Comments on: Chromatron - a game about reflections

Chromatron - a game about reflections

ikkyu2 — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:28:45 -0800

Chromatron 1, 2, 3 and 4 just became freeware. In these little standalone puzzle games for PC and Mac, you align splitters, benders, and mirrors to direct colored laserbeams into like-colored targets. Enjoyably difficult, and an example of great game design.

Mentioned previously on Mefi, but only in comments, so I figured that since it just became free, now would be a good time for a proper FPP.

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:39:31 -0800

I played this before. Damn near lost my mind. This is one of those many times when copyright laws are not protecting me personally. This shouldn't be freeware, cuz it makes it too tempting to play it. It should be very expensive crippleware that's way out of my price range so I'd never even be tempted to give it another try. Darn lawyers!

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:45:07 -0800

OMFG. And I don't think I've ever written "OMFG" before, with the possible exception of times that I've been sarcastically imitating someone. Chromatron was fantastic. Finding out that there is a Chromatron 2 would have been fantastic. Finding out that there is not only a Chromatron 2, but also a Chromatron 3 and a Chromatron 4? OMFG.

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:58:22 -0800

Xmas is early!

By: rtha

rtha — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:04:45 -0800

Ok. I've never played this before, but after 30 seconds of checking out the various versions in the Mac zip file, all I can say is: ikkyu2, you are a bad, bad person. Bad. Thanks!

By: equalpants

equalpants — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:52:47 -0800

Oh, man, these games took over my life for like 2 months a couple of years ago. They were totally worth the $25 or whatever it used to be. P.S. Another great free game that'll take over your life: Escape. (previously) There's been a glut of crappy levels recently, but if you seek out the highly-rated ones, there's some really crazy stuff.

By: painquale

painquale — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:25:34 -0800

Very tough, very fun. Thanks, ikkyu2!

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:32:15 -0800

Reminds me of playing Laser Chess in middle school.

By: majick

majick — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:40:01 -0800

This is perfect. Recently laser.narr.as went down (then up, then down again for good it seems) and this seems like an acceptable replacement.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:22:42 -0800

Blazecock Pileon, don't know if you know, there's a new physical version of laser chess: Khet, which was released as Deflexion a couple of years ago.

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:45:20 -0800

Fantastic!

By: wemayfreeze

wemayfreeze — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:19:48 -0800

For Mac folks having trouble opening the files (1. Downloading Stuffit expander requires signing up for their mailings. 2. The damn DMG won't even open.) check out The Unarchiver. Now off to test my mettle.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:27:44 -0800

I typed the original laser chess in to my Commodore from the pages of Compute!'s Gazette. I think it was in MLX format. I was aware at the time that I would never have anyone to play it with, but it looked too cool to pass up.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:35:16 -0800

That's sad, Wolfdog. I would have played you. In other news, Chromatron 1.22 just broke my brain. There are hints and solutions available if you feel your brain breaking at any time.

By: painquale

painquale — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:46:33 -0800

Wow, this is really complicated! I'm up to level thirty in the first game, and there's still so much further to go. It sure seems impossible, but I've felt that same feeling many times already. I should probably put this to the side. Little logic games like these distract me from working like nothing else can. But I refuse to look at the answers!

By: painquale

painquale — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:53:30 -0800

Got it! Phew. OK, now I really quit (he says insincerely).

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:00:23 -0800

Yeah, thanks for the post ikkyu2. I remember playing some levels of this somewhere before but having a whole collection of them on my own machine is pretty sweet. With puzzles like this, designing good puzzles is as much a puzzle as solving other people's puzzles, but much less quantifiable. What makes a "good" puzzle? You just know it when you see it.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:42:40 -0800

The author is a friend of mine; he's a smart dude. I feel like a lot of these puzzles are a serious right-brain IQ test.

By: painquale

painquale — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:41:38 -0800

It looks like it must have been incredibly difficult to design a lot of these puzzles. Kudos to your friend, ikkyu2. What makes most of the levels especially great is the number of Aha! moments you need to have in order to solve them. Some puzzle will look completely impossible, and then you'll realize, Aha! I need to put the prism on the OTHER side of the quantum splitter! But then it's still not obvious where exactly to put it and how to line all the mirrors up right, so you need another Aha moment, and you're not completely sure if the first one was justified. Great, great level design.

By: goo

goo — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 12:18:34 -0800

These are great fun! Thanks ikkyu.

By: goo

goo — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:51:08 -0800

The power just went out when I was working on 1-49. I feel so deflated right now.