
      ____  ____  _  _  _  ___  _  _
     //_// // // // // // //|| //_// 
    ///\\ //_// //_//_// //_//  //
 =====================================
   ____  ____  _   _   ___  ____  ____
  //_// // // //  //  //_  //_// ___// 
 ///\\ //_// //_ //_ //_  //\\  //__
 =====================================

  TABLE OF CONTENTS
    I-Intro/Story
   II-Install
  III-Control Schemes
   IV-Gameplay Description
    V-Credits
   VI-Production Notes
  VII-Tech Support

---------------------------------------
I-Intro/Story
---------------------------------------

Welcome to Rowdy Rollerz!  Rowdy Rollerz isn't like other puzzle games you've played - there are no falling blocks, no matching shapes, and no sticky bubbles.  Rowdy Rollerz is a game where you control the world itself, and have to handle that omni-potent control to steer a ball from its source to its target.  

At first, it will seem tricky, and even unnatural.  Within minutes of practice, you'll find the behaviors of the world simple and intuitive.  From there, it's only a matter of practice before you truly master control of the game.

How many puzzles can you complete?

---------------------------------------
II-Install
---------------------------------------
Simply unzip rowdyrollerz.zip into any directory, maintaining directory structure, and run the game with rowdyrollerz.exe from the main directory.

---------------------------------------
III-Control Schemes
---------------------------------------

There are three main control setups used by Rowdy Rollerz players, all of which are available during play without changing the game settings.

Joypad Gameplay:
If you're lucky enough to own a gamer's joypad (digital "joystick" d-pad input)
 with
 at least 4 buttons, you can play Rowdy Rollerz without ever touching the mouse or keyboard.  In the menus, the up and down arrows change items, left and right adjust values in the options, button 1 selects options and button 4 goes back a menu (or exits the game from the main menu).  In game, button 1 fires the ball from the cannon, button 2 flips horizontal arrows, button 3 flips vertical arrows, and button 4 exits to the menus.  The d-pad is used to control angle and firing velocity while the ball is in a launch cannon, and otherwise up/down swap vertical arrows, and left/right swap horizontal arrows.

Mouse & Keyboard Gameplay:
If you have a mouse attached that you're comfortable with, then you can use the mouse to aim and fire the cannon, and on the keyboard W/S flip vertical arrows, A/D flip horizontal arrows.

Keyboard Only Gameplay:
To play without a mouse or joypad attached, you can use the Arrow keys on the keyboard to aim the cannon when the ball is loaded (spacebar to fire), and WASD to flip arrows.  Note that some levels, particularly those with more cannons, are easier to complete if you have a mouse for added control.


---------------------------------------
IV-Gameplay Description
---------------------------------------

The goal of Rowdy Rollerz is simple: get the ball to a level target, before the time runs out.  Along the way you'll see plenty of obstacles.  You'll encounter walls of ice, arrows out of your control, jump springs, lava pits, and a number of other suprises.

You don' control the ball - you control the world.  Your dilemma comes from having *too much* control.  When you act in one place, you act everywhere!  You can flip all the vertical arrows, or you can flip all the horizontal arrows.  The ball's speed is influenced by the direction of the arrows over which it passes... with this power alone, and having determined your own starting angle and speed, it's up to you to deliver the ball to the goal in every level.

You can only play a level after you have successfully completed every level that has come before it.

(Progress is automatically saved and reloaded every time you exit the game - if you wish to reset your efforts, fill the "Reset Progress Bar" in the options menu, and the game will reset progress back to level 1 once you exit the Options Screen.)

Here are some hints about objects and obstacles you'll encounter:

-Brick Walls
These almost always block your ball - but if you hit the corner of a brick wall just right, you can jump your ball into the air.  Using this feature skillfully, you can discover a number of shortcuts hidden throughout levels in the game.

-Gutters & Face Buttons:
The gutters pipe your ball into a termination hole, forcing you to lose a ball from your reserves and restart the puzzle.  By rolling over a Yellow Face Button, you can fill the gutters with bumper pads, like those for bumper bowling in an alley.  Rolling over a Green Face Button, by contrast, deflates the gutters and again opens the dangerous gutters.

-Ice Walls & Fire:
These two obstacles really go together.  The Ice Cube acts exactly as a brick wall, unless you first heat your ball by passing it through a fire.  But act quickly!  Within seconds, the red hot ball can cool back down to room temperature, leaving you once again trapped behind Ice Walls.

-Mud:
Losing control of your ball?  Pass it through a puddle of mud.  Mud slows down your ball and causes it to immediately stop bouncing.  If you're going to hit a jump, look out for any mud below, or you might lose control of your ball.

-Polarization Pipes:
These are horizontal and vertical fields that force the ball to move in their direction.  The ball won't lose any speed, but its heading will automatically be straightened down. 
These are great for controlling your ball immediately before hitting a jump.

-Targets(s):
Most levels only have 1 exit, but keep your eyes peeled, because a few levels have two or more.  Landing your ball on a target bullseye will complete a level, and automatically give you access to the next level of Rowdy Rollerz.

-Teleporters:
The teleporters in rowdy rollerz are represented as dark holes with brightly colored outlines.  The outlines are your key to knowing where your ball will come out.  Enter a Red Teleporter moving right, and your ball will exit from another Red Teleporter with the same speed and direction.

-Springs:
Springs come in Basic, and Insane.  Either spring just pops your ball high into the air, causing it to bounce when it lands.  Guess what's different about the Insane Spring?

---------------------------------------
V-Credits
---------------------------------------

::Concept, Programming, SFX, Animation, 
::Documentation, Level Design, Retouching
: Chris DeLeon
::

::Level & Puzzle Design, Beta Testing
: Kevin Costello
: Tom Cauchois
: Casey Miller
: Dan Perkins
::

::Original Soundtrack Composition
: Tuscan Knox
::

---------------------------------------
VI-Production Notes
---------------------------------------

Rowdy Rollerz was designed with rapid development in mind.  For this purpose, many of the development files and resources have been left available to you, the user.  If you're interested in learning about the underlying source code that drives the Rowdy Rollerz engine, the game's source code is entirely available in the src/ directory.  Notes on using the user-friendly in-game map editor can be found in the separate text file, howToMakeLevels.txt.  No tech support will be provided for the development tools, or for working with the source code to create a derivative work.

This project was started on Sept. 19, 2004, and completed Nov. 4, 2004.

---------------------------------------
VII-Tech Support
---------------------------------------
If you have any gameplay questions or technical troubleshooting issues, just e-mail Chris DeLeon, the project's lead developer, at cdeleon@andrew.cmu.edu.


