The Return of Dr. McSlime Windows, NES game

The Return of Dr. McSlime

Brodlin Games | TBD

Your goal in this retro arcade platformer is to take Dr. McSlime from the start to the goal, as fast as possible. On each level lurks tricky puzzle elements, and the key to success is often to keep your speed as high as possible. Bouncing against walls lets you keep most of your speed momentum, allowing you to get to the goal in less time. If you hit a wall fast enough, you will get an upwards speed boost which is often neccessary to overcome tricky obstacles. Many obstacles are unpassable if you don't have enough speed. The faster you complete a level, the better score you get on that level. The scores of each level add up to your total score. Future versions of Dr. McSlime will contain a level selection view where you can replay completed levels to improve your time, thus further improving your total score.

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Level design - The Return of Dr. McSlime

Apr 6 2011 Mapping/Technical Tutorial

When you design new levels, try to make use of the game mechanics (momentum, wall bounce etc.) to get more challenging and interesting gameplay.
We haven't created a level editor yet, but it is still quite easy to create levels. This tutorial tells you how it works!

Part 1 - Creating the level

Create a new ordinary text file with the following syntax:
[width] [height]

[tile data (multiple rows)]
[path to background music]
[time goal]

Explanation:

[width]
the width of the level grid, specified in number of tiles

[height]
the height of the level grid, specified in number of tiles

[tile data]
A two-dimensional grid of space-separated digits. The grid should be [height] lines high, where each line has [width] space separated digits.
Different digits correspond to different tiles:
0 - empty
5 - wall
6 - spike ball
8 - start position
9 - end position
Imagine the grid as a kind of "map" or blueprint that describes the level.
The tiles in the level will be in the same order and position as you place them in this grid.
NOTE: It is very important that the grid width and height are the same as given by [width] and [height].

[path to background music]
The path to the background music for this level. The path is relative to the executable file you use to start the game. If you write an invalid path, the level will play without music.

[time goal]
This is the maximum time, in seconds, that give score. If you complete the level slower, you get no time bonus. If you're faster than the time goal you will recieve time bonus.

Example level file:

8 5

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
5 5 5 0 0 0 6 5
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
5 0 8 0 6 0 9 5
5 5 5 5 6 5 5 5
music/NES-laten LOOP.ogg
20

Part 2 - Making it playable

When you have created a level file, you have to add its path to levels.txt, found in the folder where you extracted the game. The path should be relative to levels.txt.
When you play the game, you will play all levels in levels.txt, in the order they appear.

When your level is done and working, you can send it to your friends. Make sure they add it to their levels.txt too. You can also add it as a download on the download page of this game. If you want your level featured in game, just tell us and we might include it and put you in the credits :)