echochrome • The Official Thread

Digital-Nitrate

Digital-Nitrate

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I did a search looking for an echochrome thread and was very surprised I couldn't find one... especially considering how incredible this game is. 👍


I'll update this post with more info on the game, but to start the Associate Producer for echochrome posted on the official PS3 developer's blog with news on some really nice new user created levels that will be available for download for a limited time:

New echochrome User-Created Levels Coming Soon
Posted on May 14, 2008 by Kumi Yuasa // Associate Producer, echochrome
Hello PlayStation.Blog readers. It’s Kumi again with an echochrome update. Last time around I showed you how to play and create new echochrome levels. I hope you’re ready for some new challenges, because 20 (yes, twenty!) new puzzles will be made available to PS3 echochrome players between May 15th and 21st.

​

The additional levels will appear at random in freeform mode if you set your difficulty level to 2 or 3. The difficulty level is represented by the bars at the bottom right of the loading screen between freeform levels, and the difficulty for the next level can be set while the next level is loading by pressing left or right on the d-pad. Levels are picked randomly from all levels in your “gallery”, “portfolio”, and user created levels. Remember that in freeform mode, levels that have not been cleared are selected first.

​

There was a comment in the last blog post asking if there is any recognition if your design is chosen for the incentive, and the answer is yes! I will reveal the creator’s PSN ID for every new level being distributed, starting with this week! To whet your appetite for these new challenges (and maybe even spark your imagination!), I’ve include screenshots of the levels as well. Just click on the screens to see the creation’s name, author and the country of origin. Look for more in the coming weeks!

So take a look and start planning now. Your fellow gamers certainly didn’t make things easy for you!

​

Click HERE for several more screen shots and sizes.
Click to expand...
 
GT4 genius
Can you give me a short description of this game, it looks intriging but unusual?
Click to expand...
You have those puzzles seen above. There is a littel marionette looking man that begins to walk around. The goal is to get him to walk through all his echoes (they look like shadowy ghosts). The way you do thsi is by rotating the camera perspective around. If teh ends of two separate platforms then appear to touch from your perspective they suddenly do. If you block a hole from view with another piece of the level then it does not exist. Perception is reality and the trick is to make reality change in order to allow the figure to reach his echoes.

Here is a gameplay footage video that explains it much better than I can.



---------------------------------------------



Has anyoen else downloaded the user content yet? Some of them are huge and, without a zoom, hard. My biggest issue with them though is that if I just hit Freeform mode those seem to be the only levels I get. Not a big issue as I can do Aletier(sp?) mode to do the original 56 levels.
 
GT4 genius
Can you give me a short description of this game, it looks intriging but unusual?
Click to expand...

The official game description is fairly short and to the point:

echochrome

Game Description:

Featuring an elegant black and white art design inspired by the works of M.C. Escher, echochrome™ is a puzzle game unlike any other. With gameplay based on optical illusions, players must utilize five simple laws of perspective to join walkways, hide dangers, and create new paths to reach the “echos,” or shadow guides. Once you’ve mastered the five laws, use them to create your own mind-bending levels to play and share with friends using the custom level editor.

Key Features:
  • Elegant Graphics – Simple black-and-white art style rendered in crisp 1080p HD

  • Unique Gameplay – Master perspective puzzles based on optical illusions across 56 challenging levels that are exclusive to the PLAYSTATION®3 system version

  • Canvas Mode – Create your own custom levels to play and share with friends over PLAYSTATION®Network. Users can even submit their best levels from within the game right to the game’s developers, who then pick the best levels to distribute to all echochrome PLAYSTATION®3 users worldwide

There is also a short video clip on the link above, and you can also download a couple trailers for echochrome from the PSN Store.

Best of all, you can also download the free demo from the PSN store as well. 👍

I'll warn you though, the demo is lacking several options and features, but it does offer a nice basic example of the gameplay.



BTW: For those that don't have a PS3 or access to the store, you can also view several videos for echochrome at GameTrailers, click HERE to see a list of them.
 
Thanks Foolkiller and Digital, I'll probably download the demo at the weekend. Those footstep sounds are eerie though!
 
Played the demo last night, I liked it!! ....And it was only 34 MB as well! I have Jethro Tull songs bigger than that on my iPod!

Any idea when it will be available from the EU PS Store?
 
Touring Mars
Any idea when it will be available from the EU PS Store?
Click to expand...
Sony is sticking with May 2008, so soon.

Also it looks like part of the delay may be due to putting the PSP version on UMD

http://www.pspfanboy.com/2008/04/14/echochrome-on-umd-in-europe-says-official-site/
Information on the European version of echochrome has been sadly lacking, especially considering all the fun and games surrounding the game's method of release in America. A Pocket Gamer reader has stumbled upon the official product page on the official PlayStation website, which clearly states that echochrome will be "available on UMD for PSP and to download on PLAYSTATION 3 in May 2008." No word on pricing for the PSP version or if it will also be available via the PC Store, but it's nice to know Europeans will be able to get their hands on a physical copy.

We suspect the reason for this might be that the European PC Store hasn't really taken off, with SCEE saying very little about the service since it was launched. As for the release date, we've had echochrome penciled in for May for a wee while now, so no surprises there.
Click to expand...
 
It looks very interesting, but I can see getting incredibly frustrated because it is difficult to predict where the holes are going to drop you or the jump pads are going to launch you.
 
Duke
It looks very interesting, but I can see getting incredibly frustrated because it is difficult to predict where the holes are going to drop you or the jump pads are going to launch you.
Click to expand...

You get used to it, and even if you do screw it up you just reappear on the last platform you were on. Basically, a mistake will delay you for about 5 seconds.

Oh, and while flying or falling you can still move the board. So, if you are quick enough you can correct a mistake before you fall.

And if you need time to position it just right it does have the "thinking" function where your guy stops and rubs his chin while you move things around.
 
FoolKiller
And if you need time to position it just right it does have the "thinking" function where your guy stops and rubs his chin while you move things around.
Click to expand...
QFT

The "Thinking" (triangle), "Snap" (square), and "Fast" (X) options come in handy quite often! 👍

The only downside to the "Thinking" option is you lose time, but there have been ocassions where it actually ended up saving me time, especially on the really dificult puzzles, where if you don't pause, it might take a while to get both the puzzle and your man back in the proper position for the next move.
 
Digital-Nitrate
The only downside to the "Thinking" option is you lose time, but there have been ocassions where it actually ended up saving me time, especially on the really dificult puzzles, where if you don't pause, it might take a while to get both the puzzle and your man back in the proper position for the next move.
Click to expand...
I treat the time the same as I do when I play Solitaire or Minesweeper in Windows. Ignored. I'm not concerned about high scores or any of that nonsense. Now, if I were doing some kind of head-to-head mode, then I would be more concerned, but my main goal is just solving the puzzles.

My analytical mind is odd. When playing puzzles, like Tetris, where I have to be quick I am absolutely horrible, but given time I can do it. However, in a strategy game, like Starcraft (heck even Chess), I am best if I am moving quickly. I am horrible at turn-based strategy, like chess, unless my opponent is also trying to go fast - or dumb.

So, for echochrome I chose to ignore the time and any related leaderboards. It is the only way I can enjoy it without getting frustrated. So, most of my echochrome levels go like this.

1) Thinking
2) Position the board
3) Go - stop Thinking
4) Fast
5) Thinking

I think you can see how it goes from there.
 
This is a fantastic game, probably one of the best puzzle games I have ever played. I highly recommend it to anyone who has not played it yet, it is well worth the $9.99. The graphics, while very simplistic, are smooth and the lines look very crisp in HD. The nice classical music in the background is relaxing and also a nice touch to the game.

It takes a couple of tries to get the controls down and the movements right but it's not all that difficult. However, the game itself is a bit of a challenge and really makes you rack your brain at some points. For someone like myself who isn't really a visual thinker, this will help you start thinking that way more and more as well as help you with problem solving skills...see video games are educational :lol:.

The whole game sort of feels like I'm in an M. C. Escher drawing, which is pretty cool since I love his work.

===

I'm glad the PSN store is getting some real winners in it as of late.
 
If you enjoy echochrome, I also recommend Crush, if you have a PSP. It's in a similar vein as this title.

I like echochrome a bit more, because of the level editor. No one here has any stages they've made?
 
Echochrome is now available from the European regional PSN stores. 👍


And we also have thirty new user created levels to play around with:

North American-made echochrome Levels on the Way
Posted on June 24, 2008 by Kumi Yuasa // Associate Producer, echochrome

Hello again, PlayStation.Blog Readers!

I’m here to give you the latest update on echochrome for PS3. If you have the game, hopefully you’ve been enjoying the top user-created levels, as chosen by the developers themselves. These levels are available for a limited time only, so once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Thirty free, new puzzles are making their way to your PS3 over the next two weeks, starting Thursday. And to salute those of you in the USA and Canada, 29 of the 30 puzzles originate from North America (one from Malta!).

​

The entries continue to roll in, and some of the names are familiar – meaning some of you are getting good at this!

​

Once again, these additional levels will appear at random in freeform mode depending on the difficulty level you’ve chosen. The difficulty level is represented by the bars at the bottom right of the loading screen between freeform levels, and the difficulty for the next level can be set while the next level is loading by pressing left or right on the d-pad. Levels are picked randomly from all levels in your “gallery”, “portfolio”, and user created levels. Remember that in freeform mode, levels that have not been cleared are selected first – so if you’re specifically looking for one of these new levels, you may need to skip forward until you find the one you want.

​

We’ve updated our flickr page with the new layouts, including credit for those who put in the time to make these interesting and complex puzzles. The difficulty level of each puzzle is also noted if you click on the individual puzzles. If you’re feeling inspired to create your own echochrome levels, here’s how to do it.
Click to expand...
 
I just hope thse NA made levels aren't as insanely hard, or large, as the Japanese made levels.

Some of those I just couldn't do because they were too big for you to be able to see everything.
 
I just bought it 👍 I had a quick go at the level creator, and look forward to downloading some when (if/how?) they become available. The level creator is more difficult than the game, however! I'm dizzy already - after just 5 minutes of level-creating, I have this odd sensation I'm about to be reacquainted my dinner.
 
Touring Mars
I just bought it 👍 I had a quick go at the level creator, and look forward to downloading some when (if/how?) they become available.
Click to expand...
Basically when they are available you just load up the game and it looks for online data first and if it is there downloads it. But once they put up more new levels the old ones cannot be reobtained.
 
I tried the demo a while back and its a great game I really must get round to buying it but Im saving up for some future disk game releases.

Robin
 

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