PuzzleScript
October 6, 2013 9:58 AM Subscribe
For those who don't know, the three games shown on the front page of the site appear to be demakes of a sokoban clone, one portion of English Country Tune, and Lime Rick.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:23 AM on October 6, 2013
posted by Going To Maine at 10:23 AM on October 6, 2013
Why does everything have a VCS/2600 aesthetic? I'm not saying that's bad, but it's kind of left unsaid.
posted by hiteleven at 2:37 PM on October 6, 2013
posted by hiteleven at 2:37 PM on October 6, 2013
This is so much fun it's obscene.
FWIW, here's the results (so far) of me playing about with it last night.
As for the aesthetic, it's kind of built into the engine. All graphics are required to be 5x5 pixels. No more no less. So either you get on with it and make a game where everything is 5x5 pixels or you have to look into messing about and trying to glue 4 5x5 blocks together to make everything 10x10 pixels or some such. This is definitely doable (I'm planning to have a go at it eventually) - and there's a few games that involve blocks sticking together for whatever reason, but it's much more fun initially just to go ahead and accept that you are now in 5x5 pixel world and play.
The limitations of what you can do with the engine are definitely at least half the fun of it. There's no variables either.
Variables? Pah. Who needs 'em?
posted by motty at 4:20 PM on October 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
FWIW, here's the results (so far) of me playing about with it last night.
As for the aesthetic, it's kind of built into the engine. All graphics are required to be 5x5 pixels. No more no less. So either you get on with it and make a game where everything is 5x5 pixels or you have to look into messing about and trying to glue 4 5x5 blocks together to make everything 10x10 pixels or some such. This is definitely doable (I'm planning to have a go at it eventually) - and there's a few games that involve blocks sticking together for whatever reason, but it's much more fun initially just to go ahead and accept that you are now in 5x5 pixel world and play.
The limitations of what you can do with the engine are definitely at least half the fun of it. There's no variables either.
Variables? Pah. Who needs 'em?
posted by motty at 4:20 PM on October 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
That about covers all the basics. You should be able to tinker with the examples now. There's plenty more to read if you want to, but I would advise to learn the rest on a need-to-know basis.
Speaking as someone who's designed games before, and is working on one now, this isn't particularly helpful. After reading through the rules101 page I had next to no sense of how to use this to actually construct something that isn't, essentially, Sokoban-plus-other-stuff.
posted by JHarris at 5:11 PM on October 6, 2013
Speaking as someone who's designed games before, and is working on one now, this isn't particularly helpful. After reading through the rules101 page I had next to no sense of how to use this to actually construct something that isn't, essentially, Sokoban-plus-other-stuff.
posted by JHarris at 5:11 PM on October 6, 2013
Yeah, really this is a fun toy rather than anything else. Still, fun.
posted by Artw at 5:16 PM on October 6, 2013
posted by Artw at 5:16 PM on October 6, 2013
Well, looking at the more in-depth documentation makes me thing this might have potential. But the graphics engine is too simplistic.
posted by JHarris at 5:19 PM on October 6, 2013
posted by JHarris at 5:19 PM on October 6, 2013
If you can think of an interesting use for diagonal directions, just let me know and I'll try add it back in.
???? Diagonals are very interesting.
posted by JHarris at 5:22 PM on October 6, 2013
???? Diagonals are very interesting.
posted by JHarris at 5:22 PM on October 6, 2013
Okay...
What this appears to be is actually a cellular automation system, with the "rules" you define actually being a way to determine what changes are applied each step. Cellular automation is an area of personal interest, I'll have a look and see what I can figure out. It shouldn't be super difficult to create a World Of Sand-style simulation out of this, I'm thinking.
posted by JHarris at 5:24 PM on October 6, 2013
What this appears to be is actually a cellular automation system, with the "rules" you define actually being a way to determine what changes are applied each step. Cellular automation is an area of personal interest, I'll have a look and see what I can figure out. It shouldn't be super difficult to create a World Of Sand-style simulation out of this, I'm thinking.
posted by JHarris at 5:24 PM on October 6, 2013
I think this is pretty amazing! It forces you to think small and basically works as a scratchpad for mechanics. When you can make something like this with only two rules plus a one-line win condition you've created a genuinely useful tool.
posted by 23 at 5:41 PM on October 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by 23 at 5:41 PM on October 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ok, I'm super-excited here - I just implemented a game that I first wrote when I was 13 or so, on the ZX Spectrum, in about 1984.
In really not very many lines of code at all.
I give you the all new HTML5 Pontoluvian StraightJacket Puzzle.
Ok it's not very good, or very difficult. But even so. Bwahahaha.
posted by motty at 7:17 PM on October 6, 2013 [4 favorites]
In really not very many lines of code at all.
I give you the all new HTML5 Pontoluvian StraightJacket Puzzle.
Ok it's not very good, or very difficult. But even so. Bwahahaha.
posted by motty at 7:17 PM on October 6, 2013 [4 favorites]
That's not mine, it's Lexaloffle's - I just picked it for the simplicity of the code.
posted by 23 at 10:58 PM on October 6, 2013
posted by 23 at 10:58 PM on October 6, 2013
Hm. That one reminds me a lot of another Lexaloffle game.
posted by baf at 1:40 PM on October 7, 2013
posted by baf at 1:40 PM on October 7, 2013
Turns out that the version of my puzzle I posted above didn't actually work properly (all puzzles were unsolvable), owing to me having got all over-excited and posting before testing and such.
This version does, thanks to help from Rory O'Kane via the excellent PuzzleScript forum here, which, if you are playing with PuzzleScript, I recommend you frequent.
Things I Learned There For Example #1: you can use '(' and ')' to comment sections of code out.
posted by motty at 3:31 PM on October 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
This version does, thanks to help from Rory O'Kane via the excellent PuzzleScript forum here, which, if you are playing with PuzzleScript, I recommend you frequent.
Things I Learned There For Example #1: you can use '(' and ')' to comment sections of code out.
posted by motty at 3:31 PM on October 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
Really liking the look of this. Will have to find time to play around with it properly. Racking my brains now for obscure turn-based games I could rip off lovingly restore.
posted by comealongpole at 5:01 PM on October 7, 2013
posted by comealongpole at 5:01 PM on October 7, 2013
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posted by Artw at 10:01 AM on October 6, 2013