Dolphin

[Gigabyte]

I'd never seen this game listed anywhere, until I played it on my Activision anthology. I have to say, it's really great and reminds me of Ecco the Dolphin. Dolphin games could have been a genre...

 

The only problem I can see is that you don't get enough points for the waves in proportion to the points for killing the squid, but it's not a big deal I suppose.

 

Any other Dolphin fans?

[zylon]

I thought it played kind of like a cross between Stampede and Grand Prix, but it was a fun game. I learned of it in the early 90's.

[StanJr]

Great game! Nice use of sound. Too bad the score maxes so early, when I get in the zone, I could play for hours!

[Gigabyte]

I'd like make a better version of this same concept and atari-style graphics.

 

1. Give the Dolphin a "dash" attack/speed boost, used to break through barriers and kill squids/enemies. Refills similarly to the carrots from Ocarino of Time's Epona.

2. Allow for more "Ecco the Dolphin-style" jumping out of the water

3. Balance points

4. Make the Dolphin much faster/agile

 

That would be a pretty fun game if tweaked well.

[Q.T.Quazar]

I'd like make a better version of this same concept and atari-style graphics.

 

1. Give the Dolphin a "dash" attack/speed boost, used to break through barriers and kill squids/enemies. Refills similarly to the carrots from Ocarino of Time's Epona.

2. Allow for more "Ecco the Dolphin-style" jumping out of the water

3. Balance points

4. Make the Dolphin much faster/agile

 

That would be a pretty fun game if tweaked well.

 

With all due respect, those 'improvements/tweaks' would pretty much kill the gameplay, as it is. 1) would mean you don't have to time properly any more, especially on the direction switch, which becomes half the game later on. For 2), the author himself was disappointed to learn of this 'exploit' of the game, and has stated so in interviews; he didn't intend the 'repeat-jump' aspect of the game. 3) the points in the game are oriented to surviving until you can kill off the squid. 4) if you make your dolphin quicker/more agile, it again ruins the difficulty of the timing aspect, which is so crucial to this game.

 

i didn't like Dolphin in the 80s, when i was much younger, because i couldn't understand the subtle balance of the game. as StanJr said, it's almost a pure, coninual 'flow' game (although i need to count for the backjumps after 150k or so), probably more so than any other game on the Atari, which makes it quite unique (Frostbite and Seaquest are similar in this regard, but both have a higher 'twitch' factor)

[Miss 2600]

I got Dolphin in a trade with a friend (in exchange for Kangaroo, I think) when I was a kid and really liked it. I liked the chase and be chased aspect (like Pac-Man). I only had the cartridge, no manual, so I don't know if I was good enough to get a patch. I remember the pace getting faster and faster and then the dolphin was doomed.