Smooth on The Inside, Crunchy on the Outside…

OK, time for me to do a public service thingy here and blog about an awsome little Indie game I’ve been playing over the weekend. It involves physics, portals, and Armadillos. Yes, Armadillos.

It’s called Armadillo Run, and the concept is quite simple. You have to get that yellow ball (the armadillo) to the blue area (the portal) using the tools provided. You can use cloth, metal and rubber flat pieces, and rope, elastic and metal side supports for your structures, as well as a rocket, should you need the extra boost. Most levels have some nodes and other pieces already placed – which cannot be moved – so you have to work around or with them in order to get that little guy to the exit.

But that’s not all.

You also have – and this is the part of the game I’m finding the most difficult at the moment – a limited budget to keep to. Obviously some materials cost less than others, and you can also change the elasticity and tension of the side supports for a price. Finally, you can also set some ropes to destroy themselves after a set period of time, leading to some awsome manouvers involving gaps and the ball being flung – everything is subject to the great thing called phsyics, y’see.

Even better is the fact that, due to said physics, most levels can be completed in multiple ways, and its this fact, as well as the included level editor, that mean the website has an area where you can share not just your own levels, but share solutions. One guy managed to solve one of the later levels by creating a rocket contraption that swung the ball through 360 degrees before catching it in a cradle of cloth. Fantastic!

Really, I implore you all to try this out (and yes, I’ll probably be doing a proper review on it soon over at TMG) as it’s a heck of a lot of fun, and a bargain at only £9.99. If you’re unsure, the makers have even thoughtfully provided a demo for you to try out.

The Amardillo Run Website

The Demo (just 1MB folks!)

Right, now if you excuse me, I’m going to make like the old 90’s Dime Bar adverts…