Proto:VVVVVV (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)/VVVVVVVV (9th June)

This is a sub-page of Proto:VVVVVV (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux).

To do: Talk about the different physics of the prototype. Many other things.

This one is fully playable online here. It was made available on the developer's website sometime in June 2009. This prototype is very early in development, with several incomplete tidbits.

General Differences

• There is no main menu. The game goes straight to the first room from the title screen.
• There are no cutscenes.
• The WASD keys cannot be used to move the player.
• You cannot flip by using the Up and Down arrow keys, only by pressing Z, V or SPACE.
• The player does not move automatically with the horizontal moving platforms; they would have to move themselves accordingly while the platform is moving or else they'd fall off.
• You cannot pause the game by pressing ENTER or ESC.
• Most of the game instructions say "Press V" instead of "Press ACTION".
• Pressing R, which would normally kill the player, does nothing.

Music

None of the final game's music tracks are present in this prototype. Instead, there are two placeholder tracks, both composed by Matt Gray.

The title screen music, "Main_music_1", which is the beginning of the Space Station Oblivion loader theme.

The level music, "Main_music_2", which is the main theme from the Commodore 64 version of Deliverance: Stormlord II.

Coins

In this prototype, there are coins scattered along the level which you can collect. You can still spawn them in using internal commands, but the score counter used to track the amount of coins collected was removed. Collecting a coin makes the following sound play, labeled internally as Main_ef_4:

Screens

Prototype	Final

The screen before the title screen is much simpler.

Prototype	Final

The title screen is completely different. Most noticeably, the title of the game is spelled VVVVVVVV (the letter V 8 times rather than 6).

Since no cutscenes are present, the game puts you directly in the first room along with the above placeholder text.

Prototype	Final

Some of the HUD effects when collecting a trinket are missing. Additionally, collecting one does not actually pause the game, although the player is unable to move at all until they advance the text.

Map Differences

Every room has at least one difference from the final version, most commonly are the name and color palette changes. Here's the full map for the game's intro area:

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

This room's design is much simpler, with no teleporter divot in the background and a basic set of steps leading towards the next room.

Prototype	Final

Only the room's name and color palette changed here.

Prototype	Final

The prototype has a path downwards that was removed, along with some coins.

Prototype	Final

This room's location was moved two rooms up and one to the left, to where the Supply Room is in this prototype. The room's layout was completely remade, making it much easier to obtain the trinket.

Prototype	Final

Only the room's name and color palette changed here, again.

Prototype	Final

Same as above.

Prototype	Final

This room is quite different. The gray "dirt" blocks are actually fall-through blocks. The path leading up was completely removed, and a checkpoint was added.

These two rooms full of coins appear directly above and below the previous room. Both of which were removed.

Prototype	Final

This room originally had no enemies, and the main obstacle was avoiding the spikes by switching between the platforms. Not one, but two checkpoints were added.

Prototype	Final

Some layout changes, which again make this section easier.

Prototype	Final

Again a complete revamp, most likely to accommodate the additions of the "Comms Relay" room to the right, as it is not present in the prototype.

Prototype	Final

While the room's name remained the same, the layout suffered small edits, mostly to reduce the room's difficulty.

Prototype	Final

Some coins were removed from the prototype, again.

Prototype	Final

In the prototype, you could just move along the platform at the top and collect the trinket. Some walls were later added to prevent that. The coins became extinct, like usual.

This room has been completely removed from the final version. It appears between the previous two rooms. The two platforms move left and right, but using them can be tricky as the player doesn't actually move along with the platforms.

Prototype	Final

This Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins reference was sadly removed, coins included. If the player dies, the disappearing platform does not respawn. You must leave the room and come back for it to reappear.

Prototype	Final

The bus in here is significantly smaller in the prototype. There is no path on the bottom part of the room as well.

Prototype	Final

There is no checkpoint on the right side of the room, and there are no grids in the background.

Prototype	Final

The path in the middle was removed, again.

Prototype	Final

This evil set of spikes at the bottom was removed, much to the comfort of many gamers.

These rooms are either completely absent in the final version, or so different there's no way to even compare them. After following the path upwards, the prototype ends with the following screen:

Sprite Differences

Checkpoints

Prototype	Final

The checkpoints in this prototype appear to be in a hexagonal-shape and have an S in them instead of a C.

Death Sprite

Prototype	Final

Two pixels from their eyes are filled in rather than one in the final.

Security Drone/Security Sweep Enemy

Prototype	Final

First frame was made rounder in the final.

Ghost

Prototype	Final (Unused)

The graphics where the X-Shaped Box enemy would be in the final game were instead that of a small ghost.

Bus

Prototype	Final

The wheels are more visible in the prototype and makes it look more like a bus. Additionally, the bus in the prototype uses four frames, while the final uses two.

Fall-through Tiles

Mechanics Test	VVVVVVVV Prototype

The fall-through platforms from the previous prototype are still here. Only the block the player touches will disappear, making the noise above, labeled internally as "Main_ef_6". Previously, these would only break when the player landed on them, not when they walked into it from either side, but this feature has been removed.

Sound Differences

Prototype	Final

The sound played when collecting a trinket is different.

VVVVVVVV Prototype (GOG version)

There's a different version of this prototype, distributed alongside the Mechanics Test. It is almost identical to the one described above, except:

• There's no music at all in the game.
• You can change the amount of horizontal acceleration from 0.5 to 1.4 by pressing the keys 0 through 9 on the keyboard. The game starts with 1.1 by default.

To do: Are there no other changes?