Hollows

Note that development of the game continues at gerald1248/hollows-ng.

Hollows is an arcade game in the style of the 80s. Your task is to rescue settlers from a sequence of caves known as the Hollows. If you have an Android device or compatible Chromebook, you can download it from the Play Store.

Here’s a playthrough of the first level.

Gameplay is optimized for public transport and open spaces:

• startup time is short
• strictly offline
• battery use is moderate
• levels are brief
• contrast is high for open air use
• audio is off until you turn it on

In terms of UI, Hollows breaks with arcade conventions in that it

• doesn’t use buttons
• supports multitouch
• considers left-handed users

It recreates the keyboard controls of the 1986 Firebird classic Thrust using touch interactions.

The original offers five keyboard commands:

• A: rotate anti-clockwise
• S: rotate clockwise
• Shift: thrust
• Return: fire
• Space: shield

Hollows replaces these interactions with the following:

• swipe left: rotate anti-clockwise
• swipe right: rotate clockwise
• long press: thrust
• short press: fire

The ‘shield’ interaction of the original is missing. It has been replaced with a proximity trigger (for ‘pick up’), but the ‘protect’ aspect has been dropped.

While it is possible to play Hollows without multitouch, it is much easier to use one finger for rotation and another to apply thrust. For increased thrust, place two or more fingers on the screen.

Sadly there is no Rob Hubbard title music.

Make and share your own levels

Hollows levels are ASCII art in a simple 50×50 grid. If you’ve created a new level, please consider sharing it by submitting a pull request. Take a look at the existing levels.

Acknowledgements

ImpulseEngine 2D library github.com/RandyGaul/ImpulseEngine) by @randypgaul.

Java port github.com/ClickerMonkey/ImpulseEngine by Philip Diffenderfer.

PressStart2P font fontlibrary.org/en/font/press-start-2p by Cody “CodeMan38” Boisclair.

Loops created in Smasher: smasher.sourceforge.net.

Original sample “Synth loop” by LS: www.freesound.org.