As you may have noticed looking at screenshots of the minimap, the world is broken up into different rooms connected by doors. The doors that are open on the map are colored green, where doors that are closed are marked orange. You may have also noticed that these rooms bear a striking resemblance to the shapes you would find in a falling block puzzle game. This is by no means a coincidence. Once you enter the control room (the room marked with a C), you will be able to reshape the world.
The control room offers the ability to enter the map editor. Moveable rooms are unmarked while immovable rooms are marked with a red slash. You may pick up any movable room and place it on the map anywhere not already occupied by another room. Rooms may also be rotated to connect closed doors and create new paths through Tetropolis, allowing you to reach previously unreachable rooms.
When you reorient a room the contents are also affected by this sudden change in gravity. In the examine mode you can see the effect these changes have on the rooms in real time. You may also use examine mode to get a detailed view how multiple rooms are interacting. This view can help prevent you from making impossible paths, however, if you do get stuck, you can return to the control room at any time without losing progress.
The examine mode of the map editor.
The previous room rotated and the new orientation affecting the contents.
We couldn't just leave it at moving rooms around now could we? In addition to connecting rooms and creating paths, there are more complex map based puzzles. Certain elements in rooms may require power which is located in another room that must be fitted into place. Items may need to be carried or passed through several rooms in order to achieve a goal. Sections of a room may only be accessible in a specific orientation. All of these types of puzzles and more are possible in the world of Tetropolis.
We are still working on the layout and design for the full game, so there are many elements which are currently in flux. We are constantly improving the UI, implementing new mechanics and features as time provides. Obviously we’re very early in development, but we’re excited to show what we’re working on and what makes Tetropolis so unique! Up next will be our first post discussing the story of Tetropolis and what makes the world tick.
