Spelunky Pacifism Mode

Games are typically about killing things in one form or another. That is part of the assumed nature of video games, that there has to be a struggle against an outside source be it actual or implied (the battle against debt in Animal Crossing). There used to be alternatives to just rampant destruction in the form of time trials or time attack modes. These modes offered the player an opportunity to do battle against yourself for scores, something that is all but missing from today's games. In this absence of any kind of formal pacifism game mode I have decided to create my own.

Spelunky is an incredibly difficult game that we have mentioned before, and it has many nuances that the player is able to play off of in order to use enemies to make the game easier (avoiding falling damage by dropping them and sacrificing them to name two). This made sense for me to use as a handicap against myself while playing this game (what can I say, I'm a masochist). So here are the rules

1. .No killing enemies

This means no bombs, no whips, and no jumping on them (allowing them to get shot by traps or skewered is alright)

2.Shopkeepers count as enemies

Don't kill those old bastards, they have families to feed!

3. The dice game is off limits

This is to prevent people from just camping in the shop and making tons of money

4. Your score is the amount of money you have multiplied by the level you are on when you kill an enemy.

5. If you manage to get to Olmec (good luck) killing him or the other enemies on his stage do not count against you

This seems incredibly difficult to make any progress on, and it is. You will have to use ropes to avoid falling damage, you will have to check very carefully the areas your bombs will hit, and you need to check how many enemies you have thrown that damsel at. The game becomes drastically more difficult with these new rules in place, because you have to stop using the same skills and tactics that have been drilled into your head through normal play. The emphasis stops being about collecting the gold you see as you make it through the level and more about finding a way to sneak around enemies while collecting as much gold as you can. Items also become a much riskier endeavor because you will lose a significant amount of money (and thus a massive amount of points) whenever you get them, but items like the spring shoes which are normally fairly useless now help you jump directly over any enemies that may be coming at you. So if you think you are up for another run into the caves, I wish you the best of luck and happy spelunking.