A Review of the ``GunPey'' Video Game

My reading schedule is largely filled with large tomes or other such reading which requires far more
than one month to process.  Due to my lacking book candidates, I now review an enjoyable video game.

This is supposedly the official website: http://www.bandaigames.channel.or.jp/list/gunpey/index.html

GunPey belongs to the puzzle genre and is similar to Tetris in many ways, but I prefer it.  The goal
is to connect line segments from one side of the five-by-ten playing field, to the other.  There are
four pieces which differ based on those corners they connect: bottom, top, bottom left to top right,
and top left to right bottom.  This betrays surprising complexity.  Unlike Tetris, that entire field
must be considered, and it shifts when new pieces are added.  When they fall off the end, one loses.

All the player may do is move pieces between rows, not columns.  Advanced play requires planning the
lines so that simply moving pieces doesn't complete other lines.  As a line is completed, pieces may
be added to form new segments or others completed.  It's common for the next row to complete a line,
potentially ruining a strategy, but the game gives leeway to move pieces for this case.  Other modes
include puzzles with the goal being to use all pieces, simultaneously, or like challenge-based play.

This then describes the entirety of this game.  Unlike Tetris, it's suited to a declarative train of
thought, as implementing it efficiently, with constant time characteristics, is much more difficult.
The best method appears to be a backtracking algorithm with search points at pieces having more than
one descendent, and only triggered when any complete line be possible, but this is considerably more
complex than similar puzzle games, which tend to use fungible pieces, or have a local-matching core.

The game relies somewhat on fast button-pressing, once temporarily-useless pieces build in a column,
as this forces the player to quickly shift pieces down the column in a bid to buy more time, whereas
other puzzle games usually allow the player to focus on objects one-at-a-time.  I'm not particularly
good at GunPey, and only play the WonderSwan Color version, but it's a delightful waste of time with
the endless game mode, which is the only one I play.  I'd like to give implementing it good thought.

I can recommend playing the game.  Of particular interest is a single-purpose LCD version named with
``Henoheno'', supposedly translating to ``from there to there'', and of which more can be learned by
seeing the following website: http://blog.beforemario.com/2014/04/gunpei-yokois-final-two-games.html

The game is also interesting due to its lineage.  I view Gunpei Yokoi as a man whose footsteps ought
to be followed, with regards to certain technological opinions, and particularly regarding design of
video games.  His approach of eschewing advanced methods to focus on gameplay which is fun above all
other considerations is one largely lacking from the modern world, but of course one all should use.
.