Controls
use the arrow keys to move
X opens invintory/select option
C is the go back button
tips
enemies only move when you move
bump into YELLOW objects to interact
bump into enemies to attack
objective
make it to the end to the yellow stairs at the end of the maze
thank you
thank you @Kristman for creating the "Porklike tutorial".
Code template by Krystman.
Always down for a good Porklike mod, but some of your items are kinda confusing!
- I had a silver sword, but it equipped as armor instead of a weapon.
- I had a health kit, but the only options were Throw or Trash, so I wasn't sure how to use it for healing.
- There was something called a Siver Suit with a Use option, but it didn't seem to do anything.
- There are a few yellow blocks (chests?) scattered around the dungeon that you can't interact with despite them being yellow.
- I couldn't find the stairs to the next floor.
- The first floor boss one-hit killed me - he does 10 damage per hit and you only have 5 hit points, so I guess you can only kill him at range?
Bug report: Your "throw" draw is bugged and always draws the line to the left.
Commentary:
At first I thought this was a clever variation. A continuous scrolling random map roguelike. That would be awesome. But after a few play throughs I realized there is no random map. It's the same every time. Same map, same enemy placement, same chest and pot placement.
Well, that's not a bad thing.
Oh, but the item pickups are still random.
My first play thought I got the best weapon and armor right at the start. I thought that was normal. Then I got one hit by some enemy I didn't even see at the end.
Turns out there's an OP boss and even the best armor doesn't stop him from one-hitting you. So your only hope is to save up the best throwing weapons (if the game will even give them to you). All the weapons only get you there, but don't actually help in the final fight. So maybe the only winning move is not to fight at all.
There are some items that don't seem to work as expected. For instance, Alien Meat does nothing. I tried throwing it at the boss to see if that was his weakness, but nothing still. There are rusty blades you can equip and rusty blades you can throw (though it only does 1 point of damage, same as nuts and bolts).
Oh, and the yellow squares which are signs in other porklikes don't do anything in this one.
Over all, I'm not sure a game where the drops are all random, but you need certain ones to beat it, is actually fun. You're just kinda running through the game hoping it lets you win this time. That's basically a lets play with more steps.
Okay, so avoiding the boss all together gets you to the "YOU WIN" room, but the game doesn't do anything when you try to climb the stairs.
Overall, I'm impressed by the effort, but less so with the game. Games tend to be so luck based that you get OP early and the game is boring, or you don't and they're frustrating, with no middle ground. In my last run I literally threw away all my health items as soon as I got them because I never got hit, both because I mastered using items to get first hit parity, and because I had the amulet before my first monster encounter.
But overall this game feels incomplete, with items that don't seem to do anything, signs that don't work and strange duplicate items, so I hope you won't mind me making a few suggestions to make the game better:
Fixed items
What if instead of random drops, you had a list of items that appeared in every game, and you simply randomly scattered where they'd appear. That way, for example, you'd always insure that at some point they'd get the crucifix, but they don't know where.
Stackable Consumables
Perhaps health potions and throwing weapons could stack in your inventory, that way you can keep a bunch of them on hand, and maybe even use multiples in one turn. Imagine saving up a bunch of throwing blades and unleashing them on the boss all at once!
Weapon/Armor progression
What if instead of getting the best armor on the first pickup by dumb luck, you instead got an armor item that the first time you get it is the lowest armor, the next time you get it the next step up, and so on. That way it's not about getting a specific item, but about finding all of them as you go so you're sure you can level it up.
Durability System
Alternatively, perhaps a durability system could be introduced where weapons and armor wear out after taking or delivering a certain number of hits. You'd have to communicate the remaining strength of the items to the player. But this way players would be incentivized to hold on to the good stuff until they need it, and not just blast through it all at once.
Perhaps with this you could experiment with items that have attributes. That way you have a few weapon types (blade, plasma cutter, crucifix) a few armor types, and a modifier (rusty, blessed). Rusty whatever is at half durability, blessed hits twice as hard. I'm sure there's more could be done with this.
More enemy variety
Enemies that can jump 2 spaces in the same direction.
Enemies that throw projectiles at you when they're lined up on you.
Enemies that move slow but hit hard.
There so much more than "hits harder and takes more hits" that can be done.
Puzzle Boss
If you intend to have a boss that's unbeatable, that's fine, but maybe add a puzzle to get past it. Maybe the alien meat can lure it away so you have time to throw the switches you need to open a door. Or maybe the goal is to lure it into a trap, maybe something with a fuse so good timing is involved. Something more than "run away".
But it would be more satisfying if all that stuff you've been gathering the whole time had a purpose. Maybe there's an idol or something that you put on a plinth and the beast backs off.
Randomized map
This is what I thought I was getting at first, it's what I wanted, and I think it'd be cool.
Conclusion
Again, I appreciate the effort. You're off to a good start, and I love the scrolling screen. But I think you've stumbled on some examples of how not to do it. now, learn from that, and make it better, and I'm sure you'll have one of the better Pico-8 games out there!
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