Gallery: A Pixelated Platform Game That Never Plays the Same Way Twice

  • Image may contain Green
    Ben Porter
    01

    moonman-alt-2

    [Moonman](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eigenbom/moonman) is the anti-Minecraft, a game that charges its eponymous hero with exploring a fully-defined, yet completely destroyable world in search of "moon fragments."
  • Image may contain Minecraft
    Ben Porter
    02

    moonman-0009-Layer 2

    Moonman employ rules that ensure the hero can never be stuck in an unwinnable game. Every star, tree, and dungeon stone is randomly generated.
  • Image may contain Plant Vegetation Green Land Outdoors and Nature
    Ben Porter
    03

    moonman-alt

    Porter doesn't think of pixel art as retro, rather it's just a stylistic choice. "It's simple enough that you can get started quickly, although it still takes a lot of time and effort to create great pixel art." The entire world is nocturnal, hence the name.
  • Image may contain Plant Vegetation and Bush
    Ben Porter
    04

    moonman-0008-Layer 3

    [Moonman](http://kck.st/1DElnw3) is raising funds on Kickstarter until Friday February 13th.
  • hat makes the game work is its replay factor. Every time a player starts a new session forests villages and crypts are...
    Ben Porter
    05

    moonman-0006-Layer 5

    hat makes the game work is its replay factor. Every time a player starts a new session, forests, villages, and crypts are generated procedurally to ensure fresh gameplay.
  • Image may contain Minecraft
    Ben Porter
    06

    moonman-0004-Layer 7

    Players collect a variety of weapons, tools, armor, and power-ups that help them in their journey.
  • Porter has spent a great deal of time refining the combat mechanism to make the 2D graphics feel substantive. When you...
    Ben Porter
    07

    moonman-0005-Layer 6

    Porter has spent a great deal of time refining the combat mechanism to make the 2-D graphics feel substantive. "When you hit an enemy it flashes and bounces slightly, and you really feel like your impacting the world," he says.
  • Image may contain Plant and Tree
    Ben Porter
    08

    moonman-0003-Layer 8

    "I use low-res pixel art in Moonman because I think visually minimalist games have a lot to offer and can let your imagination run free."
  • Porter drew inspiration from many games and credits Moonman's combat as being influenced by a game called Powerhoof.
    Ben Porter
    09

    moonman-0002-Layer 9

    Porter drew inspiration from many games and credits Moonman's combat as being influenced by a game called [Powerhoof](http://www.powerhoof.com/).
  • It's a simple conceit with approachable pixelated graphics and according to its creator Ben Porter can be completed in...
    Ben Porter
    10

    moonman-0000-Layer 11

    It's a simple conceit with approachable pixelated graphics and according to its creator, Ben Porter, can be completed in an hour.
  • One of the best things about having a world with physics and AI is that often I'll see something that I didn't directly...
    Ben Porter
    11

    moonman-0001-Layer 10

    "One of the best things about having a world with physics and AI is that often I'll see something that I didn't directly code," says Porter. "Like a skeleton jumping backwards into a lava pit, or a rabbit spawning in a tree."
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