Sludge Crawler

 

Download Sludge Crawler Demo

A link will appear here soon to obtain the full version

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.

 

Notes:
Though I've made a bunch of small games, ranging from little text puzzles in 7th grade (September 1995) to a 3D FPS as my last college application (December 2005), Sludge Crawler is my most complete game. I feel that it is a full game on par with some of the games I grew up with, which was my goal. The game's 4-level alpha version was made as a group project for a course, which was entered in a competition. By winning that competition, our team recieved free entry into the World of Warcraft closed beta 6 months before it's release. Despite free World of Warcraft's constant call, like the Sirens in application form, the game and the rest of it's features were finished in time for entry into the 2006 IGF Main Competition and Student Showcase.
If you are interested in seeing the alpha version that was handed in for a grade and judged in the competition: Sludge Crawler Alpha

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

Download Sludge Crawler Demo

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