The Sideways Traveler (WIP)

Windows
The title screen displays 'The Sideways Traveler' in large white capital letters against a dark blue night skyline of Barcelona.

The Sideways Traveler is an adventure game inspired by early MS-DOS titles. It uses the 16 colors of EGA, a graphics mode that was pretty much the standard for PCs in the late '80s and early '90s.

I started working on this game back in 2021, so it's safe to say that it has taken me longer than expected. As with almost all of my gamedev endeavors, I didn't work on The Sideways Traveler nonstop, but often switched to other projects. Still, I'd like to finish this game at some point in the future.

Screenshot showing the protagonist's bedroom at the beginning of the game. He's standing in front of the bed, with the bedside lamp behind him being the only light source.

One of the main inspirations for The Sideways Traveler is Lucasfilm Games' Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders from 1988. This was the first point-and-click adventure game I ever played, and I wanted to recreate some of its aspects without just making an outright copy.

As in Zak, you start small, in your bedroom and apartment. However, as the story progresses, the game becomes more expansive, taking you to various locations not only in the city but also around the globe. I can't promise that you'll end up on Mars, though.

I wrote a blog post that goes more into detail about the game's inspiration.

Screenshot showing the protagonist's kitchen. The game's command interface is visible and currently shows 'Open freezer' as the selected command.

The game's interface is context-sensitive. When you click and hold the left mouse button on an interactive hotspot, up to four different relevant commands appear for the selected object. This also works for item combinations, so I can provide commands that go beyond the generic "Use A with B."

Animation showing a waterfall tumbling down a cliff in Hawaii.

I'm using the Godot Engine for this project, which allows for some nice graphical flexibility. There will be alternate color schemes and an old-school CRT filter that can be toggled on and off. One downside is that I had to create an adventure system almost from scratch, which is one reason why it has taken me so long.

Screenshot showing the entrance to the Martorell Museum in Barcelona's Citadel Park.

It's also one of those games where I have to be careful not to let the scope get out of hand. Ideas are cheap, but implementing them is a different story.

Animation showing a vertical shooter reminiscent of Namco's Galaxian or Galaga.
pew pew pew

Like, for example, did I really need to add a fully playable Galaxian clone to the game? The answer is yes, I did, and it was totally necessary.

The Sideways Traveler will be released when it's done. Hopefully, I won't suddenly decide to add a flight simulator as well.

Back to Games