Screenshot of the 4th level.
Dimension 55355
Overview
Hobby project
Game Editor
2010 – 2011
Dimension 55355 is the first and so far the only full game I've every finished.
I began working on the game at the end of 2010 and finished it in the first half of 2011. The game is a 2D platformer with 30 levels.
Game mechanics
The mechanics of the game are fairly simple. The color of the main character can be changed between red and blue. When the character is blue, it can go through blue doors and climb in the red ground. Respectively, the character can go through red doors and climb in blue ground when he's red. In every level (barring the last level of the game) the goal is to find a key that opens the door to the next level.
The score system of the game is as follows: at the beginning of each level the level score is set to 200 * number of rooms in the level. The level score is then reduced by 5 each second until the player wins the level or until the level score reaches 0. When the player finishes a level the remaining level score is added to their total score which will never be reduced from. This way the player is rewarded for completing the levels fast. Getting hurt by the spikes reduces the level score by 10% of the initial value of the level score.
Things I would fix if I made the game now
Now, over 10 years after finishing the game I can see some room for improvement in it even though I'm still pretty pleased with the final product. A few years back I had plans to remaster the game, fixing some of the most glaring design problems and touching up the graphics. But that was eventually left undone. Here's some thoughts of how I would improve the game if I was developing it now. I would:
- Add a full screen mode and support for larger resolutions
- Remove the unnecessary delays in the game starting sequence, beginning with the fake loading bar before the main menu (yes, there is a "loading bar" in the game that only serves to waste the players time..)
- Put more emphasis on the score system e.g. by showing the transition of the remaining level score to the total score
- Redesign some of the levels to make them more fun to play
- Adjust the physics of the game because the jump arc is a little clumsy and the main character a little too big
- Update the graphics of the game
- Add options for adjusting the volume of the music and sound effects
- Add the option to return to the main menu without having to restart the game
- Add the option to remap the controls of the game
