By Terry
VVVVVV is complete. You can now get it from its website https://thelettervsixtim.es/!
I apologise for how last minute this all was! I’ve just sent out the preorders to anyone who donated. If for any reason you haven’t gotten that, get in touch and I’ll sort you out.
I’ve just been told that the emails might have been marked as spam, since it got sent out to quite a few people. Be sure to check your spam filter, just in case!
I’d just like to remind you that if you like the soundtrack, Souleye is selling that separately on his own site here: https://www.souleye.se/
Want to talk about the game here? I recently added a forum!
Thanks for all the support and encouragement over the last few months. I hope you enjoy the game!
Can’t figure out Prize for the Reckless. Only thing left. How’s he supposed to fit in there. What am I missing. Need a break. Coffee.
Lovely game btw. Looking forward to whatever you do next.
Hey, I posted earlier saying that I loved the game.
I just thought I’d come back and say that it was so good that I decided to check out some of Terry’s other games and I strongly recomend that others do the same if they haven’t already. (They’re all free too!)
I can’t believe that the same person that made VVVVVV made Pathways!
I would love to see what you would do with a bigger budget and team.
OK I got prizeforthereckless now. I’m an idiot.
asshole
Terry, you a very talented person and I hope this game does well financially for you. Not that that’s the be-all and end-all but it would totally rock.
It’s a fantastic game and I feel very special to own it.
Well done indeed.
ROCK ON!
VVVVVV has had a mention on Rock, Paper, Shotgun, and there I’ve been praising it endlessly because it bloody well deserves it. Gave it a nice review, too. In my opinion, it’s the best indie platformer out there, superior to Braid, even.
I didn’t really get that until I played it, the jury was out for me, I admit, but as soon as I played the demo I was sold. It’s brilliant design, and making something challenging without making it punishing as VVVVVV has done is quite the task!
Anyway, I do have something to ask. VVVVVV is spikes, innit? Representative of spikes in the game itself and just in games of the genre. That’s wha the name is supposed to imply, right?
I think I have a bug here:
There is a terminal telling me that discovering trinkets will unlocks songs. The problem is, I discovered 8 trinkets but it still displays “Next unlock: 5 trinkets”.
By the way, I love the game, but I would love it even more if I could use that jukebox!
@Wulf VVVVVV is representative of the 6 members of the crew. Everyone of their names start with a V, hence, 6 V’s.
@JM
You still haven’t found all the jewels then, and there are some tricky buggers there to get. One in particular I’ve been spending a while trying to obtain, in a particularly devious challenge.
And to be honest, none of the games you compared it with were really good games. Whereas every section of VVVVVV is design genius, there’s a lot of padding in others. It’s like Portal. Portal was three hours, it could have been stretched, padded, and bloated out to 15 hours, but is there really anyone out there who’d want that?
Sometimes, the quality of a game is worth more than the amount of time the game lasts. Here’s one of my favourite examples: Mask of the Betrayer vs Dragon Age: Origins.
Mask of the Betrayer lasts about 15 hours, but it’s 15 hours of emotional highs and lows, with existential and ethical dilemmas, plot twists, clever writing, characters whom the player could love, a story so passionately written it could quite easily manipulate one’s emotions, epic highs and lows like I’ve rarely seen in an RPG, content which unlocks based on how your characters are evolving, and what evolutionary pathways they took, and generally a thinky-feely game the likes of which we’ll never really see again.
Dragon Age: Origins, however? 60 hours of mindless boredom, I could have wept at how dull that game was, I could feel my brain rotting just sitting through the padding. There was, perhaps, 5 hours of actual content there, 8 at most, and it had been stretched out like chewing gum. Had it been left at its original content, it could have been a gem, but as it is I can barely see a glimmer in Dragon Age, it’s an atrocious game.
It just amazes me how much people invest into how much time they’ll get out of a game rather than how good a game is. If a game is truly, utterly dire in every conceivable way, and yet it lasts a long time, people will herald it as the greatest thing ever. And yet if a game is brilliant, as brilliant as VVVVVV is, they’ll pick on it for not having been stretched out.
Terry could had stretched it out, and added in padding rooms of just walking, or mindless puzzles, or useless elements, but he didn’t, and that would have killed the game.
Perhaps the price point is slightly too high, but I was happy with what I paid and what I got, and for what it is, the length of the game is just right. We kill works by demanding they be diluted with mind-rotting pap, sometimes something is just beautiful for what it is.
/shrug
@Me
Also, I have to note that Knytt Stories was a much better game than Within a Deep Forest, as the quality was there, but it was also very short. This is because Nifflas learned the evils of padding a game, and why a game should only retain the elements which deserve to be there, rather than artificially elongating it.
Congrats indeed. Posted to FB. 🙂
Wow, this game is a fucking amazing piece of shit. The design is awesome and the soundtrack epically fits the game. I love how you take games seriously as an art and how all your games are all conceptual yet simple, oldschool yet well designed. Really recommended.
Uh, wtf does VVVVVV mean?
Pure genius!
Great game design, stylish graphics, wonderful music/sound.
Congrats, I hope to see more of you in the future (maybe another platformer).
I want it for Commodore 64 😉
Anyway, you did a great job and it’s fully work on my Apple Mac.
Greetings from SyntaxError
@Wulf
I have to disagree with the part about some of those games being bad. Meatboy and Moneyseize I think were great because of their extreme difficulty, they were easy to play but at the same time ridiculous and addicting to try and get the last parts finished up. Braid was just plain brilliant.
Portal and prelude were amazing, probably some of my favorite games. The way I see VVVVVV is it is like how Narbacular Drop was a bare bones game that led into what Portal is. VVVVVV is a bare bones game that could lead into something with great potential.
I’ve been looking forward to this game for awhile, just bought my copy! You’re helping to pioneer the independent games Renaissance!
My thoughts on the games title- VVVVVV is the movements you make playing the game… up down up down up down.
This game is fucking great, I’d say go work for a proffesional games studio all ready but I woulden’t want then to hinder your creative control and talent. God bless Terry
Wow the demo is awesome!
Found a little BUG though — after rescuing Blue, at the main menu I replay the same level, and Blue appears at weird locations in the screen (when he shouldn’t be there). He even gives me a little speech 🙂 (same as when I rescue him!)
VVVVVV rocks. Keep on the good work!
Terry, I would like to know what sort of superhuman mutant you think is capable of getting a perfect score in the time trials.
If I ever met anyone who could get the “Edge Games”, or “Veni, Vidi, Vici” trinkets in one go, I would buy them a drink. And then I would slay them.
Hey Terry, I’ve been following the development of VVVVVV for a while now, and just saw it mentioned on boingboing. Kudos!
Terry, I’m probably going to say something now that’s going to make you feel rather good, and you deserve to.
So, I just managed to beat Veni, Vidi, Vici, and unlike most people, I don’t want to punch you. In fact, I’d much rather shake your hand.
The thing is, I’m plagued with a few disabilities that make gaming a hard past-time for me. For one, I have poor sight, for two, I have the shakes, which can lead to involuntary keypresses.
And I managed to beat it. I actually managed to beat it.
That’s probably done more for my personal morale than anything else, this week. So I went and did it again! 😀 At the end of the day, the way VVVVVV can make the player feel when they succeed could be tantamount to a form of therapy.
Terry Cavanagh, when it comes to game design, you’re a genius and I salute you.
I decided to do it again and aim for the little pip in the middle to see if I could land on it.
https://i46.tinypic.com/24yv5kx.jpg
Wheeee!
I’m just showing off, now. >.>
What fun!
What the…
Sadface Elephant?
…
/explodes!
Well, I clocked in six hours there… in total. Game completed. Buuut… I had 14 gems! Hooray! Now I just need to go back and find the other six.
The six I missed were probably some of the easiest, considering that I managed to do a Prize for the Reckless, Veni, Vidi, Vici, and the two Tower ones, which seemed to be the most complained about. >.>
Oh well, six hours in, six gems to go… and I could certainly play more of this!
Congrats Wulf, really glad you’re enjoying it 🙂
VVVVVV is one seriously outstanding game, Terry. Job very well done! I played the beta version a couple months back when you released it to we contributors but this final version is like an altogether brand new revelation of awesome. The game is succinct, sweet, challenging, and expertly replayable like any great platformer. The time trials, extra modes, and achievements were a great touch to keep us coming back for more topsy-turvy goodness and I absolutely adore the subdued energy in the color palette of the game’s visual design, including the pleasing color shifts from screen to screen and those few but happily energetic animated backgrounds. The game hails back to everything I love about simple, cleanly designed, old-school platforming gameplay. A game doesn’t have to be a lengthy experience to be truly great and VVVVVV proves that principle true once more. It is absolutely three to four of the best hours I’ve spent playing through and beating a game in many, many months.
I have collected all twenty trinkets once more and am now on my second full playthrough in Flip Mode. Looking forward to tackling many of the challenging achievements you’ve laid out in the Secret Lab. Seriously, if someone actually gets the No Death Mode achievement, I want to see that screenshot because you must be absolutely insane in the membrane. Does the first person to achieve such madness get a prize, Terry? 😉
Furthermore, pay no heed to the naysayers getting whiney over the $15 price tag as your development skills are well worth the price of admission. I even purchased SoulEye’s outstanding soundtrack! You guys both deserve the full support members of the indie gaming community have to offer. After all, what goes around comes around and I have all due confidence that we’ll continue to see great games from you and hear more great music from SoulEye thanks to the support we fans are willing to send your way. Your commitment to stellar old-school game design and retro polish is exemplary and I know I’m not along in stating that we cannot wait to see what you have up your sleeve next!
Also, if you expect me to get more than the 20 second trophy on the Super Gravitron, you are out of your miiiiiiiiiiiiind. It would seem the steep difficulty achieved by the fast and utterly random particle generation pretty well rules out being able to attain a very high score on this thing without an ungodly amount of luck. Just a thought. 😉
” My comparison is just coming from already doing 100% on Within A Deep Forest, the Jumper Series, MeatBoy, Spewer, Braid, MoneySeize, and some older smaller games. They are all of a similar style and all free.”
braid wasn’t free…
Wellllll done Terrrrrry. Now you have me going six at a time. See you soooooon.
Ccongrats on getting it out 🙂 Time to rejoin the real world!
Beautiful game, even the V’s are having some nice individual personality, which is outstanding. Keep up the good work, I love the climate in your games via ”Don’t Look Back”. I would like to see this game more detailed and lasting longer even as a payware.
Long live the climate
Cheers,
Just bought your game and I didn’t buy it just because I think it’s great.
Don’t get me wrong, I really do like it, it’s a brilliant little platformer.
BUT reason I got it was because I love what you do. I really really do. I just finished Pathways and Judith and they are probably the best pieces of interactive fiction I’ve played (windowsill is in there too, but for other reasons)
So me buying the game is me saying “keep it up ye bastard! We need more like you.”
(Seriously. People like you make me excited about indie games.)
I’m not aware of your future plans, but I’d like to see more about VVVVVV, in form of DLCs or pseudo sequels.
The basic mechanic of flipping can be easily paired with interactive elements in the scenery for example, it does feel to have a lot of unexplored potential, though your game is great as it is.
Economically speaking, if actual sales are good, I think you may spawn a little series out of this game.
Word to luke.
Also, I can’t wait to see the sales figures. Will they be shared with the public? I really hope this game has brought Terry some financial support, and judging by the internet response, that seems like a distinct possibility.
hey, im not into the whole indie gaming scene. but, i saw the dudes at Giant Bomb play this and i had to try it for myself. the demo was loads of fun! and that’s all i came here to say. 🙂
one of the best indie games ever imo
I’ve completed the demo and loved every second of it, so I’ve just bought the full game. Congratulations Terry on another superb release. I’ve only recently discovered your work, but so far I’ve enjoyed it all. It harks back to the days when simple, clean, elegant gameplay was what mattered and I miss those days. VVVVVV is worth ten times the latest so called AAA full-price games. I don’t consider myself above pirating games, (I’ve done it many times), but VVVVVV is worth my money and if it keeps a talented indie dev producing more games, then I’m more than happy to pay up.
I will buy this as soon as the Linux version is released – and I’m *delighted* that you have plans to produce one.
Hadn’t played any of your stuff before this, but I bought it, played almost all of it before having to stop, and have ended up downloading/playing just about everything else you’ve made. It’s all amazing. Especially VVVVVV. Worth every single penny. Can’t wait to see what else you have planned for the future. You’ve got a fan in me.
@Alex
I’m convinced that “indipendent” and “starving” shouldn’t appear in the same sentence.
The boys of World of Goo may have other fantastic ideas (I’m pretty sure), but why not to enstablish a franchise or a mini-series?
If I’m a fan of that game, it doesn’t make me automatically a fan of your next one.
For example, I’ve bought VVVVVV but I wouldn’t have bought one of the other games if they were commercial, though I like some of them.
This game rocks. I died about 340 times in 36 minutes of play time and I loved every second of it!
[…] VVVVVV. […]
I just had to come back and leave one, last comment.
After completing the game, I was pleased to see that the Vees (or whatever one might call them) were concerned with the fate of this dimension, and their own.
It’s one thing to play an enjoyable game, but the storyline as a whole really made me smile. After all, it wasn’t about extermination, war, or anything else, it was a bunch of helpful people trying to save reality, because their sense of ethics compelled them to.
That, for me, was the icing on the cake. Being an ethics nerd, I probably would’ve gotten more out of that than most people, but the storyline made my adventures such an utter joy. They were a bunch of do-gooder Scientists and Explorers, out to save their reality and this new one they’d encountered.
Finding the Secret Lab was a wonderful crescendo to end the tale with, as they were convinced that their own information and what they’d learned from these people would be enough to help them save their own reality and this one, thus making it habitable again for the people whom originally lived in that dimension.
So many questions too, about the people, that dimension, their problems back home, but they’re good questions, and ones that should be left to the imagination of the player.
So not only did I end up feeling great about the game, but I felt pleased with my role in the story and how it turned out.
In all the games with people with guns or swords I’ve slogged through in recent years, leaving me perhaps feeling a little bit jaded, this was a breath of fresh air. Not just for the game itself and its genius design, but for the story too.
The tale of Cap’n V is one that won’t fade from my mind too quickly.
After some thinking, I finally bought VVVVVV today. I was concerned that it wouldn’t turn out as what I thought it would, but I am actually quite surprised at how well made it is and how much fun I had dying >350 times at Veni Vidi Vici.
To tell the truth, the reason I bought the game in the first place was to support you, Terry, and what you stand for.
An independet gaming market is a perfect thing for testing out experimental gameplay, and if we lose those indie game developers, people like you, creativity in games might be lost forever.
Hey, I just found that you can’t teleport back to your ship in “The Tower.” If I try doing that, it just makes the warp sound, and I get stuck in place. Even if I die from the tower’s screen scrolling ,it won’t let me move or input any keys.
What about a mobile vers— you know what you probably did enough work as it is. Nice job!
Finished it yesterday. As always it was more about getting to the end rather than high performance for me: my death count is around 1500 or something. In 3 hours. Ignoring the VENI VIDI VICI part.
I haven’t had that much fun playing a platformer since, oh, I don’t know when. What I know for sure is: the game brought me back to ye olde Super Mario Brosse, Ninja Gaiden and stuff. I got my first NES when NES was all the rage and I was, like, 7, and, though I love nextgen, 360s and stuff, I can’t help having a strong bias towards 2D platformers, 8-bit stuff and so on. VVVVVV is entertaining in a way which is somehow lost in nowadays gaming.
So thank you, Terry, for bringing back memories of yesteryear! Also, SCREW YOU for about half the rooms in the game.
Oh, how I love to be hated by a game.
Hi Terry,
I just bought the game and it was worth every single cent! I don’t get to play as many games as I used to, but somehow this game felt more relaxing and fun than anything I have played in the last 10 years.
Keep on developing!
Cheers
Pure genius.
I did ‘Doing Things The Hard Way’ after a billion tries. Now I feel better.
And I did it twice in a row!