A Platformer game using Sixels, written in Batch Script only (+ bit of Powershell / JScript)

[thelowsunoverthemoon]

It is reading week, so I had time to make a platformer game using the new Sixel functionality using Batch Script only (+ bit of Powershell / JScript). It's a fangame for the Momodora series, and is a puzzle based platformer.

How to Play

Download the latest release here. Simply double click game.bat (if Terminal is the default) or go on Terminal, CD into the directory, and type game. This game is meant to be played on the default Terminal settings for CMD, and it includes audio, so turn up the volume. This game in Windows only, on the latest version of Windows Terminal (1.22). You can check your version by running wt --version. To download the latest version, go here.

How it Works

With the new sixel functionality, we can create Sixel sprites to complement ASCII graphics. To read .sixel files, just use FOR /F. However, Batch Script has a variable / line limit that limits the amount of sprites to display on the screen. To overcome this, one can start a separate thread (RENDER_PROPS), used here to show a border. I use Powershell for non-blocking input instead of the conventional Batch method to allow multiple key detection at a time. Furthermore, I use JScript for audio by embedding it inside the file.

Repository

https://github.com/thelowsunoverthemoon/MomodoraLunarGlow

[j4james]

Took me about an hour to complete. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it was a load of fun! The fact that this is mostly just a batch file is really impressive.