Double jump.

August 5, 2012 9:12 AM

ASCIIvania, is a metroidvania game where you collect letters in order to complete words and make obstacles disappear so that you can continue exploring. The game ends when you find every letter.

You start with the first letter of the name you choose. Move with the arrow keys (jumping requires a power up) and hit space after getting a power up to resume playing.

posted by ersatz (30 comments total)

(No comments because we're all addicted.)
posted by davel at 9:42 AM on August 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

I saw this yesterday on b3ta and played all morning. At around 2AM last night, there were letters sliding around behind my eyelids.

Does anyone know how to shut the music off?
posted by sswiller at 10:13 AM on August 5, 2012

Apparently youtube is loud enough to completely drown the music if you'd rather not mute the whole computer. I played this way till the end without noticing the game's music. I don't think the game has a mute button.
posted by ersatz at 10:31 AM on August 5, 2012

"Thank you for playing. I owe you 2501.503 seconds of your life back."
posted by madcaptenor at 10:46 AM on August 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

ersatz, YOU owe me 3400 seconds of my life back.
posted by sixohsix at 11:43 AM on August 5, 2012

1994.707 seconds well spent.
posted by Cironian at 11:51 AM on August 5, 2012

Now I want a cursive-based version called Pencilvania.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:51 PM on August 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

857.489, I wonder how much influence your starting letter has.
posted by reynaert at 12:58 PM on August 5, 2012

I can't get Q. I don't think it's possible? Also, I am not so sure that "NARDED" should count as a word. That said, superfun game.
posted by unknowncommand at 1:13 PM on August 5, 2012

loved it! although I only lasted a few screens with 'J' before I decided my new name was 'Sarah'...
posted by jcrbuzz at 1:20 PM on August 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Unknowncommand, the key is in your name.
posted by Fruny at 1:37 PM on August 5, 2012

Welp, there went Sunday...
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 1:38 PM on August 5, 2012

Would love to see a VIC-20 version.
posted by scrowdid at 2:03 PM on August 5, 2012

Unfortunately, there seem to be a few ways to get stuck. I finished the game on try 3.

Ways to get stuck: for instance, after dropping down to the 'decaying corridor' go left instead of right. Once you've gotten W there's no way out without jump.

To prevent this, the decaying corridor screen should have been constructed so that you couldn't go left there without jump.

If you enter 'suseless' as your name, you can go right at the beginning and erase '[s]well' and '[s]useless' and drop down to 'abandoned'. I don't see how you can get any closer to 'z', though. Is there some cheater's way straight to the end, if indeed getting z is the end? (what if your name starts with z, not that I'm about to play again and find out...)
posted by jepler at 2:17 PM on August 5, 2012

unknowncommand, go to the BASIN section then use Fruny's tip.
posted by tickingclock at 2:26 PM on August 5, 2012

Also: I started with a Z, so getting the Z is not the end. The game ends when you collect every letter, including your own.
posted by tickingclock at 2:27 PM on August 5, 2012

I managed to win with J and without getting stuck. Fun game.
posted by jamincan at 2:39 PM on August 5, 2012

loved it! although I only lasted a few screens with 'J' before I decided my new name was 'Sarah'...

Not a bad choice. My name was Samus.
posted by ersatz at 3:22 PM on August 5, 2012

I don't get it. Am I missing something? As 'spamguy' (therefore, S) I landed in front of EE and nothing happened. I'm only able to get around a couple screens before I get stuck. Is getting stuck and having to start over repeatedly just part of the experience?
posted by spamguy at 3:44 PM on August 5, 2012

Yeah, count me in the "got stuck in the decaying corridor" crowd. stupid lousy game. Just couldn't work out how to collect letters or what was going on. Jeez I am getting old and stupid real quick these days. Whats that about my lawn?
posted by marienbad at 3:58 PM on August 5, 2012

"Thank you for playing, RQ, I owe you 2745.603 seconds of your life back."

:) / :(
posted by deathpanels at 4:14 PM on August 5, 2012

@si: here's your pencilvania
posted by luvcraft at 5:00 PM on August 5, 2012

I got frustrated with the arbitrariness of the words. Sometimes it would recognize obvious words and sometimes it wouldn't. (mostly with the grey letters. did they work differently somehow?)
posted by ropeladder at 5:54 PM on August 5, 2012

Shit. I got stuck...Have to start over. Can't figure out how to work the room with the step.
posted by Night_owl at 6:39 PM on August 5, 2012

Can't find the I... Can't figure out how to get to the Y. This is fun. And awful. And fun.
posted by Night_owl at 7:25 PM on August 5, 2012

Finally! 2729.245 seconds. And the music is gone!
posted by Night_owl at 7:38 PM on August 5, 2012

Oh sure, I made it to the BASIN screen more a few times and obliterated what I could (also to the "ONES" screen below it), which obliteration depended on if I had entered from the top, left, or right, but even so was still puzzling, as I tried all the letters I had access to (=all the letter except Q) to get rid of "N_RWN" (vertically) or something like that ("BROWN" horizontally), whatever word I might get away with at that point. Still stuck, alas.
posted by unknowncommand at 9:52 PM on August 5, 2012

Vertically it was NOWN as far as I remember.
posted by Night_owl at 10:49 PM on August 5, 2012

Started with A, got stuck looking for E and one or two other letters.

Restarted with E, breezed through. It rEally is thE most usEful lEttEr in thE English languagE.
posted by sandswipe at 2:19 AM on August 6, 2012

Spent enough time on this last night that I had to go to bed and come back to comment in the morning, but I did manage to beat it before sleeping! Super fun game. I got stuck a few times until I figured out that gray letters that have disappeared will reappear if you leave that screen and come back, whereas white letters that you get rid of just stay gone. Turns out I restarted the game a few times when I wouldn't have needed to, thinking I had eliminated my only route of escape.
posted by vytae at 7:20 AM on August 6, 2012