Devs Like Waffles - Gomie v. 2015
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 7:35 am
Devs Like Waffles is a puzzle game by our own Bob The Hamster, and a quasi-entry to the Random Collab Contest. The concept comes from something I don't remember saying in IRC, but it sounds like a lot of other things I don't remember saying so I guess I said it. While I was confused thinking about that, I got bamboozled into doing sprites too. WTF?! I didn't even enter the contest!
I'm the star of the show, enslaving the other random collab teams into my nefarious waffle factory. In theory they're supposed to help run the place, but in practice they eat waffles while you do all the hard work. Just like a Random Collab contest!
It's a hard game to describe. The basic premise is like Tetris, filling a row will clear that line, but clearing a line doesn't do you any good unless there's an edible waffle on it. A waffle is only edible when buttered and syruped, but the Devs can't resist and edible waffle and will eat as many of them as they can get to in short order. I react based on how many waffles the devs eat and also on how many waffles escape their gluttony and make it to the paying customers. In this way it might be the world's first Tetris game with a Paragon/Renegade system.
There's a bit of gravity involved too. Items that are unsupported will fall, as will waffles when they're buttered or syruped. It opens up the possibility for combos, though most of these combos will be of the "Marionline just ate everything I worked so hard to protect" variety.
You can't clear a line if a developer is in it, so the best strategy is to bury them. The downside to this strategy is that they get bored and start breaking blocks, undermining your working areas. Its hard to tell at times if this is fun or frustrating.
The gameplay doesn't speed up the longer you go like Tetris did and there's no highscore feature to look at, somewhat limiting the game's replay value. That's a good decision I'll talk about later. The main reason to play is to see the different things I say, and I have no idea how much of that content there is. What I saw was a fun level of frustration at his workers and pride at serving waffles. The version I played had goofy pop-up ads that you could click on for bonus Giz commentary. I was shocked when, 200 waffles into insanity, I clicked on one of the ads and something actually happened. A really neat touch!
The version I played also featured the ability to skip the opening intro and had additional particle effects that weren't in the contest release. Great improvement. I can't totally endorse Devs Like Waffles because it's the kind of game that feels like it's got one mechanic too many or one mechanic too few. If you treat this like a super-serious puzzle game, you're not going to be able to enjoy it for what it is, a goofy good time. Because of that, I think the decision to NOT have a high score screen is fantastic, because it removes that pressure to perform. You won't cuss and pout when TMC eats 16 waffles and ruins the best run you've ever had, because you're able to enjoy it in the temporary, devil-may-care attitude that you're meant to see it in. If you can keep that in mind, Devs Like Waffles has plenty of fun for you.
I'm the star of the show, enslaving the other random collab teams into my nefarious waffle factory. In theory they're supposed to help run the place, but in practice they eat waffles while you do all the hard work. Just like a Random Collab contest!
It's a hard game to describe. The basic premise is like Tetris, filling a row will clear that line, but clearing a line doesn't do you any good unless there's an edible waffle on it. A waffle is only edible when buttered and syruped, but the Devs can't resist and edible waffle and will eat as many of them as they can get to in short order. I react based on how many waffles the devs eat and also on how many waffles escape their gluttony and make it to the paying customers. In this way it might be the world's first Tetris game with a Paragon/Renegade system.
There's a bit of gravity involved too. Items that are unsupported will fall, as will waffles when they're buttered or syruped. It opens up the possibility for combos, though most of these combos will be of the "Marionline just ate everything I worked so hard to protect" variety.
You can't clear a line if a developer is in it, so the best strategy is to bury them. The downside to this strategy is that they get bored and start breaking blocks, undermining your working areas. Its hard to tell at times if this is fun or frustrating.
The gameplay doesn't speed up the longer you go like Tetris did and there's no highscore feature to look at, somewhat limiting the game's replay value. That's a good decision I'll talk about later. The main reason to play is to see the different things I say, and I have no idea how much of that content there is. What I saw was a fun level of frustration at his workers and pride at serving waffles. The version I played had goofy pop-up ads that you could click on for bonus Giz commentary. I was shocked when, 200 waffles into insanity, I clicked on one of the ads and something actually happened. A really neat touch!
The version I played also featured the ability to skip the opening intro and had additional particle effects that weren't in the contest release. Great improvement. I can't totally endorse Devs Like Waffles because it's the kind of game that feels like it's got one mechanic too many or one mechanic too few. If you treat this like a super-serious puzzle game, you're not going to be able to enjoy it for what it is, a goofy good time. Because of that, I think the decision to NOT have a high score screen is fantastic, because it removes that pressure to perform. You won't cuss and pout when TMC eats 16 waffles and ruins the best run you've ever had, because you're able to enjoy it in the temporary, devil-may-care attitude that you're meant to see it in. If you can keep that in mind, Devs Like Waffles has plenty of fun for you.