Satori

As yin follows yang, so follows Satori on the heels of Xaptron. You may remember Xaptron, the EGA/VGA shoot-em-up, the last Rinzai Satori production. Now, you may think that it is the ultimate expression of egotism to name this game Satori, but in fact it is not—after all, my name isn't really Rinzai Satori, and Satori is just as good a name for a game as any.

For those of you that don't already know, satori is the name of a state of mind one attempts to achieve through the meditative techniques of Zen Buddhism—a state in which one is aware of the Buddha-nature of all things. One of the Japanese schools of Zen Buddhism is called Rinzai—and there you have it. Well, this game won't make you aware of the Buddha-nature of anything, and I've never been to Japan, and I'm not even a Buddhist, but I like the name, and so far I've had a great time programming these little projects.

Where Xaptron was frantic, Satori is placid. Where Xaptron was violent, Satori is pacific. Where Xaptron was partially a satire on computer games, Satori is sincerely an attempt to provide solitaire-style entertainment. Where Xaptron was yang, Satori is yin.

In spite of the pipes theme, Satori has nothing to do with Pipe Mania and similar games, it is far more like Ishido. The goal is to place as many connecting pipe tiles as possible. There is no time limit, or timer in any form.

Download Satori (54kB)