My puzzle game

Whatever isn't related to worms
Post Reply
User avatar
MrTPenguin
Posts: 179
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:54 am
Location: England
Contact:

My puzzle game

Post by MrTPenguin »

Hello all. Now that CWT's over (and it was another good tournament, several rounds of which I watched as they were streaming) you'll be wanting something to do until Christmas. Well, why not play my puzzle game Creeping Angels? :) The concept is inspired by the games Theseus and the Minotaur and Mummy Maze, and the Weeping Angels characters from the TV show Doctor Who. Any feedback and suggestions will be most welcome.
Attachments
creepingangels.zip
(952.74 KiB) Downloaded 204 times
kukumber
NNN member
Posts: 300
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 2:11 pm

Re: My puzzle game

Post by kukumber »

Cool game! Would be great if you add the description on how red- and blue-eyed guys act, cause I think there are some differences. Didn't quite get their patterns except 2 moves per turn. Some levels took nice amounts of tries to pass. :D

And btw, CWT isn't over yet! One more game left, and it's gonna be interesting. :P
User avatar
Kayz
NNN member
Posts: 1892
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 4:57 pm

Re: My puzzle game

Post by Kayz »

How is CWT over? :P I will try this game. Thx for uploading
[FaD] im pro jumper
[lNNNxDario] i see
User avatar
MrTPenguin
Posts: 179
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:54 am
Location: England
Contact:

Re: My puzzle game

Post by MrTPenguin »

I stand corrected - I'd carelessly forgotten that the third-place playoff was re-scheduled!

Glad you like it, Kukumber :) How far did you get? Regarding the different types of angel, the blue/red distinction is copied from Mummy Maze, where the rule is this: a blue mummy will attempt to move horizontally first (like the Minotaur), whereas a red mummy will attempt to move vertically first. This is good because it lets you manipulate the mummies, but the thing I don't like is that if they're a long way away, they follow an unrealistic and rather stupid path. For example, if you're in the bottom right corner and a blue mummy is in the top left corner, it will go along the top wall and then down the right wall, instead of directly towards you diagonally. The blue and red angels are designed to combine the mummies' left/right preference AND a "common sense" approach of moving intelligently towards the player. If you want me to write out the exact algorithms for their motion, I'll do so.
User avatar
Kayz
NNN member
Posts: 1892
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 4:57 pm

Re: My puzzle game

Post by Kayz »

I liked level 17 a lot!
[FaD] im pro jumper
[lNNNxDario] i see
kukumber
NNN member
Posts: 300
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 2:11 pm

Re: My puzzle game

Post by kukumber »

Oh, now I get the difference and it makes sense. :D I passed all of them, that was quite entertaining, though I made through some levels without really understanding whant I do because of those reb\blue differences. You should totally add it on "How to play" page. And yes, I would agree with Kayz 17 was really cool. It was one of the few levels where I planned all my moves through. :)
User avatar
Zemke
NNN member
Posts: 993
Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:23 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: My puzzle game

Post by Zemke »

Good idea of a game.

I made it to level 13 or so. I'm not very good at those kind of games... can't even handle low-level Minesweeper.

What language did you write that in?
User avatar
MrTPenguin
Posts: 179
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:54 am
Location: England
Contact:

Re: My puzzle game

Post by MrTPenguin »

It's written in the little known language of PlayBasic - the perfect choice for a man who wants to write a simple 2D game without having to worry about dealing with bullshit and complexity in the coding.

The levels... There are lots of puzzle games where you have two dominant aspects: the concept, and the level design. I'll confess that I found designing the levels somewhat difficult, and my secret hope is that in time, one or a few people will take it upon themselves to design some sets of really intelligent and beautiful levels. Until then, the world can only play my own levels, which clever and fun as they often are, are basically the work of an amateur.

I'm considering adding a second page in the how-to-play section dedicated to explaining the angels' movement for the benefit of those who wish to be told. Here it is. In their first turns, they are identical to the mummies in that blues try to go horizontally before vertically, and reds vice versa. (Of course, if an angel is horizontally or vertically aligned with the player, it will only try to go in that direction.) In their second turns, however, the angels first try to move in the direction of maximal displacement from the player. So for example, if an angel is 3 tiles above and 7 tiles to the left of the player, on its second turn it will try to move horizontally first, irrespective of its colour, because that would take it closer to the player than a vertical move. In the event of the horizontal and vertical displacements being of equal magnitude, the angel will act as if it's its first turn.

On the whole it's a sophisticated yet simple algorithm, and it's a part of the game that could easily be changed. Maybe in the future the people who make their own versions will do exactly this.
User avatar
MrTPenguin
Posts: 179
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:54 am
Location: England
Contact:

Re: My puzzle game

Post by MrTPenguin »

Btw, kukumber, seeing as you've completed all the levels (gj there :) ) what do you think about the ordering of the levels? Were there any that struck you as being too early or too late, difficulty-wise? It was tough deciding what order to put them in.
kukumber
NNN member
Posts: 300
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 2:11 pm

Re: My puzzle game

Post by kukumber »

Well, few first levels should probably be intended to force people to use basic things, make sure people can't complete one of levels without blink, other one would be impossible without staring, again for abusing those red\blue patterns, mirrors. You pretty much did it like this. :D Would be nice to have 2-3 consecutive levels with same aspect to train so you make sure people would understand that thing. Then I guess you should just stick to average amount of turns required to complete the level. More turns you need, the latter stage it would be. Cause it hard to say whether level is hard or simple, everybody thinks his or her own way. :)

Oh, forgot to tell you sould also give a note about colliding of those red and blue guys, cause sometimes it helps a lot to collide them. :D
User avatar
Kayz
NNN member
Posts: 1892
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 4:57 pm

Re: My puzzle game

Post by Kayz »

The last one was so goddamn heroic :D Did it!
Spoiler:
Up, left, left, down, look down and 4 red guys are gone :)
[FaD] im pro jumper
[lNNNxDario] i see
User avatar
MrTPenguin
Posts: 179
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:54 am
Location: England
Contact:

Re: My puzzle game

Post by MrTPenguin »

Spoiler:
I used to have a particular way of winning the last level, but I've forgotten it. But as you've gleaned, Kayz, the key is basically to retreat towards the top left corner and then work your way back down after some of them have collided.
I've added a second page in the How-to section explaining about the angels for those who want to know. Here's the new file.
Attachments
creepingangels.zip
(953.1 KiB) Downloaded 202 times
User avatar
Zemke
NNN member
Posts: 993
Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:23 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: My puzzle game

Post by Zemke »

PlayBasic is indeed little known. I've just googled it up and it seems really mystic... they have Frankenstein in their logo? Also the music on their videos is odd. I can't even watch some of them, because of the music rights. Anyway, would be cool to see some source code of your game.
Post Reply