FIRST PRIZE - $2000

Go Beryllium

Conor O’Kane

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Description

Go Beryllium is a quantum-electrodynamical endurance shooter in which the goal is to stay alive as long as possible. It is HARD AS HELL.

Author’s explanation

“Go Beryllium features the colour theme in two ways; visually and in its gameplay. The gameplay colour feature is that players must collect quarks to stay alive, and quarks come in 3 colours - red, green, and blue. Each colour of quark has an associated weapon powerup, so the player can influence which weapon they will receive by focusing on a specific quark colour.

“Secondly, and somewhat more abstractly, colour is the way in which the brain perceives different wavelengths of light. Light is composed of photons, and in Go Beryllium all the bullets are photons of different wavelengths and hence, colours.”

Patrick’s comments

Man, Go Beryllium is just sexy as hell. No frills, no clutter – just a few colours, a few sounds, a few enemy types, a few powerups... and this minimalism succeeds on every conceivable level. The short, muted sound effects are tied to the equally understated music, resulting in a game that is wonderful to just hear; there are only a few noises, but they have been chosen very carefully. Likewise, the play area is simply grey, and there are only a few sprites – but each one of those sprites is perfect, and each is in stylistic harmony with the others... as well as with the sounds, and the gameplay.

Go Beryllium’s minimalism makes it unusually accessible for a bullet hell shooter: I suck balls at bullet hell shooters, as do most people, but Go Beryllium’s simple, clear visuals allow me to see what the hell I’m doing for a change: I can see where I am, I can see where the bullets are, and that’s all I can see – no distractions. Also, I appreciate that the enemy ‘ships’ never get all in my face; they seem to keep their distance, allowing me to concentrate on the barrage of bullets. I feel this is sporting of them.

So, yeah – Go Beryllium is pretty much a perfect game; I can’t fault it. It doesn’t do a hell of a lot, but it does enough, and it does so superbly. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Dan’s comments

I suck at this game. Real bad. I can’t even get past the first boss. I tried today, and almost broke my keyboard in frustration. Actually, hold on a second. I’m just gonna have a quick go now and see how I do...

GODFUCKINGDAMNIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT

Okay, okay. Deep breaths. One more try...

FUCKFUCKFUCK FUCKING SHIT FUCKER

This is more or less how it is with me and Go Beryllium. I start off full of enthusiasm, and then I die over and over and over again, and eventually I get so mad that I just wanna smash a bro. Or a keyboard. But after a few minutes of screeching rage, I calm down – and I try again. Like a battered spouse, I keep coming back for more, because even though it hurts me, I still love it. I love the intense, relentless pacing. I love how the music and sound effects complement the game mechanics, enhancing the sense of progression and achievement. I love how you can use the menu as a little 808 drum machine by highlighting the options in time with the music. But mostly, I just love how professional it is. Go Beryllium feels like a game you would usually pay money for, like Everyday Shooter or Every Extend Extra. The fact it was made by one dude over the course of three months is truly remarkable.

Conor O’Kane, I am genuinely jealous of you. You’ve made a great game, and now you’ve made 2000 bucks as well. Congratulations, you bastard.

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