Garten's Money Pit

[Valrahk]

In the fall of 2011, an aspiring game programmer started taking a class... a class... on Gamemaker. What happened in that class, you ask? Well, among other things:

GARTEN'S MONEY PIT

...happened... What is Garten's Money Pit, you ask? Well, it's what happens when Valrahk makes a platformer for a game design class. You can download it here.Ah, but I can tell you're a gamer of discerning taste, so you want to see what you're downloading first, so here's some screenshots:

A Title Screen!I wonder what that battery does...What? A Bohrok? What madness is this?!

But what's so special about it?-It's a game, starring everyone's favorite Akaku-wearing sarcastic nerdy royal aide, Garten!-It has a HUD! How many games have that? What, almost all of them? Uh...-Three non-linear levels, and one of them's just crazy (you'll know it once you see it)-Four kinds of enemies!-And a manual, explaining all of this again! Enjoy this nonsense. That's why it's here.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Valrahk

[alpha123]

Well, this was... unexpected... Piraka Mania was such an awesome game. Cute title screen. Anyway, it's fun, although pretty hard (IMO, but I'm not a gamer...). The up arrow should jump; the spacebar is just awkward.

[Jedi Knight Krazy]

Alright, as with all short-looking games, I'll give a real-time review of the game

• [*]Interactive title screen? SWEET[*]I see your obsession with Nintendo music continues... nothing wrong with that[*]Your jumping feels a bit floaty. Maybe increase gravity and jump velocity so you reach the same height but fall faster?[*]The game suffers from standard Game Maker platformer syndrome, which is where you often can't jump when you're walking towards an edge. I'm not sure why you usually only see this in Game Maker games, but it's annoying. Not your fault, though.[*]GAH, sticky keys... why did Microsoft ever decide that nobody would press shift 5 times?[*]You always jump the same height... in most games you (unrealistically) get less height if you release the space bar quickly. Always jumping the same height means it can be tricky to dodge enemies, and it's annoying when you only need a quick hop to jump on somebody's head.[*]The "Start Game" button is the only time you use the mouse in the game... kinda weird[*]Boo yah, laser gun! How do you tell how many shots you have left?[*]Hmmmm, I died right after I got 3600 points, so when I respawned on the vortex I promptly went to the next level. Just a minor awkwardness.[*]Whew, didn't see those spikes down there. Glad I landed on that platform I also didn't see [*]Dang, NOW I landed on them.[*]Ropes are really finnicky... I wish I could just face the other direction to shoot that Nui-Rama.[*]Hmmm, how many points do I need? *pulls out calculator* 3600... times 2... 7200. (be nice, it's early) I have 7360... why u no unlock?[*]Ok, 7655 unlocked it.I probably need to get 3600 plus what I had at the start of the level. Amirite?[*]Hmmm, I've got two lives left. There's a spare down there, but there's so many enemies in the way that I'd probably die trying to get it anyway[*]Woah, game elements appear on - TIMED LEVEL DANG IT BRB[*]Ok, dead. 9195 points! Is that good?[*]As I was saying, game elements like coins, batteries, and enemies appear on top of the HUD.[*]That last level was crazy!

Overall, it was really fun! Finnicky controls are my main complaint, but it's well balanced and the levels are well thought out. (Assuming that the last level was the part where you got really bored)

[Valrahk]

Alright, as with all short-looking games, I'll give a real-time review of the game

• [*]Interactive title screen? SWEET[*]I see your obsession with Nintendo music continues... nothing wrong with that[*]Your jumping feels a bit floaty. Maybe increase gravity and jump velocity so you reach the same height but fall faster?[*]The game suffers from standard Game Maker platformer syndrome, which is where you often can't jump when you're walking towards an edge. I'm not sure why you usually only see this in Game Maker games, but it's annoying. Not your fault, though.[*]GAH, sticky keys... why did Microsoft ever decide that nobody would press shift 5 times?[*]You always jump the same height... in most games you (unrealistically) get less height if you release the space bar quickly. Always jumping the same height means it can be tricky to dodge enemies, and it's annoying when you only need a quick hop to jump on somebody's head.[*]The "Start Game" button is the only time you use the mouse in the game... kinda weird[*]Boo yah, laser gun! How do you tell how many shots you have left?[*]Hmmmm, I died right after I got 3600 points, so when I respawned on the vortex I promptly went to the next level. Just a minor awkwardness.[*]Whew, didn't see those spikes down there. Glad I landed on that platform I also didn't see [*]Dang, NOW I landed on them.[*]Ropes are really finnicky... I wish I could just face the other direction to shoot that Nui-Rama.[*]Hmmm, how many points do I need? *pulls out calculator* 3600... times 2... 7200. (be nice, it's early) I have 7360... why u no unlock?[*]Ok, 7655 unlocked it.I probably need to get 3600 plus what I had at the start of the level. Amirite?[*]Hmmm, I've got two lives left. There's a spare down there, but there's so many enemies in the way that I'd probably die trying to get it anyway[*]Woah, game elements appear on - TIMED LEVEL DANG IT BRB[*]Ok, dead. 9195 points! Is that good?[*]As I was saying, game elements like coins, batteries, and enemies appear on top of the HUD.[*]That last level was crazy!

Overall, it was really fun! Finnicky controls are my main complaint, but it's well balanced and the levels are well thought out. (Assuming that the last level was the part where you got really bored)

Okay, I'll tackle these in order... -Thank you.-If you notice, all of the music was originally in Piraka Mania, but yeah, also Nintendo...-I might tweak the game a little bit, maybe this as part of it.-Yeah, that gets annoying, especially in a heated battle in a flash game...-Aside from aiming the gun with the mouse (which, honestly, would be a pain for me to program and wouldn't add that much to the game anyway), there wasn't much opportunity for mouse usage here.-One battery = up to ten shots, two batteries = up to twenty, etc.-Yeah, that happens... Other than making a second vortex, there's no good way to fix that...-I take it I should make the platforms (and spikes) a bit easier to see...-What did you go and do that for? -The game adds up points from spare ammo before you get to the next level. If you're lost on that front, just go after all the coins, and try to ignore enemies. Each level (except the bonus one) has exactly enough coins to get 3600 points.-Yes.-Actually, originally, there were just a pair of coins in that spot, and yeah, it's tough to reach.-Surprise!-9,000 is pretty good. I got 11,000 last time I played through.-Not entirely sure why that happens.-Again, yeah, it is. A timed level can be a bit tense, but a timed bonus level with everything and the kitchen sink thrown in? That's just downright FUN! Also, I probably should have mentioned: This game was actually made as an assignment for the class. That's why there's the oddball elements like score-based progression and a timed level - those elements were required. Also, it essentially had to be based on the Gamemaker platformer tutorial, because, while I did fool around a while back with a different GM platformer "engine" (does it really count as a separate engine if it's all in the same program?), it can't handle stairs, which were also required. Oh, and about using the spacebar to jump: personally, I find using the up arrow to be really awkward, so I switched it to the spacebar. I prefer the jump button to be away from the movement buttons. If you want, you can blame Mario for that. Edited October 29, 2011 by Valrahk