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ShadowMaster
01-09-2008, 03:28 PM
I'm planning on making a flash game to upload to nonoba.com (http://www.nonoba.com/) in the near future and my current idea for a first game is Stack-a-thon, which is based on the game, Block Man (http://www.sharewarejunkies.com/9zwd9/block_mani.htm).

Here is my first prototype: Stack-a-thon Prototype (http://www.gamedev.za.net/filecloset/download.php?id=586)

Problem is at the moment the game is just gonna be a direct clone with a new skin. So I'm open to any suggestions.

Features planned for final release, but that are absent from the prototype:
Save Points - no need to restart level completely from the start when you mess up.
Undo actions - undo the last 3 actions you made.

Potential features to spice up levels:
Bombs - blow holes in levels to create new access points.
Elevators/conveyors - travel around without needing to stack blocks.(which comes from block man 2)

edg3
01-09-2008, 03:32 PM
I quite like the idea, and the puzzle gameplay is quite easy to get used to. Apart from the lack of indication that I can climb while carrying a block stumped me for while, but otherwise its solid and there isnt much I can think of offhand to add.

Kensei
01-09-2008, 03:45 PM
will look when I get home ;)

Thaumaturge
06-09-2008, 01:23 AM
It's not bad, I think. ^_^

I do have two criticisms of the control scheme:

1) It doesn't seem that one is allowed to turn in place, which I found frustrating at times.
2) I suspect that another key, such as the space bar, might be a more intuitive control for picking up than the down arrow, which I tend to associate with movement, especially, I think, since the opposing up arrow is indeed used for movement in the same contexts in which the down arrow is used for interaction.

As to suggestions to differentiate it from Block Man (which I haven't played, please note, so plesae forgive me if anything that I mention is already used there ^^; ), what about the following:


The ability to throw blocks a certain distance (no more than a few squares, I think, perhaps two).
Hazardous tiles; these might be combined with a handful of block types for multiple possible solutions. For example:

Water tiles, in which the character drowns, but on which wooden crates float with their top just above the surface (in effect creating a path on-level with the water tile), and into which stone blocks sink, allowing for paths to be created if enough are stacked.
Lava tiles, which incinerate the character, but which are cooled to a walkable temperature by ice blocks (destroying the block in the process), incinerate wooden crates, and on which stone blocks float (effectively creating a path one tile higher than the lava tile), perhaps eventually melting into the lava.

You could probably come up with more, of course (acid tiles, for example, as an escalation from water tiles, perhaps acting as something somewhere between water and lava tiles in their interactions with blocks), but you hopefully get the idea.
Rolling blocks (perhaps stone balls, or mechanical rollers), which, when placed, start moving away from the player character, stopping only when they hit an obstacle. They could be used to place a tile at the far end of a hazard, and a quick player might be able to use these as portable moving platforms, especially for crossing hazardous tiles.
Switches. These might be activated by placing a block (perhaps of a given type) on the switch. They might open doors, start lifts or platforms, or cause blocks to appear and disappear.


Good luck with this project. ^_^

ShadowMaster
06-09-2008, 11:30 AM
Well the turning in place thing wasn't allowed because the current control scheme is a direct clone of block man. But yeah I may consider creating two levels of game play: easy where you can turn in place and hard where you can't, because the not being able to turn in place thing can complicate certain levels, though now that I think about it it's a bunch of nonsense and just wastes everyone's time.

And don't worry it doesn't have any of the features that you've mentioned. ;)

Throwing seems like quite a cool idea it could sure open a whole new world of puzzle possibilities, as well with the lava and water tiles. The problem with the latter is to implement them in some way that it's not just a back and forth carrying of blocks, but it will allow segregation of puzzles into different sections more easily.

Only thing i'm a bit hesitant about is making a rolling block that the player can mount, because I don't want the game to turn into a reflex game, it should be about puzzle solving.

I think I can also give players abilities that they can unlock as they progress.
Some ability ideas:
-Throwing blocks ;)
-Portable teleporters, so you don't have to walk back and forth carrying blocks, though you have to physically place the portals where you want them to be.
I'll add more as I think of them.

Thanks Thaumaturge

I'll start work on a new prototype (hopefully in flash) when my exams end and I get back from the third round of the computer olympiad.