Files with WWD extension (Wap World Document) are designed to store level data in games based on the WAP32 engine. Depending on the actual game in order to edit these files you’d use: Gruntz Level Editor (GLE) in the game Gruntz or Wap World in the case of the game Claw. Implementation-wise these editors don’t differ much, only GLE incorporates a few additional new features. For this very reason this article will be dedicated to WWD files produced by GLE, which are technically a functional superset of WWD files produced by the Wap World editor.

Below is the formal WWD file specification, taking into account all the subtle differences between Gruntz and Claw level editors.

A few basic definitions are required to get things started:

• plane – every level is comprised of planes. One of them is required to be marked as “main” – that’s where all the action takes place. Other planes are purely optional and are for decorational purposes only.
• tiles – every plane is a rectangular board comprised of tiles.
• tile properties – every tile in the main plane may have a different functionality. Tile properties describe how the tile interacts with other objects in its vicinity and what it’s responsible for.

Gruntz … the game of my entire childhood (right after The Neverhood) and the game I have really fond memories of. And definitely I’m not the only one out there – since the game was produced in 1999, numerous Gruntz communities and fan pages have been created. Unfortunately the time spares no man and these activities were not an exception. Most of them have been forgotten or closed down due to lack of activitity. The one that did survive and is noteworthy is the GooRoo’s Gruntz Forum. The forum has been already running for 14 years (and I’ve been its proud member for 10 years). Naturally it had its ups and downs but thanks to Ed Kivi – the founder of the forum – everything is running smoothly and the forum is prospering. The most of the forum’s activity is based on the work of the Designers, who design custom levels for others to play. At the time of writing there are 619 custom levels and counting! 12 of which are made by yours truly 😉 The most recent level was released less than month ago so the site is doing perfectly well.

I’d even say there’s quite a fandom concentrated around the game. There are illustrated walkthroughs to guide the player through a level, be it standard or custom one (some of them in a video form), there are countless discussions on possible sequels of the game (some are even in the making), there was also a time when comic strips were put together. Oh, and there’s an interesting habit of changing the spelling of words ending with an “s” where it’s replaced with a “z” instead, so we can spot “Switchez”, “Cheatz” and “Toolz” all over the place instead of regular “Switches”, “Cheats” and “Tools”. It’s not only restricted to plurals – just take “Indiana Jonez” as an example (and bonus point to those who know where this phrase is used in the game!). This distinctive notation was introduced by the creators of the game themselves (the name of the game being a subtle hint – “Gruntz”).