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VVVVVV is a 2010 2D puzzle platform video game created by Terry Cavanagh. The game was built in Adobe Flash and released on January 11, 2010, for Microsoft Windows and OS X. The game was ported to C++ by Simon Roth in 2011, and released as part of the Humble Indie Bundle #3. The port to C++ allowed the porting of the game to other platforms as Linux, Pandora and Nintendo 3DS later.

Gameplay

Unlike most platforming games, in VVVVVV the player is not able to jump, but instead can reverse the direction of gravity when standing on a surface, causing Captain Viridian to fall either upwards or downwards. This unusual feature was first seen in the 1986 8-bit game Terminus. The player uses this mechanic to traverse the game’s environment and avoid various hazards, including stationary spikes and moving enemies.

Later areas introduce new mechanics such as moving floors or rooms which, upon touching one edge of the screen, cause the player character to appear on the other side. VVVVVV contains eight main levels, including two intermissions, and one final level, only seen in a separate “polar dimension”, situated inside a larger open world for the player to explore. Due to its high level of difficulty, the game world contains many checkpoints, to which the player’s character is reset upon death.

The sad elephant, sometimes also called the elephant in the room, is a large elephant with a tear dropping from its eye. It spans four rooms near the Space Station area of Dimension VVVVVV, flickering constantly from color to color. If the player stands near the elephant for a short period of time, it will cause Captain Viridian to become sad. The elephant serves no function to the game, but has served to provoke much discussion about its meaning or symbolism amongst fans of the game. Similarly to many of the enemies in the game, the sad elephant originated in dream journals kept by creator Terry Cavanagh and not from Jet Set Willy as once believed.

From the creator of Super Hexagon – VVVVVV, the hit 2010 indie platformer, now available on android!

Winner of Indiecade’s 2010 award for Most Fun/Compelling Game.

“One of the best platformers I’ve ever played.” – Anthony Burch, Destructoid 10/10

“This game is incredible.” – Michael Rose, Indiegames.com

“The very best videogames in existence leave you with a whole mess of memories that are so varied and entertaining that you can leaf through them like a photo album. VVVVVV is one of those games.” – Quintin Smith, Rock Paper Shotgun

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