ANN: Sint Nicolaas in Flash

[Mike Wiering]

Hi everyone,

I just finished porting Sint Nicolaas, a DOS game I made 10 years ago, to Flash. You can play it here:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/470303/

It's a platform game in which you collect the lost presents and cookies and deliver them to the right chimneys.

[tolik]

I hope it does well for you, how many sites are you on already?

One major mistake - non-clickable MikeWiering title screen and lack of further links back to the site on title screen/etc.

[Mike Wiering]

Awesome! I've always been a fan of your work. Should have added mouse support though.

Thanks! I'm not sure about mouse support, I can't remember ever seeing a platform game working well with mouse control.

I hope it does well for you, how many sites are you on already?

One major mistake - non-clickable MikeWiering title screen and lack of further links back to the site on title screen/etc.

Not sure about the number of sites so far, since I can only get the stats until yesterday, it says 20 hosts, but that is was a few hours after release.

I guess you're right, I just added a Wiering Software option in the menu. About clickable logos, I think most Flash games are too agressive with those, 9 out of 10 times I end up at the developers site by accident, because I only want the game to start. But now I made the URL at the bottom clickable.

[AlexWeldon]

Awesome... I brought the original version with me to Korea on a laptop back in 2001, and it ended up being a favourite of the school director's son.

[tolik]

After playing one level, I think it's far too hardcore for a modern platformer... Especially a two-button control scheme. I can't run & jump in the opposite direction for some reason (holding 3 buttons, jumping).

You might think that misclicking on a title screen is a little extreme, but that's how you get the traffic. The fact that someone misclicked your title screen and opened your site won't make them leave your game. It will however increase your traffic significantly and people will likely explore your site if it's well-crafted. And traffic matters.

[Mike Wiering]

After playing one level, I think it's far too hardcore for a modern platformer... Especially a two-button control scheme. I can't run & jump in the opposite direction for some reason (holding 3 buttons, jumping).

Thanks, I think you're right. I received several comments from people not being able to jump over the large gap at the beginning. So I just made a new version, now you always walk fast, no need to press extra keys.

You might think that misclicking on a title screen is a little extreme, but that's how you get the traffic. The fact that someone misclicked your title screen and opened your site won't make them leave your game. It will however increase your traffic significantly and people will likely explore your site if it's well-crafted. And traffic matters.

Personally, I always get annoyed when that happens and shut down the site right away, seems like wasted traffic to me.

[tolik]

Some more comments. I've been playing QWAK for far too long last month, so I feel like raising some issues in Sint Nicolas as well.

1) There's no way to go out of settings menu with mouse (ESC button is an extremely rare thing in Flash games), please add an "OK" button in there (same way as in STORY).

2) As people have noted, it REALLY misses mouse controls. If you need good examples of mouse-enabled Flash platformers, PM me and I'll send you several links I've collected.

3) (initially) It is not clear that you should stay on chimney for few seconds to deliver stuff. You could put a sign before the first house explaining how delivery works, e.g. "It takes 5 coins to fill a chimney" (or however it works, it's still confusing for me, I believe there's a bug when you've dropped all the coins and it's a turn for that chimney - then its background doesn't disappear).

4) The fact that player respawns at the start of the level after death is far too intense by the modern arcade game standards. Why not "jumpshoot" the player from the pit (bottom of the screen up) and let him lose 1 heart? Perhaps you could make a casual "mouse + jump out from pits" version and leave the one you have as a hardcore. Or put let the player select one of these 2 modes (relaxed or hardcore).

5) While playing without sound, level 1->bonus intermission is too long.

6) Lack of delivery order instructions is confusing - initially in level one and then in level 3... I gave the game to a friend and he asked me "where's level 1 exit?".

7) Being a hardcore arcade fan who periodically opens all 96 levels in SNES Super Mario World under few hours time, I think the game is far too intense. Could you put an extra heart in level 2-3?

8) Background looks dead, could you blink the stars?
What about subtle idle animation for Sint Nicolas? Perhaps a raising hat?

9) Slippery level is on par with some of the most hardcore SMW levels (was it gnarly from star road?). Even though I've entered all-time TOP5, I haven't completed the game and that means that most of people didn't do that. I don't believe that new players are likely to master jump'n'run techiques over time, so the game definitely needs a relaxed/casual mode to appeal to more people. You could see plenty of casual variations over arcade genre at www.donutgames.com (love arcadelab!).

10) What is the best high score strategy? Is it better to die in the last level and grab as many items as you can before dying or you actually multiply all the lives left at the end of the game by 10,000 points so the final scoring depends on the actual skill of the player?

[320x240]

I like the game. Unlike in most modern platformers the levels are actually built around the avatars abilities. Platformers today are just a bunch of large levels lazily stringed together. Your game is small and tight and therefore the player is always challenged. It's just how an action game should be.

What I dont like is what I call Mario Brotheritiis; inertia. The only thing worse than inertia in a platformer is inertia in a shmup. If I wanted 'real' I wouldn't play computer games. While inertia creates dynamics in one place it actually lowers the overall dynamics of the game; it halts the flow of the game.

Much of the fun of platformers comes from momentarily overcoming the resistance created by the 'forces of gravity'. This creates a sense of freedom. Inertia on the other hand is something that you can never totally escape. You can overcome it to a certain degree but not totally shake it off, not even for a brief moment. This creates the opposite feeling, a feeling of dependancy.

Of course, I get most of my games from ShortAttentionSpan Software, a sub-division of ADD Games.

[Mike Wiering]

Thanks for your comments!

tolik, I've implemented most of your suggestions, even some experimental mouse control, but I'm not quite happy with it yet. It's the third scheme I tried and the first with which I can actually play a couple of levels without constantly deactivating the game by clicking outside of it or needing my entire desk for space.

I believe there's a bug when you've dropped all the coins and it's a turn for that chimney - then its background doesn't disappear).

That's the color of the present that still needs to be delivered there!

I made the entire game easier now, with lots of hidden bouncing blocks in pits (especially in the slippery level) that will bounce you back up if you're lucky. Also, every level has one or more hidden teleports that can take you to other places very fast (if you can find them). And there is an Easy mode in which you can always restart from the last chimney where you delivered something, and only lose a heart if you fall into a pit. You can still get a much better score if you choose Hard.

[AlexWeldon]

Common gripe I have with platformers... more attention needs to be payed to the player's intentions, especially with regards to jumping. In particular, if I'm in the air, and hit jump a second time a few milliseconds before my feet hit the ground, I should jump again on landing, rather than running straight off the edge of a cliff.

If you want to penalize me by having my character stumble a little and not get quite as much height and distance, fine... but there's nothing more annoying than running straight into an ordinarily-insignificant pit because you're rushing through the level and happened to hit the jump button an instant too soon.

[Mike Wiering]

Common gripe I have with platformers... more attention needs to be payed to the player's intentions, especially with regards to jumping. In particular, if I'm in the air, and hit jump a second time a few milliseconds before my feet hit the ground, I should jump again on landing, rather than running straight off the edge of a cliff.

I don't see the problem here, I have given that a lot of though and that is how it works in this game. You can press jump before reaching the ground and you'll make another jump the moment you land. Unless you mean you just tapped the button and let it go again before hitting the ground. I've tried it that way too but it feels wrong. The jump button determines how high you jump, tap it briefly for a small jump and hold it down for a higher jump. So making an extra jump without the button pressed at all would be strange.

[tolik]

Thanks for your comments!

Slippery level has a bug - if one of the platforms in the middle of the level falls, you can't complete that level Makes it impossible to complete it on EASY as you have to wait for TIME UP and give it another try. I've got a screenshot, but can't upload it now.

I think you can't make it any better just because it is what it is - quite a hardcore platformer with hardcore level design due to plenty of pits. A single delivery task which isn't self-explaining (unnatural/uncommon) makes it play really weirdly - people don't expect to go back and forth in a mario game. I personally like playing it on hard as easy has far lower score. Let's wait for the xmas to see how it performs!

You should shamelessly release your DOS Mario Flash port

[Mike Wiering]

Slippery level has a bug - if one of the platforms in the middle of the level falls, you can't complete that level Makes it impossible to complete it on EASY as you have to wait for TIME UP and give it another try. I've got a screenshot, but can't upload it now.

Whoops! Those platforms are supposed to be there again if you go away and come back, and they worked! Anyway, I fixed it now (you could still complete the level with the secret teleports BTW).

I think you can't make it any better just because it is what it is - quite a hardcore platformer with hardcore level design due to plenty of pits. A single delivery task which isn't self-explaining (unnatural/uncommon) makes it play really weirdly - people don't expect to go back and forth in a mario game. I personally like playing it on hard as easy has far lower score. Let's wait for the xmas to see how it performs!

I could still make it easier by allowing Sint to deliver any present in his trail, not only the first one, but I think that would be too easy. Nobody would ever get to see the sun coming up!

You should shamelessly release your DOS Mario Flash port

Actually I am thinking about porting Super Angelo, it uses like 90% of the same code as Sint Nicolaas.

[AlexWeldon]

I don't see the problem here, I have given that a lot of though and that is how it works in this game. You can press jump before reaching the ground and you'll make another jump the moment you land. Unless you mean you just tapped the button and let it go again before hitting the ground. I've tried it that way too but it feels wrong. The jump button determines how high you jump, tap it briefly for a small jump and hold it down for a higher jump. So making an extra jump without the button pressed at all would be strange.

I'm pretty sure I jumped, released the button, hit it again before landing but didn't release it before I touched the ground, yet still ran straight off the edge. However, it's your game and you know how the code works, so I believe you... I'll go play again tomorrow and see if I can duplicate the problem.

EDIT: Yeah, okay, I've experimented a bit and it does seem to work the way we both think it should. I'm not sure if I did something different the last time or what. Disregard my comment, sorry.

[Dyno Kid]

Yes i would be interested in the links to mouse controlled platform games that have a good/great feel.

Darren.