History:
Alpha:
Lead Programmer: Sean Breslin
Programmers:
Garret Anger, Erik Jones
Lead Artist: David Linderman
The project's
three-level Alpha build was developed in DirectX 7 using DirectDraw
as a group project for a game programming course.
Sludge
Crawler's Alpha won first place in the first annual video game
programming competition held by Stony Brook University at the
end of the 2004 spring semester.
Contest Prize:
All programmers on the project recieved keys to enter World of
Warcraft's closed beta.
Completion:
Composer/Musician:
James Iorocci
The other programmers on the project were not interested
in completing the project, but gave project rights over to me.
David Linderman returned to the project, continuing
to create artwork.
I rewrote the engine into DirectX
8.1 using Direct3DXSprite rather than DirectDraw.
I
developed a level editor and separate level files for handling
the loading of levels.
Added more levels and features.
Entered the project into the 2006 IGF Main Competition
and Student Showcase before having it published by Man!festo Games.
System Requirements:
Windows Operating System
DirectX 8.1 or above
If your graphics card does not support Direct3D hardware acceleration:
The game will try to run in software mode
Transparency will be disabled to prevent game slowdown, creating
blue boxes around everything
Results in this mode are not entirely predictable
Storyline:
You are Sludge Crawler. You were forced to stop playing video
games and were sent out of your home on a mission... A mission
to rid your home of a curse! The curse of NotHavingAnyCarbonatedBeveragesInTheHouse!
It is said the the relic needed to dispel the curse is the legendary
"Soda" which can only be found in "Aisle 7"
of the "Grocery Store".
The fact that all these weird terrains and such are between you and the grocery store is mere coincidence! Have fun!
Controls:
Left Arrow/Left on Joystick (Splashscreens) - Wait
Right Arrow/Right on Joystick (Splashscreens) - Go faster
Left Arrow/Left on Joystick (In-game) - Move leftward
Right Arrow/Right on Joystick (In-game) - Move rightward
Up Arrow/Up on Joystick - Enter doorway/Look up
Down Arrow/Down on Joystick - Duck/Increase Gravity/Look Down
Spacebar/Button 4 or 2 on Joystick - Jump/Decrease Gravity
X/Button 3 on Joystick - Switch to previous powerup
Z/Button 1 on Joystick - Action button*
Hold Jump - Reduce gravity
Hold Duck - Increase gravity
Return/Button 10 on Joystick (In-game) - Pause
Esc (In-game) - Return to splashscreen
Tab (In-game) - Toggle Windowed/Fullscreen modes
*The action button does the following things:
Pops bubble during Bubble-Wheel combo
Kicks in Regular mode
Kicks in Spring-Regular combo
Kicks in Wheel-Regular combo
Powerups:
Normal - You can kick when standing still
Bubble - Protects from fire
Spring - Bouncy! By timing Jump & Duck properly, you can go
infinitely high. Landing on enemies hurts them.
Wheel - Maximum movement speed removed. Going above the normal
max hurts enemies if you hit them.
Swim - Jump mid-air... err... mid-water
Combo Moves:
Bubble-Wheel - If you switch from Bubble to Wheel while on the ground, you will spin in place building up speed. Hit the action button to launch yourself forward. (There is no maximum speed here.)
Wheel-Spring - If, while on the ground, you switch from Wheel to Spring, pressing the Jump button while Sludge's hand is in his pocket, his forward speed will be copied to the speed of his jump. (Very high jump. Higher jumps at greater speeds.)
Spring-Normal - If, while in the air, you have Spring and your previous power was Normal, pressing the Action button will cause Sludge to remain in Spring form and kick forward. This allows you to break breakable blocks that are not on the ground.
Wheel-Normal - If, while in the air, you have Wheel and your previous power was Normal, pressing the Action button will cause Sludge to remain in Wheel form and kick forward. If you hit a wall before landing, you will be able to run sideways up the wall by holding forward and/or up.
Items:
Drop of sludge - Collect 100 for an extra life
Puddle of sludge - Health. Not collected if at full health
Checked Flag - Mid-level save point. Die & you'll return there
Door - Go through to win
Enemies:
Blob - Just a basic blob. They come in 216 different colors.
Blat - A flying purple blob. It chases you.
Tuber - This yellow flowerpot is smarter than a blob. It looks
at how deep a hole is before jumping off & can climb somewhat.
Puddle Creatures - The animals found in the water move about ignoring
Sludge. Sludge, however, is allergic to them, so try to keep out
of their way.
Boolloon - What appears at first to be a helium filled party decoration
turns out to be something more. If you stand on the sign they
are holding, they will chase after you.
Computer Bug - These bugs hang out on ribbon cables.
Dust Bunny - The computer hasn't been cleaned out in a while,
so there are plenty of Dust Bunnies around.
Dodger
I've modded an object dodging demo to become a Sludge Crawler
minigame: Dodger
Sludge Crawler uses his wheel powerup in this minigame
Move left and right with the left and right arrow keys
Move forward and backward with the up and down arrow keys
Jump with the Spacebar
Avoid the blobs and get to the soda to win