by Gofin Games Co.

Sogarman Links
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1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1.1. System Requirements:

Microsoft (tm) Windows 98, 2000, NT or XP Operating System.
Support for DirectX 7.0 or higher.
Audio hardware support.
128mb of system RAM.
Keyboard and mouse support.

1.2. Recommended System:

Microsoft Windows XP.
Support for DirectDraw 7.0 or higher.
Hardware graphics acceleration.
32mb of video memory & audio memory.

2 AUDIENCE

Sogarman has been designed for the casual console-game player. It offers a short but rewarding experience, designed for an audience that is seeking a good challenge in a small timeframe. The game is intended for people capable of accessing and interacting with computer technology. Furthermore, the game is limited to the Microsoft® Windows® operating system environments, with DirectXtm capabilities.

3 GAME

3.1. Characters

3.1.1. Sogar Gofin

A quiet, fun-loving, confused, malnourished computer scientist, who has recently become aware of his ability to fire electric orbs from his hands! At first, he would only use this strange talent to rapidly heat his coffee and impress his peers, but has since moved up to conquering baddies with it... for the good of mankind!

3.1.2. Last Boss

A mysterious presence has become aware of Sogar's recent activity, and has sent his villains to conquer him! Who is this anonymous evil-doer? It is up to Sogar to find out!

3.2 Enemies

3.2.1. Blue Flying Guys

Flying, bell-shaped, blue machines with eyes, which swoop down at Sogar from the sides. They can injure Sogar by bumping into him. They are defeated in 1 hit.

3.2.2. Wall-Sticker Things

Passive machines that present a threat by moving back and forth from wall to wall across an area that must be crossed by Sogar. They can injure Sogar by bumping into him. They are defeated in 4 hits.

3.2.3. Wall-Shooting Cannons

Machines attached to the stage-walls, covered in a protective shell. Occasionally, this shell will open, revealing a cannon which shoots 4 bullets in different directions. They can injure Sogar by hitting him with bullets, or if Sogar bumps into one. They are defeated in 4 hits when closed, and in 1 hit when open.

3.2.4. Packman-Like Things

Inexplicable packman shaped creatures that spew from bazaar machines scattered throughout the stage. They can injure Sogar by bumping into him. They are defeated in 1 hit.

3.2.5. Hoppers

Blue, rectangle shaped machines that leap at Sogar once he is near enough. They can damage Sogar by bumping into him. They are defeated in 1 hit.

3.2.6. Hovering All-direction Shooterbot

A circular bot with a protective shell that cannot be damaged when closed. This bot moves from the right side of the screen to the left, and occasionally opens along the way to shoot out 12 bullets in circular directions. It can injure Sogar by shooting him, or bumping into him. They are invincible when their shell is closed, and defeated in 1 hit when the shell is open.

3.2.7. Spikes

Passive objects found in the level. They immediately kill Sogar if he comes into contact with them. These cannot be destroyed.

3.2.8. Floor-Shooting Cannons

Small cannons attached to the floor and ceiling just before the Last Boss's room. They hug the floors, but occasionally spring up and shoot a half-circle of bullets. They can injure Sogar if they shoot him, or if Sogar bumps into them. They are defeated in 2 hits.

3.2.9. Jumpers

Massive, maniacal, leaping robots. These attack by leaping toward Sogar, attempting to squish him under their massive body. They can injure Sogar by jumping on him. They are defeated in 10 hits.

3.3. Story:

One morning, Sogar Gofin was staring bleakly into the glow of the light emitting diodes of his laptop computer. He had been up all night trying to devise a function in SML that would multiply "arbitrary precision" integers, each of which was a list representing a polynomial where the (i)th integer in the list was the constant attached to the (i-1)th power of x in that polynomial. Regardless of the details, Sogar had watched the previous day's sun fall into night from his window, then back up again, illuminating the horizon with flickers of the new day's first rays. In other words, he was awful at writing SML programs. To take his mind off his horrible situation, he opted to go downstairs for a fresh cup of coffee. Lo and behold, when he examined the contents of his familiar pot, he noticed that the coffee had become cold! Sogar, having dealt with this situation many times in the past, rolled up his sleeves, warmed up his hands, readied his stance, and launched an electricity bolt straight at the coffee pot, instantly broiling it with searing heat and static electricity. You see, Sogar, unlike most normal Comp Sci students, has the ability to shoot electricity out of his hands.

After drinking his hot, staticy coffee, he decided to check his mail. He walked to the door, stepped outside, and rummaged through the mailbox. He hardly had a moment to sift through his spam mail before he was suddenly struck with a burst of pain against his head, and he fell unconscious!

Moments later, he awoke. Squinting, slowly regaining vision, he focused on beams of light shifting and glimmering through holes in the side of what he now realized was the back of a moving truck. Sogar didn't know where it was moving toward, but the feeling in his gut told him "bad, danger." This may have been related to the sushi slurry he'd eaten the previous day, but regardless, he wasn't happy. Scattering toward the front of the van, he peered through the dirty plastic panels leading to the driver section. Gasping, he questioned his sight. As far as he could tell, this truck was being driven by a pair of robots! Sogar, disoriented and infuriated, shouted at the robots, "What is this madness? I've got SML functions to write, ok?! Let me out! Where are you taking me? And since when have robots sufficiently advanced such that they 1) no longer dance, constantly, and 2) drive cars?" The robots, creaking with their lack of oil, laughed sinisterly. The driver scoffed, "Woah there SML boy, why don't you write a function that gets yourself out? Mwa ha ha!" His rusty companion joined, saying, "You'll get yours, you electrical freak! ...whose powers are oddly similar to those of Megaman, but of absolutely no relation....as Megaman is a trademark of Nintendo Corporation, which is not affiliated with this project in any way, shape, or form.....! But uhm...yeah.. the Boss has special plans for you!"

Rage seethed through Sogar, particularly due to the SML comments, and he wasn't having this one bit. He aimed his hands at the two robots, readied himself, and launched a pair of deadly electrical bolts toward their innards!

*Explosion!*

They were annihilated in milliseconds, and the truck began to spin out, screeching into a sharp halt. Sogar, gathering himself quickly, sprang out the hole he had created with his blast and soaked in his surroundings. For a moment, he gasped with disbelief. At his feet and surrounding him on all sides, he found himself standing in a replica of the Cut Man level from the original Megaman for the NES! He found this greatly ironic, as this was the very same game that was mentioned not moments ago, for seemingly no reason whatsoever. He knew something was up, so he returned to the dilapidated truck to search for clues.

Inside the rubble, he came across a communication device resembling a walkie talkie. He pressed the button on the side, speaking into it, "Who's out there? Who did this to me? Come and face me yourself, coward!" He waited a moment to see if his threat fell on any ears. Suddenly, a burst of static from the speaker, then a deep rumble, slow and threatening, and finally, amidst the rumbling, cracked a voice: "....Soo, the great Sogar Gofin has graced my humble Megaman replica with his presence. It was I who did this to you! Who brought you here! Mwa ha ha! If it is me you seek, then it is me you must find, if you can get past my robot guardians, that is! Mwa ha ha! Note that they are particularly advanced, combining both a distributed neural net-based speech production algorithm with a wiki-collected recognition grammar unwittingly contributed to from players of a rigged on-line gambling website, aided by machine-generated machines generating gears of carbon nano-tube.... - At this point, Sogar was looking at a funny shaped cloud, not paying attention. "Pfft!" said the voice, "you don't know what's good. In any event, I highly doubt you are capable, assuming your ability to code in SML is any reflection on your ability to defeat enemies." This crossed the line, infuriating Sogar, who screamed back, "EXCUSE ME, I was listening, ok! And I'd like to see you write that function! Do you have any idea how confusing recursion can be?! ......argh, who is this? And what are you up to? And for the record, this story, TERRIBLE!" There was a pause, then the grumbling, ".....heh heh heh.....you wish to know who I am? Well, you may call me 'Last Boss'. If you really call yourself a hero, then come, face me, and prove yourself, ~hero~!"

Sogar was pretty sure he had never called himself a hero, but he was through with the smalltalk. He was also through with writing this ridiculous story. So, he rolled up his sleeves, readied his hands, and began walking through the replica...

3.4. Level:

The level in this game is a replica of the Cut Man stage from the original Megaman for NES. The setting is outside, and the geometry is of rusted-metal appearance. Sogar proceeds through the level by walking from screen to screen. On each screen, he will have to make his way to a specific destination that will advance to the next screen. Variously shaped platforms, blocks, and ladders appear scattered through the level, which can be utilized by Sogar to reach his next destination. He must jump to avoid pits and traps, and will have to dodge enemies and bullets as well. Enemies dwell in specific locations on specific screens, and can knock Sogar off ladders or into pits/spikes. Toward the end of the stage, a narrow hallway is entered, which, when crossed, leads to the 'Last Boss' room. After successfully defeating the 'Last Boss', the level is complete.

3.5. Items:

3.5.1. Small Health

This item restores 2 units of health.

3.5.2. Large Health

This item restores 10 units of health.

3.5.3. Point Pellet

This item increases the player's points by 100.

3.5.4. 1-Up

This item give the player an extra life.

4 INTERFACE

4.1. Screens:

4.1.1. Main Screen

This is the initial screen that is presented to the player. It provides a means of accessing all of the other screens of the game, and also a means of terminating the game. All other screens return to this screen. From here, the player may access the Help Screen, About Screen, or Play Screen by clicking and/or pressing enter when focused on a particular selection.

4.1.2. Help Screen

This is the screen that shows the game's main controls, along with aspects that are key to understanding the gameplay. The player may click "return" or press the Escape key to return to the Main Screen.

4.1.3. About Screen

This game gives the player insight into who developed the game, in what environment the game was developed, and who it was developed for. The player may click "return" or press the Escape key to return to the Main Screen.

4.1.4. Play Screen

This is the screen that the actual gameplay takes place on. In this screen, the game controls become active, and the health and score interface components become visible. The user may pause the game here, or press the Escape key to return to the Main Screen. If the player dies and has no extra lives, he or she is returned to the Main Screen.

4.2. Interface Components:

4.2.1. Health

The health of the user is displayed on-screen as 30 units in a bar. Taking damage can subtract 1-5 units of health from Sogar. Sogar may also collect items to increase his health.

4.2.2. Score

The score is an indicator of how well the player is progressing. It is reset to 0 every time the player perishes. Killing an enemy can increase the score by between 10 and 50 points. Collecting point pellets increases the score by 100 points. Defeating the level increases the points by 500. Defeating the level with a certain amount of points can unlock a "bonus" ending.

4.2.3. Lives

This keeps track of how many "tries" the player has remaining. The lives decrease by 1 every time the user dies. Collecting a 1-Up will increase the lives by 1. Dieing with 0 lives remaining will present the user with a game-over, and return them to the Main Screen.

4.3. Control buttons:

4.3.1. Select

Clicking with the mouse allows for selecting on the Main screen, Help Screen, About Screen, or Game Screen. Enter also serves this function, in conjunction with the arrow keys to control which selection has current focus.

4.3.2. Pause

Pressing the space bar in the Play Screen will pause the movement of the current game.

4.3.3. Shoot

Pressing the 'F' key will cause Sogar to shoot an electricity bolt in whatever direction he is facing.

4.3.4. Jump

Pressing the 'D' key will cause Sogar to jump. Releasing 'D' while mid-jump will cause Sogar to stop his upward ascension.

4.3.5. Move

The left and right arrow keys will move Sogar left and right, respectively. They will also turn Sogar to face left and right, respectively. The up and down arrow keys will move Sogar up and down ladders, respectively. Pressing up and down while not aligned with a ladder will have no effect.

Sogarman Links
Storyboards | Art | Download!

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