Slitherlink

[Mia]

I'm totally addicted to Slither Link as well since I discovered the DS version a few weeks ago. Such a great logic puzzle game.
And actually I was considering developing one for the Pandora.

▲ That was almost two years ago (!)

Today I've started working on my version of Slitherlink for the Pandora, and I can show you some screenshots :




For those not familiar with Slitherlink: it's a highly addictive logic puzzle game, created by Japanese publisher Nikoli (famous for their Sudoku).

In a Slitherlink Puzzle, you connect horizontally or vertically adjacent dots to form a meandering path that forms a single loop, without crossing itself, or branching. The numbers indicate how many lines surround each cell. Empty cells may be surrounded by any number of lines (from 0 to 3).
There is one unique solution, and you should be able to find it without guessing. You may find it helpful to make small x's between dots that cannot be connected.

More information here. Slitherlink was one of my big video game addictions, with Picross. Now I'm trying to spread the virus

The development is SDL only, which is also a nice way for me to learn SDL gently. The "engine" is pretty much finished, now I just have to add a lot more puzzles, hopefully 300 for the first release (~100 already done). No touch controls at the moment, as I don't like touch-based interfaces generally, but if people want it, I'll implement it.
The first version should be ready shortly after I receive my Pandora.

 

[DasFool]

Awesome Mia, puzzle games are always my favorite for portables and trips.

 

[chris_r]

Looks impressive. Well done. I'm absolutely addicted to picross so this looks right up my street. And I'll be waiting for those touch controls

 

[iprice]

I love logic and puzzle games (I've released a couple on the Wiz already, with others in development), so I'm interested in this one.

It's not a game I'm familiar with and looking at that Wiki site it would seem to satisfy my gaming tastes. Are there any pc/flash versions out there to get a true idea of how the game plays?

BTW touchscreen control would seem to be the logical choice for this IMHO.

 

[Mia]

It's not a game I'm familiar with and looking at that Wiki site it would seem to satisfy my gaming tastes. Are there any pc/flash versions out there to get a true idea of how the game plays?

Sure, there are several online slitherlink games in java of flash, like this one. I remember playing a flash version that was better looking, but I can't find it now.

For beginners at Slitherlink : there are a number of typical configurations that result in the same line patterns. Usually your first task is to find them. After a while you'll know them by heart, but at the beginning, you can find help here. Of course, all these patterns can be solved by logical deduction too.

I'll see what I can do about those touchscreen controls.

 

[ledow]

The game "Loopy" is the same thing as Slitherlink and is in Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection which is available on Windows, Linux and Mac and my port called STPPC2x (which is on GP2x / Dingoo / I think Wiz under various names like STPPC etc.). Not as pretty but functional and the code for puzzle generation / solving is in there in plain C if that's any help to you with speeding things along - the original license is MIT.

 

[ashdjones]

I had a good session of this the other day, working my way through the advanced levels at the moment.

Will yours include the larger level sizes? Will it have the elevator style jazz music? B)

 

[Mia]

Will yours include the larger level sizes?

Not in the first release, but maybe later.

Will it have the elevator style jazz music? B)

Probably not, I don't think music is necessary for this kind of games. Most of the time I even find it intrusive and disable it.
I suppose you can always listen to your own music in background while playing, if you want to

 

[Mia]

For those interested, here's a small update about my game.



New features implemented since last time:

• Three different grid sizes: 5x5, 7x7 and 10x10.
• A total of 446 grids, divided into those 3 categories.
• Touch controls, additionnally to the buttons.
• Sound effects.
• Save/load state.
• A brief help page.

At this point, I think the game is ready for a first release. What's left to do before that, is test it on a real hardware, and make the small adjustments necessary.

Until I receive my Pandora, maybe I'll take a look into larger grids. Grids larger than 10x10 will occupy more than one screen, so there's a bit more work to implement a scrolling system that works with both the buttons and the touch screen.

 

[iprice]

Looking forward to playing this on my Pandora

 

[Masterfurbix]

This kind of game is going to be excellent on the pandora. I'm glad you decided to include touch screen support.

 

[hells_dark]

Looks good and solid mia

 

[Mithrildor]

Looks really good, I bet that if you will give a dev with a pandora your code he will get it running for you on the Pandora and make a quick vid.

 

[gaterooze]

This will be awesome, thanks Mia! I was totally addicted to Slitherlink on DS, finished every puzzle...