It has been a fun experience. And during the development process, Funkbot has been features on several sites:

• Pixel Prospector
• Fuxter (Russian)
• SuperLevel (German)

However, there are still some desyncing issues if you start doing something else while in the game (like browsing the web). Not exactly sure how to fix that, but if you stay in the game from start to finish, the music and the beat should be in sync.

Anyhow, it is time to move on to bigger and more delicious things. Hope y’all enjoy!

[ Play Funkbot3000 ]

In C++ code, one would derive singleton classes from a singletons template. Doing this prevents the coder from polluting your global space with nasty variables. (Also, the compiler does not guarantee the order that globals or statics are instantiated.)

Although Actionscript does not have templating functionality like C++, you can still make your desired class a singleton by simply adding a few functions:

package com.example
{
	public class SpriteManager
	{
		public function SpriteManager()
		{;}
 
		// Singleton methods
		//
		private static var _instance:SpriteManager = null;
		public static function CreateInst():void { _instance = new SpriteManager(); }
		public static function Get():SpriteManager { return _instance; }
		public static function InstExists():Boolean { return _instance != null; }
		public static function DestroyInst():void { _instance = null; }
	}
 
}

As you can see, you use a private static var _instance to hold the single instance of the class. The CreateInst() function creates a the single instance of that particular class:

SpriteManager.CreateInst();

You access the class by calling Get(). For example, if I wanted to fetch the instance of the SpriteManager, I call:

var manager:SpriteManager = SpriteManager.Get();

And there you go, a simple Actionscript 3 singleton class for the win. And on a related matter, there is a Playboy bunny named Sasha Singleton.

I’ve always been interested in rhythm games. But oftentimes, I feel that music takes a backseat to gameplay. And rightly so since most games focus on providing gameplay that merely uses music as support for building the ambiance or to convey emotion to the player.

However, once in a while, a game is developed which mend music and gameplay in innovative and fun ways that it makes you wonder about the vast possibilities of game design. Games such as DDR, Rockband, Parappa the Rappa and Rhythm Tengoku are all prime examples of games that were able to creatively integrate music and rhythm into its core gameplay to fully immerse the player in the music.

I am currently developing this Flash game on the side in hopes to learn more about using rhythm-based game mechanics. It’s called FunkBot3000, and it is game about funky robots which are fueled by the power of music. I am currently not sure on how much time I can devote to this project because of my busy academic schedule. But  I’ll try my best to bring it to some playable state.

[ Play FunkBot3000 ]

Story

The story begins with our robotic protagonist being thrown in to an odd world.  You traverse the world while attempting to solve various puzzles in order to reunite our hero with his long-lost robotic girlfriend, return home safely and, on the way, prevent a terrorist attack.

In the same spirit as Pixar’s Wall-E, there is no dialogue in the game (read: easy for developers to localize). This means not having to sit through long conversation or traversing through extensive dialogue trees. Instead, the story is presented and driven by simple cut scenes and thought bubbles.

Genre: Adventure Puzzler

The game is cataloged as an adventure-puzzle game. Anyone who has ever played an adventure game will instantly be familiar with its point-and-click interface. More specifically, you will spend most of your time collecting objects and combining them together to solving a variety of puzzles in the scene. Our hero can also extend and shrink his robotic torso, making for some intriguing puzzles.

The first few scenes are easy to solve. The main purpose is to teach you the simple mechanics of the game. However, the difficulty quickly escalates. But before you go crying to GameFAQs, you can ask for a free hint in the form of a thought bubble. And if that is not enough, you can also open a locked book that our hero keeps in his inventory. To open it, you must complete a mini-game and should you be brave enough to overcome it, the book will open up and provide you with a walkthrough of the entire level. Pretty neat, huh?

Sound

The game includes an incredible soundtrack. The futuristic ambient soundscapes really plays well with its artistic theme. The music shifts during certain scenes and capture various moods which definitely adds to the experience.

Price

The game costs $17 on their site and $19 on Steam. For me, it was totally worth them greenbacks. Plus, supporting indie developers makes Jesus smile.

The developers also released a free demo version of the game to try if you are at all curious.

The Bad

One of the biggest complaint of this game is that it was too short. With about 6 hours of gameplay, it definitely leaves you yearning for more. Also, several solutions of the puzzles did not seem particularly evident. As a result, you spend time randomly clicking through objects until a solution becomes clear.

Grade: B+

Although the game was quite short, it had great visual style, incredible music, and fun logical puzzles. It is definitely worth the small price the developers are asking for it.

Maybe this review was a bit skewed. But what can I say? You had me at “robots”. You pretty much have to be a total asshole not to like robots. And if you put them inside an artsy puzzle video game, I’m in! So go take a gander and feel the love.