Thinking,about the games... mmmmm.... got couples of ideas... a simple fighting game realate to the topic will be something interesting. Tomorrow night ill start coding!

As a physics student I probably should have programmed a fantastically realistic simulation of a wobbly bit of a string by now. But I suppose we will just have to make do with a straight line for now.

I had an idea for the string theme before the challenge started, so I was glad that was the one chosen, otherwise I probably would have spent all day trying to come up with ideas.

I've been feeling kinda tired so I haven't got that far even though I've been working all day - well, mostly working as msn distracted me a lot - but I think It's going ok so far.

Here's my idea:
All the robots at the string factory have gone on strike, and its up to you to cut up all the pieces of string to the right length before there is a global shortage and the word descends into chaos.

Luckily, all the string made here is colour coordinated for some reason. Red string is short and blue string is long. As you have more important things to do, you get your hardworking assistant to do it all for you. But little did you know that he suffered from a rare form of colourblindness which renders him unable to distinguish between any colour! Now all the pieces of string are the same length! That will teach you to slack off.

You thank your lucky stars that the string just happened to have been cut to the maximum length the factory sells. Armed with your arm, which is actually a powerful laser, you must accurately cut the string to the correct length before you run out of time (you don't want to miss your bus home now, do you?)

And here's what I have after day 1:

It's not all that amazing, but hopefully I will be able to make it look a bit prettier by the time it's finished.

The strings are moved down the screen by a conveyor belt, so you have a limited time to cut each one. After a certain amount of strings you will progress to the next level, and making a number of mistakes will result in game over. There'll probably be a spectrum across the bottom to help you find the right place to cut it, at least on the first few levels.

And, by the way, enjoying something cooked at home :D

OK, I couldn't think of any ideas that were both interesting and within my ability (my initial idea was a puzzle game in the style of the incredible machine, but that's beyond me at the moment) so I decided just to write a simulation of a string. That's taken much longer than I expected, and I'm not sure what's wrong with it but it's way too springy and if i try to make it less springy then it starts going crazy.

But, no matter, I can use that as part of the mechanic, so I've decided to write the game "Lunar Delivery". Basically lunar lander, with a springy, hard to control rope attached to the bottom of your ship(because.. uh.. that's all they can manufacture on the moon). You have to pick up packages and deliver them through a treaturous landscape without bashing up the package(or your ship) too much. I may also make an online scoreboard of some sort.

So.. pretty basic idea, but hopefully I can make it fun :)

So length of a string eh? Isn't that just deliciously zany. So zany I can't think of any game based on it that I'd ever want to play, much less make. I'm pretty sure this just killed any desire to participate. Maybe I'll check back next time to see if there is a theme worth doing. If anyone in this contest produces a game using the theme that is actually fun, I salute you.

Yes, after 12 hours I found an idea.
You are an object... I'm not sure what object... but you have parts... each part is attached by strings... and you have to reach a goal. You control the "head" of the object.

That's the idea... simple, but I like it.

Still trying to come up with a solid idea. The best I've got so far is a platform style game, where you have to collect enough bits of string to distract the mutant radioactive kittens whilst you make your escape...

I'm thinking there will be very little animation and definitely no physics. I don't have a lot of time to work on it this week, so I gotta keep it simple. The goal is to submit something playable.

Half a day of coding! Woot!

I'm almost ready to drop out at the first hurdle; I can't think of anything interesting I can program that involves string. I've already got an idea for a plot, but am not sure how to approach it. I could try and code a piece of interactive fiction to get over having to code and create as much graphical foobar, but the game will probably end up somewhat meh.

Day 1 is progressing nicely. Gord has a handle on the engine and I think I've got the look sorted out. Here's our character with a walk cycle. Stupid programs I used for animating her kept eating my frames, throwing away roughly 3 hours work. Rawr.

And the admittedly barren level mockup. With the walk cycle done I should be able to populate this thing with a few more objects.