Sidekick - Bingopocalypse
AS3 / XML / ASP
My Role: Developer and level design
My Time Spent: 6 weeks
When I joined Corus, the first game I was assigned to was to develop a Lemming's style game for Sidekick on YTV. The object of the game is to get your Hamsters safely to the Recompiler by using your tools and avoiding dangerous obstacles and hazards.
Originally slated to have 10 levels, the game was quickly expanded to 24 and finally 40 levels, with new tools and obstacles added with each expansion. It became the first game to be released on Sidekick and was an instant success, becoming one of YTV's more popular games. A day after the game's release the first walkthrough was posted by a player on YouTube, and it has been featured in several independent game reviews.
The most challenging part of building the game was the level design, which involved making sure the levels weren't too easy, too hard, or too repetitive. It's always fun watching people play to see which solutions they come up with to pass each level. A lot of effort was also placed in making sure the controls were intuitive and the game was easy to learn.
Bingopocalypse can be played live in YTV's game section.
Bingopocalypse being promoted on the homepage of ytv.com.
Bingopocalypse being promoted on the Sidekick site.
Landing page.
Help page. Since this game has a relatively high learning curve, visuals were used to explain gameplay.
Level selection screen: each thumb is programatically generated.
Using a trampoline to pass level 1.
Using balloons to pass level 2.
Level passed, but user has only earned one Sidekick (the yellow logo). Users can replay levels to earn more bonus points, and brag about their acheivements on facebook.
Using rope to cross holes in level 3. The first few levels are relatively simple so the user can focus on how to use each tool.
Using a jackhammer to pass level 4.
Using a bird to fly to different platforms in level 8.
Using a forklift in level 9.
Using an anchor to swing across a cement pit in level 10.
Using a torch to get through boulders in level 16.
Level 19, one of my favourites!
Using a bomb in level 26.
A hamster about to be swallowed by a plant.
Coloured hamsters can only be rescued by going to similarly coloured recompilers.
Levers are used to move platforms up and down.
Game over screen.
Ad spot sold for on Bingopocalypse includes orange background and game characters sipping a bottle of SunnyD.
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