Uin

Posted by Derek Yu Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:53:00 GMT

Matt Aldridge, aka “TheAnemic”, aka “biggt”, is best known in the Game Maker community for creating the enigmatic La La Land series of games. In an old interview with Matt regarding the never-released La La Land 6, he explained that the La La Land games “were made after intensively working on another game. I became overwhelmed with the pressure of knowing that I may never finish it. That’s a horrible feeling, especially when you put so much heart into it. These games were like the byproduct of that.” The La La Land games have since become cult hits amongst cult hits, drawing praise from indie developers like Jonathan Blow, Auntie Pixelante, and cactus for their dreamlike qualities.

It’s with that backdrop that we come to Uin, Matt’s first release since La La Land 5 in 2006. Uin is a much more traditional and full-featured game than La La Land, but is still really weird and can be as frustrating as it is surprising. That is due in no small part to the fact that very little is explained about how the game works… whether this is a Good Thing™ or not is up to you, but I’m finding it to be quite enjoyable.

That’s about all I’ll say about Uin. (Note: the download is .zipx, which requires WinZip to unpack. Alternatively, I’ve put up a .zip here.)

TIGdb: Entry for Uin

Posted in Platformers, Puzzle, Unique / Bizarre, Windows | Tags biggt | 72 comments

Comments

ortoslon said about 3 hours later:

screenshot broken
Skofo said about 4 hours later:

WinZip… almost as old school as Game Maker!
Paint by Numbers said about 4 hours later:

Oh Lord, La La Land rocks my socks off, and the screenshots this guy has posted are rocking my socks all on their own. Downloaded, unzipped, haven’t fixed errors yet, so I can’t say how good the actual game is.

Not that there’s any chance of it being unpleasant. I honestly can’t fit my head around that idea.
Paint by Numbers said about 4 hours later:

And yeah, I know, rabid fanboyism.
Roger Ebert said about 5 hours later:

Um… you guys know this isn’t art right?

Hello? I said it’s not art…

IT’S NOT FUCKING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
art said about 6 hours later:

–noun
1. the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced (Merriam-Webster’s)
2. the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. (Dictionary.com)
3. not a video game (Ebert)
Bundt said about 6 hours later:

That was kind of an anticlimatic ending I got… D: But I didn’t unlock the special section of the main menu :(

Anybody know if there’s multiple endings or something?
paul eres said about 14 hours later:

la la land rules.

ortoslon, however, says this game requires grinding to beat. i don’t mind grinding if it isn’t too much; how is it?
A UNICORM said about 20 hours later:

SPOILERS

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/3108/uinbitchscreen.png

this screen is a bitch i can’t pass it consistently and the times i do manage i only have one or two health to face the boss with

wat do
t maxwell smith said about 21 hours later:

oh brilliant brilliant brilliant!
jc said about 21 hours later:

Game seems to crash every time I exit, but that doesn’t seem to be a real problem.
Shanethe13 said about 23 hours later:

I played this game a while ago, and it is definitely worth a download. It takes about two and a half hours to beat, and is an instant classic in my books.
UltimateWalrus said 1 day later:

i can’t figure out where to dig at the start

i pushed down freaking everywhere

am i retarded?
Barold said 1 day later:

when I quit the game it messes up
Maimed Fox said 1 day later:

@UltimateWalrus: You have to unlock the digging ability before you can dig. I couldn’t figure out what was going on either.

I finished the game but didn’t unlock the special option either :( Maybe the “awoH” written on the rocket has some kind of significance, but I dunno.
UltimateWalrus said 1 day later:

i think i r 2 dum 2 ply dis game
Jeff said 1 day later:

Test
!CE-9 said 1 day later:

this. was. fantastic.

the game’s world is weird (great artwork, on par with that of David Firth), but it makes sense and is a pleasure to traverse and left me wanting more.

the amount of information given is not a lot, and I’m absolutely lost on how to unlock the specials. some of the game mechanics could have been further explored (has the second attack got any use?).

the (very) ending probably isn’t the most climatic and clever one ever, but it helps a great deal to tie the experience together.

I wonder where the soundtrack is from (one of the tunes is from Cactus’ Clean Asia) - it’s brilliant and I couldn’t imagine better addition to the game’s atmosphere.
Nick said 1 day later:

What are you supposed to do with the egg? I don’t get this.
raigan said 1 day later:

ARGH, MY EYES!! What has happened to the site?!?!
alastair said 1 day later:

I heard it became white
sumitpo said 1 day later:

has someone unlocked the special section? I’m really interested what’s in there
Bundt said 1 day later:

@Maimed Fox: Turn it upside-down, it says “Home”, although I don’t think it has any significance besides decoration… :(
superflat said 1 day later:

Is this theme is just an accident / bug?
Soli said 2 days later:

How many shots does that stupid bird take?!?!
rodnonymous said 2 days later:

lead that bird to the black hole+
GoSign said 2 days later:

Re: this post’s surroundings. Uh, TIGS? It’s about 20 days too late for this. This is a joke, right?

(I fear and loathe change.)
cecil said 2 days later:

what the hell happened to tigsource? why is the layout ugly (broken?)?
Jeff said 2 days later:

Don’t worry. It is a temporary theme during an extended maintenance.
Soli said 2 days later:

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/3108/uinbitchscreen.png

Made some progress but now I’m stuck there (above picture) as well. I tried killing all the enemies in the neighboring area to see if it would do anything, now I have these electric octopi chasing me that I don’t think I can kill. Help anyone?
Bundt said 2 days later:

It’s actually possible to make it through that maze without getting hurt (or without getting hurt much), just it’s kind of hard. It might help to keep in mind that the head of the character seems to have a smaller hitbox than the feet, so put priority in keeping the feet away from spikes rather than the head, as strange as that sounds :P

Also, you can kill the octopi…
goo said 2 days later:

new layout looks great, keep it.
sumitpo said 2 days later:

Don’t shoot the octopi whenn they are awake, and try to give them full load just when they appear.
Soli said 3 days later:

Killed all the Octopi, made it though the maze finally, ugh, seriously hated that, not fun at all, it would be different if there was any skill involved, but it’s like 90% luck. Sailed my boat got 2x jump, now I’m at a goofy ass giant worm I haven’t figured out yet. I shoot the thing in its mouth, then it spits crap out and usually shortly after I die because of the crap it spits out.
sumitpo said 3 days later:

Don’t want to spoil much, but with the double jump you can kill some enemies in the very beginning
Sciere said 3 days later:

I got to the part past the underwater maze, where you meet that guy again inside the fish, and nothing further happens from there (boat? double jump?). I still miss some species and I also haven’t used/unlocked any chests. Unfortunately, I can’t get back to the starting area again after dying because the checkpoint thing to the left has been activated and I keep respawning there. Deactivating it doesn’t help. Is there any way further/back or did I just get stuck permanently?
LSK said 3 days later:

Sciere: There’s an exit on the bottom side of the screen with the electric maze. It’s just below the last spot where you’re in danger of electrocution. After that, you’ll find the boat, and be able to progress.
Xab said 3 days later:

Here’s a tip: Digging in certain places will give you an extra health bar. The tall guy sells 5 “treasure maps” hinting their locations.
Soli said 3 days later:

What is with the teeth(?) that the giant worm spits out. I’m sure they must have something to do with the battle cause you can kick them around and such.
Xab said 3 days later:

Soli: They’re just for show, like the moles that roll around.

You can unlock special mode by not killing anything before you enter the whale. I don’t think you can win special mode though :/
Soli said 3 days later:

So what do I do about the worm thing then? I kill it, but it always reappears! Can I not do anything about him yet?
Bundt said 3 days later:

…Wait, Xab, how does that work? Don’t you need to beat up the spiders to get the dig ability so you can get the push ability to push the egg? D:

@soli: HINT: it’s not a boss
Bundt said 3 days later:

…And on top of that, can you even hatch the egg without killing the nuthatch? o_o
Bundt said 3 days later:

…Triple post, but… just got it.

The power of posting. 8D;
Sciere said 3 days later:

LSK: thanks!
Laura said 3 days later:

@Jeff: Ah, that is good to know… the black version of TIGS was much easier on my eyes.
Soli said 4 days later:

Cannot get to the first boss with more than 2 bars of life and that just isn’t cutting it. That part gets me every time, there is absolutely no room for error and if you get hit once, you get hit 3 times. Frustrating. Is it possible to get more health bars before that boss fight via the treasure maps you can buy? I’ll start over and try that if I can.
Elvis Brevi said 4 days later:

good game…
LSK said 4 days later:

Bundt, do share how you did it.
LSK said 4 days later:

Bundt, do share how you did it.
buraldo bivera said 4 days later:

MAN, I went past the water place and dug up a lot of gold and 2 healths and then i go on the sailboat and then I’m STUCK ON THE SEAS FOREVER! DOES IT EVER END? and then i had to quit and i got mad because i got all those golds and healths after going through the zappy string obstacles in the underwater cave. i couldn’t save because i was forever sailing the seas.
Bundt said 4 days later:

@buralda bivera: Ride up towards the right side of the screen, like how in the flying scene you have to fly to the bottom…
Bundt said 4 days later:

@LSK: Just go straight to the egg after starting the game, don’t bother talking to saxophone guy (I don’t know if talking to him ruins it, but I didn’t)
buraldo bivera said 4 days later:

@Bundt: UM that’s what I tried to do but i couldn’t! my movement was limited to the left side of the screen. and it’s BURALDO, ya scoundrel
Bundt said 4 days later:

@BURALDO bivera: Odd, you should be able to move to the right :’ Make sure you’re not trying to move while jumping I guess?

In any case, it’s actually a good thing that it didn’t save your extra health, because those don’t change position or anything so you can just go grab them again, and when you pick them up it heals you, so you’ll have more health when it comes to the section after you’re done sailing the sea…
Soli said 4 days later:

Stuck once again. Okay so I beat the first boss, and went down the cliff, couldn’t get into the rocket so I walked the other way and ran into a door of sorts that I couldn’t walk into. So I went back and jumped into a hand that took me backwards, figured I missed something, so I am now trying to take out the flying ladybee and everything bounces off of her, help please, what’s my next move?
Soli said 4 days later:

you know what? I’m just gonna stop posting. Seems like almost immediately after I post I figure it out. So yeah, I’m done posting for awhile, unless I really have tried everything and still haven’t figured it out.
Jamal said 4 days later:

Please help. (spoilers)

I have only one ? enemy that I haven’t defeated yet, don’t know what it is. Explored the entire map, got all the upgrades and health bars. Met the scientist, he… uh… did something?

Now I go back to face my brother in his machine. I visited him once already. But the little tunnel that leads into his lair is filled with the little baddies he spits out. I can shoot at them and stuff but as soon as I go through the tunnel, I’m immediately dead (as if the next screen were filled with a million baddies I don’t even get to see).

Is this a glitch in the game? Do I need to restart the entire game? Noooooooo!!!!
Sillik said 4 days later:

@Jamal - You can use push on the giant bomb in front of the rocket.
grindFish said 5 days later:

somethings not loading right with this site, instead of the usual layout i’m getting this horrid white template looking blog.
Dodger said 5 days later:

@grindFish,

Off-topic but that’s the new look I think and I like it. It’s not that horrid black template anymore ;-)

I think the site desperately needed a change anyway.

I’m more concerned with the updates… there haven’t been any real updates in a bit… I don’t want to detract or take away from Uin, but there have been a few significant game releases recently.

Enough Plumbers - (by Glen “Radix” Forrester and Arthur “Mr. Podunkian” Lee) - A very fun browser based platformer much like Super Mario Bros. but with a unique protagonist cloning mechanic… You have to try it to see what I mean!

and

The fact that Machinarium (the Full Mac version) is FREE for today only at Mac Game Store. There are only a few hours left, so if you have a Mac go pick it up NOW!!!

I seriously hope some Mac users see this because Machinarium is a GREAT game and now everyone who owns a Mac can get it for free (for today only). Sorry but I can’t provide a link, however, just know that it is at Mac Game Store - you should be able to find it easily enough so get it while you can!

To everyone else, sorry for being off the Uin Topic but I thought these bits of news were pretty important.
Dodger said 5 days later:

Sorry about the last comment, I meant there was one game release and one bit of great news for Mac owners. Please read that comment if you like free games! (Everybody likes free games, especially when they’re legal!)
Jamal said 5 days later:

Thank you Sillik!! Was having an extended blonde moment. XD

Although I would advise the author to fix it because I still think it’s a bit of a glitch and can mislead people. There’s no real reason your character dies, he just turns up dead at the start of a certain screen.
Jamal said 5 days later:

By the way, I think it’s fair to say this is the best game I’ve played all year. It has a strange unearthly vision, reminiscent of Seiklus. I love it.
Cesque said 5 days later:

Gee, you guys suck at this :P

Anyway, did anyone actually manage to BEAT the special mode? I figured out the point, just wondering what kind of score you need. My maximum was something like 1500…

As for the game itself - awesome stuff, though a little too much artificial gameplay extension.
biggt said 6 days later:

My hi score is 5000. hope that helps Cesque.
Soli said 6 days later:

Okay guys I think I need help again. I rolled the bomb into brother, now what? haha. I’ve searched everywhere I can go, I’m still missing one ability though so maybe it’s something I forgot to kill. Either the Lady-bee you fight while flying, whom of which I’m pretty sure you can’t kill, or the giant worm that spits teeth at me, and I’ve already killed him a few times, he keeps coming back. Or maybe it’s something else I’m missing entirely, though I did search everywhere, from outer space and the scientist who still wants me to find his wife, to the inside of the whale again.
Sergio said 6 days later:

Soli: if I remember rightly, kill both the lady-bee and the giant worm multiple times until they’re all gone. Then die.
MrDark said 6 days later:

I think the darker layout looked much better…
TEH FORUMS said 7 days later:

ARRRGGGGHHHHHH
Soli said 7 days later:

Thanks Sergio. Got them both. Not exactly sure how I killed that bee though. Everything you shoot bounces off of her, so I just do circles around her and she eventually dies… Is this right? does anyone know if there is a certain thing you’re suppose to do to kill her?
Konda said 7 days later:

Strange…….in music folder, there is one track missing… I’m talking about that one in place, where you’re respawning after death..:/

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