5 ms·

Show HN: Rudolph Runner

61 points by axg 12y ago

ztratar 12y ago
Sometimes when I hold down space the reindeer jumps reliably and sometimes it just doesn't... needs to be perfect in order for high scores.
- xs 12y ago
  I agree. Without knowing where I may land because my jump height and duration is random I cannot skillfully succeed in the game.
  - axg 12y ago
    Thanks for trying out the game - I greatly appreciate your feedback Every time the spacebar is pressed (on keydown), the reindeer jumps - so the key to the game is to time the jumps such that the reindeer both clears the snowman, and has enough room to make another jump if necessary. As noted by lowglow, holding down the spacebar does not get you very far. The initial vertical velocity and downward acceleration are constant, so the height and duration is not random.
    - jtheory 12y ago
      On Chrome the height and duration aren't random... on FF they were mostly non-random, but here and there a jump would be significantly higher (up to the height of the screen. I didn't play for long, but it wasn't playable in FF for that reason.
lowglow 12y ago
Pro-tip: holding down spacebar doesn't get you very far.
sirsar 12y ago
Reminds me of the Impossible Game [0]. Very similar game mechanics, just missing platforms that can be landed on. (Or, at least, I didn't get far enough to see them). [0] http://www.flukedude.com/theimpossiblegame/ http://www.flukedude.com/theimpossiblegame/
- axg 12y ago
  This game is actually a lot simpler than the one you link to. Just jumping. It was originally inspired by the Chrome T-Rex easter egg (https://plus.google.com/+FrancoisBeaufort/posts/LUtLvQYMFZK https://plus.google.com/+FrancoisBeaufort/posts/LUtLvQYMFZK)
alexivanovs 12y ago
This is what inspires me to continue learning more about programming, anyone else feel the same way?
abuzzooz 12y ago
Brings back old memories of Moon Patrol. Thanks!
karanbhangui 12y ago
alternating between spacebar and up arrow is helpful to not trigger double jumps.
Kiro 12y ago
After playing a while the game induces hallucinations, especially after a good run where you stare at it for a long time.
jbrooksuk 12y ago
Sometimes items generate too close together to successfully jump them.
- axg 12y ago
  Perhaps. This game was designed to be fairly difficult. Because there is no leveling system, the only way to make it fun or even addictive is to make it (slightly unreasonably) hard. This strategy has been used very successfully in popular games like Flappy Bird and 2048. That said, I agree that sometimes it may be impossible to complete a jump. This is a bug, and I would need to spend some time tweaking the generation constants to avoid this.
Nib 12y ago
I like the game for an open-source project, but as a serious project, it's not very difficult to program otherwise(no pun intended). Not sure if anyone knows, but the game is very, very similar to the Google Chrome Unable to Connect to the Internet game. For those who don't know about the game, disconnect from Internet, open google chrome, hit any webpage, and once you see the "Unable to Connect" Dino, just hit the "up" arrow on your keyboard for hours of fun...
- pionar 12y ago
  > I like the game for an open-source project, but as a serious project, it's not very difficult to program otherwise(no pun intended). I don't think that's a very good comment. Obviously this isn't the next Angry Birds, but it's a fun diversion during the Christmas week. It's a game a hacker should love - it's obviously just a simple clone of something else, but it's one obviously made for the right reasons (probably learning and/or "shits and giggles") and comes from a spirit of whimsy. Or I could just be high on the Christmas tree air freshener my girlfriend put in my car. :) Happy Holidays.
  - axg 12y ago
    I agree with both of you - it was inspired by the Chrome T-Rex easter egg. However as pionar mentioned it was mostly for leaning (actually, it was mostly for "shits and giggles").
shaydoc 12y ago
too addictive :-)
rooodini 12y ago
This would be a cool one to port to Scratch and add to the Code Club syllabus: http://projects.codeclub.org.uk http://projects.codeclub.org.uk I would guess it’s pretty doable in Scratch.
swah 12y ago
The art is great, but this is another example showing that javascript games just don't work that well, like not even close to old flash games.
gyosko 12y ago
Frustrating.
stunpix 12y ago
Inspired by Google Chrome's hidden game with dinosaur? :) Same control, same layout.
- axg 12y ago
  Yes, it was.
CSDude 12y ago
I cannot even jump on the smallest obstacle (bug?), but I live edited the code and set the jump dy to -200 and I am in the air for over 2 minutes. Other than that, nice game.
cgoldammer 12y ago
This is lots of fun to play. My one Christmas wish would be to have power-ups that can make Rudolph fly.
Abraln 12y ago
Works on mobile, tap = spacebar, although the visuals sometimes lag, ending your run. (On an iphone)
martin1b 12y ago
Addictive. A little on the difficult side but very fun. Great job!

61 points by axg 12y ago

Sometimes when I hold down space the reindeer jumps reliably and sometimes it just doesn't... needs to be perfect in order for high scores.

xs 12y ago
I agree. Without knowing where I may land because my jump height and duration is random I cannot skillfully succeed in the game.
- axg 12y ago
  Thanks for trying out the game - I greatly appreciate your feedback Every time the spacebar is pressed (on keydown), the reindeer jumps - so the key to the game is to time the jumps such that the reindeer both clears the snowman, and has enough room to make another jump if necessary. As noted by lowglow, holding down the spacebar does not get you very far. The initial vertical velocity and downward acceleration are constant, so the height and duration is not random.
  - jtheory 12y ago
    On Chrome the height and duration aren't random... on FF they were mostly non-random, but here and there a jump would be significantly higher (up to the height of the screen. I didn't play for long, but it wasn't playable in FF for that reason.

lowglow 12y ago

Pro-tip: holding down spacebar doesn't get you very far.

sirsar 12y ago

Reminds me of the Impossible Game [0]. Very similar game mechanics, just missing platforms that can be landed on. (Or, at least, I didn't get far enough to see them). [0] http://www.flukedude.com/theimpossiblegame/ http://www.flukedude.com/theimpossiblegame/

axg 12y ago
This game is actually a lot simpler than the one you link to. Just jumping. It was originally inspired by the Chrome T-Rex easter egg (https://plus.google.com/+FrancoisBeaufort/posts/LUtLvQYMFZK https://plus.google.com/+FrancoisBeaufort/posts/LUtLvQYMFZK)

alexivanovs 12y ago

This is what inspires me to continue learning more about programming, anyone else feel the same way?

abuzzooz 12y ago

Brings back old memories of Moon Patrol. Thanks!

karanbhangui 12y ago

alternating between spacebar and up arrow is helpful to not trigger double jumps.

Kiro 12y ago

After playing a while the game induces hallucinations, especially after a good run where you stare at it for a long time.

jbrooksuk 12y ago

Sometimes items generate too close together to successfully jump them.

axg 12y ago
Perhaps. This game was designed to be fairly difficult. Because there is no leveling system, the only way to make it fun or even addictive is to make it (slightly unreasonably) hard. This strategy has been used very successfully in popular games like Flappy Bird and 2048. That said, I agree that sometimes it may be impossible to complete a jump. This is a bug, and I would need to spend some time tweaking the generation constants to avoid this.

Nib 12y ago

I like the game for an open-source project, but as a serious project, it's not very difficult to program otherwise(no pun intended). Not sure if anyone knows, but the game is very, very similar to the Google Chrome Unable to Connect to the Internet game. For those who don't know about the game, disconnect from Internet, open google chrome, hit any webpage, and once you see the "Unable to Connect" Dino, just hit the "up" arrow on your keyboard for hours of fun...

pionar 12y ago
> I like the game for an open-source project, but as a serious project, it's not very difficult to program otherwise(no pun intended). I don't think that's a very good comment. Obviously this isn't the next Angry Birds, but it's a fun diversion during the Christmas week. It's a game a hacker should love - it's obviously just a simple clone of something else, but it's one obviously made for the right reasons (probably learning and/or "shits and giggles") and comes from a spirit of whimsy. Or I could just be high on the Christmas tree air freshener my girlfriend put in my car. :) Happy Holidays.
- axg 12y ago
  I agree with both of you - it was inspired by the Chrome T-Rex easter egg. However as pionar mentioned it was mostly for leaning (actually, it was mostly for "shits and giggles").

shaydoc 12y ago

too addictive :-)

rooodini 12y ago

This would be a cool one to port to Scratch and add to the Code Club syllabus: http://projects.codeclub.org.uk http://projects.codeclub.org.uk I would guess it’s pretty doable in Scratch.

swah 12y ago

The art is great, but this is another example showing that javascript games just don't work that well, like not even close to old flash games.

gyosko 12y ago

Frustrating.

stunpix 12y ago

Inspired by Google Chrome's hidden game with dinosaur? :) Same control, same layout.

axg 12y ago
Yes, it was.

CSDude 12y ago

I cannot even jump on the smallest obstacle (bug?), but I live edited the code and set the jump dy to -200 and I am in the air for over 2 minutes. Other than that, nice game.

cgoldammer 12y ago

This is lots of fun to play. My one Christmas wish would be to have power-ups that can make Rudolph fly.

Abraln 12y ago

Works on mobile, tap = spacebar, although the visuals sometimes lag, ending your run. (On an iphone)

martin1b 12y ago

Addictive. A little on the difficult side but very fun. Great job!