Free Games I Like: Solipskier
Posted on 27th Aug 2010 at 08:08 by Joe Martin with 51 comments
I blame Gunsmith for this, as his post in the General Discussion forum nudged me to play this game.
And play it and play it and play it, before finally sharing it with the rest of the team and getting them to do the same. Tuesday morning productivity quickly fell into the toilet.
The goal of Solipskier is simple, as the goal of nearly all free browser games tend to be. You have to guide your little stick-figure man through a series of jumps, gates and tunnels, which is done by drawing the track ahead of him as he goes. Draw a slope, he'll gain speed. Draw a hillock, he'll fly into the air.
Solipskier is pulled together and made brilliant not just by the fluidity of the gameplay though; it's the music and graphics which really sell it. The stark black and white visuals are complemented by rainbows that trail behind your skier. The snowballing speed of the game is emphasised by the frantic guitar riffs that constitute the background music.
Insterestingly, that music also serves another purpose in the office - letting us know when each other are playing, as well as telling us how well we're doing. When Harry's headphones start to leak the sound of another violent guitar solo then you know he's stopped working for a bit. And when the music stops suddenly, you know he's finally fluffed up.
Finally, I've found a game I'm better than Harry at.
And play it and play it and play it, before finally sharing it with the rest of the team and getting them to do the same. Tuesday morning productivity quickly fell into the toilet.
The goal of Solipskier is simple, as the goal of nearly all free browser games tend to be. You have to guide your little stick-figure man through a series of jumps, gates and tunnels, which is done by drawing the track ahead of him as he goes. Draw a slope, he'll gain speed. Draw a hillock, he'll fly into the air.
Solipskier is pulled together and made brilliant not just by the fluidity of the gameplay though; it's the music and graphics which really sell it. The stark black and white visuals are complemented by rainbows that trail behind your skier. The snowballing speed of the game is emphasised by the frantic guitar riffs that constitute the background music.
Insterestingly, that music also serves another purpose in the office - letting us know when each other are playing, as well as telling us how well we're doing. When Harry's headphones start to leak the sound of another violent guitar solo then you know he's stopped working for a bit. And when the music stops suddenly, you know he's finally fluffed up.
Finally, I've found a game I'm better than Harry at.






51 Comments
Discuss in the forums Replyfinal score
15,452.966
final time
00:02:50:13
http://forums.bit-tech.net/picture.php?albumid=801&pictureid=13022
There goes my Wednesday :D
[edit]
Bah:
http://img180.imageshack.us/i/skier1.png/
MOAR!
http://forums.bit-tech.net/picture.php?albumid=801&pictureid=13023
This game is great, perfect for a Friday at the office!
Here you go:
KxQZsW0H7LU
Credit for that goes to Gunsmith, he sent me the link on Steam the other night :)
i hate you... its after 4 in the morning, and then i find this, thanks a lot.
Lies! That is shopped! I know it is!
j/k
I'm bearing down on you fast ;)
http://forums.bit-tech.net/picture.php?albumid=965&pictureid=13083
...who am I kidding? I love doing it :D Awesome game
Get out. Now.
Just kidding! Nice score bud! :D
First game I've ever not been terrible at
Then got a text that ruined me completely :(
Stupid obtrusive notification system...
Erm... how? It's a flash game :?
[edit]
Ah, there exists an app of the same name and addictive nature :) Winrar :D
Haha yeah I KNEW someone would say that after I posted it!
It's really really well suited to touch controls. Very cool.
Yeah, very "Malmsteen" like
http://j.imagehost.org/view/0616/Untitled_4
I'll be back... :)
I even tried going slowly...........10mins and got 800,000..... :-(
Either way, thanks for destroying my spare time Gunsmith! :D
It does have to be said, there is a heavy element of luck involved in this once you get to a certain experience level. For example, I just got 3 tunnels in a row and got like 11mil points right of the bat pretty much (and sadly clicked the right mouse button which brought up the flash options menu thus ruining my game, rah!)
If your good and get an 'uber tunnel' run, you are going to get a shed load of points rather quickly due to your multiplier getting boasted to 80 and beyond. Other then this kinda unbalanced tunnel luck factor this is damn near the prefect flash game methinks.
A nice stat screen at the end telling you your top speed, multiplier ect would be nice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW3ia7d0Ok8
http://img339.imageshack.us/i/11967767.png/
EDIT: Added screenie now the headache has gone ;)
http://forums.bit-tech.net/album.php?albumid=965&pictureid=13321
getting there.
http://forums.bit-tech.net/picture.php?albumid=965&pictureid=13517
EDIT: See this played - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCYvQf4ohJ0
142million final score, 67million tunnel bonus at 178x, 204kph
I still haven't finished gemcraft 2 yet lol