Freeware Game Pick: rComplex (Roger Hicks, Brian T.)
rComplex is a short demo created by two people in under eight days as a proof of concept, plays quite similarly to Canabalt, and features a strong narrative that tells the story while you attempt to outrun a giant squid-like creature. The objective of the game is basically to survive for as long as you can while trying to escape from a high-rise building.
Running is automatic and done at a steady pace, but the distance between you and the monster is reduced whenever you stumble over another piece of furniture or obstacle. You can also keep the creature away from you by shooting at it, although ammunition is limited to just twelve bullets only. The music tends to drown out the protagonist's voice often, and there are no checkpoints implemented, but you should be able to reach the end of the level after a couple of tries. (Windows, 47.2MB)










Comments
Yeah I thought that was pretty effective (though i found it difficult to judge when to jump during the vertical drops)
Posted by: increpare | November 18, 2009 5:37 PM
is this game supposed to be funny? Because I thought the voice over was hilarious! If its not intended to be funny I think they should try a new voice actor and writer. I haven't laughed so hard at a game in a while. It's a well put together game though I liked the visuals but I thought they could maybe be pushed a bit further. I dont mean to insult the developer if the game wasn't meant to be funny but those lines are just way to cliche and delivered in such a funny voice to be taken seriously. An enjoyable experience though! good work.
Posted by: Caliber9 | November 18, 2009 5:45 PM
It's unfortunate this came out after Canabalt. Canabalt let you play with one button, and still offered more excitement. The music was really grating in this game, and the voiceover felt like the protagonist was bored the whole time or something. He didn't sound excited, the movement felt slow, and the whole experience felt dull. With the stages pre-planned instead of procedural, in addition to the autorun, made me feel like I was playing a game of Dragon's Lair, but without any intensity. Still, I can tell a lot of work went into this, and I admire that. It's just a shame to see someone work hard in the wrong direction.
Posted by: Sega | November 18, 2009 5:46 PM
This feels like it could be quite fun once it's had more time put into balancing and tuning.
Right now I think it's biggest issue is the sluggish pace. There's just too much time between when an obstacle appears and you have to react.
The whole shotgun aspect feels like it was put in there to compensate for the lack of difficulty in the base mechanics. Even if you jump and duck perfectly the tentacle thing will catch up forcing you to use a bullet.
I feel like it would work better if you had less ammo, but only needed to shoot the beast when you screwed up a few jumps or ducks. That or give unlimited ammo and make sneaking in a shot whenever you get a chance between jumping and ducking part of the over all rhythm.
Posted by: Miguel S. | November 18, 2009 10:11 PM
I just cant get the rythm after jumping out of the window. It seems like impossible to guess when to jump. Sometimes I think "now I got it!" and try to jump over the next one the same way and screw up... But I really like the 3d. Although I didnt finish it, I think its way more fun than canabalt. Although I agree on that shotgun thing. Its a bit senseless.
Posted by: Bleagle | November 19, 2009 11:11 AM
I think the best way to improve the shotgun would be to make it more effective depending on how close the squid is (seems logical for a shotgun) that way it would be rewarding to wait untill the last possible moment to shoot.
Posted by: Rolf | November 19, 2009 8:07 PM
I agree in almost all the comments. The voice over is terrible and the music isn't great, i would've been much happier without the voice and with some better music.
There's little time to see the obstacles before you and you restart from the beggining when you die, why?, have some checkpoints!
Though i like the visual style i think the game needs more time to correct those issues.
Posted by: Dusan Vlahovic | November 20, 2009 3:56 AM
Man! Harsh comments!
So I guess I can agree that the voice overs get annoying quickly. I wouldn't mind changing it so that you only hear a voice over once after you get to the specific part in the level. One thing that I do want to repeat is the very first line. Many people ignore that line the first few times, but it's a very important line... :P
Also, one thing that some people neglect to read is that the voice acting reflects the thoughts of the character; not him talking out loud. So, many people instantly think that it's cheesy because they think hes talking aloud casually which wasn't what I was going for. Oh well!
I believe checkpoints are a bad idea for a short game. The End LOL!
@Dusan Vlahovic - Not much warning before obstacles? We color coded everything. get ready to SLIDE the instant you see the color green and JUMP when you see blue. Don't like the music?! Many people liked the music or thought that it fit at least. I thought I made it pretty damn good given the time that I had on top of all the other stuff I did with the game! *pokes chest out*
Anyway... I'm hesitant to change anything about this game other than the repeating voice acting because it shows what we were able to do in a limited amount of time even if you think there are gameplay flaws. I'm happy with the end result since people are beating the game just fine and the said that they still had fun doing so. Its all apart of the experience!
THANKS INDIEGAMES.COM (specifically timw) FOR FEATURING rCOMPLEX!!!
Posted by: Roger Hicks | November 20, 2009 10:26 AM
So cool visual style on screenshots. But i cant start game. Install, click "launch rComplex" and thats all, it doesnt work =\
(winxp standart computer) %)
Posted by: Fe | November 21, 2009 4:40 AM
@Fe
If it doesnt launch from the installer try launching it from the shortcut that should show up when you
click Start - All Programs - rComplex.
Posted by: Roger Hicks | November 21, 2009 8:14 AM
huh, thanks
<3 music and visual :)
Posted by: Fe | November 21, 2009 5:38 PM
My biggest issue with this one appears to be technical - the tentacles are linked to the edge of the screen, which means that it's possible to be at a point where you're reloading and plenty ahead, and have the screen zoom kill you.
Other than that, decent enough, but not as good as canabalt.
Posted by: bv728 | November 21, 2009 11:56 PM
I had more fun with this than with Canabalt! Canabalt bored me faster...
Posted by: dolong8888 | December 10, 2009 3:33 PM
I thought the game was great! Good Job! ignore the nay sayers/player haters!
Posted by: Shari | December 15, 2009 8:18 PM