Gravity Hook

By: Derek Yu

On: September 15th, 2008

Gravity Hook is a new Flash game from Adam (Atomic) Saltsman and Danny Baranowsky. It’s based on a game prototype by Niklas “Arne” Jansson where you climb higher and higher by grappling onto mines and swinging yourself up. The catch is that the mines arm themselves when you’re hooked onto them!

Like Thrustburst, Gravity Hook rewards risky behavior – releasing yourself from a mine when you’re right next to it results in a significantly larger boost. It feels good to catch the wind with a series of dangerous jumps. So good, in fact, that I’d like to see a visual or aural reward when I nail one… perhaps a little spark or a different sound effect?

Another thing I like about the game is how quickly you can retry after dying – your highest score is submitted only when you exit to the title screen. It may seem like a small thing, but for a score-based reflex game like Gravity Hook, every second between death and the next attempt can seem like a freaking eternity. For me, anyway.

Now if only I didn’t suck so hard at it…

Posted in Action, Browser Games, Highly Recommended | Tags: AdamAtomic, DannyBaranowsky, NiklasJansson

Reaver77

Erm…how do I play it? It just kind of sits at the GRAVITY HOOK screen…
ellipsis

exactly.
Derek

Click “Play?”
Tanner

So addicting.
Tommunism

Have you ever thought of putting this ok iphone??
Codemonkey

This is quite the cave story! :O
Codemonkey

BTW I made it up to 1143.
Dusty Spur

Looks pretty cool. If only my resolution was large enough vertically to actually, y’know, play it.
http://www.adamatomic.com/ Adam Atomic

thanks for the sweet post Derek :) For people on 1024×768, I recommend playing in Firefox with F11 fullscreen option!

Also, have I thought about making it on the iPhone?
Dusty Spur

Hoho, I forgot about F11. I’ll give it a whirl now!
sinoth

Fun, but not as great as the supreme zen vertical climber, Vertical:
http://professor.fireandrobot.com/vertical.zip
http://www.steveswink.com Steve Swink

Have you thought about how I’ve thought about how making it on the iPhone?

Funtrabulous.
Exoduster

The soundtrack needs to be offered for download. I love it.
http://www.tscreative.net BMcC

The real question is has the iPhone ever thought of Adam. Like, really thought about him.

I was going to post this, Derek, bless your soul… It is too much awesome.
Lollige

Quite hard!
After a few minutes my record is just 354 :(
Advenith

Oh God, I am terrible at this game. I keep dying on the first mine…

I deserve to be drug into the street and shot.
Biggerfish

Just broke the 400 mark. How in the hell can anyone get 7,000?

Nice game, but hardddd.
http://sophiehoulden.com GirlFlash

OMG MY NEW ADDICTION IS HERE!
cuntface

Bettar than halolz.
Trotim

Eeeeehhhh.
io

What play button ? I can’t start the game ! Somehow it’s just stuck at the tittle screen ! The last sentence is ” how deep they are…” and stop ! Nothing happens from there ! Can somebody help ?
io

What play button ? I can’t start the game ! Somehow it’s just stuck at the tittle screen ! The last sentence is ” how deep they are…” and stop ! Nothing happens from there ! Can somebody help ?
io some

What play button ? I can’t start the game ! Somehow it’s just stuck at the tittle screen ! The last sentence is ” how deep they are…” and stop ! Nothing happens from there ! Can somebody help ?
io some

sorry for that triple post !
http://cheep.main.jp/ cheep

it cool
fartron

>Another thing I like about the game is how quickly you can retry after dying â€“ your highest score is submitted only when you exit to the title screen. It may seem like a small thing, but for a score-based reflex game like Gravity Hook, every second between death and the next attempt can seem like a freaking eternity.

Truly, Gravity Hook is the Frogger of our time. The messiah returns.
danny B

Here’s that soundtrack –
http://www.dbsoundworks.com/ghookost.html

Will add extended, looped versions on request.
null

Umihara Kawase ripoff.
null

just kidding.
Cliftor

Totally true, that last paragraph in the article!

I love hard games where I have to die alot before getting it right, but I hate it when designers make that kind of game but have a really long game over screen or unskippable gobly-gook I have to wait for.

In IWBTG, for instance, I can just press a button to instantly get back to my last save point. Perfect!
Phasma Felis

io some: Your browser window is too small. Try using fullscreen or a higher resolution.

And, yeah, it would have been nice if there was some indication of this. A lot of people still use 1024×768…
ithamore

Also, there is no scroll bar for the window and using the scroll wheal on the mouse does nothing because of it.

So, click outside of the game and use the down arrow to scroll the window down.
io some

ithamore and Phasma Felis ,you guys were right !:) That was it ! Thanks…really a great game,a lot of fun ! :)