Independent Games Festival 2008

Tri-achnid

Developer: Triachnid Inc.
Genre: Experimental Platform Physics-Puzzler
License: Freeware! Played online!

The next game to look at is about as massively different to Rigs of Rods as it is possible to get. Whereas Rigs was built by one man and is a massively complex, 3D simulator, Tri-achnid is a small flash game built by three people with a simple mechanic and an minimalist presentation.

The game itself is played online and is pretty experimental, designed to try and focus on the bond players form with the creatures they control.

Gameplay is simple and reminiscent of games like Rag Doll Kung Fu! in that it’s built around the idea of physics (which seem to be all the rage these days) when applied to characters. Players take control of the titular three-legged spider quite literally, becoming responsible for each and every joint and limb. The aim of the game is to try and navigate each level successfully, finding lost larvae and caring for the egg sack of this endangered species.


To do this, players have to guide it through the levels safely by using the left mouse button to pull the spider's limbs about. Immediately it’s apparent why the spider has only three legs – anymore would be too confusing!

What starts as a fairly difficult but routine platformer soon gets more and more tricky and involving though. There were a few points where, when the egg sack rolled away and out of sight, I positively squealed in terror. Squealed; like a little girl (ironically) who has found a spider. Not many games get me that type of tense.

There are all manner of obstacles and hazards to overcome, but the biggest challenge by far is the environment, which must be navigated with care if you want to stop your tri-achnid ending up as a legless corpse.

The minimalist art style is a stroke of genius too and the entire palette seems to use only a handful of colours to create a world which seems placid at first but which actually proves to be a fiendish assault course for even the most skilled of mouse-wielders.


The controls can be a bit finicky and fiddly and they definitely take a while to get used to, but their simplicity also proves a strong point and the game ends up attracting both seasoned and casual gamers as a consequence.

However, that said, it isn’t exactly the type of game which you’ll be playing for hours and hours. Most gamers will probably pick it up, play with it for a half hour and then find something else to interest them. Even if you did try to master the game completely, it’s doubtful that you’d play it over repeated sittings, like most simple flash games.

Still, Tri-achnid is an attractive enough game and is definitely worth a passing look, if only because you think the control scheme sounds novel. Pick it up, enjoy it momentarily, discard it and forget it – it’s a tragic future for a game which a fair amount of effort has obviously gone into polishing, but it’s inevitable for a game like this and it’s also why it won’t win any major awards in our eyes, except possibly the Audience Award and the Best Web Game Award.