Headcase

Headcase

Description

Walk around surfaces and use your noggin to reach the goal.

Information

Developer

Nitrome

Sponsor

• Candystand

No. of players

1

Total levels

25

Genres

• Action
• Platform

Control scheme

•  Keyboard

Released

Flash

15 November 2007
(earliest known availability)

HTML5

25 June 2024

Links

Nitrome.com

HTML5

Order

Off the Rails

Headcase

Pest Control

Headcase is an action-platform game released during the time period of November 14th - 15th, 2007, it was later on ported to HTML5 on June 25, 2024. The player controls Norman Noggin who has been transported to a world where everyone is superhero-like and walks on walls.

Controls

Arrow keys - Move Norman

- Attack/fly in direction

Levels

In each level of Headcase, the player has to venture through the level, try to solve the puzzle-like problems, and get to the end.

Intro

The introduction of Headcase

(image of Norman Noggin in his bed reading a comic book)
Mild Mannered Norman Nogging was just a regular Joe, staying up late reading comic books

(image of Norman Noggin being struck by a green thunderbolt) But a bolt of Cosmic Lightning struck and sent him to a crazy world where everyone walked on walls

(Image of Norman Noggin garbed in his costume)
Norman was now a superhero - with a really big head!

1: Upside your Head!

This level teaches the player about the basic things in the game.

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2: Wheres your Head at?

This level introduces enemies, specifically green goons and lazy riders. Also introduces the yellow spikes.

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3: Head Squeeze!

This is the first level to include big blue blocks.

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4: Tubular Traps!

Pipes are introduced, as well as blue buttons and light blue blocks .

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5: Pyrotechnical Trouble!

Electricity is introduced, as well as the sleeping guards.

A misspelling

This level also has a misspelling in it, saying 'maybe' instead of 'may be' .

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6: Deadly Balls of Doom!

This level introduces wrecking balls.

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7: Let's Get to the Point!

New enemy: electro dudes, and spikey blocks.

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8: Land of the Blue Gunbusters!

True to its name, this level introduces the blue gunbusters. Also has a lot of sleeping guards, making bullet dodging in this level an important skill.

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9: Worlds Apart

A test on the skills. Has a wide variety of different objects and enemies.

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10: Blue Crush Town!

True to its name, this level has lots of big blue blocks, so the player has to be very careful not to get squashed.

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11: Up, Down and Around

This level is a big maze with many different paths, but only one leads to the exit.

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12: Short and Sweet

True to its name, this is a relatively short and simple level. It has a lot of enemies which can be easily smashed to accumulate points.

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13: Crispy Critters!

This level has a lot of island hopping to do. Timing is important because there are electricity emitters between just about every island.

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14: Swing Time Part 2!

A level with lots of blue wrecking balls. The player must be able to take risks to complete this level.

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15: Super Smashing Marvelous!

This level involves a lot of smashing breakable blocks. Timing is important because it has a lot of electrical currents and spikey blocks.

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16: A Mean Green Machine!

Norman shoots out of the start machine, collecting four gems and landing on a sticky green block surface. Upon seeing the vertically moving blue block with sticky green blocks on either sides, Norman should get on the underside of the moving block and quickly move so that he is standing on the block's right side, where two green goons are.

The player should then continue moving until Norman is at the top of the moving block. When the moving block meets the corner of the ceiling's sticky block, Norman should be moved off the blue block and onto the ceiling block.

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17: Tricks and Traps

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18: Up, Up, and Away!

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19: Bang! Bang! You're Dead

This level involves in a lot of bullet dodging, with gunbusters or sleeping guards just about everywhere. Fortunately, this level has a lot of areas where the user could get to to obtain health boosters. It also contains a secret area near the start with a lot of diamonds and a health booster.

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20: Danger Danger! High Voltage!

A level that involves in avoiding electricity, with a lot of electrical emitters and electro dudes.

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21: Back to Back

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22: Easy Squeezy

This section involves much big blue blocks that can squash the player; the Big Blue Blocks are also moving in different patterns. Sections are found in the level requiring the player to hit a group of buttons in sequence, so that blocks open up to the next section for the level. Any spaces opened up will come down and crush the player if they are not fast enough to pass the moving squares.

These sections that open up must be entered quickly, or else the blocks that have opened up will come down and crush the player if they are not fast enough to pass the moving squares.

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23: Time and Time Again

The first part of the level involves traveling on big blue blocks, avoiding being squashed or being pushed towards spikes. The second half of the level has lots and lots of spikey Blocks and the player has to hop across them with no breaks, making it a very tough test.

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24: Leap of Faith

This level is another level that's full of spikey blocks. It requires a lot of good timing and quick thinking, and courageousness.

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25: Lord of Chaos

This is a chaotic level that involves in almost all the enemies and concepts in Headcase. There's a little bit of everything, and is a good test in all the skills learned during the game.

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Ending

This collapsible box contains a spoiler! Use [show] to reveal.

"Well done at using your head! But Norman is now heading somewhere else. What a headache! Will Norman ever find his way home?" A picture of Norman in front of a pipe, facing a bunch of eerie green eyes and crooked structures with holes, is shown.

Enemies

• Green goons - Green goons fly around vertically or horizontally. They can be defeated with one attack.
• Lazy riders - Lazy riders drive a strange contraption on surfaces. They can be defeated with one attack.
• Napping guards - Napping guards are lazy guards next to a cannon. Every once in a while, they will wake up and fire the cannon. They can be defeated in one hit.
• Wrecking balls - These enemies are stationary, and will either swing 180 degrees, or a full 360. They can not be killed.
• Electro dudes - Every few seconds, they charge electricity out in a three by three square. They go down after one hit. However, the player should be wary about when they will discharge electricity. The electricity kills Norman if contact is made.
• Spikey blocks - Spikey blocks appear in three phases. In their calm phase, they act like regular blocks. In their stressed phase, they also act like regular blocks. In their spiked phase though, they are covering in instant death spikes.
• Blue gunbusters - Cousins of the Lazy guard, blue gunbusters appear the same, except for the fact that they are always awake, so the rate of fire is faster. They are lined with spikes and cannons. If the player lands on them, the spikes on the gunbuster causes instant death. They fire missiles from all four sides in a loop. They cannot be destroyed.
• Punchos - Punchos reside on land, where they can punch the occasional victim. They throw their punched left and right, and are defeated with one attack.

Hazards

• Yellow spikes - Any contact with these spike results in instant death.
• Big blue blocks - They move vertically or horizontally, and will instantly kill the player if they get crushed. They are sometimes connected to Sticky Green Blocks.
• Electricity - Electricity is emitted in two ways. One, in a line from two connecting emitters (which may be inside of blocks). And two, from electro dudes.

Pick ups

• Diamonds - These pick ups are scattered across levels, and are worth 20 points.
• Health boosters - Health boosters are scarce, but will replenish one block of health at a time.

Interactive objects

• Entry machine - The entry machine is where the player is deployed from. After that, it acts as a regular platform.
• Exit machine - On the opposite end, the exit machine is where the player has to reach to end the level. End the level by leaping into it.
• Pipes - Pipes are a quick means of transportation. They send the player from one end to the other when leaped into.
• Blue buttons - Blue Buttons activate Light Blue Blocks. Any type of contact from the player will do.
• Light blue blocks - Light blue blocks are activated by blue buttons. They will retract into a space, allowing access. They also act as regular platforms. However they can squash Norman if he stands under it for too long.

Blocks

• Pink blocks - These blocks can be smashed with one attack. And as the name says, they are pink and cracked.
• Pink checkered blocks - These platforms the player can fly off.
• Sticky green blocks - The player cannot leap off these.

Credits

Artwork	Simon Hunter
Programming	Aaron Steed
Music	Lee Nicklen

Glitches

• Sometimes the edge of the electricity emitted by the electro dudes will not hurt the player.
• If the player jumps to the edge of a platform, they can flip gravity and avoid hazards and enemies.
• On level 8, the player can jump off a platform into the sky and softlock.

Beta elements

Images

An image of a happy Norman Noggin was discovered on Simon Hunter's website. This image depicted Norman Noggin happy, an image not seen for the entire game.

• 

  The beta image

Name

During Headcase's development, the name Sticky Feet was considered.

The bottom of the Pixel page on Simon Hunter's website showcases several Nitrome game logos, one of them displaying the title Topsy Turvy. This logo uses the same base and font as the final Headcase logo, implying that the name was also brought into consideration.

• 

  The small beta logo

• 

  The large beta logo, found on an image of various Nitrome game logos. This image was posted on Simon Hunter's old website.

Awards

Site/Event	Year	Contest	Prize	Outcome
Jay is Games	2008	Best of Casual Gameplay 2007	Best Platform game of 2007	Nominated

Trivia

• Lee Nicklen made an extra track of music for Headcase.^{[citation needed]}
• Level 16's title, "Mean Green Machine" may be a reference to the Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off, "Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine".