140 Gameplay Halfway through the game (2013, Jeppe Carlsen)
Channel: Khalbrae
Date: 2016-02-04

140 is a platform game independently developed by Jeppe Carlsen, known for his gameplay direction for Playdead's Limbo. The game is described as a "minimalistic platformer", using electronic music to create synesthesia as the player manipulates their avatar, a character that can take on several basic geometric shapes, through levels in time to the music. The gameplay has been compared to other similar games which involve music synchronization like Sound Shapes and the Bit.Trip series, though with difficult platforming elements comparable to games in the Mega Man series. The game was released in October 2013.

As described by Carlsen, 140 is "an old school platformer", but where the challenge is "in syncing up your moves and jumps to the music-controlled elements"; as the player progresses through a level, the music will change reflecting the difficulty of the platforming elements. The player controls a geometric shape - a square when stationary, a circle when moving, and a triangle when jumping, across a two-dimensional environment made up of other simple geometric shapes, with the object to reach the end of the course. Various obstacles and enemies, also represented by geometric shapes, test the player's skills, and should the shape fall or be hit by one of these, they will need to restart at the last checkpoint they passed. Many of these obstacles and enemies have actions that are synchronized to the music, aiding the player in moving through the course; platforms that appear and disappear will do so on the beat, while enemies will fire in time to the music.

The game won the "Excellence in Audio" category for the 2013 Independent Games Festival awards, and was an honorary mention in the "Technical Excellence" category.

Edge considered the game to initially appear in stark contrast to Carlsen's earlier Limbo, but as the player progresses in the game, the various mechanics of 140 show similar traits to many of the puzzles and situations that Carlsen had developed for Limbo. Ryan Cartmel of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5, calling it "gaming minimalism done right."  Derrick Sanskrit of the A.V. Club's Gameological Society called 140 "a tightly paced and clever game of precise timing and jumping" and praised its minimalist structure that allows the player to focus on the rhythm and gameplay.


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