Quick Look: Starseed Pilgrim

Seedin' with Scoops

Pilgrimin' with Scoops

Seedin' with Scoops seed......too much?

Scoopin' with Pilgim's seed... Wait...

Was just looking for this!

As someone who has never even played this, this is infuriating to watch.

I...

wot

Interesting, but I don't think it's my kind of game. Won't know until I try though I guess! :D

Get all the keys by combining seeds before the black void catches up with you, got it!

Hey Patrick...you don't have to fuckin whack the shit out of the keys on they keyboard. A simple press would suffice. They Keyboard is your mistress into the world of vidya. Caress her. Treat 'er gently.

Awesome.

Listening to Jeff and Patrick investigate this game is exactly what I love about it. It's simple enough that you don't get paralyzed from the possibilities presented to you, and as you only have this much information given to you, it becomes a game of deducting how to use all these types of informations in unison. There are (of course) more things to find out, and (MINOR SPOILER HINT BUT NOT REALLY BUT OK I'LL BLOCK IT OUT) stuff to deduct from the way the sound works.

In some ways I feel this is what Jeff was also pointing towards with Fez when he called it "a game where you learn how to learn". You practice using your logic in a given circumstance and making the most out of it.

In a sense, this is how you deal with all games, if we think of it as "the first time you play a certain type/genre of game". The first time you're playing a cover based shooter, you're fiddling about trying to find out what is going on, the deal being easier because the metaphors used (guns, war, conflict, places to cover) are more easily reckognized. When the metaphors are abstract you have a much harder time, because even they don't really give you a clue. Or, in this case, maybe they also do? It is after all called seeds, and they seem to have a different life and being to each of them.

Anyway, I really love this type of game, I feel an intimacy given by them, like being shared a secret...

@Klepek:

1. The blue blocks give you a superjump.

2. Just planting an orange in the middle of other blocks is enough to have it move up, you don't need to dig down one first. (Same for having it go horizontally, just putting it on the edge is enough).

3. You bring seeds back to the hub world so you can explore it and find other areas.

4. Cultivating a heart ecosystem is important, set up some heart blocks near your path out so you can come back and harvest them later.

Being lost and not knowing what to do is part of what makes this game amazing. When you do start to figure out what the game is about, it's just one "A-HA!" moment after another.

I'd advise anyone who plays it to not look up anything and just keep experimenting.

I feel like this is like the Fez quicklook.

I for one would love a game that starts out as an Indie platformer then you break the universe or something and it turns into a WW2 first person shooter.

I was shouting at the screen when they used the key and didn't notice what happened, but most of the game's fun is figuring out what's going on for yourself. Keep at it for a bit and things should become clearer.

You can also buy the game of the dev's website directly, if you don't care about Steam.

God damn, I need to stop watching puzzle quick looks.

Wierd.

It made me really curious... but I'm afraid I'd be as clueless as Jeff and Patrick in this game.

Whenever I hear Blow's name, it makes me not want to touch this game with a ten foot pole.

Why on earth is he going left or right if there's a key on top.

This is the opposite of what I want in a video game, no freaking thank you.

Even after reading your instructions, I'm still lost :D This is a confusing game. I guess I'm not a smart enough person lol.

Girl, won't you be my, won't you be my...

Starseeeeeed Pilgrimmmm.

Are you kidding me, the only two things on the screen are a key and a keyhole, he DOESN'T pick up the key for the whole Quick Look?

Am I being tricked here?

EDIT-- Alright I take it back.

THEY WERE SO CLOSE AAAARGGGHHH.

Anyway, I love this game, even though it can be really frustrating at times due to the way some of the "randomness" works.

I understand how it works, but it's still not very interesting. Pretty boring in fact.

@i_smell said:

Still, that was the very first thing I thought they would do. There's a keyhole in the nega-room. There's a key up top. I don't really understand why it would take 20 minutes of solo play and then 15 minutes of a quick look to think "Maybe I should put the key in the keyhole."

It took me about 30 minutes before I noticed that the keyhole was a keyhole, and not an up arrow. (I thought it was teaching me to jump, or something dumb like that). Once I figured out that key + hitting down on keyhole = seeds for hub world, a lot of the game started to make more sense.

MY GOOD, ITS FULL OF STARSEEDS

a good way to piss off jonathan blow would be to tell him this looks like terraria meets fez

Word! This game is curious, perhaps I'll watch someone play it.

Really strange game. I do really like it's aesthetic and vibe though.

I find it curious that people talk about Jonathan Blow as if he's this video game messiah that will make the game waves part and take us all to the holy mecca of gaming. The guy made one interesting indie game and has a lot neat ideas but I don't see why he would be more revered than the project lead of Shadow Complex for instance. Is it because Blow made the game by himself that he should be respected more?

If you want to see the game go somewhere, here's a video of someone getting much further in it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkw-awgrgvU

-

I really like games that just drop you in and say go, barely any tutorial. I think I only started liking that style after falling in love with the Souls games a few months ago.

The best part is that Patrick was so confused that he actually got further before the quicklook then he did during it (Notice growth in hub area).

Why?

Dude how far do you have to build to get to the 3rd world?

Wow Patrick makes this game seem way more complicated than it actually is. That 'Opposite' room was so obvious.

YO I COVERED THAT GIRL IN MY STARSEED, YA DIG?!

worst game of the year award

Watched for three minutes, paused and immediately went to go buy. This seems to be exactly up my alley, and I don't want anything given away.

At least Jeff seemed like he was paying attention to what was presented on screen and utilizing old school game logic. "Get the key" is not exactly a complicated concept.

As someone who REALLY likes this game, this video is literally perfect.

The game is all about learning stuff for yourself, and Patrick makes some serious progress in learning here...

having common sense should be a job requirement.....smh

cool, cool. now they should take this rough prototype and make a game out of it. maybe something more imaginative than a 2D puzzle where a dude jumps around on crudely drawn icons.