Thomas was a WHAT?

So, if you have played it, "Thomas Was a Line" is a rather one dimensional, linear (sic) experience, right now. Only (sort of) three screens long, with the promise of more characters, and deeper mysteries to come. However, this is an explanation of how I saw this fitting the theme "Only One" that Mark Brown of GMTK set on Friday. Before I do anything else though, I've little experience of Pico-8, and wanted to play with it, and also only really had about 12-14 hours of actual dev time. So, if you are wondering why it is small, well there you are.

So, I am a big fan of "Thomas Was Alone" (TWA, the original Mike Bithell game prototype, which is still (even if it shouldn't be) available on various Flash sites. This "24 hour game" was made while his girlfriend was away for the weekend. We all know what eventually happened when he was allowed/encouraged to publish a commercial version, after a lot of press interest. What I liked about it was the simple, but effective way that movement and jumps were introduced, initially in a failsafe way - you couldn't not do the right thing, like that first mushroom in Super Mario Brothers - followed by tentative, but still safe, testing of the mechanic, and finally, full blown "if you get it wrong, you will die, and restart the level" stuff. 

I just wanted to see if this could be done with only one dimension; no jumping, and imagining what could be seen (and when) if you were a 1D creature living on an imaginary line. In TWA the end destination is presented as an outline - later the shape of these becomes significant when other characters are introduced - that makes an obvious goal. For me, the ultimate plan would be to use 1D size too, but in the first instance I went with colour; each character (after initial levels, where there is only Tom, my 1D hero) would have to line up with their end destinations in the correct orientation. For me, I think, it is important that only some characters get to switch on their own, while others would either be unable to, or would need something (or someone) to do it for them. None of this is in my initial prototype :-(

So, in TWA, characters can jump on each other, in various combinations, to overcome different obstacles - mostly not being able to jump high enough (or low enough, in a couple of cases) - or avoiding water (an instant killer), and these threats are, as it is a 2D game, immediately apparent to the player. They know where they have to get to, and what to do, or to avoid, at a glance. However, we (the player) are making use of the third dimension, in order to have this knowledge. I struggled with what a 1D character should be able to see, and I have compromised a little; at first, Tom can only see what is in his row and column, regardless of his orientation. Later, he can only see what he is in line with, which seems more fitting for a creature living on a line. At least he gets to choose the line he is on in a 2D world, either by rotating through 90 degrees, or by moving along the line he is on, within the scope of the screen. We still have FlatLand, but just not as much information; I also imagine this as top-down (along the Y axis), so Tom is inhabiting either the Z or X plane, selectively. But what are obstacles and death pits in a 1D world?

My idea was that gaps in the line would emerge as our hero(es) travelled towards their destinations. Other characters could then be positioned to fill these gaps, allowing others to overcome obstacles to get to their end goals. This aspect isn't really explored yet, and I have not really grasped how to best use this mechanic fully. Also, a funny script - super important to the manner in which TWA appealed beyond the also silent, simple prototype - isn't really doable (at least not as audio files) in Pico-8. However, I think it would be nice to explore the idea of a narrative for this (not quite) parody of one of my former student's seminal works. Come back for more news, when I get the chance to expand on what this game can do, in the next few months

Mike Reddy