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Show HN: A sokoban clone game with "infinity" levels

13 points by atum47 8y ago

atum47 8y ago
The version on the link above is just the prototype, it has only 10 easy levels. The thing is, I wrote a sokoban level generator and I'm thinking about releasing it on itch.io or Android app store. Would you donate or pay a small amount of money to play it? I thought about giving away a bunch of levels and selling the solutions (if the computer can generate the level, it can solve it optimally). What do you think about that?
- melenaos 8y ago
  I like your effort but Sokoban is such a popular game that you can play it for free for days. I don't think that allot of people would pay to just play it. Your second idea might work better but you have to create a social interaction and add some more flavor in the game. Maybe you can get some ideas from Cundycrush such as: - Preselect the levels and create a path that the user can follow, cartunish graphics and a map like path. - Add new elements in the game. Magnetic boxes, explosive boxes that can be pushed one x times, plant boxes that must be moved every x moves, etc - Add items that counter do some of the previous mentioned traps. Unroot a box, reset explocive box etc. - Have a way to win these items, fortune wheel, fruit slots, etc - Microtransactions for these items and for passing a level. - social interaction, share a facebook, compete facebook friends - Work together with a graphic designer, make it fun to watch and to play
  - atum47 8y ago
    I'll consider it carefully
- Someone 8y ago
  ”I wrote a sokoban level generator” The problem isn’t generating different levels, it is generating interesting ones, and picking a sequence that gets harder and harder at just the right pace. Players don’t want to get “just like the previous level, but with 10 more crates”, or “what the hell is this?”, they want “I know how to do this… hey, what’s that? Maybe, I don’t quite know how to do this”. Does your code have any way to calculate difficulty of games (no, number of moves required for a solution isn’t one) and/or similarity between puzzles? I also think “infinite levels” is not good. Part of the reason to keep playing is a feeling of accomplishment.
  - atum47 8y ago
    I think I can calculate the complexity of a level based on the number of boxes, the size of the map and the number is moves you need to finish it. The infinity part is that I can always provide fresh content for the player. Someone else suggested skins.
gus_massa 8y ago
It needs urgently a "Press R to restart level."! (Note: "R" doesn't work. How do I restart a level?)
- atum47 8y ago
  All of my friends asked for that, but with just 10 easy levels I didn't bother. For the release I'll add this option and also give you starts based on how many moves you made to finish the level
  - darepublic 8y ago
    I keep having to redo these easy levels from scratch. Nice game though simple but fun
    - atum47 8y ago
      Would you buy it for a small amount of money on the app store, given that it will have new levels Everytime?
atum47 8y ago
How do I fix a comment? I want people to know that the link above does not have the infinity levels thing, so they don't think I was click baiting
- gus_massa 8y ago
  IIRC you can change the title of the submission only during the first hour. Send an email to the mods hn@ycombinator.com with a link to the submission and the proposed new title. Add a short explanation (2 or 3 sentences). They usually reply soon. This is a manual process, so use it only in emergencies. (This change is not an emergency, but I think it's a good idea to fix that.)
  - atum47 8y ago
    I edited the title, but I think the link is not showing anymore :(
    - gus_massa 8y ago
      It's ok to repost thing here a few time. (5? It's not clear the exact number, but 3 or 5 is fine.) Add the "R" button now! Wait a few days and repost the project. (If you can't repost, send an email to the mods.) (Also, don't delete this post. Deleting and resubmitting may get you banned.) About the infinite levels: It looks interesting. I think it's difficult to classify a level as solvable or imposible, and it's much harder to classify the difficulty of a level. Perhaps you can offer that after the 10 handpicked levels, the user can try some random levels. Moreover, you can track if the other users can solve this levels and somehow use that for the difficulty classification. (Show in the page how many people solved each level?) Perhaps add a permalink to the random generated level, so the good levels can be shared. (But first, add the "R" button now!)
      - atum47 8y ago
        Done
atum47 8y ago
After lots of requests: press 'R' to reset the level. if you're on mobile, click the 'screen' to reset the level
de_watcher 8y ago
About sokobans: check out "Baba is You" on Steam.

13 points by atum47 8y ago

The version on the link above is just the prototype, it has only 10 easy levels. The thing is, I wrote a sokoban level generator and I'm thinking about releasing it on itch.io or Android app store. Would you donate or pay a small amount of money to play it? I thought about giving away a bunch of levels and selling the solutions (if the computer can generate the level, it can solve it optimally). What do you think about that?

melenaos 8y ago
I like your effort but Sokoban is such a popular game that you can play it for free for days. I don't think that allot of people would pay to just play it. Your second idea might work better but you have to create a social interaction and add some more flavor in the game. Maybe you can get some ideas from Cundycrush such as: - Preselect the levels and create a path that the user can follow, cartunish graphics and a map like path. - Add new elements in the game. Magnetic boxes, explosive boxes that can be pushed one x times, plant boxes that must be moved every x moves, etc - Add items that counter do some of the previous mentioned traps. Unroot a box, reset explocive box etc. - Have a way to win these items, fortune wheel, fruit slots, etc - Microtransactions for these items and for passing a level. - social interaction, share a facebook, compete facebook friends - Work together with a graphic designer, make it fun to watch and to play
- atum47 8y ago
  I'll consider it carefully
Someone 8y ago
”I wrote a sokoban level generator” The problem isn’t generating different levels, it is generating interesting ones, and picking a sequence that gets harder and harder at just the right pace. Players don’t want to get “just like the previous level, but with 10 more crates”, or “what the hell is this?”, they want “I know how to do this… hey, what’s that? Maybe, I don’t quite know how to do this”. Does your code have any way to calculate difficulty of games (no, number of moves required for a solution isn’t one) and/or similarity between puzzles? I also think “infinite levels” is not good. Part of the reason to keep playing is a feeling of accomplishment.
- atum47 8y ago
  I think I can calculate the complexity of a level based on the number of boxes, the size of the map and the number is moves you need to finish it. The infinity part is that I can always provide fresh content for the player. Someone else suggested skins.

gus_massa 8y ago

It needs urgently a "Press R to restart level."! (Note: "R" doesn't work. How do I restart a level?)

atum47 8y ago
All of my friends asked for that, but with just 10 easy levels I didn't bother. For the release I'll add this option and also give you starts based on how many moves you made to finish the level
- darepublic 8y ago
  I keep having to redo these easy levels from scratch. Nice game though simple but fun
  - atum47 8y ago
    Would you buy it for a small amount of money on the app store, given that it will have new levels Everytime?

atum47 8y ago

How do I fix a comment? I want people to know that the link above does not have the infinity levels thing, so they don't think I was click baiting

gus_massa 8y ago
IIRC you can change the title of the submission only during the first hour. Send an email to the mods hn@ycombinator.com with a link to the submission and the proposed new title. Add a short explanation (2 or 3 sentences). They usually reply soon. This is a manual process, so use it only in emergencies. (This change is not an emergency, but I think it's a good idea to fix that.)
- atum47 8y ago
  I edited the title, but I think the link is not showing anymore :(
  - gus_massa 8y ago
    It's ok to repost thing here a few time. (5? It's not clear the exact number, but 3 or 5 is fine.) Add the "R" button now! Wait a few days and repost the project. (If you can't repost, send an email to the mods.) (Also, don't delete this post. Deleting and resubmitting may get you banned.) About the infinite levels: It looks interesting. I think it's difficult to classify a level as solvable or imposible, and it's much harder to classify the difficulty of a level. Perhaps you can offer that after the 10 handpicked levels, the user can try some random levels. Moreover, you can track if the other users can solve this levels and somehow use that for the difficulty classification. (Show in the page how many people solved each level?) Perhaps add a permalink to the random generated level, so the good levels can be shared. (But first, add the "R" button now!)
    - atum47 8y ago
      Done

atum47 8y ago

After lots of requests: press 'R' to reset the level. if you're on mobile, click the 'screen' to reset the level

de_watcher 8y ago

About sokobans: check out "Baba is You" on Steam.