What's good.

This is Niblet, dropping a cosmic update for 10 Zeptoseconds. The voting period for the game jam ended, so I can finally add more content to this short puzzle game.

Here are the details:

New Levels

This update comes with 10 new challenging levels, bringing the total up to 20. I made sure to make them super spicy so you can entertain yourself with dying a bunch of times before figuring out how to beat them.  Also introduced is a new type of puzzle obstacle: a Time Tile that alternates in value.  You'll have to be slick with your movement timing to use them to your advantage.

Visual Updates

Some basic lighting effects were implemented to add to the atmosphere. You can switch them off from the settings menu in case your computer or browser has trouble running them. The level camera also slowly drifts around now and slightly warps the perspective of the 2D level plane, but if this bothers you, you can switch this effect off from the settings menu. Finally, I turned the level backdrop into an audio visualiser, for like literally no reason at all.

Gauntlet Mode modifications

Gauntlet mode was originally just a quick addition to the original game jam entry to give players an option to challenge themselves. However, with the addition of the new levels included in this update, it seems a bit unfair to challenge players to beat 20 levels in a row without dying once, especially with the number of risky manoeuvres that need to be pulled off in the new levels. As such, I have now added checkpoints after certain stages during Gauntlet mode, so you won't get sent right back to Lvl1 after dying deep into a run. The first checkpoint is reached after beating Lvl10, but the number of levels between checkpoints varies. This way, you can enjoy a challenge without getting too frustrated.

(If you're disappointed about this change, you clearly like torturing yourself and wasting time. By all means, come back when I eventually add a Super Gauntlet game mode where you have to beat 50 levels in a row with no deaths, without touching walls, and within a time limit)

Resolution and Video Settings

The first build of 10ZS was capped at a 800 x 600 pixels resolution since it was designed to be a simple game that could just be played on a small window. In this update I've added video settings to the Windows build of the game, which let you change the resolution so you can absorb the game's trippy visuals at a higher quality. Just make sure you don't pick a resolution that's bigger than the monitor you have. I think it might blow up your graphics card or something. 

Other Changes

• Player input buffer time has been lowered, so it should feel less clunky to control movement
• Each level now has a name
• The keys you've picked up are now displayed in the top left corner
• Tweaked some of the particle systems
• UI now has more polish
• Death screen flash now goes above the level. The death screen shake has also been amped up to make it more dramatic
• The background colour of levels will change the further you get

I hope you enjoy playing through the new levels. Since it's a pretty simple game I can easily add more content, so it's likely even more levels will be added in the future (unlike all my other games which I haven't bothered to update).

If you beat Gauntlet mode, let me know your high score. Mine is 121 seconds.