[Lynx]A Bug's Lynx - the game of the AC2k9 coding contest

[Fadest]

During the AC2k9 show that held this WE in France, there was a coding contest on a specific theme.

Here is the entry we did for the Atari Lynx.

 

The goal was to make a game inspired by Lady Bug, an anhanced clone of Pac Man, where the labyrinth can be modified by player by rotating walls.

 

this version reflect what has been done in only 24h, ie, the essential is here but it can be improved a lot.

- the player can move

- management of rotating walls

- mushrooms kill the player

- management of bugs IA (very very dummy and simplist)

- scoring system

- life management and defeat

- level management

 

This is not a full clone of Lady Bug that had other specificities, especially in scoring system, but now, the game will follow another direction of his model and get its own appeal. This means I have some personal ideas that I did not have time to implement.

 

So, the game is playable. For thos that got the version from yesterday on their flash card, I just modified 2 small bugs.

- collisions between player and bugs are more player friendly (you do not lose anymore if a bugs collide you with only one pixel)

- you do no more get back all your lifes when starting a new level (yes, this was a bug, not a nice feature )

 

The zip file includes the game in .o format (Handy ou BLL), .lnx (handy ou flash card) and .lyx (flash card) and readme.txt.

 

Many thanks to DoctorY for time spent on graphs , to Rygar for music and testing, and to all people that came to test, give advice or just motivation.

ABL.zip

[+LS650]

I just tried this out on Handy and it plays great!

Some constructive criticism:

- I really do NOT like the pink background. I would make it black or dark blue so that it is easier to see the various objects.

- It is a bet hard to distinguish the objects. For example, I ran into a red mushroom before realizing it was like one of the poison skulls in Ladybug.

- I would have the background music quieter and make the sound effects louder.

- Your bug seems to move a bit slow. I would have it run a bit faster through the maze.

 

Other than that it is a great game!

[Fadest]

Some constructive criticism:

- I really do NOT like the pink background. I would make it black or dark blue so that it is easier to see the various objects.

Well, in fact, it was black, but it was not readable on Lynx but better on Handy than actual version.

As DoctorY was not here on sunday, we made some tests with Rygar and decided to put the light brown background (it is not pink, indeed I think it is not pink ) because it was better on Lynx.

 

 

- It is a bet hard to distinguish the objects. For example, I ran into a red mushroom before realizing it was like one of the poison skulls in Ladybug.

You are right, the game would need a serious rework on graphs. A show is not the best place to do this, and as I have previously said, DoctorY left on saturday evening, without having seen the game in action, so he wasn't able to do modifications.

 

- I would have the background music quieter and make the sound effects louder.

As said in readme.txt, HAndy does not replay ABC Music well. It sounds far better on Lynx.

 

This (background + music) there is a warning when played on HAndy (not displayed on real Lynx) saying that game give better experience to player on real hardware. And even better on a video projector with Lynx vision

 

 

- Your bug seems to move a bit slow. I would have it run a bit faster through the maze.

Well, there is a lots of things that need to be improved and I have some nice (in my opinion) ideas also. But you know, when the deadline is at 3PM and you get a stable version at half past two. You want to improve it a bit, designing ugly title screen, finding stupid name that will put in evidence lots of bugs (data corruption...) never found before, you finally are happy to make it works just 5 minutes before 3PM

 

Other than that it is a great game!

Many thanks.

[matashen]

Some constructive criticism:

- I really do NOT like the pink background. I would make it black or dark blue so that it is easier to see the various objects.

Well, in fact, it was black, but it was not readable on Lynx but better on Handy than actual version.

As DoctorY was not here on sunday, we made some tests with Rygar and decided to put the light brown background (it is not pink, indeed I think it is not pink ) because it was better on Lynx.

 

 

- It is a bet hard to distinguish the objects. For example, I ran into a red mushroom before realizing it was like one of the poison skulls in Ladybug.

You are right, the game would need a serious rework on graphs. A show is not the best place to do this, and as I have previously said, DoctorY left on saturday evening, without having seen the game in action, so he wasn't able to do modifications.

 

- I would have the background music quieter and make the sound effects louder.

As said in readme.txt, HAndy does not replay ABC Music well. It sounds far better on Lynx.

 

This (background + music) there is a warning when played on HAndy (not displayed on real Lynx) saying that game give better experience to player on real hardware. And even better on a video projector with Lynx vision

 

 

- Your bug seems to move a bit slow. I would have it run a bit faster through the maze.

Well, there is a lots of things that need to be improved and I have some nice (in my opinion) ideas also. But you know, when the deadline is at 3PM and you get a stable version at half past two. You want to improve it a bit, designing ugly title screen, finding stupid name that will put in evidence lots of bugs (data corruption...) never found before, you finally are happy to make it works just 5 minutes before 3PM

 

Other than that it is a great game!

Many thanks.

 

i would say to all who play it. See it as Alpha not as Beta. It is a game fadest coded in 24h. For this time the stuff is absolutly ingenius.

 

So let Fadest do the game to a beta-status and you will see he create a really perfect game. More perfect as other ones.

 

@Fadest: Dont forget a saveable highscore

 

Regards

 

Matashen

[Ninjabba]

24 hours.. wow thats impressive man. took me 24 hours to compile helloworld on the lynx.. and probably a year or two before I will ever get anything properly to show off...

 

Surely is a nice game with an addictive feeling similar to pac-man I never played lady bug before, the only thing that struck me is that the AI is predictive as it only runs around in circles if the outer path doesn't get obstructed, but then again I wouldn't try implementing a path-finding algorithm on the lynx in 24 hours. Great job!

[Isgoed]

I've just played this with Handy, and I think it's great

 

Good job guys!

[Fadest]

the only thing that struck me is that the AI is predictive as it only runs around in circles if the outer path doesn't get obstructed, but then again I wouldn't try implementing a path-finding algorithm on the lynx in 24 hours.

Basically, you got the algorythm

They just sometimes change direction in other way (in order to be blocked infinitely) with a little random.

I wanted to improve this part later, but I had no time.

 

I guess I spent too much time speaking with great guys who were here

[Fadest]

DoctoY in the best conditions to make his graphs. Yes, making a game is a sacerdoce :

 

and the public presentation (the image on screen is daisplayed via LynxtoTV/Lynxvision)

 

(photos by Zerosquare)

[im_reg]

Fantastic effort guys. Plays really nice. I love the idea of the swinging 'gates' makes the game alot of fun and I love blocking off the enemy!

 

Well done.

[gambler172]

Hi Fadest

For a game,made in 24 hours,it is really great.Iplayed it with flashcard on my Lynx and i like it.The music is really nice.......and the game plays very well.

greetings Walter

[Godzilla]

Very impressive bit of coding! great job!

[CrazyChris]

Fadest makes good stuff!!!

[+LS650]

Geez, I remember being very impressed with this 5 years ago, and hoping there would be an official release.

 

I guess that is not to be...

[Level42]

Very sad. Lady Bug is a fantastic arcade game and would make a brilliant Lynx game

[Sapicco]

I just bought lady bug for the 2600. Man, it would feel great to say "I just bought this game for the Lynx!"

Edited August 3, 2016 by Sapicco

[Fadest]

Time for an update I guess...

 

I (re)started to work on this earlier this year.

At a moment, I considered going to the eJagfest and thought that it could be a nice idea to come with a game or at least an improved version of an old game.

I won't go to the eJagfest unfortunately but here is A bug's Lynx, eJagfest demo edtion :

 

 

 

Here is a bit of history

-----------------------------

A bug's Lynx was first coded during the AC 2k9 speed coding contest.

The goal was to make a Ladybug (think of Pacman with rotating doors...) in 24 hours (...and lot of aspirine).

The game won the contest, was playable and quite enjoyable,b ut of course it still had some limitations :

- dumb AI for bugs,

- real bugs (not the one that try to catch you),

- only one level hardcoded, the same than original Ladybug.

Work started in order to make a full version of the game but has been put on ice for years once the game surfaced for sale on Ebay.

But once in a while I got mails from people asking for a new versions...

So 9 years after, here is a new version of the game with many improvements over the first one :

- unique levels, with an Excel tool to create new ones (quite) easily,

- new features, like bush (you can hide under, bugs cannot enter), web (will slow you but has no effect on bugs)

and ice (no effect on you bug bugs slide on ice and of course go faster than you, but they cannot change direction),

and of course, rotating doors are still there,

- improved collision detection with bugs (I hope it is better in fact, need more testing),

- less dumb bugs, but they are still blind and won't follow you (need improvement),

- switch music from ABC Music to Chipper,

- some minor changes in graphics.

But of course, there are still some bugs or lacks :

- no music just because I do not have a Chipper music I can use (the only one I have are for another game) but who really cares about music in fact

- there is only 15 levels and last one cannot be finished (this is a special eJagfest tribute) just because it would crash the Lynx

- some detection of collision with walls are still pretty strange to remain polite,

- ...

An indev option is stille here :

- press Option 1 in order to skip level and go to next level (don't do this on level 15, I don't know what would happen to your Lynx, but Handy make a nice crash).

As usual, you can play this game on Handy or on a real Lynx via a flashcard.

--- NO PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO RESELL THIS ROM ---

(unless you want to wait 9 years for another version)

Have Fun

ABL_EJagfest.2018.zip

Edited November 1, 2018 by Fadest

[Igor]

Nice update! I played the original which was fun, will have to give this version a go soon

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

Great work on the update man! I've been busy but I played around for a little bit. Solid and fun stuff!

[Igor]

Had a play today, I like it that you can hide inside the bushes, not sure if that's a new feature or not. I've only played it on my online Lynx emulator install (travelling for work now), so I'm sure this will be even better on real hardware. When do you plan to add music back in?

[Fadest]

Thanks. Yes, bushes is a new feature.

Adding music ? When I will have one made with Chipper To be honest, my musical skills are worse than my graphical skills to give you an idea...

But of course still better than my coding skills, nasty bug has been reported on french forun, you can go in empty spaces (empty space is a new feature, so I forgot to manage it somewhere).

 

Need to make a big debuuging session now

[Guitari]

Can I offer an amendment to the on-screen text?

 

Rather than 'You can hidden under bushes', use..

 

'You can hide under (the) bushes'

 

or

 

'You can be hidden under (the) bushes'

 

[romualdl]

@Guitari : Thx for the feedback, this kind of issue (along with Fadest's post afore-mentioned bugs) have already been submitted on a french forum. I don't know how it will turn out but the game is kinda nice and a lot of suggestions have been made in order to get something even better. Now it's a question getting into it.

 

romualdl aka DoctoY.

[+davidcalgary29]

Just had the opportunity to play the JagFest edition last night. Wow! I, too, would love to see music added. Are any new updates planned?

[Fadest]

On 11/1/2018 at 11:51 PM, Fadest said:

 

- no music just because I do not have a Chipper music I can use (the only one I have are for another game) but who really cares about music in fact

 

There could be music, it just lacks a Chipper soundtrack.

We considered stating a new game on the gameplay basis, but rethemed, and with new graphics. But nothing yet.

 

Right now, I'm working on Ynxa for the 30th Atari Lynx programming contest, which is probably the biggest game I ever made on Lynx. Gameplay is nearly final but I still need levels (and music of course).

Maybe I will come back to ABL after (or my desktop dungeon-like started 10 years ago...)

[+davidcalgary29]

1 hour ago, Fadest said:

There could be music, it just lacks a Chipper soundtrack.

We considered stating a new game on the gameplay basis, but rethemed, and with new graphics. But nothing yet.

 

Right now, I'm working on Ynxa for the 30th Atari Lynx programming contest, which is probably the biggest game I ever made on Lynx. Gameplay is nearly final but I still need levels (and music of course).

Maybe I will come back to ABL after (or my desktop dungeon-like started 10 years ago...)

I hope you do. The game is very solid and a lot of fun to play! I went through all of the demos and minigames included on the Aga Cart yesterday, and "A Bug's Lynx" was probably the highlight of them for me. I expected the tiny screen to be a problem, and I was quite surprised that it didn't end really affecting gameplay.