Rollie

Rollie is a side-scrolling platformer for the NES in which the player controls a raccoon named Rollie who rolls and bounces through a forest to save it from greedy animals.

Developed entirely from scratch by a single programmer, Rollie took nearly 2 years of part time work to complete. It was primarily developed during two different windows: between January 2016 – October 2016 much of the core engine and mechanics were developed; between August 2018 – June 2019, when much of the level design and polishing happened. It was successfully funded in September 2019, and backer’s rewards were fulfilled in August 2020, when it also became available to purchase for the general public.

Rollie plays like a traditional platformer, running and jumping over enemies and obstacles. The definitive mechanic is the player’s ability to turn into a ball and roll. The player can also bounce as a ball; the higher they fall, the higher they bounce. The more they progressively bounce, the less height they attain.

The game was designed to be easy for a child to play and understand. The primary mechanics of running, jumping, rolling, bouncing and firing are based on intuitive controls and physics. The graphics are stylized in a way so that objects are very distinguishable. The music is designed to be catchy and hummable. The impact of the power ups are designed to be immediate and obvious. With 16 large stages, the average completion time of Rollie ranges from 2 to 4 hours. The game is suitable for all ages, a welcoming experience for those who are new to the NES, yet challenging enough for more experienced players.

– Numerous abilities and power ups available to the player
– Wide variery of dinstinct obstacles and enemies
– Miniboss battles at the end of each stage
– 2 player mode, in which players can take turns at any time during gameplay
– 4-digit password system for saving progress