, missiles, engines, etc. and it is your crew's job to keep them all working. When you fight an enemy, you can deploy drones as well as attack with standard missiles and beam weapons. But be careful! If you run out of missiles, you're screwed. And if one of the enemy's missiles pierces your hull and you spring an oxygen leak, you're screwed. And if any part of your ship catches fire, you're pretty close to screwed. And if you run out of fuel, well... I'm sure you can guess what happens. This feature is a commonality to roguelikes, which often have permadeath and are pretty difficult. With FTL you develop such an attachment to your randomized crew and their destinations that it's stunning that everything was generated randomly, by a computer. That almost adds to your attachment. A very excellent game.
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CosmonauticJoe's Faster Than Light (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Tuesday 18 September, 2012
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