B

B

Release type: Incomplete
Release date: 1998?
Levels: 1
Author: Alan Caudel
Website: DummyDuck.com
Related games: N/A

B is, not unusually for Alan Caudel, an intriguing yet quickly abandoned experiment. Here the experiment seems to involve style more than anything. The game uses a very dark palette, the gloom only broken by the main character's occasional zap of electricity.

The character is the most interesting element, its idle state quite well animated despite using only a few frames, and its leaps and dives quite satisfying to perform. The dives are of particular note, as they cause the character to deform and ultimately vanish, making them a neat defensive maneuver.

Of course there is not much to defend against, as the game's monsters are fairly perfunctory and the existing level -- though scattered with enough places to jump and explore -- is quickly assembled, without much thought to working with the character's properties. It's just there to give the character a testing stage. Presumably had the experiment gone forward, the levels would have received more attention.

As it is, B is a neat little toy. It's more expressive than your usual Game-Maker game, and it shows the potential value in a minimalist approach.

Story

N/A

Instructions

Alan Caudel's B

• Space: Fire energy bolt

On numerical keypad:

• 7/8/9: Jump left/up/right
• 4/6: Walk left/right
• 1/2/3: Dive left, down, right

Credits

Game designed by Alan Caudel.

Background

Alan Caudel:

I guess B is a game that's kind of meant to be played in a dark room, maybe? I was trying to make it move smoothly. I was definitely going for something with the attacks being distinctly brighter than everything else. Yeah, it's kind of a cliche, "In a world of darkness... something something something...." Yeah, but it's cool.

Availability

This game is not known to have been distributed in any form, prior to its addition to the Archive.

Links

• Play B online

Downloads

• B (74.2 kB)
• Game Map (20.1 kB)