Love (2008 video game)
| Love | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Fred Wood |
| Publisher(s) | Fred Wood |
| Composer(s) | James Bennett |
| Engine | GameMaker: Studio |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | May 2008 (Love) February 7, 2014 (Love+ Early Access) February 14, 2014 (Love+) |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Love (stylized as LOVE) is a platform game developed and published by Fred Wood. It was originally released in May 2008,[1] exclusively to the game's website,[2] but was later to released as an enhanced version entitled Love+ on February 7, 2014 to Early Access,[3] with its final release being on February 14, 2014.[4]
The game's art style is minimalistic; every level has only three colors: black, white, and a custom third that varies each level, where white serves to indicate interactive objects, black serves as the background, and the third color makes the platforms. The game also carries a pixel art style.
On November 7, 2017, a sequel titled kuso was released.
Gameplay
Love is a 2D platformer. The player character (known as fiveEight, as revealed in kuso) runs through several linear levels. They possess three abilities: jumping, moving left and right, and leaving a checkpoint behind at the push of a button. The player has 100 lives to play through 20 levels, in which the goal is to reach the end point in each to progress to the next.[1]
Love+ was near-complete revamp of the original game. It added three new game modes: Easy Mode, which gives the player unlimited lives, YOLO Mode, in which the player has only one life, and Speedrun Mode, in which the goal is to finish the game in the shortest possible time. The original mode was renamed "Arcade Mode". An additional mode titled "Remix Mode" was added in an update, and has the player play through seven "remixes" of levels from the main game.[5] Later, in another update, a "bonus level" based on the famous 1-1 level from Super Mario Bros. was added.[6]
Love+ also trimmed out some levels from the main campaign and edited them heavily, as well as adding in some completely new levels, and adding more in updates, leaving only sixteen levels instead of Love's twenty.
Plot
fiveEight wakes up in a strange mechanical world, where everything they once knew has been replaced by machinery. They have no memory of what happened, except that things were much better before they woke up. They have nothing pushing them forward except a feeling in the back of their mind, telling them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, with nothing but the hope of getting to something better.[7]
Development
Love was initially released to the website trunks.fireball20xl.com, first for a charge, but then for free.[2] The game was later remade as Love+ and released to Steam.
Music
The game's soundtrack was composed by James Bennett.[8] The soundtrack has been described as "brilliant",[9] and Bennett's compositional style in general has been said to be akin to "a 45-year old ice cream van making its way to the moon."[10]
Reception
Anthony Burch of Destructoid called the original game "charming", saying it was "straight platforming at its most inspired and difficult".[1] Tim W. of Indiegames.com recommended the game for fans of "frustrating platformers".[11]
Jonathan Kaharl of Hardcore Gaming 101 said that Love+ "demonstrates there is perfection to be found within simplicity".[12] Tom Sykes praised it as being "all the retro platforming you need".[9]
References
- ^ a b c "Indie Nation #20: Love". Destructoid. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- ^ a b "Love". October 5, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ "LOVE on Steam". Steam.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Steam Community :: Group Announcements :: LOVE". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ "Steam Community :: Group Announcements :: LOVE". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ "Steam Community :: Group Announcements :: LOVE". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ Wood, Fred. "Fred's Notebook". Fred's Notebook: 18–20.
- ^ "The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Love+". Engadget. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- ^ a b "Love+ is all the retro platforming you need". pcgamer. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ "Love". December 9, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ "IndieGames.com - The Weblog Freeware Game Pick: Love (Fred Wood)". indiegames.com. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- ^ "Hardcore Gaming 101: 500-Word Indies - Love". August 25, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.