Duck Tiles!
It's a tile-sliding game similar to Ricochet Robot or Lunar Lockout, but with a few little touches here and there. It's also an addictive little monster like Bulldozer. It's gonna be a big hit, but I need your help.
Lemme explain the game first.
The object is to steer all of the rubber duckies (the little yellow bird-looking things) onto the drains (the gray circles). Problem is, the floor is slippery and ducks tend to slide until they hit something. Thankfully, there's other stuff on the floor that can help you. There are bars of soap (the pink, blue, and white rectangles). Soaps can be pushed just like duckies, but they don't count if you put 'em on a drain. Sponges (the big brown sponge-looking things) don't move at all. If a ducky bumps into a sponge, a soap, or a wall, it stops. The goal is to move stuff into a configuration that'll allow you to get the ducky to the drain.
The level below actually shows two different puzzles. The big puzzle on the left is similar to Ricochet robot. You'll notice that it's surrounded by walls. This means that a ducky can be pushed into the edges of the puzzle if you want. Gaze at it a bit and see if you can see the solution.
The second puzzle is the smaller one on the right. It's more similar to Lunar Lockout. You'll notice that there are no walls around the edge. If there's not a wall, your ducky cannot go there. For example, the ducky in the small puzzle can move right, but not left, up, or down, as he'd fall off the board (the water drops are just cuteness). See if you can see the solution to this one.
Both solutions are under the picture. Don't peek until you figure 'em out. Use a checkerboard if you need a visual-aid.
Solution 1: Pink soap - right, down, right. White soap - right, down, left. Ducky - right, up, right, down, left
Solution 2: Pink soap - up, right, down. Ducky - right, down, right, down, left
The second puzzle is more limited than the first. Like Bulldozer, there are several, longer ways to solve the first puzzle.
Needless to say, I have a level-building utility. It's called Ducky Builder. It's not a bad little utility if I have to say so myself. Here it is working on the same level you see playing above.
Finally, you might be wondering what I meant when I said I need your help. Well, I'm gonna need levels for this game. I'm gonna need lots of levels, big and small, easy, medium, and hard (mostly medium and hard). I'm gonna need levels levels levels.
And I'm willing to credit you and pay for 'em!
That's right. Not only will your name eventually get into a commercial product (which couldn't hurt on a resume), you'll get a few bucks for the effort. I'm currently thinking of something like $20 or $25 for every level that I end up using. If you're a talented level builder, you could end up with a couple hundred bucks in your pocket and a credit in the game.
I know you folks are out there, as I've received a few truly excellent Bulldozer levels from folks just playing around with Bulldozer Builder. I'll be announcing the particulars on the gamedev.net news page once I get 'em ironed out myself. I'll also have the Ducky Builder available for download then, so you can start building.
Also, I'm gonna be putting out the much-asked-for Bulldozer 3, and I need level builders for it. I'll be making the same deal for that. If you're a level-buildin' fool, let me know, and I'll let you know when I'm ready for the level-buildin' party.
