Canabalt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canabalt
Studio Semi secret software
Publisher Semi secret software
Senior Developer Adam Saltsman
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 August 31, 2009
platform Flash , iOS , Android , PS3 , PSP , PS Vita , C64 (Engine)
Game engine Flixel
genre Jump 'n' run
Game mode Single player
control Mouse & keyboard , touchscreen
medium Download
language English

Canabalt is a computer game from the genre of jump 'n' runs . It was first released as a free, browser-based flash game in 2009. Since then, other paid versions have been released for iOS , Android , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation Portable and PS Vita . The game is part of a permanent exhibition on interactive design at the Museum of Modern Art .

Gameplay

The game principle is designed for skill and kept simple. The game revolves around a human character who runs across the roofs of collapsing skyscrapers in a futuristic game world that has been reduced to the colors black, white and gray. The aim is to cover the longest possible distance. The figure has to jump over obstacles and chasms.

Canabalt is a side scroller , which means that the figure only moves to the right when viewed from the left edge of the page. The movement of the figure is controlled by the program in contrast to common jump 'n' runs. During the entire course of the game, the player only uses a single command that instructs the game character to jump. The longer the figure can avoid collisions with obstacles lying around, the faster it gets. If the figure falls into an abyss or cannot continue the escape for other reasons, the game is over. As a result, the distance covered is displayed, which the player can compare with other players or previous performances using a high score . The level structure is random and therefore varies from game to game.

development

Canabalt was developed in five days by Adam Saltsman in 2009 for the Experimental Gameplay Project , a competition for independent game developers. He was influenced, among other things, by the NES title Super Mario Bros. After Saltsman originally offered the game as a free Flash application on his website, the game has since appeared for numerous other platforms ( iOS , Android , PS3 , PSP , PS Vita ) and various web platforms such as the Chrome Web Store . In contrast to the Flash version, however, the game was offered for a fee. The game was also prominently advertised on online game sites such as Newgrounds , Armor Games, and Kongregate . In March 2012, Canabalt was part of the Humble Bundle 2 for Android . A port for Commodore 64 was also released in 2012 .

Canabalt uses the Flixel ActionScript library developed by Saltsman as the technical basis .

The source code of the engine was published in 2010 under an open source license, the MIT license . The game-specific source code was also published, but not open source. The artwork, the music and the sound remained proprietary . Saltsman described the source code release as being commercially viable a year later, as it did not affect sales.

reception

Canabalt received mostly good reviews ( Metacritic : 77 out of 100 (iOS)). Wired's John Mix Meyer wrote in his review that Canabalt's "simple, fun concept reduces platforming to its pure essence of running and jumping." IGN's Levi Buchanan described Canabalt as "a wonderful jerk game that can score with the right balance between talent and luck". According to Kotaku's Michael McWhertor, Canabalt is "a straightforward, simple action game with an impressive presentation that belies its hasty genesis." Achim Fehrenbach wrote on Spiegel Online “Canabalt is jump 'n' run of the simplest and most entertaining kind”. In addition to the simple, entertaining gameplay, the graphic design and background music were particularly praised.

The game has been listed among the best games of 2009 by magazines several times, including Rock, Paper, Shotgun and EuroGamer.net . In May 2011, Lewis Denby from the British game magazine PC Gamer listed Canabalt at number 13 on its list of the 20 best free computer games. As of 2012, the iOS version of the game had sold over 300,000.

Rating table:

  • Wired : 9 out of 10
  • IGN : 8 out of 10
  • PocketGamer UK: 7 out of 10
  • GamePro (US): 4 out of 5
  • MacWorld UK: 5 out of 5

The title inspired a number of other games with the principle of the "endless race". These included titles such as Robot Unicorn Attack , the Kieron Gillen in his article "2010 Game of the Year" for EuroGamer.net as a "shameless Canabalt - clone " called. Ben Gilbert made a similar statement in his Joystiq review of Halfbrick Studios' Jetpack Joyride , arguing " Doom is to Halo as Canabalt is to Jetpack Joyride ." Author Jasmine Maleficent Rea co-wrote her review of Go Ninja for the online magazine VentureBeat "Go Ninja is like canabalt with blood and swords". The US magazine GamePro continued to refer to Canabalt as a major influence on Electronic Arts ' iPad implementation of the computer game Mirror's Edge .

On November 29, 2012, the Museum of Modern Art announced the acquisition of 14 computer games, including Canabalt , for a new permanent design exhibition in the Philip Johnson Galleries from March 2013. The announcement identified the titles as outstanding representatives in the field of interaction design. In addition to the visual quality and the aesthetic experience, criteria were therefore all aspects that contribute to the design of the interaction, such as the elegance of the program code or the design of the player behavior.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Craig Lager: Adam Atomic on Canabalt ( English ) In: Gaming Daily . September 11th, 2009. Archived from the original on September 13th, 2009. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 12, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gamingdaily.co.uk
  2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.1up.com
  3. ↑ Kelly Hodgkins: Popular indie game Canabalt goes open source . tuaw.com. December 31, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2013: “ The developers behind Canabalt confirmed that the game's source code will be made available as part of an open source project. The game will be licensed under the MIT Open Source license, which will let other developers use the engine source code in its entirety for both personal and commercial projects. While the code powering the game is available for the world to use, the game art, sounds, animations and Canabalt game-specific code is still proprietary. "
  4. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blog.semisecretsoftware.com
  5. ↑ Open-Sourcing Your Game While It's Still Popular ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. December 6, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blog.semisecretsoftware.com
  6. ↑ Metacritic : Average rating of the game , based on 8 articles. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ a b http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/ipad-game-reviews?pid=921
  8. ↑ Achim Fehrenbach: The best touchscreen games: Daddling to the point of cramping your fingers. In: Spiegel Online . February 13, 2010, accessed June 10, 2018 .
  9. ↑ http://www.pcgames.de/Browserspiele-Thema-217751/Specials/Flash-Game-Canabalt-Flottes-Jump-and-Run-mit-Ein-Tasten-Steuerung-694070/
  10. ↑ a b http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/PSP/Canabalt/review.asp?c=38942
  11. ↑ a b http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipad-iphone/reviews/?reviewid=3378916
  12. ↑ Jim Rossignol, Alec sea, Kieron Gillen, John Walker: The Games Of Christmas: December 2nd ( English ) In: Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Paper Shotgun, Ltd. December 2, 2009. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  13. ↑ Alec Meer: Games of 2009: Canabalt ( English ) In: EuroGamer.net . Eurogamer Network, Ltd. December 28, 2009. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  14. ↑ Lewis Denby: 20 free PC games you must play ( English ) In: PC Gamer . Future Publishing . May 3, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  15. ↑ Shane Lee: The App Store Playbook: Discover How 10 Successful iPhone App Developers Hit It Big Selling Games On The App Store . CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform , 2012, ISBN 978-1-4802-0285-6 ( online view ). The App Store Playbook: Discover How 10 Successful iPhone App Developers Hit It Big Selling Games On The App Store ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.beginningiosdev.com
  16. ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/10/07/canabalt-review
  17. ↑ a b c http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/215660/app-store-games-of-the-week-june-25th-edition/ ( Memento from August 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ↑ Russ Frushtick: 'Canabalt' Creators' Next iPhone Game Out Tonight ( English ) In: MTV Multiplayerblog . Viacom . July 28, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  19. ↑ Kieron Gillen: Games of 2010: Robot Unicorn Attack ( English ) In: EuroGamer.net . Eurogamer Network, Ltd. December 30, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  20. ↑ Ben Gilbert: Portabliss: Jetpack Joyride ( English ) In: Joystiq . AOL . September 1, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  21. ↑ Jasmine Maleficent Rea: Go Ninja is like Canabalt with gore and swords (review) ( English ) In: VentureBeat . May 31, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  22. ↑ Paola Antonelli: Video Games: 14 in the Collection, for Starters ( English ) In: Inside / Out. A MoMA / MoMA PS1 Blog . Museum of Modern Art . November 29, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.