VVVVVV: Make and Play Edition
June 12, 2014 3:11 AM   Subscribe

Terry Cavanagh's indie hit VVVVVV was an instant success, melding a Commodore 64 look and feel to a difficult but forgiving platformer whose only controls are move left, move right, and reverse gravity. The second edition of the game expanded from Windows and OSX to Linux, and added a level editor which could be used to make and export custom maps. Today, Cavanagh has announced VVVVVV: Make and Play Edition, which contains only the level editor and the ability to play custom levels, and which can now be downloaded for free for Windows, OSX, and Linux.
posted by Pope Guilty (18 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Indeed, there was actually a project to 'demake' it onto the actual C64 ...
posted by GallonOfAlan at 3:40 AM on June 12, 2014


Neat! Every now and then I spend a few days obsessing over one of the time trials.
posted by Quilford at 3:51 AM on June 12, 2014


Terry Cavanagh is the best developer and I love him.
posted by dng at 4:06 AM on June 12, 2014 [5 favorites]


VVVVVV was epic - but it was so good because it got the difficulty level right -hard yes, but doable for an ordinary gamer with crazy optional bits for crazy people.

Mostly level editors for games like this end up with a bunch of stupid crazy levels for the most devoted fans of the game, but which are no fun at all for us ordinary people - and with no-real way to find fun levels at a level fun for normal people.
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 4:43 AM on June 12, 2014 [1 favorite]


Sorry meant to add the question - so does anyone know how good the community level finder for this is?
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 4:51 AM on June 12, 2014


Has anyone tried the iOS version of the game? It seems like a great way to play, but I'm concerned that a touch control scheme will make this already unforgiving game near-impossible.
posted by naju at 5:43 AM on June 12, 2014


Yeah I am concerned about the controls on iOS as well, nevertheless, I got it and will try it out on my 5s after work.

I wonder how many tries Veni, Vidi, Vici will take this time. If I remember right, the first time it was like an hour and about ~500 tries. And a lot of swearing.
posted by KTamas at 5:59 AM on June 12, 2014 [1 favorite]


I was going to spend the afternoon pointlessly remaking Jet Set Willy in this, but it seems like you can only make five-screen-by-five sized levels, so I have given up before I even began.
posted by dng at 7:30 AM on June 12, 2014


Between this and the new Mario Maker, I feel like you're not gonna be able to release a sidescroller anymore without releasing a level editor with it.
posted by symbioid at 8:08 AM on June 12, 2014


yaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a HELL of a good time with VVVVVV when I first played. I was smiling the whole time while doing all those flips. The really tough parts were amazing but I'm pretty sure I aced everything.
posted by Our Ship Of The Imagination! at 8:50 AM on June 12, 2014


I've always wanted to play VVVVVV, but never made the effort to install it, find a working controller that doesn't crash OS X, etc. etc. But it's now being ported to the PS Vita, so all my problems are solved.
posted by sixohsix at 9:11 AM on June 12, 2014


Speedruns of this game are pretty intense. This one from AGDQ back in January isn't a WR or anything, but they have the Cavanagh on a skype call during the run. His thoughts and the runner's are both pretty interesting.
posted by sparkletone at 9:54 AM on June 12, 2014 [1 favorite]


I played the iOS version briefly. It's the best port possible to a touch screen. The controls are responsive. Still, it is touch, in a game where control nuance is everything. It's not entirely intuitive. I think these controls are masterable, but it'll take a while to get the hang of it. I'm still in the early areas so it's hard to tell how crazy things will get later. Still: another layer of mastery required on top of the game could be taken as a plus, not a minus, for you crazy VVVVVV masochists out there. And speed-wise you'll be competing against other people who need to master the same controls.
posted by naju at 10:03 AM on June 12, 2014


Oh, looks like there's two other control options as well that could make everything perfect. Pocketgamer review
posted by naju at 10:09 AM on June 12, 2014


There's a guide by Terry Cavanagh on to how to use the level editor here (part 1, part 2), which is pretty useful.
posted by dng at 11:37 AM on June 12, 2014 [1 favorite]


If you have a 3DS, VVVVVV is $4 on the eShop right now, down from its usual $8. It also comes with 18 player-built levels- it would be nice to have it able to accept arbitrary levels, but I'd imagine Nintendo being the way they are would make that rather a pain.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:08 PM on June 12, 2014


Coming late to this thread, but I just beat the android port this morning. I thought it was great, and very well suited to the platform

Touchscreen controls did make veni vidi vici pretty fiddly, so it took about 15 mins to get through that alone. When I last played the pc version a couple of years ago I could do it about maybe 1 in 3 tries, so maybe that gives some idea of how good/bad the controls are.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 11:33 AM on June 17, 2014


I got the iPad version and managed to re-beat the game, including all 20 trinkets, in about two hours over a few sessions with minimal frustration using the default control options. I think I actually beat the infamous Vini, Vidi, Vici section faster than with a keyboard. It's definitely a must-buy, especially with the added user-created levels.
posted by Rhaomi at 10:29 PM on June 17, 2014


« Older On composing "How to Train Your Dragon 2"   |   Sad, Strange Brilliance Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments