A long time ago, on the old FreeGameDev forum, I heard of Purity; an original game based on the idTech3 engine.
Recently, I was wondering what the project had become, and with the help of a few people on the irc channel, we managed to find the website, unfortunately, it appears the development stopped two years ago.
But the game is pretty cool, let me explain you what makes it interesting:
In Purity, there are no enemies! The enemy is the map, and you have to get you to the end.
In order to do that, you have 4 weapons:
-The PULS attack : a red rocket.
It allows you to activate red switches, and it allows you to jump. Right, in purity, you have no "jump button". You wanna jump? Shoot your feet, and you'll be sent in the air.
There is no lives or damage in purity, so it is not a big deal to shoot right between your feet.
You can also shoot the walls while you're in the air to project yourself higher. People who know DeFrag won't be surprised by this technique.
-The TRASE attack : a blue laser (Allows you to activate blue switches).
This laser works a bit like a hook : you can drag yourself to blue surfaces.
You can also repulse yourself from some other special blue surfaces.
-The BOM attack : a green grenade (Allows you to activate green switches).
This grenade implodes rather than explodes : if you are in the range of the grenade when it explodes, you'll be dragged to the center, and when the explosion finishes, you'll keep that speed, so you can use the BOM attack to project you to a other place.
There are also special surfaces where the grenade sticks.
-The SPHEER attack : a white shield (Allows you to activate white switches).
The SPHEER attack allows you to bounce like a bouncing ball.Activating the SPHEER attack while you are running makes you dash, which permits you to jump over some short holes.
Combinations :
 |
| combination of bom+trase |
And what makes Purity really great is that you can combine these attacks:
-Shooting a BOM attack with a TRASE attack makes it explode
-Activating the SPHEER in the range of a BOM attack makes it explode
-Using the TRASE attack on a PULS attack drags you to the rocket, basically letting you fly (I think this combo should be less powerful, maybe even removed, to make the puzzle game interesting)
-Activating the SPHEER while catching up a PULS attack makes it explode and projects you in the air
What still needs to be done in Purity:
-Audio needs to be redone, sounds are horrible and there is no music (though there is one really good in the video on their website)
-Some graphic effort could be made : some surfaces aren't really pretty.
-MAPS! Purity only has the 8 maps that train you to use the weapons and their combinations. Other maps available are training grounds with no end, just for practise.
Try and beat this!
So, I beg mappers here, please do some puzzle maps for Purity, it's all it lacks to be a great FOSS game!
PS : If you are an archlinux user, I made an aur package that allow you to install it easily in /opt : http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=46512