Verge

Verge is the winning entry of the TIGSource Commonplace Book. It is a platformer with a major focus on puzzle elements and offers nine levels for a character to explore. Classic elements include jumping to avoid spikes and on top of enemies to take them out. The game innovates through the way it handle death. When the character jumps on top of spikes, he is transported to a darker, mirror plane where the view and the controls are reversed. The only way to really die is through the enemies.

The second plane, a game mechanic already explored in Man Boy vs Doctor Sock and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, is needed to solve puzzles. These usually involve traversing past impossible platforms. In the underworld there are enemies that need to be shaken off and portals take the character back up. On the regular plane, there are buttons that need to be pushed and blocks that need to be moved in a correct position. In later levels the two planes collide and the character will use it to launch himself between the two worlds at a high speed.