Tetrack - Code a game competition - May 4th to June 30th

blinkok · May 08, 2018, 05:40:02

Tetrack. Puzzle endless runner based on tetris.
Player taps the pieces to rotate them in order to make a path forward.
I would like to use AI to move the sprite so the player can concentrate on making a path and not controlling the sprite.
Maybe have some blocking pieces and warp pieces if i get a chance

round157 · May 08, 2018, 07:25:51

Hi, blinkok,

Tetris is traditional but the idea of your entry is quite creative.

Derron · May 08, 2018, 08:06:40

I had a pretty similar idea in the past - the tricky part is to make it solveable while following the most important rule:
Only non blocked elements can get rotated.

So in the screenshot above you see the ball? the blocks surrounding them cannot be rotated as they block each other.
This means while you create blocks you always need to "solve" them internally. Means you need to check if the ball at is current location can have (if player properly "rotates blocks") a valid route to the end.
In "Apes Banana Conquest" I had a similar "is it playable" issue and did it in a simple way: My level was always pregenerated so much, that at least twice a screen-height (it moved upwards too) was precalculated - so there was enough time to find the right spot to move on.

Also try to avoid "dead ends" (having elements on the left - and on the right - but nothing in the middle, so you need to decide wheather to go left or right just to find out that your route end a "screen later" when you cannot undo your decision).

@ ideas
You might later on add special fields: warp elements (warping you from X to Y when moving across them), slopes/jumps to fly over empty "cells" .., (temporary) speed-up/down blocks...

bye
Ron

blinkok · May 08, 2018, 23:38:53

Lots of good ideas there. What i thought i could do was start with a path to the top of the screen (solved puzzle), add some random elements and then turn the solution pieces so as to make the puzzle.
The more i think about it the more i think it needs to be a top down 2D game

Xerra · May 09, 2018, 00:15:50

This definitely makes me think of Cosmic Causeway and possibly Bounder at a slightly different perspective. Very curious to see how it turns out.

Derron · May 09, 2018, 06:33:40

The "start with solved puzzle" approach allows for an easy way to adjust "difficulty". So with "easy" you leave in some more blocks to allow multiple paths. Did such an approach with a "custom sudoku builder" (use your friends images or animals or ...) and it turned out quite nicely.

bye
Ron

therevills · May 09, 2018, 10:15:21

Screenshot reminds me of Trailblazer which I played the Amstrad:

round157 · May 12, 2018, 01:41:46

Quote from: blinkok on May 08, 2018, 23:38:53
Lots of good ideas there. What i thought i could do was start with a path to the top of the screen (solved puzzle), add some random elements and then turn the solution pieces so as to make the puzzle.
The more i think about it the more i think it needs to be a top down 2D game

Hello, this is quite important. Please listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fv5cuYZFC0

Yes....the theme of Tetris. A lot of gamers like the theme of Tetris very, very, very much.

A suitable and excellent theme for Tetrack can easily increase your chance of winning this competition.

round157 · May 20, 2018, 22:00:59

A period of two weeks has passed.

Oh...what is the progress of this entry?