Uin

By: Derek Yu

On: April 20th, 2010

Matt Aldridge, aka “TheAnemic”, aka “biggt”, is best known in the Game Maker community for creating the enigmatic La La Land series of games. In an old interview with Matt regarding the never-released La La Land 6, he explained that the La La Land games “were made after intensively working on another game. I became overwhelmed with the pressure of knowing that I may never finish it. That’s a horrible feeling, especially when you put so much heart into it. These games were like the byproduct of that.” The La La Land games have since become cult hits amongst cult hits, drawing praise from indie developers like Jonathan Blow, Auntie Pixelante, and cactus for their dreamlike qualities.

It’s with that backdrop that we come to Uin, Matt’s first release since La La Land 5 in 2006. Uin is a much more traditional and full-featured game than La La Land, but is still really weird and can be as frustrating as it is surprising. That is due in no small part to the fact that very little is explained about how the game works… whether this is a Good Thing™ or not is up to you, but I’m finding it to be quite enjoyable.

That’s about all I’ll say about Uin. (Note: the download is .zipx, which requires WinZip to unpack. Alternatively, I’ve put up a .zip here.)

TIGdb: Entry for Uin

Posted in Platformers, Puzzle, Unique / Bizarre, Windows | Tags: biggt

buraldo bivera

MAN, I went past the water place and dug up a lot of gold and 2 healths and then i go on the sailboat and then I’m STUCK ON THE SEAS FOREVER! DOES IT EVER END? and then i had to quit and i got mad because i got all those golds and healths after going through the zappy string obstacles in the underwater cave. i couldn’t save because i was forever sailing the seas.
Bundt

@buralda bivera: Ride up towards the right side of the screen, like how in the flying scene you have to fly to the bottom…
Bundt

@LSK: Just go straight to the egg after starting the game, don’t bother talking to saxophone guy (I don’t know if talking to him ruins it, but I didn’t)
buraldo bivera

@Bundt: UM that’s what I tried to do but i couldn’t! my movement was limited to the left side of the screen. and it’s BURALDO, ya scoundrel
Bundt

@BURALDO bivera: Odd, you should be able to move to the right :’ Make sure you’re not trying to move while jumping I guess?

In any case, it’s actually a good thing that it didn’t save your extra health, because those don’t change position or anything so you can just go grab them again, and when you pick them up it heals you, so you’ll have more health when it comes to the section after you’re done sailing the sea…
Soli

Stuck once again. Okay so I beat the first boss, and went down the cliff, couldn’t get into the rocket so I walked the other way and ran into a door of sorts that I couldn’t walk into. So I went back and jumped into a hand that took me backwards, figured I missed something, so I am now trying to take out the flying ladybee and everything bounces off of her, help please, what’s my next move?
Soli

you know what? I’m just gonna stop posting. Seems like almost immediately after I post I figure it out. So yeah, I’m done posting for awhile, unless I really have tried everything and still haven’t figured it out.
Jamal

Please help. (spoilers)

I have only one ? enemy that I haven’t defeated yet, don’t know what it is. Explored the entire map, got all the upgrades and health bars. Met the scientist, he… uh… did something?

Now I go back to face my brother in his machine. I visited him once already. But the little tunnel that leads into his lair is filled with the little baddies he spits out. I can shoot at them and stuff but as soon as I go through the tunnel, I’m immediately dead (as if the next screen were filled with a million baddies I don’t even get to see).

Is this a glitch in the game? Do I need to restart the entire game? Noooooooo!!!!
Sillik

@Jamal – You can use push on the giant bomb in front of the rocket.
grindFish

somethings not loading right with this site, instead of the usual layout i’m getting this horrid white template looking blog.
Dodger

@grindFish,

Off-topic but that’s the new look I think and I like it. It’s not that horrid black template anymore ;-)

I think the site desperately needed a change anyway.

I’m more concerned with the updates… there haven’t been any real updates in a bit… I don’t want to detract or take away from Uin, but there have been a few significant game releases recently.

Enough Plumbers – (by Glen â€œRadixâ€ Forrester and Arthur “Mr. Podunkian” Lee) – A very fun browser based platformer much like Super Mario Bros. but with a unique protagonist cloning mechanic… You have to try it to see what I mean!

and

The fact that Machinarium (the Full Mac version) is FREE for today only at Mac Game Store. There are only a few hours left, so if you have a Mac go pick it up NOW!!!

I seriously hope some Mac users see this because Machinarium is a GREAT game and now everyone who owns a Mac can get it for free (for today only). Sorry but I can’t provide a link, however, just know that it is at Mac Game Store – you should be able to find it easily enough so get it while you can!

To everyone else, sorry for being off the Uin Topic but I thought these bits of news were pretty important.
Dodger

Sorry about the last comment, I meant there was one game release and one bit of great news for Mac owners. Please read that comment if you like free games! (Everybody likes free games, especially when they’re legal!)
Jamal

Thank you Sillik!! Was having an extended blonde moment. XD

Although I would advise the author to fix it because I still think it’s a bit of a glitch and can mislead people. There’s no real reason your character dies, he just turns up dead at the start of a certain screen.
Jamal

By the way, I think it’s fair to say this is the best game I’ve played all year. It has a strange unearthly vision, reminiscent of Seiklus. I love it.
Cesque

Gee, you guys suck at this :P

Anyway, did anyone actually manage to BEAT the special mode? I figured out the point, just wondering what kind of score you need. My maximum was something like 1500…

As for the game itself – awesome stuff, though a little too much artificial gameplay extension.
biggt

My hi score is 5000. hope that helps Cesque.
Soli

Okay guys I think I need help again. I rolled the bomb into brother, now what? haha. I’ve searched everywhere I can go, I’m still missing one ability though so maybe it’s something I forgot to kill. Either the Lady-bee you fight while flying, whom of which I’m pretty sure you can’t kill, or the giant worm that spits teeth at me, and I’ve already killed him a few times, he keeps coming back. Or maybe it’s something else I’m missing entirely, though I did search everywhere, from outer space and the scientist who still wants me to find his wife, to the inside of the whale again.
Sergio

Soli: if I remember rightly, kill both the lady-bee and the giant worm multiple times until they’re all gone. Then die.
MrDark

I think the darker layout looked much better…
TEH FORUMS

ARRRGGGGHHHHHH
Soli

Thanks Sergio. Got them both. Not exactly sure how I killed that bee though. Everything you shoot bounces off of her, so I just do circles around her and she eventually dies… Is this right? does anyone know if there is a certain thing you’re suppose to do to kill her?
Konda

Strange…….in music folder, there is one track missing…
I’m talking about that one in place, where you’re respawning after death..:/
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Tangrenya

woah, an article from Derek Yu on a biggt’s game… cool stuff