A Sprite

I realize I'm probably begging to be torn apart, but, please, don't leave me hanging in suspense, waiting for a verdict. If you meant what you said about the ideas being worth posting, at least let me know whether or not they are useful. That my ideas were even noticed is like a fan being asked by their favorite sports team to call the next play.... I want to know what happens next.

Forsaking my rose colored glasses, I look at the previous generations and see slowdown, flicker, 20 minute load times, and artists who can't draw Pac-Man. Sure, it makes reading the about the games more exciting, and I'll miss the days when including more than two frames of walking animation required a programmer to break every rule ever written about player control... But as a consumer, I kinda like knowing that most of the games you see on store shelves these days were made by people who grew up in a time when emulation allowed them to experience the best of every generation previous. I walk into a store, and I have my choice of 2d, 3d, or hell, 4d, if we're talking any game that has a rewind feature. Want a racing game? Arcade or realistic? Overhead or in the driver's seat? How about a fighting game? Button masher or more complex than chess? Shooter? There are 1200 ways to experience WW2. Or maybe you prefer zombies? Roleplaying games? You won't live long enough to complete them all. Platformers? You can even make your own! And that's not including sports, rhythm, pinball, or what google will show me if I look up the most innovative games that almost nobody is buying because they either don't care or can't be arsed to use google... In the end, that's what killed EGM. Not their tone, not their review system - they simply weren't as necessary as they used to be. A demo often tells you more than a two page spread...and gamerankings is only a mouseclick away. Plus there are too many games worth playing, to have the time to read about them all. R.I.P EGM, you will be missed.

What's your objection with Galaxian? The yellow border? Galaxian has to use the Ball for the player's shots. Missile 1 used for enemy shots, and Missile 0 can't be used because of NUSIZ0. The Ball is the only thing left. The multi-RESP0 trick used for the aliens doesn't work well near the left edge of the screen. It is thus necessary to mark off part of the screen so that aliens have something to fly into (rather than just vanishing from mid-space). If the Ball and playfield could have been colored independently, that would have been great, but they can't. One must thus either -1- Use a bright shot and put up with a bright border, or -2- Use a dim border and put up with a dim shot, or -3- Skip the border, but have enemies disappear from the edge of their motion range (which does not reach the edge of the screen). Atari chose the first option. Some people might prefer the third, but I think it's better to simply tolerate the bright border. Never knew. Thanks. But ...it's the overall colors chosen. Most of it's faded earth tones on white, but then the middle row is oversaturated, like the enemies were a cut and paste from two different games. Since the original was the first full color arcade game ( that I'm aware of? Please correct me if I'm mistaken. ), it's even more important to pay attention to the design choices of the original artist... If that isn't possible, choose a single solution and stick to it. Think of it this way - you spend weeks carving your code until it's crystal art. Imagine someone else comes along and rewrites it, just for the sake of rewriting it. It's not nearly as effective now, slower, less stable, and it takes up twice as much space ...but it still achieves it's basic function... Then they sell their new version of your product to the consumer under the same name you gave it. Could you overlook it? I believe if you make a creative decision in porting a game over, it should benefit the game. Otherwise, you've stopped hugging the audience. It's bukkake.

I must disagree. There has been a lot of backlash on AA lately about bBasic games with crappy gameplay, and I feel that has rolled over into an attitude that monochrome sprites (common in bBasic games) are fundamentally inferior to multicolor sprites. I think that well drawn monochrome sprites can be superior to multicolor sprites. Moreover, to imply that an author that does not use multicolor sprites is cheating the audience I find to be absurd. If we take that position, then all the games must start to look the same and the game makers are no longer allowed to express an individual style or vision for their creation without being ridiculed as lazy or not "hugging" the players. If modern video games are allowed to have different graphical styles (realistic, cartoonish, etc.) then why not VCS homebrews. Why must monochrome art be so maligned? I agree 100% I reject your position that game quality increases with the number of colors on the screen, or number of colors on a given game object. Just because you can, does not mean you should, or that you are required to do so. Monochrome art is a dying art, and if any place on the web should be non-hostile towards it, I would hope the AA forums would be. Cheers! Since I started this mess, please allow me to sweep up a little... I don't care how many colors are in a sprite. Really. Detail is an underrated virtue. So is restraint. I'll even cite Thrust Platinum as being one of the best looking 2600 games out there, preferring it over Atlantis aesthetically. So forget Demon Attack... Try to defend these instead? Intelligent use of color, even with monochrome sprites, can add atmosphere. Go about it randomly, and you wind up with AstroBlast...

Just quick summaries... 1. Alien sea. Limited visibility. Creatures use lights to communicate through the darkness, creating an organic world that plays to the strengths of the 2600's graphics chip. Missiles could be used to represent sensory organs, or fade in and out like tiny fireflies... 2. Moonlit night, freshly fallen snow. Details suggested with patches of light and shadow. An abandoned cat struggles to survive. Other cats can be allies, or your rivals, depending on how much food you're willing to share. 3. Nanotechnology. Carry information, discover and delete disguised trojans. Try not to be slowed down by spyware. Every line is simple and straight, every sound the most basic, but there is a world within. 4. First contact. You represent one nation, facing multiple alien races. All have different goals. As do the countries below. If you succeed, mankind will no longer be alone. If you fail, mankind will be surrounded. 5. Wild west. Same as above, but closer to home. Based on the idea that your triangle looks like a tipi.

I was in the process of trying to work out how to program some of these ideas, and now they're gone. Why?! My mistake. It was a bad time offline... I saw you'd replied to another poster, no response to me... I thought it would be better to hide any evidence of my insanity. I still remember what I wrote. I can repost any ideas you found interesting, if I haven't scared you off?

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Apologies, if I am not understanding this... are we to add one simple thing each, adding to the game step by step, or throw out whatever comes to mind? If one thing only...communication. Your choice how you create it, unless you want us to flesh out our own ideas... ( If that's true, here's my best shot at it: Pressing the button allows you to send a simple tonal message to the other shapes. Using the d-pad alters the meaning. You can question/greet, threaten ( try to send away ), beckon (try to bring closer ) or cry/laugh ( depending on whether you are with a friend or chased by an enemy. ) Every shape can communicate back. Understanding the enemy and finding friends is the only way you will survive. )

My entire collection in a single cart? It's black magic. I have a portable system that's truly portable.

There really needs to be a consumer alert. Broken/Unfinished Mortal Kombat Trilogy aka Mortal Kombat Advance - Remember Double Dragon for the 2600? The AI was so simplified that the computer didn't know how to pretend to be stupid, and went for the kill the second you gained control over the player. Every fight was a boss fight. This game tries the same, but randomizes the hit detection boxes. Special moves can only be reliably achieved by hacking. Sonic the Hedgehog: Genesis. - Adds slowdown, especially when you gain speed power-ups. Levels suffer from pop in, as if the GBA can't render all the visual date being thrown at it. Physics can't be counted on. Collision detection is better on the spikes than the floor beneath your feet. Then there's the music... Afterburner - part of Sega Arcade Gallery. If taken as a chance to expand one's mind, this is right up there with Space Giraffe. Incoming enemy fire can no longer be seen due to the graphics hit. Missile sprite scaling and vapor trail effects are limited at best. You must know when the enemy will fire, before they have launched. R-Type III - this game was unfished when released. You can lose lives without actually ever being shot. Marble Madness. - Think of it as a demo for the real thing. 3 levels remain out of the original 6. Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits - Joust features collision detection that doesn't sync up to the onscreen graphics. Defender slows down as it taxes the GBA cpu. Robotron suffers from the dpad/2 face button control scheme. And then there's fleeing Sinistar on that small screen... Misc bad ports. Not technically broken, but still damaged. Phantasy Star Collection: PS1 save games may be erased. Ecco the Dolphin ( Sega Smash Pack. ): Soundtrack removed. Only 2 songs remain. Contra 3 No more smart bombs. Any others?

We're avoiding any comments that sound like "Are you going to make it a full game now?" Some of us can't even successfully execute a dos prompt, much less make a game in 24 hours... Any suggestions or criticisms are off the table, leaving us only to gape in awe. Or plan ways to eat you, so that we might steal your powers.

58 replies, as of my last viewing. Not bad. Just curious - those of you who think this thread needs to be locked, why are you still arguing inside it? If you don't care for deliberate controversy, that's fine, but it's not like the guy hasn't admitted to the truth of the matter already. He broke a broken computer. What more do you want from him? You have your written confession. The only flaming in this thread at this point is coming from the offended...

He's genuine. http://www.remix64.com/interview_max_hall.html Also, incredibly bad at PR - it took me over an hour to find your name written by someone who wasn't a friend. This thread has been fun though, I'll give you that...

Not all of us could afford a home computer. I remember when 3D took over. "You have to play the game to really see what it looks like." Said nearly every honest review. Almost overnight screenshots became irrelevant. Cinema presentations revived the art of the silent film for a new generation. Unlike the silent films of the past, expressive faces were shunned in favor of emotions barely seen. Lovers seldom kissed. Violence was offered up as a form of dance... Imagination filled in the blanks. We were part of a conspiracy to make these games better than they were, and we entered into it willingly. Final Fantasy VII was never art, but it created more artists than any single museum... It couldn't last. We wouldn't let it. With the next generation, our heroes found their own voices. We were shocked at how little they had to say.

Growing up poor gives me cause to look at this a bit different... 2nd generation games I started with: ET and Demons to Diamonds. 3rd: Super Mario Bros and Duckhunt. 4th: Super Star Wars and Lagoon. 5th Tempest 2k. 6th Sonic Adventure and Sega Swirl. 7th Lego Indy, Kung Fu Panda, and Soul Calibur 4...and then I discover a hidden game on the harddrive! Plus 15 demos! And I can download more demos at will! It's insane, some of these demos contain hours worth of gameplay! Every other generation is screwed by comparison. My inner child wouldn't ever look at me again if I voted for any of the previous generations...I've no regrets.

Karateka. Tower Toppler had the wow 3D graphics! Robotron had the numbers. Xevious had the kazikame game of chicken that passed for a bombing... But I was a kid. I had no idea game systems weren't supposed to be able to do these things. They kind of blended in with every other Atari game I had. Then there was Karateka. It began with a scroll. There was a story inside... A story about two men who loved one woman. The first, the evil one, loved his love for her more than he loved the woman, and so he caged her, so that they would never lose that feeling. The other, the prince, who was handsome, noble, and brave, risked death just to free her. And she? We met her before the end, so that we might witness her silent grief...she could have killed the villain with a single kick, of course, but it is easier to want to kill someone than it is to carry out the execution. Perhaps she thought it was her duty to marry him. To a prepubecent 2600 junkie who'd never before seen a silent movie, this was ART. I have no idea how many lives I lost due to the broken controls. The only one I really miss was my own. This game only made me want more stories... Ninja Gaiden, Final Fantasy, and Metal Gear Solid were waiting to have their way with me....

Re-release it.....after I.... Fix all the hardware bugs of the RISC's. Replace the 00 with an 030...maybe even an 060. 64 megs ram. Pay SubQMod tons of money for his excellent job on the new tools. Then I write the killer app. You're good with the suspense, and I bow to your skills as an entertainer, I'm willing to take the bait. I know you've got to protect your IP, so I understand in advance you're not going to give us a seminar on how you'd design your killer app... But leaving aside how, what would it be at heart, and why choose it?

If you weren't limited by time or money, what would you do with the Jag? I keep seeing the usual unrealistic wish lists - I'd like to see something worth wishing for, even if it'd never happen...

All I ask for is larger screen shots - right now it's like visiting a museum by flying over it at high speeds...

Magazines always seemed to treat the Jaguar different than SNES and Genesis. I have an EGM somewhere where they declare that the Jaguar isn't 64-bit because "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and the Jaguar isn't 100% 64-bit in every way". Yet in the same issue, they talk repeatedly about the 16-bit Genesis (which includes at 8-bit Z80 processor) and never question its "bitness". But how many Genesis games looked like they were programmed for the Z80? Edit: Didn't see how old this topic was before typing. Missing that delete function...

Okay, I listened to the first video. You offered not a single coherent sentence. That's fine, you're angry. But it's contagious. Calm down. Before we go any further, you're not going to get anywhere seeking sympathy for your anxiety disorder. Yeah, it bites. It's like your veins are filled with shattered glass and nobody can see you bleed... I know. I've got it too. Now forget about it completely, because what's broken inside me, and what's broken inside you, has nothing to do with who's in the right. Your handicap is an obstacle, not a winning Powerball ticket. If it's hurting you that bad ( and I'm not for a moment suggesting it isn't), seek treatment. Back to your video: I want to hear a story. Dates. Names of the games. Quotes from the forum. Start at the beginning. And if you can, offer more than a he said/she said...

Portal, Braid, Geometry Wars, N+, Little Big Planet, PacMan CE - let's not turn into bitter old men. This generation is one of the better ones...

' Thanks, I finally gave up on the birds and went cheat code The dogs look good and seem to be about right difficulty wise to me. This game needs the term "Fe Fi Fo Fum" in it some where. Wp What about in the title screen right after the title? The screen could shake like a giant's footsteps were drawing near, and then Jack could jump and run off the screen...cue demo mode of gameplay?