Demake of Human Resource Machine

[0x77]

Nearly nine years ago, I created a mockup of a Human Resource Machine demake and teased it in this forum, but had to put it on hold. Recently, while going through old backups, I rediscovered the project and felt inspired to complete it.

Today, I'm thrilled to release the first version of Human Puzzle Machine:

It features:

• 14 challenging levels from the original
• A reimagined user interface
• Lo-fi pixel art :)

Note: This version is generally more challenging than the original due to program length restrictions.

Differences from the original:

• Program length limited to 10 instructions (for UI simplicity)
• Direct memory addressing only (no relative addressing)
• Less levels due to previous limitations

You can play it by following the link below:

https://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=e7c4c18300e96cdd7087243c8d49e4e5

Controls
Adding Code:

• Navigate instruction area to view options
• Select to add instructions
• UP/DOWN to move instructions
• LEFT to cancel

Editing Program:

• UP from instruction area to access code
• UP/DOWN to select lines
• Select to move lines
• LEFT while moving to delete
• RIGHT to modify parameters
• DOWN past last line to exit edit mode

Running Programs:

• LEFT from instruction area for control panel
• PLAY: Run program
• STOP: Reset
• STEP: Execute line-by-line
• HELP: Review task instructions and tips

I welcome all feedback! Please report any bugs or exploits you discover. (Do try to break it!)

Note: While this version is near-final, I plan to add some custom levels in future updates.

Huge thanks to Tomorrow Corporation for creating the amazing Human Resource Machine! This demake is a fan project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Human Resource Machine is their property.

[That Scar]

I'm pleasantly surprised how well the interface works - it's actually even nicer without a mouse!

I wish the jumps were relative while editing - such that inserting new comments _before_ a loop kept the loop intact.

Otherwise, even though I was never a huge fan of the original, I think the most interesting part was the relative address, so it's unfortunate that's harder here.

[0x77]

I'm glad you like the UI, thank you!

I agree on relative jump addresses. Seems like an easy fix, so I'll bring it in with the next update.

Now, regarding relative addressing for memory access, it's not necessarily difficult to do from an implementation point of view, instead, it's because of the fact that even the most optimized-for-size solutions for levels that use relative addressing take much more than 10 instructions, which means I'd need to get rid of that limit - and I feel like this goes against the purpose of this demake, which is to be a shorter, more streamlined version of the original.