Tired of your NPC companions and townsfolk doing nothing but walking around doing nothing? Do you wish you could just tell them what to do whenever you’re near them? Want to learn coding? Then get your hands on Omega Crafter. For ages 10 and {Error}
Omega Crafter is an Open-World Survival with Crafting mechanics…with a twist. Developed by Preferred Networks, they branched out with their first game and I feel like having the coding aspect being a main mechanic is a genius move. I could see Omega Crafter being a great way to get people’s feet wet in the world of coding while also doing crazy things along the way. It gives you a helping hand when making these codes for the Gammi that travel with you or the ones you’ll have in town doing limitless things. Just make sure not to make a syntax error along your adventure.
Code Monkeys See, Code Monkeys Do
You arrive at this unknown location after a mysterious program attacks you and transports you into the game. But, you’re not alone when you wake up. You’re accompanied by Grammi, a companion you can program to do certain routines if you know what to do. I’ve had my Grammi mostly chop down trees, collect the material and bring it back to me.
Even with the pre-generated lines of code you can use, the beauty of how each branch of code has different colours and looks to show where each puzzle piece would go. The fact that even if you make a mistake in the code and cause an error, it becomes a learning experience for the players to get better at stringing along the codes to make a working sequence.
Wait…Grammi Are Just Cute Programs?!
During my playthrough, I felt like I’ve played something similar to Omega Crafter and came to the conclusion that it reminded me of Valheim. With the way the enemies attack, the effects and timer set when you consume food and the way to the health and stamina bars appear. Even the large font text appearing gave me the feel of Valheim. Dying in Omega Crafter does have you leave behind a tombstone, which you can recover items that were in your inventory at the time before your death. Sure, it has these comparisons in my mind, but the coding of the Grammi is where I would say it shines the most at.
The graphics and the UI are beautifully done and have quite some incredible details to rocks all the way to this temple I found on top of a tree. I do love the different designs done to both the Grammi and the enemies you confront along the way.
You have the Grammi, which are these cute little guys with simple geometric shapes that do what you program them to do. Then you have these boars, wolves and mushroom people that attack that look monstrous and evil to have you know what to defeat with your tools, bows or even your hands. And the sounds these creatures make always catch me off guard whenever I’m out resource hunting.
The background music does change depending if it is day or night and even when you’re in a fight. However, I did wish the sound of the wood could be different from the type of tool your/Grammi used to chop it down or the sound was different because of the type of tree it is.
Do I Put Marinara On This Spaghetti Code?
For once, I’m glad I can’t use my controller for Omega Crafter because my gods would it be a nightmare to quickly code something for the Grammi. Thanks to the tutorial you get when you first start, it actually helps you get to know things you’re going to be dealing with and especially the coding aspect of the game. I feel they took caring dedication when making the instructions for this portion because of the fact that they congratulated you for being a fellow developer in their own game.
As someone who used to dabble with coding back in college and found it a nightmare to deal with to discover an error or the “problem child” that is hindering my progress. But Preferred Networks did the impossible and made coding and programming seem fun again.
I even fell in love with the fact that we not only put points into the skills of our choosing but we are even allowed to allot points for our Grammi’s skills to make them stronger and not just some dead weight. Normally, when playing survival-type games, people would either play with friends or just alone. I do love the foresight to give each person their own Grammi to join them on this adventure. We’re never alone and we can have them chop trees, make ammo, materials for tools, weapons and armour…and not have to hear someone complain and go awol on you.
Ok, Who Put This Loop Here?! {error} Ok, Who Put This Loop Here?! {error} Ok, Who Put This Loop Here?!
There are a lot of great things that can come from Omega Crafter and it’s just in early access. If this is at this early stage and not fully complete, I’m both excited and terrified of what Preferred Networks has in store for us in the near future. Playing with friends will unlock both silly moments for coders. And some stressful moments if the coder brings someone in who just wants to go on a rampage on the map and doesn’t bother with doing anything with the Grammi. Omega Crafter is an amazing game that I look forward to playing with my nephew and teaching him coding with this game.
Omega Crafter Trailer
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Written by Ruddy Celestial
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