Enigma (2007 video game)

Last updated

Enigma
Enigma icon.png
Enigma Icon
Developer(s) Ronald Lamprecht, Raoul Bourquin, Andreas Lochmann, Daniel Heck (founder), ... [1]
Composer(s) Andrew Sega, Clifford J. Tasner
Engine Custom
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, GP2X, Linux, FreeBSD
Release
  • 25 May 2007 (version 1.01)
  • 27 August 2021 (version 1.30)
Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player

Enigma is a puzzle video game based on Oxyd , and is released under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later. Enigma continues to be very popular as an open source multi-platform derivative of Oxyd now that Oxyd is no longer maintained. The open source fangame Enigma has been praised in reviews. [2] [3]

Contents

Enigma is a marble game. Landscapes usually take the form of logic puzzles, although frequently, dexterity with the pointing device (the only form of input) is also required. The game is based on a traditional square grid map (2D computer graphics) and a realistic physics simulation.

Enigma is cross-platform and available for Mac OS X, GP2X, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD and Linux (with packages available for several distributions).

Gameplay

Enigma screenshot of level Enigma IV, #2: Double-Spiral EnigmaScreenshot.png
Enigma screenshot of level Enigma IV, #2: Double-Spiral

Enigma consists of approximately 2500 levels, known as ‘landscapes’, which may be played in any order. The player controls one or more marbles using the mouse, and interacts with the landscape purely through the marble. Levels fall into two broad categories: Oxyd landscapes and Meditation landscapes. Some levels may appear to fall into one category while actually being in the other.

Obstacle course navigation

Apart from the introductory levels that gradually introduce the game's mechanics to the player, each level either contains a puzzle, race, or hazards which the player must solve, win, or avoid. The player risks making the level impossible to solve or having the marble sink, fall down an abyss, or be crushed or otherwise destroyed. The challenges tax the player's problem solving and logic skills, dexterity, patience and speed. These factors determine the overall difficulty of the level. If the player loses a marble, one of the player's lives shown in the form of spare marbles in the inventory is lost. The level automatically restarts from the beginning when all lives are lost, with the Oxyd colours randomly shuffled again. Some levels even have mazes the player must navigate.

Scoring system

Enigma also contains a score system which tracks how fast the player finishes the level. When a level is completed, a "personal record" for the level is made. All levels have two records which the player can try to beat: PAR (derived from the golf scoring format) and World Record. PAR usually takes some quick doing to achieve and even changes with time in the newer versions. Setting a new World Record is nearly impossible even for the dedicated player except through sheer luck. World Records are usually formed by groups of very dedicated players who have mastered moving the marble quickly but precisely and know the ins and outs of each level.

Score statistics are published every month at the official website of Enigma. [4] The most important categories are World Record Statistics and Solved Level Statistics. Due to the large number of levels and the variety of challenges involved, achieving 100% level completion is no small task. According to in-game published statistics, as of December 2010 only one person has managed 100% level completion. [lower-alpha 1]

History

The initial release of Enigma was in 2002. [5] Development started due to a stated desire to keep the spirit of the game Oxyd alive since its publisher had decided to leave the video game market that same year. [6] In 2007, Enigma reached stable version 1.01. Current version is 1.30.

Development

The landscapes are generated by scripts in the Lua programming language, making the creation of complicated landscapes relatively easy. [7] A level editor exists. [8] [9] Composer of the menu music 'Pentagonal Dreams' is Andrew 'Necros' Sega.

Enigma does not currently support the popular cooperative two-player network games that were available with some versions of Oxyd . However, most of the two-player landscapes are playable in single-player.

Reception

Enigma has been praised in reviews as open source fan game and clone of Oxyd. [2] [3] Enigma was selected by Linux Format as "HotPick" in February 2007. [10] It is included in many Linux distributions and is distributed over various freeware outlets. Enigma was downloaded alone over SourceForge between 2011 and May 2017 over 110,000 times according to their download statistic, [11] computerbild.de counted another 30,000 downloads. [12]

Also several video game magazines' cover disks included Enigma as part of Freeware and remake collections, for instance GameStar 06/2005. [13] [ better source needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>Liero</i> 1998 action video game

Liero is a video game for MS-DOS, first released by Finnish programmer Joosa Riekkinen in 1998. The game has been described as a real-time version of Worms. Liero is Finnish for 'earthworm' and is pronounced. Inspired itself by the earlier game MoleZ, Liero provided inspiration for the later games Soldat and Noita.

<i>Oxyd</i> 1990 video game

Oxyd is a 1990 puzzle video game developed for the Atari ST and ported to the Amiga, Macintosh, MS-DOS, and NeXT by Dongleware Verlags GmbH. It is a game of puzzles and tests to restart all the oxygen generators on the player's home planet. The Oxyds must be restarted by opening them in pairs of matching patterns, and matching colours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marble (toy)</span> Small spherical toy

A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about 13 mm in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called marbles, as well being placed in marble runs or races, or created as a form of art. They are often collected, both for nostalgia and for their aesthetic colors.

<i>Frozen Bubble</i> 2002 video game

Frozen Bubble is a free software clone of Puzzle Bobble for a variety of home and mobile systems.

<i>Beyond Zork</i> 1987 video game

Beyond Zork is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and released by Infocom in 1987. It was one of the last games in the Zork series developed by Infocom. It signified a notable departure from the standard format of Infocom's earlier games which relied purely on text and puzzle-solving: among other features, Beyond Zork incorporated a crude on-screen map, the use of character statistics and levels, and RPG combat elements.

<i>The Sentinel</i> (video game) 1986 video game

The Sentinel, released in the United States as The Sentry, is a puzzle video game created by Geoff Crammond, published by Firebird in 1986 for the BBC Micro and converted to the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, Amiga and IBM PC compatibles. The Sentinel was among the first games to use solid-filled 3D graphics on home computers. It won numerous awards upon release and has since appeared on several "best video games of all time" lists.

<i>Magnetica</i> 2006 video game

Magnetica is a puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS, released as part of the Touch! Generations series. The game was developed by Mitchell Corporation and published by Nintendo, and is based on Mitchell's 1998 arcade game Puzz Loop.

<i>UltraStar</i> 2023 video game

UltraStar is a clone of SingStar, a music video game by Polish developer Patryk "Covus5" Cebula. UltraStar lets one or several players score points by singing along to a song or music video and match the pitch of the original song. UltraStar displays lyrics as well as the correct notes similar to a piano roll. On top of the correct notes UltraStar displays the pitch recorded from the players. UltraStar allows several people to play simultaneously by connecting several microphones possibly to several sound cards. To add a song to UltraStar, a file with notes and lyrics is required, together with an audio file. Optionally a cover image, a backdrop image and a video may be added to each song. UltraStar comes preloaded with a short sample from Nine Inch Nails hit "Discipline" from The Slip album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aggravation (board game)</span> Strategy board game, variant of Pachisi

Aggravation is a board game for up to four players and later versions for up to six players, whose object is to be the first player to have all four playing pieces reach the player's home section of the board. The game's name comes from the action of capturing an opponent's piece by landing on its space, which is known as "aggravating". The name was coined by one of the creators, Louis Elaine, who did not always enjoy defeat.

Nicklas Nygren, better known by the handle Nifflas, is an independent Swedish video game developer. He is known for his freeware Knytt series and along with another freeware game, Within a Deep Forest. He has lived in Umeå, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenCity</span> Free and open-source city building game

OpenCity is a free and open-source software 3D city-building game started in 2003 by France-based Vietnamese programmer Duong-Khang Nguyen. The game mechanics are similar to Simcity, although the game developers do not strive to make it a direct Simcity clone.

Fish Fillets NG, originally just Fish Fillets, is a puzzle video game developed and released by Altar Games in 1998. The game's goal is in each level to find a safe way out for both of the two fish. Fish Fillets is comparable to other sliding puzzle games such as sokoban and klotski, while it has a few additional elements and rules.

<i>LaserTank</i> 1995 video game

LaserTank is a puzzle video game requiring logical thinking to solve a variety of levels. It is open source, careware, and can be used for free. The player must be able to concentrate and think ahead as in playing chess or checkers. Contradicting its name, LaserTank is in no way an action game. Although a player may try to solve a level quickly, there is no requirement to do so, so poor coordination and poor reflexes will not impede a player. Experience allows the player to learn a number of techniques and tricks that need to be used to solve difficult levels. LaserTank is NP-complete meaning that one can construct levels which are hard to solve for computers.

<i>Samorost 2</i> 2005 video game

Samorost 2 is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. Released for Windows, OS X and Linux on 8 December 2005, the game is the second video game title in the Samorost series and the sequel to Samorost. On 5 November 2020, the game received an update with enhanced visuals, brought fullscreen support & replaced level codes with a level select system. This version also received iOS & Android ports.

Secret Maryo Chronicles is a free and open-source two-dimensional platform computer game that began in 2003. The game has been described by the German PCtipp as a Super Mario Bros. clone, but with a similar gameplay to that of Super Mario World (1990).

<i>X-Moto</i> Video game

X-Moto is a free and open source 2D motocross platform game developed for Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, where physics play an all important role in the gameplay. The basic gameplay clones that of Elasto Mania, but the simulated physics are subtly different.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TripleA</span>

TripleA is a free and open-source turn based strategy game based on the Axis & Allies board game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaz (video game)</span>

Zaz is a free software (GPLv3) puzzle video game which is similar to Zuma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blobby Volley</span> 2000 video game

Blobby Volley is a free and open-source sports computer game series in which two blobbed shaped entities play volleyball against each other. There are multiplayer and single-player modes.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Enigma version 1.01, released 25 May 2007.
Inline citations
  1. ↑ "Credits". Official site. Daniel Heck and contributors. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 Barylick, Chris (11 November 2005). "The Slacker's Guide – Enigma and Gypsy Mod". The Mac Observer. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 Lindner, Mirko (22 September 2004). "Enigma – Bloß nicht zittern". Pro-Linux.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Score Statistics". Official site. Daniel Heck and contributors. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Heck, Daniel (14 May 2002). "Release 0.40". enigma-announce (Mailing list). Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Heck, Daniel; contributors (2013). Enigma manual (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Heck, Daniel; Machata, Petr; Westram, Ralf; Lamprecht, Ronald; Lochmann, Andreas; Abraham, Andreas (2013). Enigma reference manual (PDF). Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "BlackBallEd". Level-Editor for Enigma hosted by SourceForge . 22 March 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Level Development". Official site. Daniel Heck and contributors. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  10. ↑ Linux Format 089 February 2007, page 73
  11. ↑ enigma-game – stats on sourceforge.net (2016)
  12. ↑ Enigma on computerbild.de (May 2007)
  13. ↑ DVD Sonderheft GameStar 06/2005 on gamestar.de
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.