New Blocks New block ideas

It's very easy to get carried away here.

Some suggestions.

• New button types
  • New Win buttons
    
    • Logical "AND" win button blocks. Say blue buttons that must ALL be pressed once (by bot or object) to end the level.
    • "Hold" win button blocks. Say yellow buttons that must ALL be held down (by bot or object) to end the level. Could be used for the construction of Sokoban style levels (especially if there were bot pushable blocks).
      
    • Alternative: Have only one "Win" physical button type, but have a per level configuration option to control the behavior of all the end-game buttons: Logical "OR", Logical "AND", or Hold type.
  • "Power" button blocks. When pressed, toggle power to any slider rail or motor touching it. Would need 2 versions: initially powered-on & initially powered-off. Would also probably need buttons on the side of these blocks to be truly useful.
• B-Bot pushable blocks. Blocks, say maybe a cylinder or ball would be simplest. Could be coupled with "Hold" win buttons above to create Sokoban style levels.
  
• Bots
  • P-bot. Bots which can Push the B-Bot around (or other objects).
    
  • L-Bot: Identical to the R-Bot, but spins in the other direction.
  • Allow for multiple B-Bots.
• Frickin' laser beams and mirrors. Lasers could trigger Win and "Power" button blocks... now I'm getting crazy.

 

I was thinking about ice blocks earlier today too (below is what I had come up with). They could certainly make for some interesting levels.

• Rubber or Spring blocks - Things bounce when they land on them.

• Ice blocks - Slippery. When a bot or object moves onto one of these blocks it keeps moving until it either slides off the block or hits an object. These would allow bots to slip off block edges. Could be particularly interesting when coupled with rubber/spring blocks.

• Clear blocks - They show up in the editor but are completely invisible when playing.

 

As long as Martin embedded a "Mekorama version number" in each generated QR code than he can change the level format structure to whatever to he wants in the future, including the total number of types of blocks. When an older QR is read in, it would just have to be translated to the newer format. Not a big deal software wise. So older QR codes wouldn't have to change, and new levels could take advantage of any newer block types.

 

I would think that they operate like normal red bot when they encounter a block/object that they can't push. There could certainly be 2 variants of push bot which spin in opposite directions.

More block ideas...

• Crumbling blocks : A bot can walk across them once, then they crumble to dust.
• Gears: Rotate when next to a next to motor or other spinning gear.
  
• Gearboxes - Cylinder shaped. These would attach to the spinning parts of motors. Blocks can attach to these.
  
  • Reverses the motor spin.
  • 1/2 speed slow down of the spin rate - could be stacked to get 1/4, 1/8, etc. speed.
  • x2 speedup
  • Alternative: Have special "attribute" blocks that modify a motors properties (reverse, speedup, slowdown). Attribute blocks could also effect non-motor blocks too. For example, an R-Bot starting next to a "Reverse" attribute block could spin in the other direction, likewise their movement could be sped up or slowed down in the same way.
• Trap doors - Will cause a bot to fall through when they walk onto the block (but only if there is no block below the trapdoor).
  • There could be 2 variants: One that looks like a normal block, and another that shows an actual door in the floor.
• Draggible blocks that snap into position - When moved they "snap" to the next adjacent location. When they stop, they will always be centered in a grid location. They maintain fixed orientation at all times.

 

I totally agree with you that part of fun of Mekorama is figuring out how to make do with the limited block options and space one has. It really forces creativity.

A few carefully chosen new blocks though could really open up the language of possibility and allow for even more creativity. For example, if bots could actively interact more with the environment, for example with a bot pushable cube block (which could fall and also be stuck to rails), that could open up a ton of puzzle possibilities.

 

Eventually Martin will see the revenue stream from Mekorama taper off. Adding new blocks to breath new life into the game will be a logical choice to generate new buzz and income. So as I see it, it's just a matter of time before new blocks appear.

Some will be very easy to implement, others will require extensive beta testing, especially to sort out any bugs related to how the block inter-plays with the other ones. In particular any block which can be movable will definitely pose testing challenges. The core physics of the game can't change either without breaking many of the levels already created. Even bug fixes right now (with no new blocks) risk changing the physics engine in a way that breaks some existing levels. So Martin has to be extremely cautious with any changes to the game mechanics. That said though, I'm willing to bet that new blocks will indeed appear in the future.