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Frozen Depths (Windows/Mac/Linux, <1MB, free) - An ASCII roguelike game geared towards beginners. Instead of mountains of obscure commands to remember, Depths trims the options down and features straightforward combat-oriented gameplay. You start deep underground and must keep warm by wearing thick clothing, standing near campfires and eating warm food. Can you discover why the surface world has frozen over?
Hydro Hydra (Windows/Mac, ~1MB, free) - Built as a Java Web Start app, Hydro Hydra is flOw-like in nature, as you control a small underwater creature that must eat smaller critters to grow. As you devour prey you earn the ability to upgrade parts of your body, morphing you into a sleek, powerful force to be reckoned with.
Mondo Medicals (Windows, 3MB, free) - A 3D, first person puzzle game that's best described as a game that tries its best to not be a game. At least, not a game that makes sense. Counter-intuitive level design, illogical puzzles and laws of nature that don't obey themselves. Think outside the box and you might figure out what's going on.
Mondo Agency (Windows, 7.5MB, free) - A follow-up to Mondo Medicals, Mondo Agency is similar in style but drops some cyber horror elements into play. As a special agent, its your mission to hunt down and kill laser indians to save the president. Yes, that sentence makes sense. As much as anything in this game makes sense, anyway.
Hydro Hydra = CTD. Too bad, looks like fun.
What is CTD?
(I left my Obscure Acronyms book at home today.)
Jay: I think he means "Crash to Desktop", as explained here - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=CTD
Sorry I use a Mac, not used to those crazy Windows behaviors. :p
(Hydro Hydra runs fine for me.)
I'm having problems running Frozen Depths on my Mac :( Terminal will launch it and it will display the loading screen, however right under it, it says "Error; can not locate Monsters.fds" even though the file is in the folder.
I have the same problem as Yow.
This note from the developer on the Frozen Depths game page for Mac users:
You can try updating Terminal to run in ASII color, or just download a different terminal that can do that for you out of the box.
I used this one:
http://iterm.sourceforge.net/download.shtml
Here's what I did:
Download and open the .dmg file.
Copy the iterm app to your applications/utilities folder
Close and dismount the .dmg disk image
Launch the iterm application
Click on the Info icon in the title bar.
Click on the Window tab, change the number or rows to 25
Click on Update Default (this will open iterm in 25 columns each time, you'll need that for Frozen Depths.
Change directories (cd) to where your Frozen Depths app is located. For example, I saved mine here...
$ cd /Applications/games/fd103/
Now execute the Frozen Depths app with iterm...
$ ./fdepths
Frozen Depths works fine on my OS X Leopard, in the standard terminal app: it seems to be already properly configured for the required color depth. Nice little game!
Must be my Leopard update didn't upgrade my Terminal.
To Jay:
Thanks, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. My mac terminal has colors enabled, they even show when I start up frozen depths.
Which brings me to the real problem: the program seems to be looking in the wrong place for the monsters.fds file, and so can't find it.
Mano, in what folder/folders is your frozen depths stored? (Please give the full names)
somethingsimple: then try executing steps 8 & 9 in my instructions above using your mac's terminal app (You will have to change directories to where your Frozen Depths app is located).
My guess is terminal is looking in ITS OWN directory for monsters.fds instead of in the directory where the Frozen Depths file is.
Gee, you folks haven't even touched the Mondo games.
Good idea, though. They might make you dizzy. Or crazy. Both. Not a good combo.
Either way, if you need a map for the invisible maze, just scream in terror or something.
Nooo, the Mondo games... Those are made of nightmares and dead goldfish, I'm sure. The gameplay is awesome, though. Best viewed from behind someone else's back, mind you.
Hydro Hydra is freezing and lagging for me, I use XP if that helps.
Just trying to get through level 1 of Mondo and running around for 5 minutes made me nauseous. :( No thanks.
The mondo game gave me a headache; i stopped playing. I got stuck on the level where it said count to 15;;; Omg! unless I had to count downwards... I would rush off and try but the white colours just spinning around me is sickening
So after cding to the right directory, Frozen Depths gives me the error "Monster file's version isn't correct". Anyone else seen that? I'm on Mac OS X 10.4.11
I call that the "Cloverfield" effect. Haha.
Yeah, never doing that again.
I've seen the Mondo games, but never played them; considering it has a The Producers-style effect of trying to do everything for the term "Computer Game" the wrong way, it still has an odd, twisted charm to it. Still, playing it though would be difficult, so some would still find it more entertaining when watched through a Youtube video or something.
I have the same exact problem as Greg even though I have Mac OS X 10.5.2
RE: The Mondo Games.
I played the first one about a year ago, and I don't know, it like planted a seed or something because every few months I'd just get this itch to go back and try it again.
There's something almost, I don't know, Clockwork Orangey? about it?
I haven't had a chance yet to play the second one, but I actually watched someone playing it on youtube, and what sealed the deal for me was listening to the lady playing scream when she first came across the laser indians.
That alone is worth the price of admission for me.
I use Mac too! Thats so weird...
Mondo games are a bit too freaky (and confusing) for me. I think I'll stick with escape games :P
I just want to get past the first level of the first Mondo game. Any tips?
Wolf
The Mondo games are inherently illogical games. Sometimes you need to do what the instructions tell you to do, sometimes you need to do the exact OPPOSITE of what the instructions tell you to do. It's been a bit but I'm pretty sure that the first level may be one of those levels where, if following the instructions doesn't work, do exactly what the instructions tell you not to do.
The design aesthetic for Hydro Hydra is completely ruined once you eat your first meal. The lame crunching sound effect needs to go.
How is Mondo Medical in the least bit scary/nauseous/disturbing. It's great! It really makes you think about how you are supposed to do it - then do the opposite (on most levels)
As for the 'count to fifteen' level:
You must count to fifteen, but quickly. There are two types of bleep which mean either 'good - find the next one' or 'you screwed it - start again'; you'll learn which is which. The screwed bleep will sound when you have taken too long as well.
To find number 15:
Once you have got to 14, go to the last pillar in front and to the left (right in the corner). Turn left just before it and then go into the wall (like on L3). When you touch 15 - the door will appear near 11. It doesn't matter what you step on to get there
Hydro Hydra would be cool if it wasn't so limited. ie- the fish that eat you are always the fish that eat you, the little parasite fish you start out eating will always give you the same amount of nutrition unless you specifically get the 'gain more from each meal' attribute, etc.
I was hoping for gameplay that was a bit more organic, less rigid.
I like that there's no cap on your size though. They need to expand on that.
I was playing hydro hydra, and I really think the game is somewhat lacking. I like how the hydra looks and I like the fact there are acutally things that take the food aaway from you, but I find that sometimes I swim in 1 direction for like, a minute or so, and I don't find anything, except for the ocasional red fish coming to steal me of any food I have so far. Also, I didn't know that parasites could cut off your tail... so, I gave up on the game. Maybe add more eatable fish and warn people of the parasites....
I really like Hydro Hydra, except that it hiccups on my laptop every half second or so, jerking the screen. It gave me a headache after a couple of minutes so I had to stop playing. Is anyone else running into this?
Hi Zengief! Good to hear from you again! :)
I had the same trouble with Hydro Hydra in its previous form as a Java applet. Since Scarzzurs turned it into a Java Web Start app it runs smoothly on my Mac Pro, OS X 10.5.4.
About the errors Frozen Depths is giving you: Not being able to find the monsters file should be fixable, I'm not a Mac user, but if it's anything like Windows you can change the working directory somewhere.
Unfortunately you most likely can't fix the wrong file version error. I suspect it has something to do with different CPU architectures (endianness) or OS versions, so I'd have to create separate data files for your machines, which I'll probably do for 1.04. This is the first Mac version and I wasn't sure if it works on all Macs... And it apparently doesn't. The only thing I'm not sure about is if it's the OS version or the hardware. In case you still check back at this, are you using a PowerPC? It was untested on PowerPC at launch and I know it doesn't work on all PowerPCs, but I don't know if it works on some.
And thanks to Jay for adding the game to this week's downloads. :)
Hi Glowie, you're very welcome, though JohnB is the one responsible for its appearance here.
The game ran fine for me (Intel Mac) using a different terminal app, as I noted above. There must be something about the way I have Terminal configured -- might be something simple I need to change to get it to run.
waaaah. I want to play Mondo Medicals but it keeps getting stuck at that "Welcome to Mondo Medicals" page.
Is it loading or is something wrong? My computer isnt the best, but its not slow...
any solutions?
Aiden try pressing enter, it continues the dialogue.
I followed the arrows in the first test of the Mondo Medics and nothing happened?
I'm stuck in mondo. the push down the walls level...
And lo and behold, I just got it :/
gummy,remember to think outside of the box,be rebellious if you know what i mean =P
go the opposite direction
Hydro Hydra seemed ok and i found it interesting but never could play for too long because it freezes my PC all the time and i have to restart. :P
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