Forums > Game Forums > Luxor > Addicting

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Daniel Saner (3503) on 4/8/2011 3:20 PM · Permalink · Report

We recently had the discussion (in "Do we get better with age?") about how persevering we are when playing, in trying to improve our game. My standpoint was that today I have so many great games that I still haven't really played, beaten, or not even tried yet, that I tend to stop playing a game if it seems that without considerable persistence, I wouldn't be able to continue. As opposed to the way we used to play in the arcades...

There are however exceptions, little games like this one that are so addictive, perhaps frustrating but so satisfying that you just can't seem to stop, despite their extremely simple principles. I had to try it out because it seemed quite popular, and recently spent half a night playing and retrying. (It wasn't a school night, honestly!) It must strike the same chord that the arcade classics of old did. Perhaps I'm less faded by the quick instant-gratification and story-driven action of modern full-price games than I thought. Luxor is great fun. I might need to install a virtual coin slot for old habits.

Being ever the videogame theorist, I have to wonder what gives this game its addictiveness. I think it has a lot to do with the great balance between skill and luck. There is quite some luck involved—the colour of the spheres you get to shoot, and how well they fit the queues currently on screen, which are randomised themselves. It gives that little frustration that is necessary to frantically glue you to the screen. But it is not so dominating as to make the game feel unfair, at least not for long stretches. When you fail you always know that even with the worst of luck, had you played better you could have beaten the stage anyway. The last stage was tough. But there was always the urge to play again because surely next time, I would be able to keep up with cleaning that last stretch in front of the two pyramids.

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vedder (70685) on 4/8/2011 4:43 PM · Permalink · Report

No time right now to go into your post in detail, but I thought it funny that you mentioned Arcade games, because Luxor and Zuma are both more or less copies of the 1998 arcade game Puzz Loop. Zuma more than Luxor, but the only real difference is that Luxor has the marble launcher at the bottom of the screen while it is in the centre for Zuma and the original Puzz Loop.

But that said it's quite an addictive game, although it couldn't hook me as much as Tetris.

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Daniel Saner (3503) on 4/8/2011 7:17 PM · Permalink · Report

I knew about Puzz Loop but not that it was in fact an Arcade game. But it makes a lot of sense. It's the kind of game that tears you up, but in the end you drop in another quarter anyway.

I have not played Puzz Loop, Zuma, or any of the other clones. But I really like how Luxor is sort of a mixture between Puzz Loop and Breakout.