r_type2600

That was one very enjoyable interview, with lots of revealing insights and entertaining anecdotes. Eugene came over as a very straight, smart and passionate game creator and player. Thanks for sharing this excellent interview!

Same here, Galaxian is such an iconic game that it would deserve to get a Champ treatment on the 2600. Atari's done a honorable job with its conversion, but it just lacked the feel and challenge of the arcade game. A 2600 version that captures the starfield and hypnotic sound (literally bells & whistles) of arcade Galaxian would be fantastic! John's working on so many cool projects at the moment, so I'm sure he has other priorities. Still hoping though that he may some day find time and motivation to also consider Galaxian ?

BlackJack has a tough standing in the action-orientated video games world, but the complexity of your version coupled with a sleek design is impressive and attractive even for one who isn't too much interested in card games (like myself). I really like the elegant appearance of the desk including the different shapes for the chips, but wonder if you couldn't make them different colors for a more intuitive recognition. Also it appears that in some cases selecting multiples of one chip type does not correctly reflect in the upper part. For instance you would only see one 10 chip, despite having selected two. I know that it raises the bet amount correctly, but it should also show it in the visuals. The cards animations have really enlivened the game and look rather convincing. One thing I am missing in the game is a purpose (apart from raising your funds). Some kind of game goal to drive the player's interest. For example Breaking the Bank, which in the context of your game story, would then allow the player to escape Theta VIII with a fixed spaceship. This celebrated by a nice animation/win graphic would definitely motivate to play the game for more than a couple of card shuffles. A Game Over animation/graphic would further increase the appeal of the game. Just a couple of suggestions to spice up a game type that by its nature is rather sober and, in the realm of video games, "boring". Your next project plans sound very exciting and given the quality shown on this one, promise to be games to look forward to!

Indeed tricky. Tune is too good to be shortened. On the other hand the demo is indeed best kept silent. Hmm. - Judging from some of the comments, most posters had some difficulty to figure out the gameplay initially. So some kind of guidance would be useful. The demo does not really help here as it's too short. Why not introduce a screen that presents the "bestiary" with their behavior. Nothing fancy. Just a running animation of each of the critters along with a short text description of their behaviour. (similar to Wizard of Wor) Say: (Animated Ant Graphic) - Dazzles Aardvark when touches tongue. Eat with tongue tip. (Animated Caterpillar) - Avoid from front. Eat from behind. ...and so on. (Text definitely could be improved.) - You already have an option screen. Include it in the title loop as well. This helps to better integrate that screen in the overall presentation as well. - To extend the demo part let it run through 3 deaths consecutively. But drop the Aardvark intro for the demo. That icing is better kept for the proper game. With this, the title mode would loop through 4 screens now (Title, Options, Instructions, Demo). The music could fully play through the first 3 screens, and then switch to the silent demo. A good balance is of course subject to trial, but I feel a nice loop could look like this: - Title (5/8 of the title tune) - Options (1/8 of the tune) - Instructions (2/8 of the tune) - Demo (silent. 3 times without Aardvark intro) Hope this all makes sense

Simply beautiful. Aardvark is shaping up to become another must-have homebrew masterpiece belonging into every self-respecting 2600 collection. An all-around charming and captivating game, with all its elements blending together smoothly for an exciting experience. What I love: addicting, challenging gameplay great graphics with silky smooth animation (the aardvark is spectacular for a 2600 game), beautiful title screen, etc. catchy and fitting tunes and sounds beautiful presentation. Title screen graphic sets the tune perfectly now (the earlier graphic was nice, but the new one is adorable), and the Aardvark intro immediately draws the player into the gameworld. the attention to detail. Playful fonts, score value displaying when critters are being swalloved, etc. Consequently my suggestions would not target to make it better, as it already is close to perfect, but to make “more” out of this brilliant creation :-) Finetuning requests: better timing of the title screen / demo loop. It's really pleasant to listen to the full title screen music, but a bit odd to watch the title screen for a couple of minutes first, while the subsequent game demo then usually only lasts a dozen seconds atmost. likewise the Game Over screen should automatically end and switch back to the title screen after a while. Ideally with some kind of “extro” animation. Like having a handful of ants doing a “victory dance” and then carrying away the Game Over logo. Switch back to the title screen after that. Wishlist!: ( to add more variation and longlasting appeal) A couple additional foes/ gameplay elements for later levels: egg-laying antqueens. These would appear on later levels to fill up already cleared rows. bonus aardvark cucumber (only vegetable an aardvark does eat according to wikipedia). Appears randomly, static, gives big points, but: slows down the tongue. → a tactical gameplay element termites: they travel the anthill down and up in a clockwise pattern. Behave similar to worms Intermissions. It would be fantastic if the game would treat players to some kind of simple yet clever animated intermission every 5 levels or so to keep the player hooked. This type of breaks has proven to add a lot of atmosphere and longterm appeal to such single-screen arcade games. Only wishing... Would be great if any of these could be considered to make Aardvark the ultimate Anteater version, but in any case it is a fantastic 2600 game already. Thanks for the treat!

Please put me down for number 25 of each version (Zippo, Dupont, and Classic). Thank you!

Anybody who doesn't love this game? :-) One small finetuning request: once a game is over and the player does not select to continue right away and press the fire button, it should automatically switch back to the title screen after a while (say 5-10 seconds).

Chimning in with all other comments - a Doodle Jump version was predestined for the 2600 and the Amoeba has assumed that role brilliantly so far! It's good to see it developing its own flavor and personality, in true 2600 style. In that vein - how about including a variation in which the "combo spring-jumps" is included as a bonus level after reaching a certain threshold (say 10.000 pts.)? Player has a chance to maximize his scorer until he falls off in that round, game carries on thereafter. Something around the lines of the bonus round in Paperboy.

I'd like to take 4 please, if still possible.

This is such a fascinating effort. It oozes exceptional originality and artistry on so many levels. The evident attention and commitment to details further contribute to make this game stand out. More than fun - an experience! I must admit that I was not particularly fond of bBatari given the hordes of mediocre games it has generated. But Plague, the Gizzle Wap games, Space Cactus Canyon, and a few others, have now opened my eyes to what a great tool bBatari can be in the right hands (minds). An accessible platform that allows genuinely creative spirits to unleash their imagination on the 2600, treating gamers to unexpected worlds and surreal experiences. Feels like the early 80es again :-) Magyar?

Die G 7000 version ist halt schon ein sehr archaisches Vergnügen. Da muss man schon sehr viel Liebe aufbringen für so eine primitive Kost. Quasi Knödel mit Ei mit wenig Ei.

Cool stuff! The second was used in the ad for Tac-Scan: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-tac-scan_7653.html

Somehow missed out when first contacted last year, and would appreciate if you could put me back on the current list. Thank you!

Bubbles and the sound ideas all sound like great complimentary effects and welcome extra polish to the game. Any consideration for a title/menu screen? Always a thrill to discover what a diverse mix of fascinating personalities the Atari scene has and is continuing to host and attract. Karri is for sure another one injecting a lot of rhythm and vision to our Lynx community (Hope the trip up to Salzburg is the right contrast to Werther )

A couple of simplistic suggestions: Gologo or as a reverance to Syzygy: Gylygy

Seriously !?! We hunger ! :-)

Wow, really impressed by this! Simplistic gameplay, but surprisingly challenging and addictive. Presentation is topnotch considering this all fits into 1k ! Changing graphics, extra sound don't hurt if you can still squeeze more into 1k, but they certainly are not required. A title screen would be a waste for small games - such games thrill by delivering an optimized balance between gameplay/graphics/sound/presentation (in that order).

Spooky - an Activision ad from the early 80es:

Love how the box artwork captures the 60es-SciFi vibe of the game. And great original layout design for Champ Games boxes - hope Lady Bug & Conquest of Mars will eventually also get boxes following that design

Good choice ! Big Kung Food fan here (and I stand up to that - I know it regularly appears on the worst games list ), and I found Fat Bobby to be in the same vein (at least graphically).

Great art pieces and very nicely framed. Some mat color choices are a bit weird though (in particular - a cream mat for Xenophobe?) The reuse of the Asteroids ship is awkward indeed - always thought that this cover was a rush composition made by an art director, surprised to see that it was an actual painting. Odd they went so blant with this on. Gates of Zendecon might not have been a sensation, but it was solid enough to deserve a more memorable cover. A pity about the smear in the Ms Pac-Man painting - one of my favorite Lynx covers!

Please add me to the list as well.

The list almost exactly corresponds to the proto reproductions dealer BEST was offering for a long time, so I suspect the original owner had indeed acquired the set from Best Electronics and then slapped on his selfmade labels.

Congrats for your first VCS assembler game! Any new assembler game is a welcome addition to the 2600 library, especially as 98% of assembler homebrews showcase a high level of commitment and bear a basic playability that generally only the best bBatari efforts can attain. This is no different with this game :-) However I must admit that for some reason the game did not manage to excite me for too long. Despite the remarkable upbeat pace and the basic gameplay that does work smoothly. Unfortunately it lacks spice, as was already remarked by others. But maybe there's another reason why it does not motivate long. After all, we've seen hundreds of games that did manage to hook people despite very basic gameplay. So I was tinkering about this and came to a conclusion, which I hope does not come over as too harsh. The game setting/story simply does not make sense! A Jet zipping through the skies dodging walls? or clouds? neither makes sense, nothing any player could really identify himself with. Thus no motivation, and no lasting excitement. But that upbeat game pace. What was it reminding me !? This!: Run Lola Run Wouldn't that setting feel more natural, a fugitive on an eternal run, flashing down alley after alley, gap through gap? And it wouldn't require too much changes, mainly to change the player character. A modestly animated human (female to stick with the inspiration) character instead of the current static jet. That change of setting would also allow to introduce a couple of gameplay refinements that should add more punch to the gameflow: - the character has now a limited number of "jumps" per level/alley (triggered by the fire buttons). Starting with say 3, he could pick up more jumps via the bonus items, with a set maximum. Let's call those bonus items "shirts" to pep up the story. The number of available jumps could then be indicated through a pattern of colors. - the levels (alleys) can be differentiated simply through color cycling of the background and walls. Level design to be based on increasing speed, but also decreasing gaps. Maybe also thicker walls. - scoring incentives on the basis of used up "shirts" at the end of levels. Any remaining ones would be counted as bonus points. Etc. Just thinking loud, the game in any case has a lot of potential !

How about Boulder Dash II ? Would give the ones who missed out with the first their chance to grab a physical Boulder Dash cart, yet still attract a lot of buyers since it would be an all new game. That shall justify a large enough production run (eventually larger than for the first) to cover the licensing costs...