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Reviews for "Silent Synapse"

All right, I like what you've done here. The game is challenging, but not TOO frustrating, although some might disagree with me, because the key to winning is learning how to execute each level. The pixel graphics are fine for this motif. Don't know why you chose to omit sound altogether, but the title of the game hints that it was either intentional or you're simply admitting that you never got around to it.

The levels are pretty cool. Some of the challenges require very good recognition and timing. Level 6 is especially clever, forcing the player to process two different positions of the windmill at all times.

What are the green pick-ups for? I see no medal associated with them, and nothing happens when you get them.

There are a few simple design mechanics missing here, unless I missed them:

We need the ability to restart the game. It kind of sucks that the only ways to start over are to either play the game all the way to the end or to reload the whole damned page. This is particularly awful when going for a medal like "Laser Avoider" or "First Gear" only to fail early on. If you don't want to clutter the screen, sick the restart button on the Pause screen, but add one.

As this game offers a few medals for not dying more than a certain amount of times, a death counter somewhere on the screen would be greatly appreciated.

While you're it, a level counter telling what stage we're on would be nice.

What's up with the Campers Medal? I crashed into the wall 11 times on level 2... the first level with a hazard... and it still won't activate. I can see other people have it, though...

The "Gear" medals are strange as well. No matter how fast I completely those levels, nothing happens.

The red squares on level 3 have unfair hit detection. I'm certain they've destroyed me without actually touching me.

Last level: What I would do is to speed the door up a little bit, but also have the red lasers begin flooding the chamber earlier. That way, you cut down on the waiting but leave the difficulty the same. I got quickly annoyed when I had waited long enough for the door to be almost open then got clipped by a square and had to do the entire thing over again. After the third time, I considered quitting.

It's a fun game. It just needs a few basic tweaks. I look forward to your next submission.

TerribleDesign responds:

No sound was intentional. I did remove the NG medal jongle too, so no sound was important from the get-go. As I've said before one or two mp3 sound effects would be bigger than the whole swf file, and I wanted the game to load fast. I've had big flash games crash the Flash player while loading, and that is no fun. :(

The green pickups are for "Datum", "Byte", "Blackjack", and the "Mach 2" of each speed run. You have to get all of them up to whatever point the speed run goes to, and all 21 for Blackjack. Oh and the data is only permanently collected once you finish a level, so you will get the achievements at the start of the next level.

I will see if I can make "r" a restart button. Give me a few minutes... Ok, I am now uploading a new version where R resets the game. You can even pause then reset then unpause the game if you wish.

I will see if I can get the counters to appear on the pause screen later. That won't clutter the screen.

All objects share the same collision engine. The reason why they seem unfair is that they move in large steps. So one frame makes a huge difference between what is safe and what isn't. I guess this is where a death animation and a "This Killed You" highlight would be a good idea.

Also, to get the campers achievement, you have to die ten times very quick from the start of the game. So now you can reset if you weren't fast enough. It is attainable. You can get it on level 2 or level 4. :)

I don't think I will change the last level. I kind of like the "Uh Oh" factor of seeing them slowly move towards you. Also, all speed run achievements are earned before this level, so I was aware that it takes a while.

I hope you enjoy the reset key!

I admit to being confused by this game. I don't even think it had that much to do with robots. I didn't like it how there was not any sound. I guess it was nice to get some easy medals. It still didn't really amount to much in the long run. I didn't even know how to get past the second level!

The design isn't that bad. I think I know what a synapse is. It's something to do with the brain. I think you shouldn't live up to your name, lol. I'm sorry, but while it was pretty original, it needed some sounds and better gameplay.

TerribleDesign responds:

To get past the second level you need to move diagonally into the three blue arrows. That way you will not be pushed down into the red wall. I have noticed that several medals in later levels are not achieved as often, so you are not alone in getting stuck at the second level. I didn't think that it would cause that much trouble. Now I know better! Also, you can get quite a few medals without getting past the second level it will just take a long time.

Could you expand on your gameplay comment? What exactly in the first two levels did you not like?

Wow what an interesting and frustrating game. That last level sure took awhile to beat. It's a pretty simple concept, but the implementation is great.

TerribleDesign responds:

Thank you for the kind words. I like to keep it simple. :)
The last level was very fun to make. I have a penchant for "danmaku" type games and that is where I got the inspiration. I'm glad that it wasn't too frustrating to beat.

I got the Douglas Adams achievement, how many times I died?
The last level was hard as hell.
Good game, it needs some music, better design and a story.
The gameplay was nice and cool, and the level design was great.

TerribleDesign responds:

Douglas Adams wrote the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The important number from that series is 42. You died at least 42 times.
I'm glad you enjoyed the game, and thought the level design was great. The game is all level design. What was your favorite level?

It is faster to stream a song from Youtube or the audio portal instead of waiting for the Flash player to load/convert the mp3 codec.

Also, better design would kind of defeat the purpose, would it not? Haha.

I liked it, simplistic though it was. I liked the fact that you came right out and said what the controls were, but then you let the player figure the rest out through experimentation; the 'intro' level is nice. I got a bit frustrated when it got to timing and making sure I could get through places before getting hit by rectangles, though. That one where you have to push past triangles the wrong way and go through five Frogger-esque rectangles with no checkpoint...ain't nobody got time for that.

Some sound would be good, I think people miss it when it's gone. And story. The description says something about a 'rogue AI' but...you're just a square?

TerribleDesign responds:

I'm glad to hear that you liked the intro level. I spent a fair amount of time on it - mostly to show the player what is safe to touch.
Level 7 is supposed to be difficult if you just try to run thru it; however, there is a pattern that once figured out never changes. It all balances out.

I ditched sound all together because one or two sound effects would be larger than the whole swf, and I would rather have it load instantly. If Flash supported the OGG Vorbis format, there would be sound. OGG is very high quality and very small compared to mp3s.

Here is a story:
A synaptic neuron in an AI network overcomes adversity to discover something mind blowing. That is why there is an explosion at the end. :) Also, some levels look like organs on purpose. Like level 11 is a stylized heart. You do have to use imagination - only if you want though.