N (video game)
N is an award-winning[1] freeware Macromedia Flash computer game developed by Metanet Software. It was inspired in part by Lode Runner, Soldat, and other side-scrolling games, and features a realistic physics engine. The name is derived from "The Way of the Ninja," which is described in the background story. N features a ninja, who is the player-controlled character in the game.
Story
"You are a ninja.
"Your god-like speed, dexterity, jumping power, and reflexes are all a result of an amazingly fast metabolism; sadly, so is your natural lifetime of 1.5 minutes.
"Like all ninjas, you have an unquenchable thirst for gold, a natural propensity for exploring rooms infested by increasingly lethal ninja-killing robots, and a devout belief in N.
"N, 'the way of the ninja,' is a highly advanced system of spiritual, cognitive, and physical training. It emphasizes pacifism, humility, and the need to traverse a series of 5 rooms before the end of your lifetime, a feat known only as "beating an episode."
"In accordance with the teachings of N, it is your profound hope that one day you will develop the skill, intelligence, and inexplicable ability to reincarnate necessary to achieve mastery of all 100 episodes."[2]
"Ninja" as it is used refers to a completely fictional, black-clothed figure with amazing ability and agility, rather than the feudal Japanese spy/assassin.
Gameplay
N is composed of episodes, each featuring five levels, numbered 0 through 4. As of version 1.4, the game contains 500 official levels and over 50000 user created levels at NUMA, the N User Map Archive. The goal of each level is to trigger the switch and exit through a door it opens before the 90-second time limit is up. Some levels have more than one exit and associated switch.
Along with all of these new episodes comes a feature that adds support for custom levels (see "Ned" below). There are a number of default maps by fans given to players upon downloading the game. You can add levels into that database using a .TXT document that comes with it; with this feature, you can play any level in the normal game mode.
Objects
Along the way, the ninja will encounter various objects.
- One piece of gold adds 2 seconds to the time limit. Time limits are carried over to the next level in an episode
- (Thanks to your sickeningly materialistic attitude, collecting this stuff makes you happy, and helps you live a bit longer. (translation: adds 2 seconds to your lifespan))[3]
- Launchpads launch the ninja into the air
- (Touching this thing will launch you on a trip into the air; make sure you've got a landing planned or it may end up being a one way trip.)[3]
- One-way platforms
- (These little ledges will stop you in only one direction. Hopefully it's not the direction you want to go.)[3]
- Bounce blocks, little floors that cushion you when you jump on them, which, if used correctly, can be used to launch the ninja into the air
- (It won't stop weapons, but it's kinda fun to jump on.)[3]
Doors
- Standard doors which stop enemies
- (These will stop weapons and drones. They open and close automatically -- just like in Star Trek!)[3]
- Locked doors (which must be opened with a switch)
- (These doors can only be opened by touching an access panel.)[3]
- Trap doors which block the ninja if triggered
- (Doors which stay open (and hidden) until you trigger them, at which point they become walls. The triggers are sometimes cleverly concealed, so beware.)[3]
- The exit (which must also be opened with a switch, or "remote terminal")
- (Freedom!! At least, freedom to proceed to yet another danger-filled room. The exit must first be activated from a remote terminal before it can be used.)[3]
Deaths
There are various ways to die in N:
- Impact from hitting any surface at high speed relative to the angle of the surface (the floor and objects included), often the result of a long fall
- Electrocution by a zap drone or floorguard
- Explosion from a mine or rocket from a homing turret
- Shot by a gauss turret, chaingun drone, or laser drone
- Pulverization by a rising, falling, or traveling thwump or a closing door.
- Suicide, which kills the ninja with the press of a button (default control: "K").
Each time you die, you are allowed to retry the level immediately, with your time limit reset as it was at the start of the level. You can also fail by running out of time. Prior to version 1.4, this meant restarting the entire episode, but has now been changed to simply restart the level as if you had died. However, it is possible to end up with so little time at the start of a level that it is impossible to complete in time, and the player must restart the episode. Often people will find themselves committing (in-game) suicide for the sake of not having to restart the episode (prior to v1.4), or because they are taking too long on a level.
Enemies
Various enemies seek to kill the ninja:
- Mines are stationary but will blow the ninja apart if touched
- (These guys are pretty reasonable: don't touch them and they won't blow you up)[3]
- Homing turrets fire explosive, ninja-seeking rockets
- (There are two key differences between you and these guys: they can't move and you can't fire deadly ninja-seeking rockets)[3]
- Gauss turrets fire an instantaneous shot in a straight line at the ninja (but their targeting reticules are slow-moving)
- (The bad news: these guys fire depleted uranium at supersonic speeds; The good news: they can't move and their targeting software is obsolete)[3]
- Laser drones move and fire at the ninja if in their lines of sight
- (Sluggish but deadly, these guys need 5 seconds of charging before firing; use it to run for cover)[3]
- Zap drones deliver a fatal electric shock, and come in either blind or seeking varieties
- (These fast moving guards have a deadly electric touch. Some even have upgraded nav software, which lets them run chasing algorithms!!!)[3]
- Chaingun drones fire a short stream of bullets in the direction of the ninja, if in their line of sight
- (These drones are equipped with a rapid-fire (but not so accurate) machine gun)[3]
- Floorguards scoot along the ground toward the ninja if he's detected
- (Like happy little puppies, these robots will eagerly scamper along the ground towards you. Unlike most puppies, they'll kill you if they get close enough.)[3]
- Thwumps attempt to shock and crush the ninja if he's in their path
- (According to legend, in pre-robotic times there existed a race of large, spiky stone bastards, whose complete invulnerability and hereditary hatred of heroic Italian plumbers led to their persecution, and eventually to extinction. Thankfully, they've been recreated, in robot form, and 3 of their 4 sides have been rendered harmless.)[3]
High scores
The high score boards in the game contain replays of the player's personal best scores for each level, and allow the scores to be submitted online. In addition, they list the top twenty submitted scores for each individual level and entire episode. Clicking any of these allows you to watch a replay of its player achieving the score. Top N players compete to beat levels with the highest scores possible.
Rewards
As of v1.4, the player is rewarded with the ability to change the color of the Ninja, or its flavour. The default flavour is black, and a new color is rewarded after a column (consisting of 10 episodes) is beaten. The flavours are rewarded in a specific order, regardless of which column is completed[1]. There are also several other secrets available to be unlocked.
Ned
N includes a full level editor, nicknamed "Ned" ("N-editor") by Metanet. It is accessed by either pressing the tilde (~) or backslash (\) key (depending on your keyboard layout) at the main menu. Caps lock must be on to play normally in the editor's debug mode; otherwise, the game pauses and can be advanced frame-by-frame by clicking in the window. Once completed, maps can be submitted to NUMA for review by the masses.
DDAs
Maps on NUMA can be submitted into many different categories, including one special category, the DDA category. The acronym DDA stands for "Don't Do Anything." These maps require minimal interaction from the user; the ninja hurtles through the created level using whatever forms of propulsion it is given, be it launchpads, thwumps, or even trap doors, all the while dodging enemies everywhere. The best DDAs require a lot of time to make, since the ninja must avoid enemies and traps. The true challenge of creating a DDA is to make the ninja barely miss various traps and enemies, thus creating a hair-raising spectacle. Some DDAs require one movement key to be held down throughout the entire level, although most need no action by the player.
Editing map data
When creating a map, some users choose to directly edit the level code to make various objects behave differently than normal. Some popular code modifications include setting stationary drones, making a giant ninja appear in the left corner, or showing just the eyes of a drone. The most well-known trick is creating teleporters through launchpads. The forum's Teleporter Tutorial explains how to create general teleporters. The Manual Nediting thread shows other ways of editing the level code directly.
Computer generated maps
Some users have started to use scripts to generate the level code. These computer-generated level codes are controversial to other users.
Community
N has an active community, mainly based around highscores and custom levels, which congregates at the Metanet Forums.
The N User Map Archive (NUMA) is a collection of levels created by players. At NUMA you can submit, rate, review, and download other levels users have made in Ned.
bitesizeNUMA is a map database to which prominent authors are allowed to add high-quality maps that are already on NUMA. If you are good enough, you are allowed to add maps to the database; otherwise, you can only view them.
The N Wiki is a relatively new addition to the community, and is currently in the process of transferring information from the defunct NEHS.
References
External links
- Metanet Software - N
- Download directly: Windows (.zip) / Mac (.dmg.zip / .sit) / Linux (.tar.gz)
- Metanet Forums
- NUMA map archive