Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Physics Puzzle Games

For the last couple of weeks I have been obsessed with physics-based puzzle games. Physics simulators allow the creation of complex puzzles which can involve the interaction of many simple components. There are often a variety of ways to solve a given puzzle. I have tried out a large number of games in this genre (both good and bad). Some of my favorites include:

- Crayon Physics
- Zany Doodle
- Gish
- Armadillo Run
- Fantastic Contraption
- World of Goo
- Switchball

Another great thing about this genre is that it doesn't require a large development team to make a successful game. Most of the games that I listed above were made by a single developer. I have decided that this summer I will try making my own physics-based puzzle game. There are already a variety of open source projects I can use to help development. For the physics engine, I can use Box2D or Chipmunk. For the graphics I can use OpenGL or Cairo. The game will use 2D vector graphics. One idea that I had for the gameplay is the creation of elaborate deathtraps to kill superheroes. "Deathtrap" seems like an appropriate title for the game. I plan on making it open source.

3 comments:

Terrance said...

How's "Deathtrap" coming along?

Byron Knoll said...

Instead of Deathtrap I made a game called Time Stop.

Unknown said...

Don't forget the classic physics game, Bridge Builder (et al): http://www.chroniclogic.com/