PDA

View Full Version : 19: Spanner in the Works



Gazza_N
02-06-2008, 08:18 PM
What do you get if you fuse The Incredible Machine with Lemmings, then clone an evil twin? You get Spanner in the Works! :D

You control a series of infinitely spawning little men, whose job it is to throw themselves into components of a giant machine that makes up the level. The idea is to identify and disable the key components of the machine, bringing the entire thing to a grinding halt. However, it is possible for the men get killed by non-essential components as well. The trick is to keep them alive long enough to get them killed by the RIGHT components, destroying them in the process.

As mentioned, each time a man is killed, a replacement will spawn. This continues ad infinitum, but secondary goals of the game may be to disable the machine by sacrificing as few men as possible, or to do it within a certain time.

Of course, being a game about flinging men into machinery, the idea is to have incredibly over-the-top death animations. ;) I might also procedurally generate the levels, if I can come up with a good way to do it.

Thaumaturge
02-06-2008, 08:25 PM
That is... incredibly evil.

I love it! ^_^

I very much look forward to seeing how this turns out. ^_^

Bonezmann
02-06-2008, 08:39 PM
Sounds absolutely awesome, I can't wait. :)

GeometriX
02-06-2008, 08:43 PM
Awww, I read the first bit of the paragraph and thought "Awesome, a Lemming-style game where you should get them killed". I seem to remember chatting about something similar at rAge a few years back.

I is sad panda :'(

Gazza_N
02-06-2008, 09:12 PM
@Geo: I thought about doing that, actually, but I figured that it was too easy just to place deathtraps in the path of hapless creatures, or to let them plunge off of cliffs by neglecting to place markers. This way, you have a bit of a challenge along with the carnage. ;)

BTW, I should clarify that the game will be a platform-style affair where you have direct control over your little man. The Lemmings bit refers more to the numerous deathtraps than anything else.

Fengol
02-06-2008, 09:58 PM
I must admit I'm a fan of both TIM and Lemmings and what you have plans can't be wrong! :D

Evil_Toaster
02-06-2008, 10:16 PM
Sounds like it's gonna be uber much fun. I want a high powered little dude spray cannon. :)

Gazza_N
08-06-2008, 08:57 PM
I'm currently working on a prototype in what spare time I can find. This is my first platformer, so it's posing some new challenges - exactly why I like these comps. ;)

However:

Methinks this competition is more about doing interesting things with death, rather than removing or substituting it. So do unconventional things, like rewarding a player if their death was cool or make death a powerful weapon to use against your opponents, just make it fun and challenging.

My only worry at this point is that the game will turn out too much like a regular platformer. Sure, the object is to kill yourself to complete objectives, and death can occur frequently and spectacularly while trying to complete said objectives, but how different is that to a normal game? Am I really doing something interesting enough, or am I just tacking on a lame gimmick to a tired old mechanic? I wonder if I shouldn't revise my design. :\

Thaumaturge
09-06-2008, 01:02 AM
Well, it's a good question, I believe.

Hmm...

I think that a lot depends on what interactions you include in the game. If, for example, there's plenty of fighting, pressing of switches, etc., then the game seems to me to steer closer to standard platformer territory. If, however, the characters only jump, perhaps climb, and die, then it does seem to me to be at least a little different to a standard platformer. In most platformers one interacts with other entities and the environment through manipulation of controls and attacks on enemies, for example. In yours, the only interaction with the environment might be dying to it, something that one generally avoids. Having that as the only significant interaction with the environment reduces the dilution of the concept, I think. I don't think that jumping and climbing - but perhaps not much else - count as particularly significant interactions, and so I don't think that they dilute the concept much.

A thought: My first impression of the game, as I recall, was of something more Lemmings-like, with no direct control over the "men", and a number of characters in the level at once. Since trying to kill the characters is rather an inversion of the Lemmings idea, it might be worth considering (although I'm not sure that it is actually better than your current idea).

[edit] I've been meaning to link you to this (http://clan-destine.deviantart.com/art/The-Rights-of-Sentient-Machine-15737860). I haven't yet read more than a few pieces of it, but it looks as though it should be of interest to you. ^_^

Gazza_N
03-07-2008, 06:48 PM
Well, so much for comp 19. Here's the prototype for you to mess around with (http://www.gamedev.za.net/filecloset/download.php?id=533).

Use the WADS keys for movement and E to pick up a barrel. Movement is your typical platformer-style affair. You can left click on any of the level items for a short description of what they are and what they do. If you die, you will respawn 5 seconds later at the ClonoTron.

Gameplay is simple - get the guy to the barrels, pick one up, then take out the Mechanical and Electrical cores by getting yourself killed while holding a barrel nearby. Although the level should end once both cores are destroyed, it doesn't. :P

I think it's a dull and uninspired little game, certainly nowhere near as creative as some of the other entries, but give it a shot if you feel like it. Needless to say, comments are pretty pointless at this stage. :P

Good luck to the other entrants. :)

DukeOFprunes
03-07-2008, 11:07 PM
I had fun with this. +Rep for a sweet electrocution animation.

Thaumaturge
05-07-2008, 04:49 AM
I think that it's a pretty cool prototype, Gazza. ^_^

The various interactions seem to work well, and the currently-present death machines can be pretty deadly at times (those fans in particular!). ^_^

I only have two criticisms (pointless or not ;P):
- The death-traps are a little sparse at the moment. If you were to create a number of additional deadly devices and create a denser death-course, along with a few checkpoints to hopefully decrease player frustration, I think that you may have the beginnings of a fun little game. ^_^
- I kept trying to jump over the launchpad, and continually failed, not realising for some time that it could be simply walked past. This is perhaps because there were no other items before that point (i.e. excluding the barrels) could be so bypassed. Perhaps another, or another object that can be bypassed, placed in a less-deadly position, but which, if used properly, doesn't allow passage (thus instead calling for the player to walk past) might help to train players...

It's a good start, however. ^_^