Getting out alive in Mine Mayhem, Games by Zaweba
Mine Mayhem in Games by Zaweba is a one-screen 8-bit platformer: grab every flashing key, mind the crumbling ledges and reach the exit before the air runs out.
Everything you need to see fits on a single screen in Mine Mayhem, a one-screen 8-bit platformer on the Retro arcade shelf of Games by Zaweba. Each cavern has flashing keys to collect and an exit to reach, and the air is running out the whole time. It's drawn in the style of a 48K home computer, and it's a good introduction to the platform games on the shelf because the rules are so clear.
Walking and jumping
Left and Right, or A and D, walk. Space or Up jumps. That's the lot, so all of your attention can go on where to jump and when.
The cavern
Collect every flashing key in the cavern. When you have them all, the exit starts flashing, and you need to get to it before your air runs out. The air is the timer, so a cavern is a race as well as a puzzle.
Ledges can be jumped up through from below, which opens routes that don't look possible at first glance. Crumbling ledges give way, so don't stand on them for long, and think about whether you'll need to come back the same way. Conveyors push you along, which can help or hinder depending on which way you're going.
Spikes and guards
Avoid the spikes and the guards. Spikes stay where they are, so they're a matter of careful jumping. Guards are different: watching one for a moment before you pass shows you how it moves, and you can time your move around it rather than hoping for the best.
Planning a route
Because everything is on one screen, you can see the whole cavern at once. That's the big advantage of this kind of platformer. Before you start moving, look at where the keys are, where the exit is, and which ledges crumble. Work out an order that doesn't leave you stranded, for example by collecting a key on a crumbling ledge last, if you won't need that ledge again afterwards.
A crumbling ledge that you need twice is the classic trap. Spotting it before you start saves a life. The same goes for a conveyor that carries you away from the exit: better to know about it before the exit starts flashing than after.
Because the air keeps running down from the moment you start, planning has to be quick. A few seconds' look is enough, and the rest you'll learn by trying. The first go at a cavern often shows you where you went wrong, and the second is when it comes together.
How it differs from the scrolling games
Unlike Zippy the Armadillo, which runs right through long acts, or Castle Knight, where you fight your way through a level to its exit gate, Mine Mayhem keeps everything in one room. There's nothing hidden off screen, so every mistake is one you could have seen coming, and that's a large part of its charm.
Pause, full screen and your record
Esc pauses, F11 gives you the full screen, and the title card and F1 explain the controls. Games by Zaweba keeps your best score and plays on your PC, and shows each result against your best. Everything in the game is drawn and every sound made in code, so it runs offline with nothing to download.
Plan the route first, mind the crumbling ledges, and head for the exit the moment it starts flashing.
