Software:Baba Is You

From HandWiki
Short description: 2019 puzzle video game
Baba Is You
The phrase "Baba Is You" written in all caps in a hand-written style, similar to penciled-in block letters. "Baba" and "You" is in pink, while the "Is" is white.
Developer(s)Hempuli
Publisher(s)Hempuli
Designer(s)Arvi Teikari
Programmer(s)Arvi Teikari
Composer(s)Arvi Teikari
EngineMultimedia Fusion 2
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows, macOS, Linux, Switch
  • WW: 13 March, 2019
iOS, Android
  • WW: 22 June, 2021
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Baba Is You is a puzzle video game created by Finland independent developer Arvi Teikari (known professionally as Hempuli). The game centers around the manipulation of "rules"—represented in the play area by movable tiles with words written on them—in order to allow the player character, usually the titular Baba, to reach a specified goal. Originating as a short demo built for the 2017 Nordic Game Jam,[1] the game was expanded and released on 13 March 2019 for PC and Nintendo Switch. Mobile versions were released in June 2021. A free update titled "Baba Make Level" was released on November 17, 2021, featuring over 150 new and previously unused levels and a level editor with online sharing. Baba Is You received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Gameplay

The player character, Baba, is enclosed in all directions by walls. Outside of this enclosure is the phrase "BABA IS YOU", and inside the enclosure is the phrase "WALL IS STOP". Baba moves around and attempts to walk past a wall but fails. Then, Baba breaks the "WALL IS STOP" phrase and is able to walk past it.
Baba (the white sheep-like creature)[2] is made the player character by the phrase BABA IS YOU. The three blocks reading WALL IS STOP create a rule that prevents Baba from crossing wall tiles. Once the rule blocks are separated, the rule is no longer enforced, and Baba can pass through walls.

In each level, the player is presented with a one-screen puzzle consisting of various objects, characters, and movable word tiles. The player is given control of one or more characters or objects on the screen (most often, the player controls a character named Baba, a white sheep-like creature). The word tiles consist of nouns corresponding to specific types of objects and obstacles on the field (such as Baba itself, the goal flag, walls and hazards, and other creatures), verbs such as IS and HAS, linking operators such as AND and NOT, and descriptive tiles determining the properties of these objects (such as YOU, which makes all instances of the object become controlled by the player; PUSH and PULL to make them movable; STOP to make them impassable; and WIN to specify the goal object).

When three or more word tiles (minimally consisting of one object, one verb, and one property or object) are aligned vertically or horizontally into a valid syntax, they create a rule that determines how the object behaves and that will be enforced until the string is broken up. For example, the goal can be changed by moving IS and WIN blocks to apply to another object, and the player can pass through objects by removing the STOP trait from them.[3] Specific rules for a level can be placed in a way that the tiles cannot be broken up (for instance, by having the rule placed in an inaccessible corner), committing that rule for the entire level.[4] The player completes a level when an object that is the subject of an IS YOU rule (i.e. an active player-character) touches any object that is the subject of an IS WIN rule (i.e. an active goal); conversely, the level is never explicitly failed but if there are no more IS YOU objects left (or there is no more such rule) the player may be unable to proceed and have to undo or restart.

The game contains over 200 levels,[3] with the player eventually having to transform levels into objects and manipulate rules around the map screen.

Development and release

Arvi Teikari speaking behind a podium. He is wearing a black shirt with many icons from the game, including a flag, a mushroom, the "BABA", "IS", and "WIN" operators, and Baba itself.
Arvi Teikari accepting his Independent Games Festival Award in 2018

The theme of the 2017 Nordic Game Jam was "Not There", which prompted Teikari, a student at the University of Helsinki who had previously developed the Metroidvania-genre game Environmental Station Alpha, to envision a game concept based on manipulating logic operators. He explained that levels were often created by brainstorming a "cool" or "amusing" solution, and then coming up with how the player would accomplish it. Teikari noted that "the most satisfying moments in puzzle games are those which present the player with simple but hard-to-wrap-your-head-around situations, so that solving the puzzle is about figuring out that one neat trick/twist".[5] As with his previous projects, the game was developed using Multimedia Fusion 2, and a Lua scripting plugin; Teikari credited his friend Lukas Meller for help with the Lua implementations.[5] Teikari wrote on Reddit that the naming of the characters Baba and Keke was inspired by the bouba/kiki effect.[6]

Teikari stated in 2017 that he planned to release the full game in 2018, and placed a development version of the title for download at itch.io. After Baba Is You won at the Independent Games Festival in March 2018, a clone of the game was released by a French publisher on the App Store, using nearly the same graphics and calling itself the same name. Teikari worked with the French division of Apple to remove the offending app.[7]

The game, and a Nintendo Switch release, were focused upon in a Nintendo indie games showcase presentation on 31 August 2018.[8] Baba Is You was released on 13 March 2019, via Steam for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, and on Nintendo Switch.[3][4]

A cross-platform level editor, with online level sharing, was added to the game on November 17, 2021, as a free update for the personal computer and Switch versions. This update included 150 additional levels in two new level packs, and added various new rules, art, and soundtracks.[9][10]

Alongside programming the game, Teikari also composed the soundtrack using OpenMPT. Shortly before the release of the level editor update, he released the music project files via the official Baba Is You Twitter account.[11]

Mobile versions for iOS and Android devices were released on 22 June 2021.[12]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
MetacriticNS: 84/100[13]
PC: 87/100[14]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer7/10[15]
GameSpot7/10[16]
Jeuxvideo.com17/20[17]
Nintendo Life8/10[18]
Nintendo World Report9/10[19]
PC Gamer (US)90/100[20]
Pocket Gamer4.5/5[4]
TouchArcade5/5 stars[21]

Baba Is You won first place at the 2017 Nordic Game Jam.[22] It was nominated for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and won awards for "Best Student Game" and "Excellence In Design" at the 2018 IGF Awards.[23] It was also nominated for "Best Indie Game" at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards,[24] for "Indie Game of the Year" at the Titanium Awards,[25] and for "Best Independent Game" at The Game Awards 2019.[26] In addition, it was nominated for "Gameplay Design, New IP" at the NAVGTR Awards,[27] for "Game Design" and "Original Property" at the 16th British Academy Games Awards,[28] and for "Best Indie Game" at the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2019.[29] Baba Is You won the award for "Outstanding Achievement in Game Design" during the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards,[30] as well as for "Best Design" and the "Innovation Award" at the 20th Game Developers Choice Awards.[31] The PC version of the game was among the best-selling new releases of the month on Steam.[32][lower-alpha 1]

Baba Is You received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.[13][14] Polygon considered it "one of the best puzzle video games in years", with the reviewer observing that it "asks me to toss my assumptions about how rules in video games work, to analyze how and why they exist in the first place. And that sort of reprogramming of my brain, oddly enough, happens best when the game is turned off".[3] Pocket Gamer was similarly positive, describing it as a "ridiculously complex puzzler that has you questioning not only every decision you make, but how anyone managed to think up something so bizarre", and concluding that it was one of the "most inventive, exciting puzzle games you will ever play. It's beautifully simple in its graphics and its core design, but it'll make your brain hurt with how nonsensical the solutions appear to be".[4]

A criticized aspect of the game is its level of difficulty. Game Informer expressed dissatisfaction with the overcomplication that arises from the compounding of variables in later stages of the game, which often resulted in "exhausting and unsatisfying" gameplay.[15] GameSpot also criticized the increasing difficulty of later puzzles caused by the language of the operating words, saying that "as the language involved gets more complex, words are ushered in whose meaning seems vague and whose purpose remains hazy, and that can make certain puzzles infuriatingly obscure".[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Based on total revenue for the first two weeks on sale[33]

References

  1. ↑ "Baba is You | Entry 2018". 12 October 2017. https://igf.com/baba-you. 
  2. ↑ Lambie, Ryan (March 7, 2019). "Pushing boundaries with Baba is You". Wireframe. https://wireframe.raspberrypi.org/articles/pushing-boundaries-with-baba-is-you. Retrieved June 7, 2020. "As far as the game's concerned, Baba is a cutesy sheep/cat/goat/dog who just happened to be settled with 'Youness' or a consciousness of sorts. In the jam version Baba was intended to be a robot with antennae, but a colleague, Jason Boyer, made some really sweet fanart of Baba, interpreting them as a humanoid goat creature (with the antennae becoming horns), and I decided to change Baba's looks more to that direction as I updated the sprites." 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Plante, Chris (2019-03-13). "Baba Is You review: one of the best puzzle games in years". https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2019/3/13/18263824/baba-is-you-review-nintendo-switch-pc. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cowley, Ric (2019-03-13). "Baba is You Switch review - 'Puzzling perfection in every way'" (in en). https://www.pocketgamer.com/articles/080068/baba-is-you-switch-review/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Couture, Joel (15 February 2018). "Road to the IGF: Hempuli Oy's Baba Is You" (in en). https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/314548/Road_to_the_IGF_Hempuli_Oys_Baba_Is_You.php. 
  6. ↑ Hempuli (2019-04-18). "Hi, I'm Hempuli, the developer of Baba Is You. Ask me anything!". Reddit. http://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/ben6qj/hi_im_hempuli_the_developer_of_baba_is_you_ask_me/. 
  7. ↑ Wawro, Alex (2018-04-04). "IGF Award-winning Baba Is You cloned before it was even released". Gamasutra. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/316145/IGF_Awardwinning_Baba_Is_You_cloned_before_it_was_even_released.php. 
  8. ↑ Fogel, Stefanie (2018-08-28). "Nintendo Holds Nindies Showcase Summer 2018" (in en). https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/nintendo-nindies-showcase-summer-2018-1202918718/. 
  9. ↑ Bolding, Jonathan (November 17, 2019). "Baba is You has a cross-platform level editor coming". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/baba-is-you-has-a-cross-platform-level-editor-coming/. Retrieved November 17, 2019. 
  10. ↑ Nightingale, Ed (November 12, 2021). "Level editor coming to Baba Is You in free update". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-12-level-editor-coming-to-baba-is-you-in-free-update. Retrieved November 12, 2021. 
  11. ↑ @babaisyou_ (2021-11-12). "People have requested the project files for the Baba Is You music; well, here you go! Please give credit if you use them or make remixes!". https://twitter.com/babaisyou_/status/1459308752251801604. 
  12. ↑ Madnani, Mikhail (22 June 2021). "The Brilliant Puzzler 'Baba Is You' from Hempuli Just Released on iOS and Android with over 200 Levels Included". Touch Arcade. https://toucharcade.com/2021/06/22/baba-is-you-iphone-android-release-date-price-download-app-store/. Retrieved 22 June 2021. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Baba Is You for Switch Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/baba-is-you/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-switch. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Baba Is You for PC Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/baba-is-you/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Hilliard, Kyle (2019-03-25). "Baba Is You Clever Puzzles With Too Many Variables" (in en-US). Game Informer. https://www.gameinformer.com/review/baba-is-you/clever-puzzles-with-too-many-variables. Retrieved 2021-06-28. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Marsh, Calum. "Baba is You Review - Game-Changer" (in en-US). https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baba-is-you-review-game-changer/1900-6417109/. 
  17. ↑ Borvo974 (2019-03-23). "Test Baba is You: Un jeu simple mais pas simpliste" (in fr). https://www.jeuxvideo.com/test/1015947/baba-is-you-un-jeu-simple-mais-pas-simpliste.htm. 
  18. ↑ Grassl, Zion (2019-05-24). "Baba Is You Review (Switch eShop)" (in en-US). https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/baba_is_you. 
  19. ↑ Ronaghan, Neal (2019-03-15). "Baba Is You (Switch) Review" (in en-US). https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/49965/baba-is-you-switch-review. 
  20. ↑ Warr, Philippa (2019-03-15). "Baba is You review" (in en-US). https://www.pcgamer.com/baba-is-you-review/. 
  21. ↑ Madnani, Mikhail (2021-07-07). "'Baba Is You' Review – Easily One of the Best Puzzle Games of All Time". https://toucharcade.com/2021/07/07/baba-is-you-iphone-review-ipad-controller-support-cloud-save-puzzle/. 
  22. ↑ MacLeod, Riley (2019-03-13). "A Puzzle Game Where You Rewrite The Rules Of Each Level". https://kotaku.com/a-puzzle-game-where-you-rewrite-the-rules-of-each-level-1833232432. 
  23. ↑ Donnelly, Joe (2018-03-22). "Night in the Woods tops IGF Awards, student game Baba Is You wins big". https://www.pcgamer.com/night-in-the-woods-tops-igf-awards-student-game-baba-is-you-wins-big/. 
  24. ↑ Tailby, Stephen (2019-09-20). "Days Gone Rides Off with Three Nominations in This Year's Golden Joystick Awards". http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2019/09/days_gone_rides_off_with_three_nominations_in_this_years_golden_joystick_awards. 
  25. ↑ "Titanium Awards 2019". 9 March 2017. https://en.funandseriousgamefestival.com/awards/. 
  26. ↑ Winslow, Jeremy (2019-11-19). "The Game Awards 2019 Nominees Full List". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-game-awards-2019-nominees-full-list/1100-6471564/. 
  27. ↑ "2019 Nominees". 2020-01-13. https://navgtr.org/2019-nominees/. Retrieved 2020-01-21. 
  28. ↑ Stuart, Keith (2020-03-03). "Death Stranding and Control dominate Bafta games awards nominations". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/mar/03/death-stranding-and-control-dominate-bafta-games-awards-nominations. Retrieved 2020-03-05. 
  29. ↑ Sato (2020-04-18). "Here Are the Winners of the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2019". https://www.siliconera.com/here-are-the-winners-of-the-famitsu-dengeki-game-awards-2019/. Retrieved 2020-05-04. 
  30. ↑ Van Allen, Eric (2020-02-14). "Untitled Goose Game Wins Top Bill at the 2020 D.I.C.E. Awards". https://www.usgamer.net/articles/untitled-goose-game-wins-top-bill-at-the-2020-dice-awards. Retrieved 2020-02-14. 
  31. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (2020-03-18). "Untitled Goose Game Wins Another Game Of The Year Award". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/untitled-goose-game-wins-another-game-of-the-year-/1100-6474953/. 
  32. ↑ "Best of 2019: New Releases". Valve. 26 December 2019. https://store.steampowered.com/sale/2019_top_new. 
  33. ↑ "A Look Back - The Best of 2019". Valve. 2019-12-26. https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1708485146980406784. 

Further reading

External links



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