Empty.
overview
Everything must go.
“Empty.” is a minimalist zen puzzle game that teaches value of simplicity in life. The goal is to remove all objects by rotating a room.
The game has a novel puzzle mechanic that synergies with the unique stylized look. The flat shading style makes the room contents seamlessly blend with the background, enabling the game mechanic — everything that is no longer visible no longer exists. The player’s goal is to find an angle where objects visually disappear, making the room progressively cleaner and free of clutter.
We have been working on Empty. since the game prototype took the first place at the Ludum Dare 37 competition in December 2016, where it took the first place in “Overall” category (Jam). In its prototype form the game has gained many positive reviews here on itch.io. In fact, the kind of support the game had gained here from the outstanding players and developers community — became the encourage boost for making of the new version.
We have polished the game concept by adding the narrative to each level and the game look improving the shading system.
The game currently has 19 levels, which combined are typically solved in 1—3 hours. Each level starts with a stylish narrative that reminds the player to appreciate simplicity in life — to value the small victories and cherish experiences instead of things. To progress to the next level the player has to solve the previous one. The level difficulty is generally low, making it accessible for all ages.
The original soundtrack was composed to underline the game atmosphere of tranquility and curiosity. The desktop versions have a full soundtrack included. For mobiles and web version, in order to make the files smaller, the OST consists of a bunch of selected tracks from desktop version.