Platformers are supposed to have varied level styles, dynamic movement, and creative approaches to the same, core idea. Right?

Monotony is a 2D platformer aiming to provide a repetitive, hardcore platformer with a high-risk playstyle. Unlike most traditional platformers, with creative, diverse levels, Monotony follows a linear, predictable pattern designed to frustrate the player.

Made with Processing 4.4, an open-source programming language forked from Java. Processing's main purpose is to provide simple visual integration and graphics libraries designed for visual games and GUI.

• Simplistic movement controls
• An easy to learn, hard to master playstyle
• Repetitive level design
• Minimalist GUI
• Custom cursors
• Easy navigation
• Built-in themes

1. Navigate to the Releases Page

   • Navigate to the Releases section of this repository.

2. Select the Latest Release

   • Navigate to the latest release (e.g. v1.0.0).

3. Download the Correct File for Your OS

   • In the Assets section of the release, download the corresponding file for your operating system by clicking it:
     • Windows: binaryWindows64.zip
     • Linux: binaryLinux64.zip

4. Extract the ZIP File

   • Locate the downloaded ZIP file, probably in the downloads folder, and extract its contents. You can usually do this by right-clicking the file and selecting Extract All or using a tool like 7-Zip.

5. Run the Game

   • Locate and open the newly extracted folder.
   • Open the nested folder of the same name.
   • Run the game's executable file:
     • Windows: Double-click processingPlatformerSketch.exe
     • Linux: Run the processingPlatformerSketch.x86_64 file. You may first need to make it executable using a command like chmod +x processingPlatformerSketch.x86_64.

   Note for Windows Users: Windows might show a "Windows protected your PC" warning. If you see this, click "More info" and then "Run anyway" to launch the game.

1. Install Visual Studio Code

   • Download and install VSCode from the official website.

2. Install Processing

   • Download and install Processing 4.3.4 from the official repository.

     This is due to Processing 4.4+ not having the processing-java.exe file, and the extension hasn't been updated yet.

   • Important: After installation, run the Processing IDE (PDE) at least once to complete its initial setup.

3. Install the Processing Extension in VSCode

   • Open VSCode.
   • Go to the Extensions view.
     • Press Ctrl+Shift+X for Windows.
     • Press Cmd+Shift+X for MacOS.
   • Search for and install the Processing Language extension by Avin Zarlez

4. Add the Sound Library in Processing

   • Open the Processing IDE
   • Go to Sketch > t; Import Library > t; Add Library
   • In the Library Manager, search for Sound and click Install

5. Clone the Repository

   • Clone this repository to your local machine, including all hidden files

   git clone https://github.com/MouseMouse625/Monotony

6. Open the Project in VSCode

   • Open the cloned project folder in VSCode using File > t; Open Folder and selecting the correct folder.

7. Configure the Build Tasks

   • In the root of your project, create a .vscode folder if it doesn't exist.
   • Inside the .vscode folder, create a file named tasks.json.
   • Copy and paste the following JSON configuration into tasks.json:

   {
        "version": "2.0.0",
        "tasks": [
           {
                 "label": "Run Blur Creation",
                "type": "shell",
                "command": "C:\\Program Files\\Processing\\processing-4.3\\processing-java.exe",
                "args": [
                    "--sketch=${workspaceFolder}/source/blurs",
                    "--run",
               ],
                 "problemMatcher": []
           },
           {
                  "label": "Run Symlink Setup",
                "type": "shell",
                "command": "C:\\Program Files\\Processing\\processing-4.3\\processing-java.exe",
                "args": [
                    "--sketch=${workspaceFolder}/source/symlinks",
                    "--run",
               ],
                 "problemMatcher": []
           },
           {
                  "label": "Run Main Sketch",
                "type": "shell",
                "command": "C:\\Program Files\\Processing\\processing-4.3\\processing-java.exe",
                "args": [
                    "--sketch=${workspaceFolder}/source/main",
                    "--run",
               ],
                 "problemMatcher": []
           }
       ]
   }
   }

   Modify the "command" paths in the tasks.json file to match the actual installation directories of java.exe on your computer, if you have opted for a custom installation.

8. Running the Game

   • With the tasks.json file configured, you need to run the setup tasks.

     • Press Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows
     • Press Cmd+Shift+P on MacOS

   • After opening the Command Palette, type Run Task, then press Enter.

   • Run the following configured tasks in this order:

     • Run Symlink Setup

       Wait for the window to close

       Note: the symlinks might fail, and if this happens, make sure to run VSCode as administrator to ensure the authority of creating them

     • Run Blur Creation

       Wait for the window to close

     • Run Main Sketch

       This is the command that runs the game

   • From now on, only the last command is required to run the game

VSCode Version

• Hard to setup
• Better anti-alising as it detects app scaling
• More optimised (less lag)
• Uses a slightly outdated version of Processing

Processing Version

• Easy to setup
• Worse anti-aliasing due to not detecting the app scaling
• Less optimised due to the native IDE not being the best (more lag)
• Uses the most recent version of Processing

Do you have any suggestions, fixes, or extensions? If so, you can submit a pull request on Github.

The mocking text seen at the start of every level was inspired by The World's Hardest Game,and the minimalism in both the sound effects and aesthetics was inspired by OCO. Small parts such as the symlinks and blurs were coded and enhanced by AI, such as DeepSeek.

This project uses the MIT License stating that the project is open source and free for anyone to use or develop. For more info, navigate to the LICENSE.md file.

Copyright © 2025 Monotony