Tales of the Djinn: Scheherazade's Curse

1001 Nights: Scheherazade's Curse

We based our game on the story of the Three Princes and Princess Nouronnihar from 1001 Nights. Each level incorporates a part of the Princes' journeys to win the hand of Princess Nouronnihar. The papery background suggests that you're playing in the pages of the book itself -- you drive the story forward as you play the game. This isn't exactly a fresh concept, but we feel that it works especially well with the aesthetics and theme of our entry.

You may notice that our character is a Djinn and not a prince. While we didn't have enough time to implement the surrounding story to our game, it thematically made sense that a mythical creature, the Grine, could act as the protagonist. The Grine is a type of djinn that exists in an alternate world/dimension. It is intimately paired with a human in our world, and each of their actions have an affect on the other. While the King is listening to Scheherazade's story and being drawn into the dream world, you play as the Grine in the book's world by acting out these stories.

CC0

All of our code and assets have been released to the public domain, free of charge.

Source: Art assets + Code (scripts) + Unity scene file

Story

The first prince finds a magic carpet that can transport him anywhere; we've turned that into a short distance teleport that our Djinn has to use to cross large distances and move through multiple objects.

The second prince finds a magic tube that allows him to see anything; we've turned that into a controllable scryer that reveals hidden traps our Djinn would otherwise not be able to see.

The third prince finds a magic apple that cures any aliments; we've turned that into a projectile the Djnn uses to heal afflicted townspeople and block hostile projectles.

Each level you're given a skill that you must master in order to beat the level.

Instructions

• Level 1: Master jumping, timing, acceleration, and wall jumping to prepare yourself for the challenges ahead.
• Level 2: You're now able to teleport ahead a short distance using the 'F' Key. Use this to move through enemy projectiles and reach distant platforms.
• Level 3: You're now able to sense invisible traps. Control the scryer with your mouse to reveal hidden threats as you ascend the level.
• Level 4: You're now able to throw magic apples using left click. These block projectiles and heal the townspeople. You must cure the 10 afflicted townspeople in order to beat this level.

After healing the final townsperson in Level 4, the game will pause to indicate that you've won!