TSWCC: Portii

[brakken]

TITLE: Portii by Beardface
CATEGORY: Game

Portii is an unique puzzle game where you control the main character and try to get him to the exit of each level. It's harder then it might look. The graphics and fluid game play is also impressive.

Portii - Readme.txt

Developed by Beardface for the TehSkeen Coding contest (Nov 2008)

Official Site:
www.portii.com

Overview:
As a young companion cube, portii was outcast from Aperture Science, due to his non cube-like form.  After gorging himself on cake in a feat of sadness, Portii has decided to make his way back to the core of apeture science and reclaim what that which is rightfully his... More Cake!

Installation:
Installing Portii is easy, simply copy the portii folder to your apps directory on your SD card.

Launching:
After Installing Portii (see above), simply launch using the HBC (v9)

Game Modes:
 Story - Take Portii on an adventure through Aperture Science, unlocking new levels and cheats along the way, while enjoying delicious cake.

 Timed - Play levels you've unlocked, or those you or your friends have created, for a best time.

 Least Portals - Play levels you've unlocked, or created, going for the fewest portals.

Installing User Levels:
 To install levels you've found on the internet, simply copy the .portii file to your apps/portii directory.  They will then show up in your levels list when you go to play timed or portal count modes. (And you can modify them in the LevelBuilder).

Level Builder:
 Build, Save, Load, and Test new levels using the included, in-game, level builder.

  Saving- Clicking save will bring up a keyboard for naming your level.  Once you save your level, the .portii file will be placed in the apps/portii directory.  From here, you can post, share, remove that file using any file-explorer you have available.

  Loading- To load a new level, simply click the Load button and browse for the portii file you want to load.

  New- New creates a new empty level.

  Test- Test places your level into a test mode, where you can play through the level to check for playability of your new level!

Controls:
 In-game help provides detailed instructions on how to play portii.

Sharing your levels:
 The best way to share your levels is to package a collection into a zip file and email them to levels@portii.com. 

 One received, they will be posted for download at www.portii.com

[Flark]

Does not display properly on 16:9 televisions...

[beardface]

I developed and tested this on a 16:9 tv, and it works fine... have any more info?

[djdynamite123]

Does not display properly on 16:9 televisions...

only flark with issues, my 16:9 pal/ntsc t.v. works spot on, brilliant app could be better, but well done

[Flark]

Originally Posted by beardface

I developed and tested this on a 16:9 tv, and it works fine... have any more info?

Skinny black vertical bars on the sides, like with the HBC.

[djdynamite123]

Skinny black vertical bars on the sides, like with the HBC.

i actually get faded lines on the sides, like the colour fades, maybe that's the banner background ...? don't know, no lines or nothing

[Tantric]

Originally Posted by Flark

Skinny black vertical bars on the sides, like with the HBC.

This is "fixed" with the following code, but those vertical bars really aren't a big deal.

 
if(CONF_GetAspectRatio())
{
vmode->viWidth = 678; 
vmode->viXOrigin = (VI_MAX_WIDTH_PAL - 678) / 2;
}

[Flark]

Originally Posted by Tantric

those vertical bars really aren't a big deal.

Speak for yourself. I absolutely loathe them wherever they happen.

[Sir_Voe]

I'm having fun with this game. Having the player control a ball using the Portal gun kind of reminds me of Kirby's Canvas Curse in the way you can indirectly guide yourself. I wish it was possible to zoom the view out just a little, and the graphics are a little basic, but I see a lot of potential in it. Probably my favorite entry in the compo. Thanks Beardface.

[beardface]

Originally Posted by Sir_Voe

I'm having fun with this game. Having the player control a ball using the Portal gun kind of reminds me of Kirby's Canvas Curse in the way you can indirectly guide yourself. I wish it was possible to zoom the view out just a little, and the graphics are a little basic, but I see a lot of potential in it. Probably my favorite entry in the compo. Thanks Beardface.

Thanks to the kind words, even though I'm probs not going to win, I appreciate knowing you enjoy the game.

Spent alot of time on this

[beardface]

Just curious... Has anyone beaten story mode and discovered the hidden cheat yet? (HINT: Watch the credits )

[Qual_Tun]

besides me?

[eke-eke]

I got it ;-)
what does the code do beside alternate music ?

you designated some nasty levels, but you know when a game is a good one because you retry, and retry, and retry...

[beardface]

Originally Posted by eke-eke

I got it ;-)
what does the code do beside alternate music ?

I dont want to Spoil here incase others want to find out what happens, PM me or discuss this at www.portii.com.

[Arikado]

9/10

I love this app. I'm a huge supporter of innovative 2d homebrew. Controls are nice and gameplay is superb. I haven't completed story mode all the way through yet, but I haven't seen any enemies yet (although I didn't factor that into my scoring). Despite that though, this game is great

[D_tRoN]

5th place, the rest is up to yours

[masterwriter42]

This is on my top three list of all time for home brew games. Great job!
The only thing I've had a hard time with is accidentally overwriting my saved levels. I keep forgetting to change the name, and end up losing whatever the previous level was, even though I usually spend quite some time on each one, tweaking and testing, so that I know they are the way I want them to be.

My sister also loved this game. She's the one who's got the Orange box (and therefore the only one in our family that has Portal), but we both had fun with this one.

Anyhoo, thanks for creating this! It's one of those games that has endless replay value, and the single player story mode is more than difficult enough to have me scratching my head in blissful frustration.


Respectfully yours,
Masterwriter42

[R3dfaction]

Not a bad game.

[beardface]

Wow; thanks for the kind words I too find myself frustrated in single player mode with the complexity of some of the levels. I finally managed to beat the game in turbo mode the other day; which amazed me, b/c I didn't believe it was actually possible.

Originally Posted by masterwriter42

This is on my top three list of all time for home brew games. Great job!
The only thing I've had a hard time with is accidentally overwriting my saved levels. I keep forgetting to change the name, and end up losing whatever the previous level was, even though I usually spend quite some time on each one, tweaking and testing, so that I know they are the way I want them to be.

My sister also loved this game. She's the one who's got the Orange box (and therefore the only one in our family that has Portal), but we both had fun with this one.

Anyhoo, thanks for creating this! It's one of those games that has endless replay value, and the single player story mode is more than difficult enough to have me scratching my head in blissful frustration.


Respectfully yours,
Masterwriter42

[masterwriter42]

Originally Posted by beardface

Wow; thanks for the kind words I too find myself frustrated in single player mode with the complexity of some of the levels. I finally managed to beat the game in turbo mode the other day; which amazed me, b/c I didn't believe it was actually possible.

No problem, I'm just saying it like it is.

I always have a really hard time with the one where you have to roll down the big, tough curve, because I end up getting stuck in the little trap on the other side of the jump, almost every single time (if I make it that far into level, that is). I've only beaten that level once, and never the whole game. But I'm working on it .
Yeah, I've never tried turbo mode. I'm not even sure it's in the version I have.
Are you a big fan of the original Portal? My sister is obsessed with it, but I've not gotten the chance to play it yet (we're in different states, so visits aren't very frequent ). But oh well. I'm setting my sights on some more 3D programs so I can earn some extra money, which I'll probably spend on my website, where I review things, and affiliation income I'll spend on something else... etc. etc. etc.. Eventually I'll get a hold of a copy.

Anyway, keep up the good work. I'm adding this thread to my watch list, so I'll know right away when there's a new version.

Respectfully yours,
MW42