Radiant
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Watch the a Let's Play video!

Indiana Rodent is the biggest platform game ever written for AGS, proving once again the versatility of the engine. Take the role of the Mouse With The Hat and go in search of the vaunted lost cheese. Traverse forests, deserts, and the halls of illusion; jump over hedgehogs, hitch a ride on a turtle, and evade vicious snakes - all for the reward of more cheese than you could ever eat, and what more could a mouse want?

The game is built on a tile engine, with eight-way scrolling and parallax background. It features four difficulty modes, nine expansive levels to explore, and various secrets and unlockables for you to find. And don't miss the boss monster, the vicious Moby Duck!



The game is part of the AGS Bake Sale, a collection of games to be sold shortly as a charity fundraiser. Since it is one year after their release, the games are now freely available. You can download the full version Indiana Rodent here.

Thanks to Black Squirrel, Corby, Ghost, Kramlack, and Snake for the art; and King Seamus, Lumpupu, MUFFINinc, and Peter Silk for the music.




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= Radiant =

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[Last edited by Radiant at 03-04-2013 05:03 PM]

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1978
Registered: 10-23-2003
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I gave this a whirl. I agree that the physics need definite tweaking. The acceleration is far too slow at the moment. And maybe deceleration should be much faster than acceleration. I feel like for me, I get enjoyment from a platformer by having impeccable (if unrealistic) control over my character. I want to almost be able to stop on a dime. I want to alter course in mid-air.

The time between deaths should be lowered in a big way. If you've ever played Super Meat Boy, think about how effective their near-immediate respawns were. Punishing a player by functionally locking them out from playing is antiquated design, at least in a single-player game. Have the player die in place - don't let them slowly fall off screen. Snap the view back to the respawn point - don't gently pan back.

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Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
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The level design is pretty good, even though the game itself is nothing more than a short demo at the moment. I can definitely see this shaping up pretty well. Is this your first go at a platform game? I dig the Mario-esque music too.

But yeah, as far as controls and stuff go, here are my thoughts.

The respawn time should be tweaked to be a little less. As what RoboBob said, it is a little lonng as it is (although I politely disagree with it being antiquated - MW2 for example has you linger after death a few seconds then has to reload). I love the fact it just pans back on the same screen and everything picks up right where it left off - objects don't reset, etc. Subtle, but a nice seamless touch (it was probably easier to implement that way, anyways)

The standard approach for platform jumping is you press the button gently or whatever, and then you end up going about halfway up the maximum height. Max height is only reached by holding the button down until you start falling. Yours of course lets you do little hops, but that seems like it would be gimmicky in a level (spikes above and below you, can only do little jumps to blocks)

The left and right controls are sluggish, but work. This is pretty close to the way Mario worked in that it was difficult to be precise. You may consider tweaking them slightly to make it a little less frustrating, but it's probably fine either way.

Finally, I did notice that if you do a jump and end up between two "dirt" blocks, it's possible to clip into them by a pixel or so, and jump off the wall as if it were another platform. Obviously not by design, unless you want to have a wall-jumping mouse.

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SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

The Stew Boy
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 247
Registered: 05-10-2005
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A bit too hard for my liking. I gave up at the 'Almost there - don't give up!' part.

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
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You did exactly what it told you not to do!

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SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

wonkyth
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 15
Registered: 06-18-2007
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What?! Mr. Stew giving up?! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!
Seriously, after all the hard-as-nails ST levels you've made?
Ah well.

Played it all through, although I didn't actually notice any differences between this and the original entry...

____________________________
"Satire denounces the world;
Wit penetrates it;
Humour accepts it;
But Nonsense Transforms it"
- Cedric Whitman
w.r.t. Aristophanes

Natnee
Level: Roachling
Rank Points: 10
Registered: 12-26-2008
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I played it all the way through. Mostly I agree with the other comments; a few of my own:

He should be able to walk (not have to jump) up sloping walls.
Dying takes too long when you hit a spike.
Maybe you can make the sprite so his tail curls back over his head (to make the whole guy shorter, he seems to stick out into objects a lot).
Seems to be there should be more mouse-themed enemies (traps, vacuums that suck him into the wall, poison, cats, etc).
I liked the nod to "I wanna be the guy". "What?? Apples don't fall UP!!"
I know this is just a demo, and not to go too Mario on you, but I hope you plan to have powerups and enemies and a weapon in the game as well

But my major complaint, the reason I would never keep playing it, is the inertia-based physics make it feel like swimming. Generally I prefer games that aren't inertia based (Mario, Commander Keen, etc).

By that I mean going faster when you jump doesn't make you go any farther, nor do you keep going once you try to stop. Those are two frustrating things that I'm not fond of in some platformers.

Anyway, don't take my criticism as harsh, just trying to help. You've got good potential there

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
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Natnee wrote:
I liked the nod to "I wanna be the guy". "What?? Apples don't fall UP!!"

Actually in both cases, they're fruit.

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SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

wonkyth
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 15
Registered: 06-18-2007
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Natnee wrote:
By that I mean going faster when you jump doesn't make you go any farther, nor do you keep going once you try to stop.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that...

Natnee wrote:"What?? Apples don't fall UP!!"

They're more like giant cherries.



____________________________
"Satire denounces the world;
Wit penetrates it;
Humour accepts it;
But Nonsense Transforms it"
- Cedric Whitman
w.r.t. Aristophanes

Natnee
Level: Roachling
Rank Points: 10
Registered: 12-26-2008
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Natnee wrote:
By that I mean going faster when you jump doesn't make you go any farther, nor do you keep going once you try to stop.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that...

Well, let's say when you stand on the edge of a cliff, you can jump across 5 blocks. If you're running when you get to the edge of the cliff, you can jump 10 blocks. Or something like that. That's how this game is set up. I prefer a constant 5 blocks, regardless of initial speed.

Then in midair, if you turn back the way you came, you start to slow and 2 blocks after you press the button, you stop. You can't stop sooner because of your inertia. This makes it very hard to control exactly where you land.

While I realize this is more realistic in terms of the real world, I've always preferred games that were slightly less realistic that gave you good real-time control over the player. I.E., in the situation just mentioned, if you turn back the way you came while flying over block six, you can actually stop in time to land on block six.

Anyway, my point was I prefer more responsive, less sluggish/lethargic/inertia-based controls. Commander Keen is a good example of the sort of feel I like.

Also, I would like to see inertial totally canceled when you land (if I remember correctly, the rat tended to slide even after hitting the block). Which is fine on ice blocks, but on normal land he should just stop.

Oh, another idea; if you do have enemies, and if you do choose the logical, albeit predictable, cats, then a good weapon would be a watergun. Cats hate water

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
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Thanks for the feedback, y'all! Well, it's not really my first attempt at a platformer, but definitely my first serious attempt.

Actually the objects do reset when you die (e.g. the apples giant cherries go back). I can make it a near-instant respawn, probably by adding a death explosion anim rather than a drop-down-the-screen move. I think I'll put in some kind of life bar too, although that won't help against bottomless pits, of course.

The acceleration needs work, I'll have to do some tweaking on that. The game is, however, fully intended to have intertial movement as a design choice (I'm pretty sure all Mario games also do that, and actually Keen does it too while you use the pogo stick). It's just a matter of getting it right. Oh and yeah, you're supposed to be able to walk up a slope, that's just a bug if it doesn't work.

More enemies and hazards pending. I'm not sure about weaponry yet, but a small projectile sounds nice because you can also use it to hit switches and such.


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= Radiant =

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
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Perhaps some kind of seed (sunflower?) as a projectile? Mice are known to eat those.

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SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

Radiant
Level: Moderator

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Current one-level demo

I would like to have feedback on the gameplay; please check out this demo version and tell me what you think.


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= Radiant =

The Mystic
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 18
Registered: 09-20-2006
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The Stew Boy wrote:
A bit too hard for my liking. I gave up at the 'Almost there - don't give up!' part.

This from the guy whose ST levels have made me add several new expletives to the English language.

Anyway, I downloaded and played the demo level. It reminds me a lot of the Super Mario Bros. game from back in the 80's, especially since some of the sound effects are the same.

As for actual game play, so far so good. At this point, my only real issue is that your character can run faster than the screen can scroll.

____________________________
Either I'm crazy, or everybody else is nuts. And I know I'm not crazy because the little man who lives on my shoulder told me so.
If people don't think there's something wrong with you, there's something wrong with you.
Oh well. Another day, another dementia.

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
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Thanks; I've sent you a PM about this.

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= Radiant =

The Stew Boy
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 247
Registered: 05-10-2005
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The Mystic wrote:
This from the guy whose ST levels have made me add several new expletives to the English language.

After having a look at some of the levels I made back then, yeah, I can understand.

The Mystic
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 18
Registered: 09-20-2006
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The Stew Boy wrote:

The Mystic wrote:
This from the guy whose ST levels have made me add several new expletives to the English language.

After having a look at some of the levels I made back then, yeah, I can understand.

Actually, I meant it as a compliment. You've made some truly awesome levels in the past, despite that a lot of them are (in my opinion, anyway) nigh-impossible.

____________________________
Either I'm crazy, or everybody else is nuts. And I know I'm not crazy because the little man who lives on my shoulder told me so.
If people don't think there's something wrong with you, there's something wrong with you.
Oh well. Another day, another dementia.

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Okay, this is done now. The Bake Sale should go live in a week, I'll keep you posted.

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= Radiant =

Radiant
Level: Moderator

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For more information on the Bake Sale, please visit this site:

http://www.agsbakesale.com/

Basically, it's a bundle of fourteen games that you can buy for however much money you decide to spend on it, and all the money will go to charity. The games span several genres, including adventure games and (as seen above) platforming.

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= Radiant =

Radiant
Level: Moderator

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And it's live! You can now buy these games for a price you set yourself (starting at $1.50), and the proceeds will go to the Child's Play charity. The bundle contains fourteen games total. Enjoy!

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= Radiant =

Radiant
Level: Moderator

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Since we're now celebrating the Bake Sale's first anniversary, this game has been released as freeware!

Download the full version here!

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= Radiant =