''Windosill'' is a 2009
puzzle video game
Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion.
H ...
by Vectorpark for
Microsoft Windows,
OS X,
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
,
web browsers
A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...
, and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
. The player advances through eleven different
rooms
In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors, that ...
by interacting with each level's environmental objects. It was developed by Patrick Smith, an artist who taught himself to
animate
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...
and
program
Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to:
Business and management
* Program management, the process of managing several related projects
* Time management
* Program, a part of planning
Arts and entertainment Audio
* Progra ...
the game in
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich web applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players. Fla ...
. He was inspired by a variety of
painters
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
and artists. The game was first released for Windows, OS X, and web browsers in 2009, and was later
ported
In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to the
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...
(running iOS) in 2011, with several added features.
The game received "universal acclaim" according to video game
review score aggregator Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. Reviewers noted the game's especially short duration, memorability, art style, and emphasis on exploration over
problem solving. ''Windosill'' has influenced games such as ''
Alto's Adventure'', ''
Blek'', ''
Donut County
''Donut County'' is an indie video game developed by American indie designer Ben Esposito and published by Annapurna Interactive. In the game, the player moves a hole to swallow objects, which makes the hole increase in size. The concept origin ...
'', and ''
Monument Valley''.
In 2022, the planned release of ''Windosill'' as a
Nintendo Switch eShop
The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was ena ...
title was announced.
Gameplay
In ''Windosill'', the player
solves logic puzzles to progress through eleven successive
rooms
In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors, that ...
. Everything on-screen is interactive. The player experiments with the environmental objects in each room to find a hidden cube, which unlocks the door to the next level, through which the player guides a toy car. Responsive objects in each room include light switches, piles of leaves, clocks, "a squishy thing with an eye on top", a building that grows legs when spun, a box that grows hair when touched, and a smokestack that can be squeezed to make clouds. Interactions with these objects reveal subsequent objects and possible interactions.
Development
Patrick Smith, a Brooklyn-based artist, drew, animated, and programmed ''Windosill'' by himself for
Microsoft Windows,
OS X,
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
,
web browser
A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used o ...
, and
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...
(
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
) platforms. His collection of interactive animations and games, which he began around 2001, are released under the name "Vectorpark". Although ''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
'' previously covered and praised Smith's prior work, they wrote that he "is notable for never having made the jump to the mainstream".
Smith first sketched ''Windosill'' level ideas in pencil, and transferred his favorites into
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design program developed and marketed by Adobe Inc. Originally designed for the Apple Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud (Adobe's shift to month ...
, where he added detail, "shapes and colors". He then animated and programmed the scenes in
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich web applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players. Fla ...
, and incorporated sounds from
Freesound
Freesound is a collaborative repository of Creative Commons licensed audio samples, and non-profit organisation, with more than 500,000 sounds and effects (as of May 2021), and 8 million registered users (as of March 2019). Sounds are uploaded ...
. While Smith studied painting at
Washington University
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
, he learned to animate and program on his own. He developed his own 3D and physics code instead of using existing software libraries, as he prefers to use code he fully understands. When Smith built the game, he considered the "aesthetic and functional aspects holistically". Smith's main inspirations when creating ''Windosill'' were mainly artists and not games:
surrealists René Magritte
René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bound ...
and
Joan Miró,
metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico
Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian
artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...
, animators
Max and
Dave Fleischer
Dave Fleischer (; July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) was an American film director and producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer. He was a native of New York City.
Biography
Fleischer was the ...
of
Fleischer Studios, cartoonists
Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his '' Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels ''Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (201 ...
and
Jim Woodring
James William Woodring (born October 11, 1952) is an American cartoonist, fine artist, writer and toy designer. He is best known for the dream-based comics he published in his magazine '' Jim'', and as the creator of the anthropomorphic cartoo ...
, sculptor
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and hi ...
, and
Italian Renaissance painters Paolo Uccello
Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italian (Florentine) painter and mathematician who was notable for his pioneering work on visual perspective in art. In his book ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, S ...
and
Piero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...
. Smith credits the latter painters for his use of flat shapes as 3D forms. ''Windosill'' was not designed for a specific audiencein fact, Smith designed them for his own enjoymentbut he noted that its "toy-like" qualities and emphasis on discovery were intentional.
''Windosill'' was originally released in 2009 as a downloadable
Flash game
A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer.
Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on co ...
for Microsoft Windows and OS X. In this version, the first half of ''Windosill'' was
free-to-play
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
and its second half could be unlocked with payment. Smith was satisfied with its sales, but said "it will take a long time to fund itself". An iOS (iPad-only)
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
was released on December 15, 2011, and added two features: Complex Gravity (which adds "tilt controls") and See-Thru (which makes the room's elements transparent). It also includes a 20-piece collection of
concept art. The game was included in the April 2012,
Amanita Design
Amanita Design is a Czech independent video game developing company founded in 2003 by Jakub Dvorský and headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic. The company has created award-winning games including '' Machinarium'', the '' Samorost'' series ...
Humble Bundle
Humble Bundle, Inc. is a digital storefront for video games, which grew out of its original offering of Humble Bundles, collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and t ...
.
Reception
The game received "universal acclaim", according to video game
review score aggregator Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. Reviewers noted the game's especially short duration, memorability, and emphasis on exploration over problem solving. Multiple reviewers praised the game's art style. Nissa Campbell of ''TouchArcade'' described the style as "surreal", and Tim Rattray of ''Slide to Play'' wrote that ''Windosill'' is "serious" in its attempt to "be 'art. Critics described ''Windosill'' as not just a game but "a toy" in itself. ''GameSetWatch'' selected the game for their "Best of Indie Games" the week of May 2, 2009.
Campbell of ''TouchArcade'' wrote that the iOS port was "always meant to be" due to the tactility of the game's puzzles. Campbell added that iOS
multitouch
In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CERN, MIT, University o ...
changed how players could interact with the puzzles, though it did not change any of the solutions. The reviewer wrote that the controls were intuitive and designed for experimenting, as there is no tutorial. Kirk Hamilton of ''
Kotaku'' similarly wrote that the game helped him remember "how wonderfully tactile the iPad can be".
Rattray of ''Slide to Play'' described ''Windosill'' as "an interactive abstract mosaic" and "absolute thrill ride". He described the puzzle design and production value as "brilliant", and praised the "fitting" sound effects, "smooth" controls, and "perfect"
frame rate. ''148Apps'' Dan Lee also called the puzzles "brilliant", and described them as "so abstract" as to require unconventional thinking. Anthony Burch of ''Destructoid'' added that the puzzles were designed such that players would not become "frustrated or bored". Lee and Rattray said there was little reason to return to the game after playing through, apart from a few minutes to experiment with the added iOS features. While Lee considered this a "niggle", Rattray praised its brevity.
''Windosill'' has influenced games including ''
Alto's Adventure'', ''
Blek'', ''
Donut County
''Donut County'' is an indie video game developed by American indie designer Ben Esposito and published by Annapurna Interactive. In the game, the player moves a hole to swallow objects, which makes the hole increase in size. The concept origin ...
'', and ''
Monument Valley''. Smith later made the 2015 interactive alphabet game ''
Metamorphabet''.
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Video games, border=yes
2009 video games
Browser games
Flash games ported to consoles
IOS games
Indie video games
Linux games
MacOS games
Puzzle video games
Single-player video games
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games
Articles containing video clips