guidebook/docs/doodads.md

12 KiB

Built-in Doodads

Sketchy Maze comes with several built-in doodads that you can use in your levels. You may also create your own custom doodads and program them to do whatever you want!

Doodads are available in the Level Editor by clicking on the Doodad Tool and then dragging a doodad onto your level. See the Doodad Tool for more information.

See also: Linked Doodads for how doodads interact when linked together in your levels.


Objects

Start Flag

Start Flag

The Start Flag sets the player spawn point in your level. There should be only one start flag per level.

Multiple Start Flags in one level is considered to be an error; a warning is flashed on-screen and the player will spawn at one of the flags at random.

A level without a Start Flag will spawn the player at the 0,0 coordinate at the top-left corner of the level, and flash an error about the missing Start Flag.

Exit Flag

Exit Flag

The Exit Flag sets a goal point for the level. The player must touch this flag to win the level.

Box

Box

The Box is a pushable object. If the player or another mobile doodad touches the box from the side, the box will move at a fixed speed. It can be pushed up and down slopes and it is affected by gravity.

The box is taller than Boy and so can make a useful platform to jump on top of to reach a higher ledge.

Boxes can be pushed by enemies too, but it gets dicey with multiple enemies pushing simultaneously. Boxes can be stacked on top of each other, but sometimes Boy will get "stuck" standing on top of the pile. If this happens, use the cheat code ghost mode to get yourself unstuck.


Creatures

Boy

Boy

Boy is the player character.

If he touches a "fire" pixel, he dies! You get a message like "Watch out for fire!" and it doesn't even have to say "fire" - it'll use the color's name.

If he touches water he'll turn blue. Swimming physics aren't hooked up yet!

Red Bird

Bird

The Bird is a simple creature which flies left and right across your level, changing direction when it encounters an obstacle.

The bird has solid collision on its top side, so the player can ride on it across the level. It's very slippery, though!

In the future, the bird will dive-bomb the player character in a diagonal trajectory when it sees a shot it can take. This will harm the player if the bird hits. If the bird hits the player, or misses and touches the ground, it will fly back up to its original altitude and continue its A.I. program of flying back and forth and searching for the player. It will also be easier to ride more reliably.

Currently, however, the bird is harmless and does not dive bomb the player.

Red Azulian (Test Mob)

Red Azulian

The red Azulian is a test mobile character. Not really an enemy, as he doesn't care about the player.

The Azulian's A.I. just has it run left and right until it meets resistance. It can pick up keys, activate buttons and switches that it passes by, and can unlock doors.

This mob will probably go away in future releases of the game and will remain in the code as a hidden easter egg.


Doors & Trapdoors

Colored Locked Doors & Keys

Blue Locked Door Blue Key

There are four pairs of Colored Locked Doors and Keys you can use on your level.

Colored doors are locked and behave as a solid wall until the player or another mobile doodad "picks up" the Key of the same color. The doors may then be permanently unlocked if the player walks into them while holding the key.

The Colored Keys are not consumed when used; with one key the player can unlock many doors of the same color unless they lose the key. Currently there is no method to lose keys except for the "drop all items" cheat code.

A locked door has a golden padlock over its sprite; after being unlocked, the padlock is missing even while the door is closed. Should the player lose the keys later, previously opened doors will remain unlocked but the player will need to find another key to open more doors.

Red Key Green Key Yellow Key Blue Key

Each key/door pair also has a distinct shape for color-impaired players:

  • Red Key (triangle)
  • Green Key (cross)
  • Yellow Key (star)
  • Blue Key (diamond)

Small Key Doors

Small Key Door Small Key

Small Key Doors are doors which consume the Small Key when unlocked. The player or other mobile doodad may carry several Small Keys and they can only unlock as many Small Key Doors as the number of keys they hold.

The Small Key Door is permanently unlocked after unlocking it once. A golden padlock appears on the door when it's locked, which disappears after unlocking.

Warp Doors

Warp Door

The Warp Door allows the player character to fast travel between two remote locations within the same level. The door is brown in color with a yellow "W" symbol.

To connect the doors together, drag two doors into your level and then use the Link Tool to connect them. During gameplay, walk the player character to one of the doors and press the Space Key to open it. The door will swing open and shut and the player character exits from the other door.

If a Warp Door is not linked to another door, a message will display indicating that the door is "locked" and it can not be entered by the player.

See also: the Blue & Orange Warp Doors tied to the State Blocks.

Trapdoors

Trapdoor

A Trapdoor is a one-way passage. If the player or other mobile doodad touches the door from the "correct" side, the door will swing open. After the mobile doodad has passed, the door will swing shut again.

When the door is shut, you can not open it from the "wrong" side and it behaves as a solid wall. If the door is open you may run in from the wrong side.

Trapdoors come in four variants: downward-facing (default), rightward, leftward and upwards.

Crumbly Floor

Crumbly Floor

The Crumbly Floor behaves as a solid ceiling when hit from below, and a solid floor when walked on from above, but watch out! The floor will shake and collapse after a moment beneath your feet.

The floor will respawn after a while and forbids passage from the underside of the doodad.


Gizmos

The gizmo doodads work best when Linked to other doodads in your level. For example, a Button linked to an Electric Door will cause the door to open whenever the button is pressed.

See also: Link Tool

Buttons

Button Type A Button Type B

Buttons will emit a power: on signal to all doodads that they are linked to when the button is pressed by the player or another mobile doodad.

When the button stops being pressed, it will emit a power: off signal to all connected doodads, which will generally close electric doors.

Buttons come in two varieties which are cosmetic only:

  • Button: a button with a grey arrow that pops back up when pressed.
  • Button Type B: a variation without the grey arrow but behaves the same.

Sticky Button

Sticky Button

The Sticky Button is a variant of the Button but with a red arrow on its side.

When the Sticky Button is pressed, it will emit a power: on signal and it will remain pressed forever -- unless the button itself receives a power: on signal from another linked doodad, then it will pop back up and can be pressed again.

Switches

Switch Switch Right

Switches will emit a power: on signal to any linked doodads when touched by the player or other mobile doodad, and then a power: off signal when touched again.

Switches come in a few different styles (all cosmetic in nature and behave the same way):

  • On/Off "background" wall switch that faces the screen.
  • Side-profile switches to attach to the side of a wall (left and right).
  • Side-profile floor switch.

Electric Door

Electric Door

The sci-fi Electric Door can only be opened when it receives a "power" signal from a linked button or switch. See Linked Doodads.

When the door receives a "power: on" signal it will open and allow passage to the player or other mobile doodads. When it receives a "power: off" signal it will close.


Boolean State Doodads

The Boolean State Doodads are a series of doodads which have a mutually exclusive state from one another, with their state toggled by the "ON/OFF" State Button.

State Button

Blue "On" Orange "Off"

The State Button globally toggles the boolean state for all doodads in the level which are sensitive to the state.

The player character must jump into the ON/OFF block from below and hit it with their head. From above, the ON/OFF block acts like a solid floor that the player or other mobile doodads can stand on top of.

In the future it will be possible to bonk the ON/OFF block from the sides or top with enough force, but currently only hitting it from the bottom will flip its state.

  • When the button is OFF, all blue state doodads are active. This is the default state.
  • When the button is ON, all orange state doodads are active.

State Blocks

Blue "On" Blue "Off"

Orange "Off" Orange "On"

State Blocks are blue and orange squares that keep opposite state from one another. In one state the block is solid, in another it is passable.

The ON/OFF block will toggle all state blocks on the level to their opposite setting whenever it's touched by the player or other mobile doodad.

Blue & Orange Warp Doors

Blue Warp Door Blue "Off" Door

Orange "Off" Door Orange Warp Door

The Blue & Orange Warp Doors are variants of the Warp Door that are sensitive to the ON/OFF State Blocks. These doors can only be opened while the door is in the "ON" (active) state -- when "OFF" (drawn as a hollow dotted outline) the door can not be opened by the player. However, a player may still exit from a de-activated door.

The Blue Warp Door is active at the same time as the Blue State Blocks, and vice versa for the Orange Warp Door.