Writer's Block

 Play in the browser right now or scroll down to download a higher quality zip file (Mac/PC/Linux)!

Controls

🖋️ A and D to move left and right. 

🖋️ SPACE to jump.

🖋️ Drag words using the MOUSE.

🖋️ Press H for hints.

 How to Play (READ BEFORE PLAYING!!)

✏️ Change the meanings of sentences by dragging key words, which are larger and decorative, into other sentences. If you solve the puzzles & change the sentences correctly, the environment of the storybook will change!

✏️ Each level has two pages (a right and left page), and you (the writer) must be on a page to move words on that page or drop words onto that page. Up to 3 words can be placed in the inventory, which will be on whatever page you are on. This is a way to move words between pages (put a word in the inventory and the move the player to the other page!)

✏️ Words can be: used as physical objects, jumped on by you, and dragged onto characters and objects!

✏️ Compound words can be broken into two words by dragging them into the inventory.

✏️ Words can only be placed in a blank if they are dropped over exactly one blank.

Description

Writer’s Block is a puzzle game where the player is a writer traversing through a novel, assisting characters by manipulating words on storybook pages.

This game was developed as part of Brown RISD Game Developers, a student game development organization run by students at Brown University and RISD, with audio contributions provided by students at Berklee College of Music. 

Development took place over the course of 24 hours, with work spread out across 4-hour weekly meetings and one 8 hour mini-game jam.

While not a completely finalized game, this project was a great chance to experiment with different variants of the base game mechanic, playing with ideas including words as physical objects (introduced Level 1), compound words whose component words have different meanings (introduced Level 2), and words carrying over between levels (introduced Level 3).

Credits

Assets and Animation Nate Epstein, Jing Ge, Jennie Lee, David Song & Emma Yang

Design Heidi Erwin & Sarah Wang

Programming Jake Migneault, David Smith & Will Su

Music Ben Lipkin & Adam Shelby

Sound Design Davin Kingston