Transcend -- a video game by Jason Rohrer

More information at  http://transcend.sf.net



How to play Transcend



Preparation:

Stereo headphones or speakers with good stereo separation are highly
recommended.  The music generated by Transcend is in stereo, and how
you interact with Transcend affects stereo positioning in the music.
Transcend is playable on a monophonic sound system, but many subtle 
sound features will be missed.



Basic Keyboard Controls:

Arrow keys:  direct your glyph around the plane

Space bar:   fire projectiles

D key:       pick up or drop an Element   

P key:       pause the game

Q key:       quit


Advanced Keyboard Controls:

S key:       slide your glyph to the left   

F key:       slide your glyph to the right





Quick instructions:

To win a level, you must destroy the major anti-glyph.  Your glyph starts out
very weak---its initial projectiles are powerless (they cannot even destroy
minor anti-glyphs).  Build the strength of your projectiles by gathering 
Elements from the plane and dropping them near the center of the grid in a 
collage.  Minor anti-glyphs will try to break apart your collage---destroy
them with projectiles (you need at least one Element in your collage to
have projectiles that are powerful enough to destroy minor anti-glyphs).
After you destroy the major anti-glyph, a portal will appear.  Pass through
this portal to move on to the next level.  

A more detailed description is given below.



Game Components:

A level in Transcend contains the following components:

Your glyph  --  always at the center of the screen.  This is the component
                that you control (i.e., "you" in traditional game-speak).

The plane   --  marked by a grid.  Your glyph can travel anywhere on this grid.

Umbilical   --  A colored line that connects your glyph to the center of the
                grid.  This line's color and width change according to 
                your current projectile strength and attributes.

Elements    --  Stationary objects that start out strewn along the border
                of the grid.  Your glyph can pick these up and move them
                around.  Elements can be dropped at the center of the
                grid to form a power-up and music collage (see below).

Music cursor  --  A red, yellow, and green line that traverses your Element
                  collage.  This line moves to show the current music position
                  in time.  The vertical extent of the cursor represents the
                  stereo space (red is right, green is left, and 
                  yellow is center).  

Minor anti-glyphs  -- the enemy.  These mobile components pursue your glyph
                      and the Elements in your power-up collage.

Major anti-glyph   -- A large enemy that travels in a circular path
                      around the grid.  This enemy is your primary target:
                      when you destroy the major anti-glyph, you can move on
                      to the next level.  

Portal             -- Appears after you destroy the major anti-glyph.
                      While the portal is visible, minor anti-glyphs will stop
                      attacking.  You can explore the various Elements and
                      musical possibilities without being bothered by enemies.
                      Pass through the portal to move on to the next level.



Enemy attacks:

When you are hit with an enemy projectile, your glyph drops any Element that 
it is carrying and is propelled back toward the center of the grid.  When an 
Element is hit by an enemy projectile, it is propelled away from the center
of the grid.  Once you have started building a collage of Elements, the
minor anti-glyphs will try to knock Elements out and disrupt your collage.  



Power-up and music collage:

Elements that are dropped near the center of the grid (where your umbilical
ends) form a collage.  Elements that are dropped near the collage
also become part of the collage (thus, a collage can extend far away from
the grid center as long as some Element in the collage is near the center).

Each Element represents a projectile power-up.  The Elements in your collage
are combined to determine the strength and form of your glyph's projectile.   

After your collage contains at least one Element, your projectiles will be
strong enough to destroy any minor anti-glyph in one shot.  However,
the major anti-glyph is much more durable, and a relatively large collage will
be needed to make your projectiles strong enough to destroy it easily.

If your collage grows to be asymmetrical and/or off-center, your projectiles
will become weaker (they will appear transparent and your umbilical will become
thinner). 

In addition to a projectile power-up, each Element represents a section of 
music.  A cursor traverses your collage and plays the music associated with 
the Elements that you have assembled.  Thus, a chain of elements that extends
perpendicular to the cursor will be played sequentially in time.  A chain
that extends parallel to the cursor will be played simultaneously in time
but spaced out in stereo. 




