Damien
Level: Delver
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I've let these ideas sit in a corner of my head for long enough that I think they're worth sharing, now.

First, a remote bug zapper (illustrated):

Two "things" (like Tesla coils), here represented by the red bits, are placed close to each other, with a gap between the two to let the roaches in.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/6388/capture001.png

The "coils" are linked to an orb, and when activated, a bolt of lightning appears between the two, frying anything in its path (works on other monsters, possibly not on rock golems an wubbas).
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/4087/capture002z.png
This could be used in puzzles where you have to deal with unreachable monsters, having to time their movements accurately enough so you don't miss any.
(don't know why the second image is bigger than the other.)

Next, a "you can't turn any more" token (not illustrated):

A simple token which changes Beethro directly, toggled on and off like the already existing no-sword one.
When Beethro steps on it, he is locked in his current position, his movements unimpaired but robbing him of the ability to spin, until stepping on the "you can turn again" token on the other side of the room, just after all these roaches and the snakes.

Then, Two swords?:

I had also envisioned a "double sword" token, but I'm not sure how that could work, really. Here's how it would play out: you step on a token, which would look like a sword, not an actual token, and bam!, Beethro has got another sword, one in each hand.
It would look somewhat like this, minus the freaky proportions:

This could be used to deal with a lot of monsters, and could be used in conjunction with the "no-spin" token. Or something.

Finally, crumby floor:

Works basically like trapdoors, only more durable.
A tile of the floor is visibly cracked. Step on it once and walk away, it will be even more cracked. Go over it once more and it turns into a pit.



Too bad the forum doesn't recognise imageshack's thumbnails, that would have looked better.

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larrymurk
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I think all your suggestions are interesting.

Bug Zapper. Neat. Would hitting an orb toggle the zapper between on/off or zap things instantly then be off again? What if you placed a bunch of zappers, not sure how you'd mark which ones zap to each other.

No turning token. Obviously there are plenty of tricks used to make the player lose if he turns, but a no turning token would sure make this simpler.

Two swords. Fun. Not sure where it'd be most interesting to arrange the swords. You could have them at angles, or to the sides, or front and back..

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[Last edited by larrymurk at 11-30-2012 03:58 PM]

stigant
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Two swords. Fun. Not sure where it'd be most interesting to arrange the swords. You could have them at angles, or to the sides, or front and back.

Or there are 6 possible rotation moves:
Rotate both swords ccw
Rotate both swords cw
Rotate left hand sword ccw
Rotate left hand sword cw
Rotate right hand sword ccw
Rotate right hand sword cw

Hmmm, that's quite complicated (from a user input point of view... 6 buttons and only 2-4 fingers and on your left hand)

Perhaps some reduced functionality:
Q - rotate both swords ccw
W - rotate both swords cw
shift + Q - rotate left sword ccw, right sword cw
shift + W - rotate left sword cw, right sword ccw

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Someone Else
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In any case, how would you differentiate between the 'left' sword and the 'right' one?

stigant
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Perhaps "original sword" and "extra sword" would be a better way to think about it.

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Someone Else
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That's not what I meant. How do you distinguish them visually?

stigant
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ahhh, good question. Maybe a different color? But the sword is kinda small (on the screen...) so that might not work. The slayer's hook had a totally different shape and was pretty recognizable.

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Damien
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larrymurk wrote: Would hitting an orb toggle the zapper between on/off or zap things instantly then be off again? What if you placed a bunch of zappers, not sure how you'd mark which ones zap to each other.

As I imagined it the zapper would be turned on just as you hit the orb and then turn off again, being active just for one turn. But I hadn't thought of the possibility of an on/off toggle.
To differentiate between different ones, maybe the orbs have to be the same colour as the "coils", or there is a purely cosmetic electric line running on the floor between the two. But that couldn't pass pits. or maybe it could hang over them, don't know.

As for the swords, I think it would be best to keep things simple and have them both rotate the same way, not independently.
And on the matter of how do you distinguish between the two, well, why couldn't they look the same?

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[Last edited by Damien at 12-02-2012 11:35 AM]

Nuntar
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Damien wrote: As for the swords, I think it would be best to keep things simple and have them both rotate the same way, not independently.

What would happen if you stepped onto and then off oremites?

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Pearls
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Nuntar wrote:

Damien wrote: As for the swords, I think it would be best to keep things simple and have them both rotate the same way, not independently.

What would happen if you stepped onto and then off oremites?

The first move off determines the orientation of the first sword(so for a single turn, Beethro has one sword, and then, as he reaches for the second, the second step determines the extra sword's.

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Damien
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That may be over-complicated. I was thinking just a simple on/off, keeping the swords' angles as they were before stepping on it.

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[Last edited by Damien at 12-06-2012 04:20 AM]

Kallor
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The swords could just point 45 degrees left and right from where the caracter is facing.

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Damien
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Kallor wrote:
The swords could just point 45 degrees left and right from where the caracter is facing.

That's my idea, yes, hence the weird picture in my original post.

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