Culture

It’s always a concern when a download is only 12mb. How much complexity, really, how many flamboyant characters, particle effects, grenade-launcher attachments and pre-baked cutscenes could possibly be packed into such a squashed bundle of kilobytes?

1000 Amps by Brandi Brizzi has layered gameplay mechanics that stack higher than many $110 console games. You control three vertical lines (stacked with the shortest on the bottom) crowned with a semi circle. The avatar bobs and sways sideways in the near black-and-white world with a delicate charm.

Essentially, the goal is to switch on all the lights in a building: A network of rooms ranging from multi-tiered labyrinths to a block of tiny tessellated cells. As more lights spring into brightness the bulb-like character can jump higher, which aids navigation. Early in the game it also learns how to teleport; this can’t be abused as it draws power out of adjacent squares, shrouding that area of the level in shadow.

There’s a litmus test for this kind of puzzle game: Ask yourself, how many times does it introduce new mechanics? How often does the core gameplay stagnate and exhaust itself as a puzzle-solving tool?

1000 Amps is a success because the incredibly simply core mechanics can be used to tackle a wide variety of different puzzles. Some rooms are mini-platformers, where illuminating the whole room requires pinpoint, well-timed leaps. A few areas exercise the player’s memory, it becomes vital to remember what is in the parts of the room that you just darkened.

The important thing is that the player is developing a set of skills that get tested in different contexts. At once 1000 amps is both affirming old skills and keeping things fresh.