Occasionally a web page will do a little trick such that a swinging tail or some other decoration hangings from the cursor arrow. This decoration trails behind your mouse in a sedate fashion if the mouse moves slowly. If the mouse moves fast the thing can really fly around. If someone knows of such a page, please link it up.

In any case, this effect could be used for a java game. The premise - you must lead a crowd of people through a zombie infested town to safety. Your character follows the cursor, and the people to be saved also follow at greater or lesser speeds. The action takes place in a pacman like maze which you traverse, although the elements are buildings, wrecked cars etc. If a zombie sees a person, it will move towards it and groan. If a zombie hears another zombie groan, it will move towards that zombie. The zombies are slow but many. If a zombie catches a person, that person becomes a zombie after a short period. If a person to be rescued cannot see your character because you have moved away too fast, it will move randomly until (unless) you come back to get it.

The trick is not to move the cursor so fast that you shake off the people following you. Also, your character follows the cursor, but is not the cursor, so moving your character and its entourage is inexact. You must learn to move the pack, and also use strategy to lure the zombies one way then cut back and go a different way.

You score points for the number succesfully led to safety. If you charge a pack of zombies, some of your flock might make it through. Higher levels have more zombies, faster zombies,tougher / moving mazes, and slower people to save. Some levels might have people within the maze which you can pick up on the way.

It occurs to me that weapons could be added at higher levels. One would hold down the space bar to cease the movement of your character. Then on clicking the mouse, a projectile moves between your character and the mouse, taking down any zombie it touches. One might be able to acquire various weapons in the maze. One might also acquire followers (eg a party of cops) who are armed, and who also shoot towards the cursor at the same time as your character.
-- bungston, May 28 2007

Dynamic Drive cursor trail JavaScripts http://www.dynamicd...com/dynamicindex13/
I think there used to be one in here with a mouse-following beer mug ... [figmeant, May 28 2007]

Carnival of Souls http://www.deadrabb...evault/carnival.htm
Classic ghoulish yet low-res [figmeant, May 28 2007]

Swing your zombies round and round. http://www.wolaver.org/Humor/bouncing.htm
Alamana left. [2 fries shy of a happy meal, May 28 2007]

String Avoider http://www.fetchfid...ider/st-avoider.htm
Existing game using 'mouse follower' concept [neutrinos_shadow, May 28 2007]

The cursor trails in web pages are JavaScript, not Java, but your game could be implemented in any language appropriate to writing games.

I like the overall game idea. I would try it once, and if it had really good ghoulish yet low-res qualities, I'd probably play it again.
-- figmeant, May 28 2007



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