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Muddini's Adventure
Behind the Scenes of the Game Design
Muddini's Adventure
Muddini’s Adventure is a mobile game developed for intersoft AG. In the world of "Muddini’s Adventure," players dive into a unique adventure as a bold and determined "Big Ball Of Mud" named Muddini. Can you help Muddini navigate through the code labyrinth?
This article provides a brief documentation of Muddini's Adventure. From the initial idea to the final product, and many exciting insights into game design, everything can be found here.
Muddini: An Adorable Ball Of Mud!
Through numerous conversations with intersoft, it became clear to us that the game should be filled with programming jokes and insiders to guarantee the most fun gaming experience for the team at intersoft and all other players.
Originally born within the tangled boundaries of the legendary labyrinth of spaghetti code, the Big Ball Of Mud named Muddini harbors an unstoppable desire to escape from this chaos. Muddini is a reference to the "Big Ball Of Mud," which (unfortunately) every programmer has encountered at least once in their career. A Big Ball Of Mud is a program with a convoluted software architecture and is something skilled programmers know to avoid.
One of the goals during the game is to keep Muddini as small as possible. If Muddini is too large by the end of the labyrinth, the level cannot be completed. Muddini is an incredibly curious and optimistic ball of mud who does its best to figure out why the spaghetti code is so confusing and difficult to navigate.
Muddini's World
The levels that players navigate through are a mess of "spaghetti code." Spaghetti code refers to source code that is unstructured and difficult to maintain. Every software developer has likely encountered such code at some point in their career. Cleaning up this spaghetti code is usually a difficult task, often leading to a loss of clarity. The labyrinthine structure of the levels is therefore a wonderful metaphor for our world and the difficult and confusing task of navigating through spaghetti code.
Another place where Muddini can hang out is the "Foo Bar." The terms "Foo" and "Bar" are often used in information technology as placeholders for routines, functions, processes, variable names, and the like. In "Muddini’s Adventure," the Foo Bar is a bar where Muddini can recharge before diving back into his adventure.
In the Depths of the Labyrinth…
Muddini needs to be guided to the exit of the labyrinth. As he traverses through it, he grows larger. He must not become too large, or he won't fit through the exit and will lose one of his three lives.
Within this maze of code, players encounter Sloppy Disc, among other obstacles. Sloppy represents a sloppily written code artifact that enlarges Muddini upon contact. Muddini quickly realizes that the Sloppy Discs are the reason why the spaghetti code is so difficult to navigate.
Other obstacles include Magic Numbers, Bugs, and Layer-8 problems. These either slow down or enlarge Muddini. The "Magic Number" is a numerical value that appears in a program's source code and whose meaning is not immediately apparent. This number can mean anything. That's why it's called a "magic number." It's better to avoid such numbers and replace them with clearly named values that have a clear meaning and origin.
Bugs are little "creatures" that sneak into programs and cause mischief.
The Layer-8 problem is a known insider among developers. It builds upon the OSI model, a reference model for communication between processes in computers. It has seven layers, from the physical layer and raw bitstreams to the application layer. Developers have humorously added an eighth layer, the user. When something doesn't work, it's the user's fault! ;)
During the adventure, players encounter not only obstacles but also friendly creatures. The "Refacto-Ring" for example, helps Muddini become smaller and faster. Refacto-Ring represents the process of "refactoring," which means improving the structure of the source code in the context of software development. This process is regularly performed to avoid spaghetti code for example.
Cloudio is another character that assists Muddini in navigating the labyrinth. Cloudio is a play on words with the Latin name Claudio and cloud computing. In the game, Cloudio is an enthusiastic helper of Muddini and can accelerate him and lighten his load. The Container can also help Muddini reach his goal. In the game, the Container is an abstract object that stores elements of the same type in the code. It symbolizes the container of the same name in the programming world.
During the adventure, the player encounters SOLID, DRY, and SOAP. In Muddini’s Adventure, SOLID and DRY are of great help. SOLID makes Muddini small, and DRY ensures that he rolls at maximum speed. The only power-up that is even more helpful is SOAP. SOAP makes Muddini immune to enemies for a short period of time. In software development, SOLID, DRY, and SOAP are principles that ensure software becomes better and more efficient.
The last creature in the labyrinth is the "404." When Muddini comes into contact with it, he is teleported to a random location in the labyrinth. This can be either good or bad. Many are familiar with 404 error pages. It's a standard page that a user is redirected to when the server of a website cannot find a page. Similarly, the 404 in Muddini’s Adventure is there to redirect players and guide them onto a new path.
Muddini's Adventure's Game Design
Muddini’s Adventure is a game for everyone. It's easy to learn but hard to master. There are three difficulty levels: Noob, Medium, and Senior. Muddini can be controlled either using the touchscreen or the gyroscope of the mobile phone.
The voluntary and involuntary collection of objects is an important part of the game. The labyrinth is intentionally designed to be very tight, making it challenging to dodge enemies. Players must think strategically. For example: collect a Sloppy Disc first, followed by a Refacto Ring, to balance out the undesirable effects of the Sloppy Disc.
Additionally, each level has a timer. So it's crucial for Muddini not to become too large during the race through the labyrinth and to ensure that there's enough time left to get to the exit. If the level is not completed quickly enough, Muddini loses one of his three lives.
If Muddini loses all lives, he needs to undergo a complete overhaul until he's ready for action again. During this time, he can hang out in the Foo Bar. This process can take up to 2 hours.
To avoid the wait time, players can collect daily streaks by completing at least one labyrinth. A day streak rewards players with an extra life. A three-day streak grants three extra lives, and if a player plays at least one labyrinth every day for a week, they unlock a D-Bagger, which restores five lives. The D-Bagger is another play on words with the term "debugging," which encompasses the process of identifying, analyzing, and fixing errors or "bugs" in a computer program.
After installing the game, players can create a free account. Once the account is created, they can start a friendly race through the code labyrinth with all other players using the leaderboard.
However, the game can also be played anonymously and casually. There's an option to play as a guest. Guests, however, cannot prove if they are the fastest Muddini in the spaghetti code, as they are not put on the leaderboard.
Has Muddini's Adventure piqued your interest?
Download Muddini's Adventure for free in the AppStore or Google Play Store right now!
Summary
Muddini's Adventure is a journey through the spaghetti code labyrinth. Muddini is controlled either by touch or by using the builtin gyroscope of the phone. Initially, Muddini has three lives. If the labyrinth cannot be exited because Muddini is too large or the timer runs out, lives are lost. If all lives are lost, two hours must go by before being able to continue playing.
To avoid the waiting time, the player can collect daily streaks by completing at least one labyrinth a day. A day streak earns the player an extra life. A streak of three offers three extra lives. If the player plays at least one labyrinth every day for a week, a DBagger is unlocked, which restores five lives.
Muddini's Adventure can be played with a free account or as a guest. Players with an account can compete with one another on the leaderboard and find out who is the fastest "Ball Of Mud" in the spaghetti code labyrinth.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this article. The Studio Merkas hereby expresses its gratitude to intersoft AG and to all the readers of this article. Muddini's Adventure was an extraordinary project where we, as a development studio, could always bring our creativity and diverse ideas to the table. The intersoft AG always embraced our "crazy" ideas, and we felt like our creative work was greatly appreciated. The studio had so much fun creating this unique game, and we are excited to see how the players of Muddini's Adventure will receive the game.
Questions?
Thank you for your interest in our project. We would love to hear from you if you have any questions, concerns or the like about our game development project. Your feedback is important to us and we appreciate any input, so please don't hesitate to contact us!
By answering all your questions, we also want to make sure that you have enough insight into our game development process to get a clear picture of how we work. Transparency makes it easier for us to work together on an equal footing. Otherwise, feel free to take a look at our FAQ section. We thank you for your interest in our project and look forward to hearing from you soon!
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