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{{box |header='''''Houses''''' |file=[[File:houses-title.gif|290px|border]] |text= '''Release type:''' [[:Category:Demo games|Demo game]]<br /> '''Release date:''' [[1991]][[Category: 1991]]<br /> '''Levels:''' 3<br /> '''Author:''' [[Recreational Software Designs]] with [[Sheldon Chase]]<br /> '''Related games:''' ''[[Terrain]]'', ''[[Sample]]'', ''[[Tutor]]'', ''[[Woman Warrior and the Outer Limits | WW: Outer Limits]]'', ''[[Woman Warrior and the Attack from Below | WW: Attack from Below]]'' }}Along with ''[[Terrain]]'' and ''[[Tutor]]'', Houses is one of the more overt demo games to come with [[Game-Maker]], and along with ''Terrain'' it may be considered it a spin-off of or crossover from ''[[Sample]]''. In its original incarnation, ''Houses'' was a single-level affair involving the biker character. Find the right door; exit the level. As with ''Terrain'', its main purpose was to illustrate various tiling patterns. For later releases of Game-Maker, ''Houses'' was updated with two further characters and a branched structure. [[File:Terrance.png|center]] In its ultimate incarnation, the object of the game is to teach designers how to incorporate multiple characters within a single level. The player wanders a map riddled with houses of various designs. If one follows the path, each of the first few houses is a hotspot. Depending on which door one enters, the path branches off into a parallel version of the map featuring a different character. The extra characters include "[[:File:RSD-Cast.png|Sam Stone]]" from ''Sample'' and ''Terrain'', and a basic version of [[Sheldon Chase|Chase]]’s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadweard_Muybridge Muybridge] lady, wearing just a blue swimsuit — more or less a selective palette swap, adding both a bit of color and a bit of modesty to Muybridge's original black-and-white photos. A fully nude version also exists (as per the original photographs), although only as a raw sprite set; it is not incorporated into any game. [[File:Edie.png|center]] [[File:houses.png|thumb|320px|Ghostly faces in ''Houses'']] Altogether, ''Houses'' seems to have undergone heavy revision along the way; although early instruction manuals mention the game, in the final version Sheldon Chase’s character sprite, which was only introduced in late versions of Game-Maker, holds center stage. Some of the background elements in ''Houses'' (indeed also in ''Sample'' and ''Terrain'') are borrowed from [[Andy Stone]]'s ''[[Labyrinth]]'', the Ur game that led to the development of Game-Maker. Those tiles include some of the grass and mud elements. '''Notes:''' * Why does the biker character live in the ritziest house of all? Is it a consolation prize for being relegated to a third-tier character in his own game? * Wow, what's the deal with the shadowy forms in the row house windows? * There is in fact a goal to find. It's a house with the word "EXIT" above the door. * You can only actually finish the game with the biker character. ==Story== [[File:HousesMap.png|thumb|320px|The prime real estate of ''Houses'']] ''Houses'' illustrates how to make buildings out of the blocks in the HOUSES block set. It also illustrates how you can have the character change to another character. ==Instructions== Use the '''arrow keys''' to move. Other keys do various things for each of the characters. Follow the '''green path''' to change into another character. To leave the game, press the '''ESC''' key or enter the door with the '''EXIT''' sign. ==Credits== Designed by [[Recreational Software Designs]]. Female character by [[Sheldon Chase]]. == Resources == * Background blocks, character blocks, and character reused from ''[[Sample]]''. * The biker character is also used in ''[[Tutor]]''. * Sheldon Chase's female character is based on photographs by ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadweard_Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge]'', and is further adapted in his ''[[Woman Warrior]]'' games. == Availability == Distributed with all versions of [[Game-Maker]]. In addition, full versions of Game-Maker and its gameware were illegally distributed on several shovelware CD-ROMs in the early-mid 1990s, such as '''Softkey Entertainment Pack''' (July 1996) == Archive history == ''Houses'' was introduced to the archive with the purchase of Game-Maker 1.04 in September 1992. == Links == <videoflash>1KuWwoWmPHA</videoflash> === Interviews / Articles === * [http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EJRTairne/20130512/192139/Bonus_Time_with_Andy_Stone.php Bonus Time with Andrew Stone] (Gamasutra) * [http://www.diygamer.com/2010/06/gamemaker-archive-sheldon-chase-woman-warrior/ Sheldon Chase and the Warrior Woman (DIYGamer)] * [http://ejmuybridge.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/the-woman-warrior-muybridge-motion-capture/ Muy Blog] === Listings === * [https://archive.org/details/Houses_1020 archive.org entry] * [http://demu.org/games/detail/Houses_1020 demu.org entry] === Misc. Links === * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0j1EN519lM Older gameplay video] * '''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/java/houses.php Play ''Houses'' online]''' == Downloads == * '''''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/downloads/houses.zip Houses]''''' (220.5 kB) * [[Media:HousesMap.png|Houses map]] (281 kB) [[Category: Game-Maker games]] [[Category: Demo games]] [[Category: Recreational Software Designs]] [[Category: Sheldon Chase]] [[Category: Nonlinear]] [[Category: Top-down]] [[Category: Multiple characters]] [[Category: Educational]] [[Category: Old discoveries]] [[Category: Game-Maker 3.0 CD]] [[Category: Sample series]]

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