Anyway, I’ve finally gotten around to trying flixel out. I cast around a bit for a game idea that I thought would suit flixel’s strengths. It’s a game with 3 tracks where rocks come at you and you have to switch tracks to dodge them.

Play the Sideliner prototype

Unfortunately, it’s not really fun. The graphics were also a pain. Rocks I can do; the drill took me at least twice as long.

As a fan of both robots and kittens, I of course thought of Robot Finds Kitten, the “zen simulation” that has been ported to a multitude of platforms. I found an existing DS version of RFK, but its controls were sluggish, spurring me to write my own.

I used devkitPro and the PAlib text and input libraries to make Robot Finds Kitten.

Files:

• Game
• Source

Download Em No Meio (130 MB .MP4)

For PyMotion, I used Python and PyGame, the Python port of the SDL library. I wrote the program in Leo, a literate programming editor that uses trees to structure code.

The framework of PyMotion is contained in the variable-speed ticker, and in the element-handling functions. The variable-speed ticker allows one to implement global accelerations and decelerations independent of framerate. The element-handling functions consist of functions to create arrays of elements in various configurations, and functions to move arrays of elements according to various rules.

Starting Configurations:

1. Dot
2. Line
3. Circle

Motion Rules:

1. Straight line
2. Along the perimeter of a circle
3. Radially inward or outward while moving in a circle
4. Sinusoidal oscillation
5. Polar-coordinate rose motion, as described in John Whitney’s book, Digital Harmony

I used the framework to create one piece of visual music. I have not included screenshots because the heart of differential motion is motion, and screenshots do not adequately capture it. To view the piece on a Windows machine, download the zip file below, unzip it, and run pymotion.exe. To view the piece on any other machine, you will first need to install Python and PyGame. Then download the zip file, navigate to the /python/source directory, and enter python pymotion.py to run it.

Download PyMotion

Ad for Cthuzzles

Voice over:

Have you ever wanted a pet but been too busy to take care of one?

(show still shots of having to feed pet, dog poo, etc. — maybe get shots of Cambria looking annoyed?)

Are you allergic to any pet more interesting than goldfish?

We’ve got the perfect pet for you!

Introducing… Cthuzzles!

(A Cthuzzle appears on screen, on plain background with the word “Cthuzzle” above it. The Cthuzzle is a small creature made of a small fuzzball, three large googly eyes, two pipe-cleaner antennae, and white round feet. It’s about 3 inches tall.)

(as the following plays, show a Cthuzzle bouncing around on a floor)

Incredibly cute!

No mess, no feeding!

Cthuzzles!

(flash the word “Cthuzzle” again)

Only $9.95!

Order yours today!

Cthuzzle is a Registered Trademark of CthonCorp: Updating the Traditions of the Old Ones for the Present Day

Cthuzzles Disperse

Interior: room, contains Margie

? Short shot of her walking back from Platt with delivery box.

Alt: comes in holding box

Opens box, inside is container with Cthuzzle (improvise using bowls), as well as thick manual.

She throws away the manual and opens the container.

Happy!

(Stroke and pet Cthuzzle.)

(Pick up phone, calls friend)

“Hey, Mike! I just got my Cthuzzle!” (pause)

“It’s *really* cute! I can’t believe how cute it is!” (pause)

“Uh-huh. Yeah, it’s only 10 bucks! You should get one!” (pause)

“Oh, I bet xxx would love one too…”

?Would be neat: have Mike on other side with other side of conversation, do split-screen thing

Cthuzzles Reveal Themselves

(Same dorm room. Meant to be night lighting.)

Zoom in close on Cthuzzle bouncing around.

(Antennae perk up, possibly make eyes look upward)

(Cthuzzle sprouts tentacles.)

(Cthuzzle makes little squeakly sound like speeded-up maniacal laughter.)

(Cthuzzle splits in two.)

(Cthuzzles face each other, bow antennae, then split in two again.)

(again)

(add more if i have time)

(fade out)

Cthuzzle Crisis!

(Newscaster setup. Sean probably. Or maybe Cambria, use Sean for ad voiceover?)

Breaking news. This morning the nation awoke to a crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Cthuzzles, the first product of CthonCorp, appear to have started reproducing themselves and are swarming the country.

(Box: picture of place covered in pompoms)

Protests have been lobbied to CthonCorp, but their only response has been the cryptic “It is the will of the Old Ones.” (possibly: image of CthonCorp building, with protesters)

Meanwhile, experts are — (looks to the side, panicking) Oh no! They’ve gotten into the studio!

(camera gets knocked over; one Cthuzzle runs across floor view squeaking; more Cthuzzles run across floor accompanied by more squeaking; one gets really up close to camera)

sudden black.

Hope Lies with Hackers

(Interior: another dorm room-ish place, or maybe the Terminal room. Or maybe a bio lab? Mike at computer (A))

(B) Pan to side where Margie puts a chair up against the door and sits down, relieved.

B “Phew! I think that’s the last of them. I’m really sorry about that.”

A (shrug) “Eh. Anyway, I’ve finally got that tissue sample analyzed.”

B “Great! Let me see.”

(Join on computer)

A “I think this part controls the antennae… This one controls the tentacles…”

B “That must be the reproductive segment.”

A “Yeah, you’re right.”

B “Hey, isn’t that the same stuff we saw in Bio last week?”

A “What stuff?”

B “The sample of those tentacled horrors from the deep!”

A “Oh yeah!”

B “Geez, these things are completely uncontrollable! What were they thinking?”

A “Dunno, but there’s got to be something we can do.”

B “I’ve got it! Look here, this section — that’s the main tentacled-horror part. But it’s pretty simple, so if we just invert this segment and…” (fade out on technobabble)

Success: the Wuzzle Lives!

(close shot of a metal platform with laser pointy things or some such — voice overs!)

A “Do you really think this is going to work?”

B “It had better. (pause) Ready?”

A “Ready.”

B “Hit it!”

(big flashy thingie, electric buzzy sound)

(Wuzzle appears in center of platform) (Through next exchange, wuzzle “fiddles”, e.g. moving antennae, turning a bit, looking around)

A “Hey, it looks… normal! It only has two eyes!”

B “It’s even cuter than the Cthuzzles!”

A “What should we call it?”

?B “Doesn’t it remind you of those things Selene draws?

?A “Yeah, kinda. What were they called again?”

?B “She called them ‘wuzzles’”

alt:

B “How abot ‘wuzzles’?”

A “I like it!”

B “So, wuzzle, we have a problem with your cousins, the Cthuzzles.”

(wuzzle starts in alarm, squeaks)

B “And we need you to help us!”

(questioning squeak)

A “Yes, you. You’ve been designed for the sole purpose of stopping the Cthuzzles.”

B “Don’t worry, you’ll have lots of friends.”

(happy squeak)

B “So do you think you can do it?”

(wuzzle “nods” antennae, bounces happily. Happy squeak!!)

(both at once) “Yes!”

Fuzzy Frenzy

Close up on a stretch of asphalt.

Lone wuzzle and Cthuzzle walk up to each other

Cthuzzle makes noise, Cthuzzles swarm

Wuzzle makes noise, wuzzles swarm

FUZZY FRENZY BATTLE!!! (get lots of pompoms, possibly get sheet/bluescreen-type thing underneath to bounce them up again when they land, film for a bit. add glowies in aftereffects.)

the fuzz clears.

asphalt with lots of cthuzzle bodies, and fewer wuzzle bodies around.

wuzzle picks itself up, looks around while waving antennae. happy squeak!! wuzzle jumps, happy!

fade out

Wuzzles Victorious Michael and Marge from earlier eating with wuzzle on table

B “We did it!”

A “Yeah! I have to admit, I wasn’t sure it would work…”

(wuzzle bounces and squeaks for attention)

B “And it’s all thanks to you, wuzzle.” (pets wuzzle)

A “So what should we do with these little guys?”

B “I dunno”

A “You know, they *are* pretty cute. I bet someone would be willing to pay for one of them…”

Fade out

* if time*

voiceover ad — possibly just have the voiceover during the credits, choose Michael or Margie

Traumatized by Cthuzzles, but still in the market for a no-maintenance pet?

Try Wuzzles! (“Wuzzle” flashes on screen, accompanied by picture of a wuzzle)

No need to feed or clean!

Guaranteed not to reproduce uncontrollably or double your money back!

Only $9.95!

Order yours today!

Credits

Cast

• Ad voice -
• Student – Margie
• Announcer -
• Other student – Michael

Concept and Screenplay – Selene Tan

Effects – Selene Tan