There's No Place Like SandBox : Pre-release discussion

The Homeless Sandbox will be released very soon. The plans were to have it released this last weekend but unforeseen technical problems and cross-platform bugs hindered progress tremendously.

Anyway, the Sandbox will let users run their own maps (we're including the editor template used in homeless) and toy around with what we have so far. Enemies do not harm you yet and their intelligence is not as strong as the finish product will be.

Essentially, it's a toy build that you can play with. We're also accepting submissions of levels. The best ones by the time we're done with Homeless will be added into the game and you will be noted in the credits (and maybe called upon in future games).

You can submit them by emailing us, posting below, or using our forums:

http://curiositylabs.forum-invision.co.uk/

The Sandbox will be updated regularly so that users can continue expanding on their levels and the Homeless world (with more enemies and items).

The idea is to let the community we have gathered help us with feedback in the game so far and let you all feel like you're working with us. Also, they can contribute directly!

Enough blabbling. Here's some screenshots of the Sandbox and maps in progress:

Homeless Design Discussion

For those of you interested in game design processes, there's a lot that goes on behind the scene. A lot that cannot be "screen-capped" and thrown up on this blog.

For Homeless, the smallest detail to game mechanics has to be thought of. Me and Ben usually discuss these things over skype or chat. In fact, some of the biggest ideas have come when I was eating breakfast. Odd times, but hey, it's got to happen sometime.

The reason for this post was to look at some of the game mechanics in Homeless we haven't told you about. Let's start!

[Note: these were taken from our Curiosity Labs forum. If you're interested, you can sign up and participate in the creation process as well! ]

Brian Peppers:

But here's my design so far:

The objective is to get the Bum from the start position, to the exit (represented as a cardboard shelter) at the end of each level. However, levels will not be entirely linear. Each level will have it's own specifically designed layout. The main enemies will chase the Bum throughout the level trying to capture him.

There will be a point when the enemies stop chasing the Bum as soon as distance is great (or out of their field zone) so they don't start out looking for him at all times.

Now, these levels won't be easy in the sense of "just make it from point A to point B". Enemies will be placed strategically to make the Bum backtrack and explore new areas of the level to get around and back to the exit.

For instance, one level idea I has consists of a ledge too high for the Bum to reach. The idea is to make on of the Snatchers chase the Bum to the ledge, and as soon as he is in close range, jump OFF the Snatcher's head (mario style) to reach the higher platform.

So for this scenario, needing to go back and USE an enemy for leverage is a must. And that's the idea I want to give the game. You can't KILL enemies, but you CAN use them and avoid them.

Avoiding enemies is a patience. You can hide in trash cans to inch your way slowly around or you can stick to the shadows momentarily. In some situations it's better to hide than to act while in others it's better to act quickly than to hide.

Other enemies are for the stealth. Such as Spotters. When they find you, radio-broadcasts spawns a series of Snatchers at your position making life hell. When Snatchers manage to catch you in the net, you lose a life. Losing all life ends with a gameover.

Another type of enemy is an indirect enemy. Their goal isn't to stop you. They can be pedestrians that knock you back if you get in their way or follow you, making hiding difficult.

I have plans for some items that may be purchased with the bottle caps (hence giving some real purpose to bottlecaps besides just collecting) such as reducing the number of Snatchers spawned by Spotters. Or increasing the Bum's jumping distance. Besides "purchased" upgrades, perhaps other items on the map that can grant momentarily invincibility or slowing time (aka Snatchers). Once these items are touched and their special abilities are done (use on-touch aka mario style) they are discarded. They can't be collected or purchased.

As far as NPCs and the such go, I just want to bring these environments to life. Give each level some sort of defined characteristic.

Ben Johnson:

Brian those are some awesome ideas I hadn't even thought of. Collecting Bottle Caps to upgrade/buy things is awesome. Maybe have it so that you only obtain the Bottle Caps once you complete the level, any bottle caps collected will then be stored for you to upgrade the Bum. This way you could theoretically keep going back to levels and collecting Bottle Caps to allow the Bum to jump higher. This would then allow backtracking to get to heights previousely un-reachable.

Brian Peppers:

Yes, basically! Bottlecap-whoring. But you never NEED to collect them. The idea is, if you spend the time collecting them, you will benefit.

Ben Johnson:

Also items that freeze the Spotters in their place sound really cool aswell, or make them half speed is pretty cool. Or add a timer and make it so you can collect Clocks to add 30 seconds to your time or something.

Brian Peppers:

Yeah, freezing is the concept. Especially in the situation of being caught by a Spotter. Freezing all main enemies when 20+ Snatcher's are on the screen will be a very relieving!

Ben Johnson:

Jumping on an enemy sounds pretty cool as well, we could position Spotters that stay in same place to allow bouncing off of them and whatnot.

Brian Peppers:

Exactly. Take advantage of the enemies. Most games influence you to stay away from enemies. Heck, why shouldn't you? However, if you want to get somewhere in Homeless, you have to be quick and use them. Hopefully this idea, will keep players "on edge".

Ben Johnson:

Spotters should have a line of sight too. Spotters don't move but if a Bum is seen by one then he radio calls the Snatchers and it takes about a few seconds for some to magically spawn near the Bum, giving him a moment to hide. Maybe when he is inside a trash can/against a wall he can knock against it which would attract the Spotters attention or make Snatchers run towards him. They would then walk past you allowing you to un-hide and run away? Clearly stolen from Metal Gear but whatever.

Brian Peppers:

I was thinking the Spotter's line of sight will be the screen's width (when they are on the screen) and +-32 for the height. Of course, any tiles in the way will stop the "sight test". But to avoid instant detection, have a grace period with an exclamation mark above their head. Paper Mario style.

As far as avoiding detection, I was thinking you could throw a bottle cap (you could lose a few for your own safety) to lure the Snatchers over.

Text-box system

We have a fully-functioning text-box system for our games. It scrolls and displays character images correctly. Here's an example from our Salem game.




More updates on the way!

There's No Place Like Homeless - First Tech. Video!

It's finally here. Proof of all of our slaved labors. Unfortunately, there's still not everything to see such as the enemies, or NPCs, but no worries! You will see them soon!

Until then, enjoy what we give you!



Sorry for the bad audio quality. This is a prime example of why we ask for donations. To BUY software instead of using cheap free crap.

Enjoy anyway! <3

Want to discuss There's No Place Like Homeless? We have a public forum now! Check it out and sign up here!

Curiosity Labs Rebooting!

After months of inactivity, Curiosity Labs is back up on its feet! We also have a new member to our staff! Everyone say "hello chum!" to Nathan Shortsleeve!

Nathan is another programmer who knows what he's doin'. You could say he has gusto!

Not only will Homeless be kicked in gear now, but Nate is also bringing Curiosity Labs a new game to the table! Salem! A 2D platformer with shoot-em-up aspects. A humble Contra if you will. With programming already near completion, Curiosity Labs will have a new title to its name.

Why don't we show you a video? Do bear in mind it is raw engine you are going to see and we need Ben to whip us up some graphics! Enjoy anyways!



And don't forget to help donate, please! We want to give you our best but sometimes we all need a little something. :)

Indie Game of the Week - Coma

Let's try something completely different shall we - Coma is a neat Flash game where you play as 'Pete' who seems to be trapped inside his own subconscious. The game has beautiful graphics and a melodic and sometimes creepy soundtrack. Sounds intruiging? - well it's better to play the game then try and explain it.

Click to play Coma!

Indie Game(?) of the Week - Minitroid

The reason I have added a (?) to the title is because our indie game of the week is actually a tech demo.

If you couldn't tell from the name alone then the picture should certainly give it away - it's a low res Metroid game inspired by the classic NES title. Featuring a brand new chiptune soundtrack, classic enemies and cool transparency effects - this is certainly one game to look out for when they have everything sorted.

That said, Metroidvania titles have a huge fanbase (myself included), so when this gets a full release it is going to blow minds.

Check out the tech demo here and remember to email about any bugs you find, the sooner we get this baby complete the better!