Run Rabbit Run - Webcam Game

An attempt to create a webcam-based game in the style of Lemmings.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Use your arms, legs, or whatever you want to create ramps and platforms to guide the rabbits to their goal.


• The goal is a hole on the left hand side of the screen. An arrow marked 'EXIT' will periodically appear.


• The only way to change the rabbits direction is to let them hit the side of the play area.


• Rabbits will only move along areas of the webcam image highlighted in white. Try improving the lighting in your room to gain more edges.

Before I start, I just want to point out that this is an unfinished, experimental project. There are a LOT of things wrong with it, a few being:

• There's no preloader. Please be patient.


• There's no menu screen, and the game starts before the webcam is activated. Sorry.


• The scoring, timer, and lives indicators don't work properly, and as such the game never ends.


• There's only one level. Not being able to determine when a game is won, the game never ends, and I never got round to making another level.


• It's impossible to change a rabbits direction without hitting the side of the play area. I tried to change this, I really did. Six different solutions, and none of them worked.


• The motion is jerky. I made the game too graphic heavy, and as a result it can't be played properly at high quality. Switch it to medium quality for better results.


• The music doesn't work. I referenced external sound files and I'm not sure how to embed them yet. Currently the only sound effect is the 'splash' when a rabbit hits the water.


• The webcam interaction is clunky. I tried my best, but there was only so much I could do. I'm not 100% on how the edge-detection works, I based the interaction off this piece by Grant Skinner.

Naturally you need a webcam for this game to work. If you don't know which one it is, right click the game, go to the webcam settings, and go through the list until you find one that works. It is also best played against a plain background, as the camera will detect the edges of just about everything it sees.

There are two things you can do with the 'lemmings' basically.. either get them to the exit hole, or let them drown at the bottom. It's limited at the moment, but this game has potential to be much better.

With that out of the way, I'd like you to understand that this was my FIRST ever attempt at a Flash game. A bit over ambitious yeah, but I think I did pretty well all things considered. With a bit more time (and a better understanding of Flash) I think it could actually be a pretty fun game.

If anybody is interested in trying to fix this project up, send me a msg, as I don't think I have the necessary skills to do it all myself.

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Here are a few of my other Flash-based projects: