MLMaze

MLMaze is a game inspired by Chip's Challenge created by Mike Lask. It is written in VisualBasic.

Gameplay

The main goal of MLMaze is similar to that of Chip's Challenge: to get the player (ML) to exit. The game is tile-based, taking place on a grid of 14 by 16 that remains entirely visible at all times. While all MLMaze tiles are inspired by Chip's Challenge tiles, not all CC tiles appear in MLMaze; monsters, computer chips and boots are absent.

The following tiles appear in MLMaze.

• ML: the player. If ML appears more than once in a level, they are controlled alternately, but only one needs to exit to win the level.
• Exit.
• Floor.
• Walls.
• Thin walls: like their CC1 counterparts, they exist in all four directions, plus southeast.
• Blue walls: like their CC counterparts, they can be real or fake.
• Bombs: like their CC counterpart, these kill ML on contact, and can be removed by blocks (see below).
• Water: unlike its CC counterpart, it is treated as an acting wall by ML. Since flippers don't exist in MLMaze (like all other boots), the only way to cross water is to remove it with a block (see below).
• Blocks: like their CC counterpart, these can be pushed into bombs and water to remove them. When pushed into water, the tile instantly turns into floor, bypassing dirt.
• Blocks with bombs underneath. These look just like regular blocks in-game, but kill ML when he attempts to push them. If such a block is placed in the bottom right corner of the map, and pressed from above, the player wins the level.
• Fire: like its CC counterpart, it kills ML on contact. Since fire boots don't exist in MLMaze (like all other boots), the only way to cross fire is to remove it with a water block (see below).
• Water blocks: when pushed into fire, the tile turns into water, which can then be cleared with a regular block. Water blocks can also detonate bombs, and are destroyed by water, although the water remains.
• Force floors: like their CC counterpart, these exist pointing in all four directions (MLMaze has no random force floors). Once entered, they can only be exited in the direction in which they point, making nails and boosting impossible. Blocks cannot be pushed on force floors.
• Recessed walls: unlike their CC counterpart, they do not turn into walls, but rather a thin wall blocking the direction from which they were entered.
• Keys and locks: these exist in only one colour: green. Each key can only be used for one lock, and ML's inventory can only hold one key at a time. Even if ML picks up two keys, he can only open one lock. He must pick up the first key, open the first lock, then go back for the second key to open the second lock.

Rather than a time limit, MLMaze uses a move limit. Each time ML moves (or attempts to move, pressing against a wall), the counter reduces by one, and the game is over if it reaches 0. The time spent between moves is not counted.

MLMaze also supports hints. There are no hint tiles; instead, the player must select the "read hint" option in the menu.

File formats

MLMaze uses three file formats. All three are plain text files; the only difference is the file extension.

• .mlm: these files store levels. Early versions of MLMaze supported only one level per file, but starting with version 3.0, each file can store up to 255 levels.
• .ini: these files store the player's scores.
• .txt: these files store recorded solutions to levels, which can then be played back in-game at varying speeds. Recording is not done automatically as with TWS files; the player must specifically select the "record solution" option.