Overview: Be a blacksmith.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Monday, November 11, 2019
Stephen's Sausage Roll (PC) (2016)
Reason for Playing: On my custom "Recommended by Filter" list. Small game on my Zenbook.
Overview: A puzzle game where the player pushes around sausages until they're grilled to perfection.
20191111:
I actually had no idea what this game was about when I chose to play it but I suppose the name sounded interesting. It was one in about 50 games on my "Recommended by Filter" list which was installed on my Zenbook.
Setup: Xbox controller.
Game Mechanics: Immediately the game is difficult, because it first expects players to figure out how to initiate a level. Then it players to figure out the point of the game. For those who are stuck, I'll provide the answer to both here. Begin a level: Orient your player and pitchfork over the ghostly image of yourself. Goal of the game: Cook every sausage in the level evenly. A sausage is two spaces wide and had two sides. Thus the sausage can be thought of having four faces and each face must encounter a grill exactly once in order to successfully complete a level.
When I stopped playing my save slot said I had collected 11 sausages. Apparently there are 16 levels and 32 sausages in the first world (according to Stack Exchange reply, the remaining worlds contain the following number of levels & sausages: 10 & 23, 13 & 43, 6 & 12, 11 & 29, and 28 & 76; for a total of 215 sausages).
Steam Game Time: 39 minutes (total game time)
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Difficult in a good way
+ Wonderful puzzle design
Neutral:
~ Forces players to think for themselves; I normally look for a game to supply a tutorial, but in the case of Stephen's Sausage Roll, the lack of any tutorial seems appropriate
Minor Con:
- Low-end graphics
[20191111]
Summary:
While I have yet to truly dive into the game (39 minutes versus what I hear can potentially be around 40 hours of game time), it has already proven itself to be a challenging and satisfying puzzle game. In other words, when a puzzle is difficult enough that solving it gives a sense of satisfaction, that is a mark of good puzzle design. In contrast, some puzzle games have difficult puzzles but don't feel satisfying when they are solved.
I would currently highly recommend this game to anyone who seeks a challenging puzzle game. I may update my recommendation after I put more time into the game.
[20191111]
20191111 Part 2:
I decided to play some more. When I stopped playing my save slot said I had collected 44 sausages.
Gameplay Log:
98 minutes = ~48 minutes (complete world 1) + ~50 minutes (world 2)
Total World 1 Time: ~87 minutes (for 16 levels and 32 sausages)
Steam Game Time: 2.5 hours (total game time) / 1.85 hours (session game time)
Estimated Actual Game Time: 1 hr 38 minutes (session game time)
20191112:
Gameplay Log:
Session 1: 17 minutes (world 2)
Session 2: 3 minutes (world 2)
Session 3: 57 minutes = 45 minutes (complete world 2) + 12 minutes (complete "Cold Jag" of world 3)
Total World 2 Time: ~115 minutes (for 10 levels and 23 sausages)
Steam Game Time: 3.8 hours (total game time) / 1.3 hours (session game time)
20191113:
This game is addicting. When I stopped playing my save slot said I had collected 101 sausages.
Gameplay Log:
Session 1: Here in World 3 and it feels as if the puzzle difficulty is increasing.
Session 1: 1.2 hours (world 3)
Session 2: 8 minutes (world 3)
Session 3: 125 minutes = 116 minutes (complete world 3) + 9 minutes (complete "Toad's Folly" of world 4)
Total World 3 Time: ~208 minutes (for 13 levels and 43 sausages)
Steam Game Time: 5.0 hours (total game time) / 1.2 hours (session 1 game time)
Steam Game Time: 7.2 hours (total game time) / 2.2 hours (session 2 & 3 game time)
20240225:
Today I tried to resume the game. Luckily the game seems to use Steam cloud and my old save game was available. I tried various levels within world 4 but they were all very difficult and I didn't manage to solve a single one. Though as I wrote the previous sentence, I had a thought I want to try out.
Gameplay Log:
Session 1: Felt frustrated after trying a few levels.
Session 2: Wanted to try something out in "Gator Paddock" but I forgot what this was.
Session 2: Despite my original reason to return not working, I continued playing and had an "ah ha" moment. I realized that the protruding block above the grill could be used to remove a sausage on top of my head, and that more essentially a sausage on top of my head could be spun into the correct orientation. The latter realization being the bigger "ah ha" because I recognized this would be useful in solving another puzzle I had tried ["Sludge Coast"]
Remark: the save file had 101 sausages collected
Session 2: So from my solution to "Gator Paddock" in hand, I went to "Sludge Coast." The solution wasn't free from the "ah ha" moment, but the "ah ha" moment was an essential component to the solution.
Session 2: "Foul Fen" completed. The "ah ha" moment came into play. As an aside, partway into the puzzle I had my doubts and wanted to know how to release my forklift (because I remember having done so before). As such, I read on how to do it, and it was clear that this level didn't need it - though I may have spoiled part of the game to come.
Session 2: Tried replaying "Wretch's Retreat," which I recall was the first level I played during Session 1. While I'm sure it makes use of the earlier "ah ha" moment in some way, I wasn't quite sure how.
Steam Game Time: 8.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.1 hours (session 1 game time)
Steam Game Time: 9.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.8 hours (session 2 game time)
20240226:
Played some more. Unlocked a world sausage (110 sausages). Stuck at next level (three sausages).
Steam Game Time: 10.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.0 hours (session game time)
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ The difficulty of the game is it's strength; designed in a way that feels rewarding and smart (although sometimes frustrating)
Neutral:
~ Something about the game's low end graphics allow one to focus on the gameplay... or perhaps the focus on the gameplay makes the graphics inconsequential
Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Stephen's Sausage Roll (PC) (2016)
Relevant Links:
Stephen's Sausage Roll (Wikipedia.org)
Stephen's Sausage Roll (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Stephen's Sausage Roll (steamdb.info)
Stephen's Sausage Roll (Steam Store Page)
29.99 29.99 5.99
Tip/"Mathematics" for World 1:
The sausage will roll along one direction and shift along the orthogonal direction. Shifts preserve the faces of the sausage which are facing the ground. Rolls switch the faces which point to the sky and the faces which point to the ground. As a result, there needs to be at least two grills to cook a sausage and those two grills must have different parities.
For example, a vertically-oriented sausage will require a grill on "1" and a grill on "2":
12121212
12121212
12121212
12121212
12121212
While a horizontally-oriented sausage would require a grill on "1" and a grill on "2" as follows:
11111111
22222222
11111111
22222222
11111111
A weaker statement is that a single grill cannot cook both sides of a single sausage.
[20191111]
Tip/"Mathematics" for World 2:
In World 2 the player must often utilize picking up a sausage. This can be used to alter the fixed parity discussed above for World 1. Thus a part of the problem solving procedure is to determine if the grills provided require a parity change and if so how can that parity change occur.
[20191112]
Overview: A puzzle game where the player pushes around sausages until they're grilled to perfection.
 |
| One of the earlier levels. |
20191111:
I actually had no idea what this game was about when I chose to play it but I suppose the name sounded interesting. It was one in about 50 games on my "Recommended by Filter" list which was installed on my Zenbook.
Setup: Xbox controller.
Game Mechanics: Immediately the game is difficult, because it first expects players to figure out how to initiate a level. Then it players to figure out the point of the game. For those who are stuck, I'll provide the answer to both here. Begin a level: Orient your player and pitchfork over the ghostly image of yourself. Goal of the game: Cook every sausage in the level evenly. A sausage is two spaces wide and had two sides. Thus the sausage can be thought of having four faces and each face must encounter a grill exactly once in order to successfully complete a level.
 |
| One of the harder levels. |
When I stopped playing my save slot said I had collected 11 sausages. Apparently there are 16 levels and 32 sausages in the first world (according to Stack Exchange reply, the remaining worlds contain the following number of levels & sausages: 10 & 23, 13 & 43, 6 & 12, 11 & 29, and 28 & 76; for a total of 215 sausages).
Steam Game Time: 39 minutes (total game time)
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Difficult in a good way
+ Wonderful puzzle design
 |
| One of the earlier levels. |
Neutral:
~ Forces players to think for themselves; I normally look for a game to supply a tutorial, but in the case of Stephen's Sausage Roll, the lack of any tutorial seems appropriate
Minor Con:
- Low-end graphics
[20191111]
Summary:
While I have yet to truly dive into the game (39 minutes versus what I hear can potentially be around 40 hours of game time), it has already proven itself to be a challenging and satisfying puzzle game. In other words, when a puzzle is difficult enough that solving it gives a sense of satisfaction, that is a mark of good puzzle design. In contrast, some puzzle games have difficult puzzles but don't feel satisfying when they are solved.
 |
| Oh no, the fork got detached! |
I would currently highly recommend this game to anyone who seeks a challenging puzzle game. I may update my recommendation after I put more time into the game.
[20191111]
20191111 Part 2:
I decided to play some more. When I stopped playing my save slot said I had collected 44 sausages.
Gameplay Log:
98 minutes = ~48 minutes (complete world 1) + ~50 minutes (world 2)
Total World 1 Time: ~87 minutes (for 16 levels and 32 sausages)
 |
| Another hard level. |
Steam Game Time: 2.5 hours (total game time) / 1.85 hours (session game time)
Estimated Actual Game Time: 1 hr 38 minutes (session game time)
20191112:
Gameplay Log:
Session 1: 17 minutes (world 2)
Session 2: 3 minutes (world 2)
Session 3: 57 minutes = 45 minutes (complete world 2) + 12 minutes (complete "Cold Jag" of world 3)
Total World 2 Time: ~115 minutes (for 10 levels and 23 sausages)
Steam Game Time: 3.8 hours (total game time) / 1.3 hours (session game time)
20191113:
This game is addicting. When I stopped playing my save slot said I had collected 101 sausages.
 |
| Save Selection (Ketchup, Mustard, and Barbecue) |
Gameplay Log:
Session 1: Here in World 3 and it feels as if the puzzle difficulty is increasing.
Session 1: 1.2 hours (world 3)
Session 2: 8 minutes (world 3)
Session 3: 125 minutes = 116 minutes (complete world 3) + 9 minutes (complete "Toad's Folly" of world 4)
Total World 3 Time: ~208 minutes (for 13 levels and 43 sausages)
Steam Game Time: 5.0 hours (total game time) / 1.2 hours (session 1 game time)
Steam Game Time: 7.2 hours (total game time) / 2.2 hours (session 2 & 3 game time)
20240225:
Today I tried to resume the game. Luckily the game seems to use Steam cloud and my old save game was available. I tried various levels within world 4 but they were all very difficult and I didn't manage to solve a single one. Though as I wrote the previous sentence, I had a thought I want to try out.
Gameplay Log:
Session 1: Felt frustrated after trying a few levels.
Session 2: Wanted to try something out in "Gator Paddock" but I forgot what this was.
Session 2: Despite my original reason to return not working, I continued playing and had an "ah ha" moment. I realized that the protruding block above the grill could be used to remove a sausage on top of my head, and that more essentially a sausage on top of my head could be spun into the correct orientation. The latter realization being the bigger "ah ha" because I recognized this would be useful in solving another puzzle I had tried ["Sludge Coast"]
Remark: the save file had 101 sausages collected
Session 2: So from my solution to "Gator Paddock" in hand, I went to "Sludge Coast." The solution wasn't free from the "ah ha" moment, but the "ah ha" moment was an essential component to the solution.
Session 2: "Foul Fen" completed. The "ah ha" moment came into play. As an aside, partway into the puzzle I had my doubts and wanted to know how to release my forklift (because I remember having done so before). As such, I read on how to do it, and it was clear that this level didn't need it - though I may have spoiled part of the game to come.
Session 2: Tried replaying "Wretch's Retreat," which I recall was the first level I played during Session 1. While I'm sure it makes use of the earlier "ah ha" moment in some way, I wasn't quite sure how.
Steam Game Time: 8.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.1 hours (session 1 game time)
Steam Game Time: 9.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.8 hours (session 2 game time)
20240226:
Played some more. Unlocked a world sausage (110 sausages). Stuck at next level (three sausages).
Steam Game Time: 10.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.0 hours (session game time)
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ The difficulty of the game is it's strength; designed in a way that feels rewarding and smart (although sometimes frustrating)
Neutral:
~ Something about the game's low end graphics allow one to focus on the gameplay... or perhaps the focus on the gameplay makes the graphics inconsequential
Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Stephen's Sausage Roll (PC) (2016)
Relevant Links:
Stephen's Sausage Roll (Wikipedia.org)
Stephen's Sausage Roll (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Stephen's Sausage Roll (steamdb.info)
Stephen's Sausage Roll (Steam Store Page)
29.99 29.99 5.99
Tip/"Mathematics" for World 1:
The sausage will roll along one direction and shift along the orthogonal direction. Shifts preserve the faces of the sausage which are facing the ground. Rolls switch the faces which point to the sky and the faces which point to the ground. As a result, there needs to be at least two grills to cook a sausage and those two grills must have different parities.
 |
| One of the earlier levels. |
For example, a vertically-oriented sausage will require a grill on "1" and a grill on "2":
12121212
12121212
12121212
12121212
12121212
While a horizontally-oriented sausage would require a grill on "1" and a grill on "2" as follows:
11111111
22222222
11111111
22222222
11111111
A weaker statement is that a single grill cannot cook both sides of a single sausage.
 |
| Overworld. |
[20191111]
Tip/"Mathematics" for World 2:
In World 2 the player must often utilize picking up a sausage. This can be used to alter the fixed parity discussed above for World 1. Thus a part of the problem solving procedure is to determine if the grills provided require a parity change and if so how can that parity change occur.
[20191112]
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Dynamite Jack (PC) (2012)
Reason for Playing: On my custom "Recommended by Filter" list. Small game on my Zenbook.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
KAMUI (PC) (1999)
Overview: Vertical shooter and part of the ALLTYNEX trilogy. It is the first to be released and the third in the story.
20191109:
Today I played KAMUI for the first time and initially I didn't understand it. After playing it for a while, I didn't feel any good at it but at least I came to understand the game mechanics.
Setup: Controller - my settings must be wrong because it seems to be acting like a mouse and if I push the controller too far it'll exit the window. I later played again and somehow fixed it.
Some Game Mechanics: I don't understand how to generate Shield but the player has a shield that takes damage first. If the player takes damage with no shield, the the player will lose a life. As for attacking, the player has a standard shot and a beam which is fired when pressing the alternate fire while holding the standard shot. The player also has a multi-target lightning strike which is used when only the alternate fire button is pressed. This lightning strike can be used to take out or deal damage to enemies which are not otherwise cannot be targeted. Finally, using the beam seems to destroy incoming fire (hence can be used as a brief invincibility.
Steam Game Time: 30 minutes (total game time)
20191110:
I tried to press ALT+ENTER to make the game fullscreen but it didn't work.
In any case, I played the entire campaign today (normal) and managed to get relatively far on one credit (I don't remember how far though).
Setup: I switched from controller Settings 1 to Settings 2 which allowed me to have the Lightning Attack and Standard Attack along the vertical alignment of my thumb.
Some More Game Mechanics: As I played today, I got better at using the Lightning Attack on enemies in the background.* I also got better at switching between using the Lightning Attack and using the Beam Attack. Finally, I previously didn't understand how the Shield is replenished, but realized today that there are Shield drops which will replenish the shield when picked up.
Steam Game Time: 64 minutes (total game time)
*Actually, it didn't immediately occur to me that even enemies flying in from the background are targetable. In particular, the enemies flying in at the very beginning of the first level can be destroyed with the lightning attack.
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Great Soundtrack
+ Unlimited continues
Neutral:
~ Initially difficult without Instruction on Attacks
~ Old, yet modern feel
~ Power-up travels just quickly down the screen and can be hard to grab when not anticipated.
~ I suppose like any shooter, success at KAMUI requires practice and memorization
Con:
- No ability to fullscreen. Despite the low resolution, I think I should be able to play fullscreen
Summary:
While my first impressions of the game were negative, I grew to enjoy what the game had to offer with respect to gameplay. I was, however, disappointed by the lack of ability to enlarge/scale the window.
KAMUI (PC) (1999)
Relevant Links:
KAMUI (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
KAMUI (Steam Store Page)
20191109:
Today I played KAMUI for the first time and initially I didn't understand it. After playing it for a while, I didn't feel any good at it but at least I came to understand the game mechanics.
 |
| Lightning Attack |
Setup: Controller - my settings must be wrong because it seems to be acting like a mouse and if I push the controller too far it'll exit the window. I later played again and somehow fixed it.
Some Game Mechanics: I don't understand how to generate Shield but the player has a shield that takes damage first. If the player takes damage with no shield, the the player will lose a life. As for attacking, the player has a standard shot and a beam which is fired when pressing the alternate fire while holding the standard shot. The player also has a multi-target lightning strike which is used when only the alternate fire button is pressed. This lightning strike can be used to take out or deal damage to enemies which are not otherwise cannot be targeted. Finally, using the beam seems to destroy incoming fire (hence can be used as a brief invincibility.
Steam Game Time: 30 minutes (total game time)
20191110:
I tried to press ALT+ENTER to make the game fullscreen but it didn't work.
 |
| Basic Attack |
In any case, I played the entire campaign today (normal) and managed to get relatively far on one credit (I don't remember how far though).
Setup: I switched from controller Settings 1 to Settings 2 which allowed me to have the Lightning Attack and Standard Attack along the vertical alignment of my thumb.
Some More Game Mechanics: As I played today, I got better at using the Lightning Attack on enemies in the background.* I also got better at switching between using the Lightning Attack and using the Beam Attack. Finally, I previously didn't understand how the Shield is replenished, but realized today that there are Shield drops which will replenish the shield when picked up.
Steam Game Time: 64 minutes (total game time)
 |
| Beam Attack |
*Actually, it didn't immediately occur to me that even enemies flying in from the background are targetable. In particular, the enemies flying in at the very beginning of the first level can be destroyed with the lightning attack.
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Great Soundtrack
+ Unlimited continues
Neutral:
~ Initially difficult without Instruction on Attacks
~ Old, yet modern feel
~ Power-up travels just quickly down the screen and can be hard to grab when not anticipated.
~ I suppose like any shooter, success at KAMUI requires practice and memorization
 |
| Combat Result |
Con:
- No ability to fullscreen. Despite the low resolution, I think I should be able to play fullscreen
Summary:
While my first impressions of the game were negative, I grew to enjoy what the game had to offer with respect to gameplay. I was, however, disappointed by the lack of ability to enlarge/scale the window.
KAMUI (PC) (1999)
Relevant Links:
KAMUI (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
KAMUI (Steam Store Page)