The theme of Ludum Dare 14 was that of an "advancing wall of doom". Mind Wall's interpretation of this was to set holes in a wall and demand that you find ways to make your object fit inside these holes. The only way you can make something fit is by removing a single block from the grid on the advancing wall. If it is the right block, your object passes through the wall harmlessly. f it is wrong, however, the object and wall collide, destroying the wall and instantly losing you the level. Keep in mind that you can not rotate the object or the wall. As soon as you remove a piece, the object will attempt to go through the wall no matter the circumstances. This is a single piece, mind you, so all puzzles have a single move solution.

One of the more interesting elements of Mind Wall is the semi-randomness. Each level focuses around a single shape to fit into the wall, so there is no extra learning curve present. However, each section of the level is chosen at random from a list of pre-generated walls. No two walls are quite the same. However, you will see repeats, and with enough play, you will eventually memorize the solution to every wall. An unfortunate downside. What would have been incredible is if the walls were randomly generated on the fly, increasing the replayability greatly.

Where Mind Wall works as a concept game, there are a plethora of features that could be added to make it much more fun and lasting. For one, some sort of scores board would be nice. Even if it's just a leaderboard depicting the fastest time through each level, any method of tracking scores is good. At the moment, upon finishing the game, there is no incentive to go back and replay, as none of this is tracked. You may want to see the other walls that you can solve on your way through the levels, but it's really not all that worth it considering that noting is tracked. Some statistics would be interesting as well, such as "walls solved" versus "walls failed" and the best times you have performed.

Some extra game modes would be beneficial as well. I can personally think of four modes that could be added to the game to greatly increase replayability. The first is an endless mode, where you are scored based on the difficulty of the shape and how quickly you solve it. As time goes on, the blocks get harder and harder as the board gets larger and larger. Another interesting mode could be a timed mode, where you try to finish as many puzzles possible in the time allotted. You could also put in a mode where the block randomly changes between solutions as an extra-hard challenge for only the best players. Almost as a survival mode. Finally, a multiplayer mode where players race to finish before their opponent would be interesting as well. Of course, the game would follow the standard of fail once and you lose.

The graphics in Mind Wall are simplistic yet effective. Everything is composed of simple blocks with primary colors, where each block is the same dimensions. They never pull you out of the experience, and the gentle, rhythmic swaying of the animation really communicates a feeling of calm reason. However, when that wall is right about to hit you, and your entire screen is filled with red, you begin to panic. Mind Wall shifts from zen-like to adrenaline-pumping in no time at all, and that's perfect. In fact, the effect might've been more noticeable if the colors and lines had been sharper and brighter than they currently are, but it works as is.

The control scheme of Mind Wall is familiar, with arrow keys controlling the cursor and Ctrl removing the selected block. It's a little clumsy, however, and a mouse control scheme would've been greatly apprecated. The current control scheme is especially frustrating on the large wall, where you may lose simply because you can't move to the right spot in time, rather than being stumped. It may make the game easier, but there are ways to make the game harder without betraying the principle of the experience, and this sort of game practically screams for mouse support.

Mind Wall is a great puzzle experience that you can finish in about 30 minutes. By all accounts, it lacks the replayability and addictiveness of other games that have been covered here on Freeware Friday. But for a game made in 48 hours, it's incredibly impressive. A minimalist art style and an intriguing concept mixed together to form something that could potentially be much more than just a throwaway concept game. Here's hoping the developer picks it back up and begins to add more. Mind Wall can be downloaded for either Windows or Mac from the developer's official site. Sorry Linux users, but you'll have to emulate this one. Mind Wall is hardly taxing on system resources, so pretty much any computer can run it.

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