Closure

Overview

With humble origins as a popular online Flash game, Closure is a unique puzzle game that features a dark world where landscapes and objects only exist where light touches them. Players navigate the world by carrying orbs of light, lighting torches, and otherwise manipulating with light sources.

Tyler Glaiel, the lead designer and programmer, was influenced by Portal and Braid during development, which are similar in focusing around one core mechanic and building puzzles around it.

Closure was released in North America on 27 March 2012 as part of the PSN Spring Fever promotion, for $14.99 ($11.99 for PlayStation Plus subscribers). The game was released for PC on 7 September. On 19 December 2012, Closure was released for Mac OS and Linux as a part of Humble Indie Bundle VII.

Gameplay

The core mechanic of the gameplay is manipulating light sources to phase objects in and out and to manipulate the environment for platforming. If it can't be seen, it doesn't exist.

If the player reaches a dead-end in a puzzle, they can press [Select] to restart the level.

The nearly 100 levels are centered around getting from the start area to a door, sometimes requiring to be unlocked by a key. There's also an additional 30 Silver Moths to collect, where if all are found, a special unlock is rewarded.

Due to the real-time lighting of the levels, there can be variable solutions to get through a level by manipulating parts of platforms. It's possible to jump through walls and fall through floors, push boxes through walls, or drop a key through floors and walls to get to the door.

Story

The main character is a spider-like demon who explores the stories of three human characters, a factory worker who wears a dome hard hat, a girl, and another secret character. The game splits into three distinct stories following a different human character featuring different gameplay mechanics.

The world consists of eerie environments such as a decrepit factory, a murky forest, an abandoned carnival, and a surreal realm that connects them together.

Development

The game started as a prototype Flash game on Newgrounds at January 23, 2009. Instead of a spider-demon in the final release, the playable protagonist in the flash version was a male human. Since the Flash game, Closure was in development for 3 years until being announced for Playstation Network. Art was done by Jon Schubbe, music by Christopher Ryne.

The designer, Tyler Glaiel, increased the difficulty for the PS3 version from its initial Flash version. “I want the PS3 version to be tougher than the Flash game, but for more people to finish it. Only 0.6% of players completed the Flash game. I’ll be happy with 10% on PS3.”

Soundtrack

Music was done by Christopher Rhyne. The soundtrack consists of 14 tracks, available to download from the official game website. There's dynamic music in the game, where tracks of the same song have their volume adjusted dynamically according to the situation, such as going underwater.

Reception

Closure was selected as the Grand Prize Winner at the DICE 2012 Indie Game Challenge in February 2012. The game also won the 2010 IGF Award for Audio Excellence.

IGN rated the game with an 8.5 by Colin Moriarty: "Stylish and engaging, Closure’s thoughtful and pensive approach to the puzzle genre should be applauded".

Joystiq gave the game 4/5, reviewed by Richard Mitchell: "Closure offers up a unique puzzle experience set in a wonderfully moody environment caught somewhere between the designs of Dan Paladin and Edward Gorey. The curious properties of its light add a distinct twist to the traditional logic puzzle genre -- specifically by infusing it with a heavy dose of illogic."

System Requirements

PC

• OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo or higher
• Memory: 512 MB RAM
• Graphics: 512MB with support for OpenGL 2.0, older or integrated cards may not work
• Hard Drive: 512 MB HD space

Mac

• OS: 10.6
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo or higher
• Memory: 512 MB RAM
• Graphics: 512MB with support for OpenGL 2.0, older or integrated cards may not work
• Hard Drive: 512 MB HD space