What is this? This isn't an android app!

Be Kind, Please Find is our first graphical program and paved the way to making more visually impressive software and eventually Android development. In the spring of 2008, we took a game development class after finishing our basic C++ programming classes in college. We did not think much of it at the time as we thought as the class was just going to be an easy way to get a minor and bump up our GPA, but that semester was the first step towards our future. The project taught us how to manage resources and tasks to ensure that important things got done. It also taught us the importance of creating a good demo and presentation as that is what hooks people in. Our college senior project mirrors the philosophy and spirit of this project which set the bar for future students. It is our honor and privilege to present Be Kind, Please Find to the world.

Tell me about the game

In early 2008, Be Kind Rewind hit theaters. We loved this movie because the plot involved a bunch of characters making "sweded" movies (their own version of Hollywood movies to replace the tapes they destroyed) and the way they approched the filmmaking was hilarious. This movie inspired us to make a "sweded" game.

Our game has a very simple plot: you play Kaz, a video store clerk, who has dreams of becoming the next Spielberg. The video store you work at does not have every movie in the world so you must find the tapes that are located around town. You must talk to the citizens of Villa Sweded to get clues as to where these tapes are.

The graphics were borrowed from the games Earthbound and Pokemon which were edited to fit the theme of our game. The entire game was created in Game Maker, which is a free simple game creation program that uses a drag-and-drop programming and design interface. We, along with a few friends, provided the voices for the game. The sounds were recorded at the local radio station. The game features a cameo by a local radio personality as a bonus!

I want it!

Be Kind, Please Find is a Windows program only and there will be no future development. It is offered as-is with no support. The original computer that it was developed on was a Compaq laptop with a 1.6 GHz AMD Turion, 1 GB of RAM, and an integrated ATI Radeon X200 running Windows XP home. As long as your computer is newer/better than that, it should run fine. It has been tested in Windows 7 and it will still run.

Bugs

• Sounds are loud and non-adjustable!
• Splash screen may take a long time to initialize game (especially on slower computers)
• Originally developed with a USB NES gamepad for the demo. Keyboard keys for the game are:
  • Arrow keys: move character
  • Spacebar: Interact with people and object/dismiss messages
  • C: Inventory
  • Esc: Quit game
• Originally the game played video clips when interacting with TVs. Do not interact with TVs! They will cause the screen to go black and the game to freeze. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to bring up the task manager to kill the game when this happens.

Screenshots