Spikes and Boulders

The story:
In this game, you play as a generic stock image stick figure, creatively named "Avatar," who is on a journey of self-discovery and adventure to the "You Win" screen. Along the way, you will encounter many obstacles, including spikes and enemies. Fortunately, you have a very special ally that will help you on your journey to You Win: Boulder. Boulder is a selfless friend (although inanimate) that Avatar met in his joyful years in college. They have many fond memories together, but he has weak character, and often allows himself to be pushed around. Unfortunately, Avatar is not a very good friend, and rather than sticking up for poor Boulder, he takes advantage of him and pushes Boulder around himself! Boulder doesn't mind, though, and it just so happens that Boulder's nonchalance is essential for Avatar's voyage. Together, Avatar and Boulder will battle cannons ripped straight out of Super Mario Bros, and beetle things ripped straight out of Pikmin, and creepy eye things ripped straight out of The Legend of Zelda. It shall be a journey to be remembered.

Strategy Guide:
As you go about the five levels that follow, keep in mind that interacting with objects is a very important skill to learn. To interact with an object, simply press space. Sometimes objects have multiple functions. If this is the case, you can press backspace to utilize the object’s second function. For example, you can push a boulder two ways: forwards with space and backwards with backspace. An important element in this game is the timer (more on that in the below section). Keep it in mind. If you are ever stuck, remember to experiment with every object on the screen. What follows is a listing of every object in the game, what it is, and what it does. Remember, everyone can push something!
- The Spikes and Boulders Crew (If a crew can be two people)


The blue guy: Avatar. Move it with WASD or the arrow keys, press space to interact, and backspace for alternate interactions.

Spike balls: Spikes. Different types move differently, but they all have one thing in common: they kill Avatar. Watch out!

Rock: Boulder. Avatar’s inanimate pet rock buddy thing. Push space to move it left, backspace to move it right. Crushes spikes and enemies.

Timer: Timer. You have 45 seconds for each level, and it will reset if you either move on to the next level, or perish in battle. If you die, you will start the level over, but if you run out of time, you will have to start the game all over. It would be wise to continuously check the time you have left, and if you are running low, you may want to consider suicide. Please don’t take that literally.

Door: Door. Press space when you reach it to travel to the next level.

Freaky bomb thing with large eye: Freaky bomb thing with large eye, shortened to “Bomb.” It will explode whenever it touches something. Be careful!

Shootey things: Cannons. They shoot spikes, and they are slathered with poison, hence the skull on them, so they will kill you. If you are in Beetle form, you can move them the same way you would otherwise move a boulder.

Button: Button. Push it to spawn a boulder.

Clock: Time boost. Will add 120 seconds to the amount of time you already have left.

Spider-like creatures: Beetles. They move randomly, shoot spikes, and will kill you if you run into them. They are the first enemy you will encounter (and last, discluding the boss, but more levels are on the way soon!).

Locked Door: Locked Door. Opens when a key is collected.

Blue Question mark: Bazooka Power Up. Spawns a bazooka.

I have a cannon now!: Bazooka. Shoots boulders.

Orange Question Mark: Beetle Power Up: Turns the avatar into a Beetle Avatar.

I’m a spider thingey now!: Beetle Avatar. You are now in beetle form. Anything you would previously be hurt by does not hurt you, but you will be killed by some objects that would otherwise be harmless (primarily boulders). You can shoot spikes with backspace.

Colored dots: Portals. They will teleport you to a given spot in the level.

Key: Key. When collected, it will open up a locked door, and in some cases, form a wall of crazy spikes [see Crazy Spikes below] that prevent you from leaving the way you came in.

Funny Looking Spikes: Crazy Spikes. These spikes will kill both Avatar and Beetle-Avatar. Comparable to land mines, these spikes will explode if hit by an ordinary spike.

Exclamation mark: Beetle Canceler. If you are in beetle form, this will turn you into your ordinary self.

Giant spider!!!: Giant Beetle. This is the boss! It shoots spikes a lot faster than ordinary beetles, and it is gigantic! I have heard rumors that you will not get hurt if you touch the top of his head...


Credits:
Anonymous - Lead Game Design, Concept Artist, Lead Programmer, Pulling Images off the Internet-er, Ridiculously Long Blurb Writer
Anonymous 2 - Advisory programmer, huge help