Beware of Sn8k!

CONTROLS: Arrow keys / WASD = Move

OBJECTIVE: Get 8ggs, don't let the Sn8k catch you!

HOW TO PRONOUNCE "SN8K": Just say "snake" like you normally would. It's not that phonetically weird if you think a8out it.

As part of a dare, you've been trapped inside the Temple of the Sn8k, a fearsome creature that was worshipped by the Octos (as evident by the superfluous number of games made about it)! The only way for you to escape is to explore the temple, and collect all the Sn8k 8ggs. But beware! The Legendary Sn8k is searching for you, and every 8gg you collect will make it angrier!

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NOTE: Despite my best efforts to tame it, the sn8k is an eldritch beast, not bound by the laws of our universe. It's behaviour is random, and erratic. It is as possible for you to be instantly devoured by the sn8k at any moment as it is for you to never encounter it at all. Good luck.

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So, confession: I got a little overexcited, and I was worried that I wouldn't have time to finish this game due to me going back to school. So I started working on this game in September, shortly after the page for Octojam 9 was published. But since there's no real prize beyond "a sense of pride and accomplishment", I don't think it'll matter too much.

Anyways, this is the first OCTO game I've created that utilizes collision detection! Not exactly a huge accomplishment, but up until recently, I didn't understand how it worked, nor was I making a game that needed collision.

For this year, I went in with a couple ideas. One was to make a sequel to last year's beloved Octoma, which would involve fighting against a giant snake (a not-so-subtle nod to the amount of Snake clones that have been submitted in previous Octojams...). I also wanted to make a game that could run on actual CHIP-8 hardware. (Both Octo Party Mix and Octoma were XO-CHIP games).

I did not make a sequel to Octoma, and my habit of coming up with overly ambitious projects prevented me from making a CHIP-8 game. But I did keep the snake idea.

I briefly considered making a clone of Zelda NES - it seemed like a logical step up from Ultima. But while I was figuring out how to fit in the sword-attack, as well as the numerous enemies and perhaps lightweight puzzles, I thought, "What if the player didn't have a sword? What if the Snake was the only enemy? What if the objective was not to defeat the snake, but to escape?"

I ended up spending most of my development time on the map. I had a little too much fun drawing rooms and figuring out how they all connected together. But the real pain in the butt was programming the legendary sn8k. I wanted it to be more likely to pursue the player as they collected more 8ggs. Unfortunately, the game crashed when I tried to implement it, so I let wander around randomly.

Well, since you read this far down, I hope that you enjoy / have enjoyed this experiment.

EDIT: I must have been so tired when I posted this, that I forgot to include a GitHub link, in case anyone wants to look under the hood, or mess with it even further.