Jet! (WIP)

[Thomas Jentzsch]

EDIT: Never mind, I was able to reproduce it in Stella! I should be able to fix it now.

Please let us know what was the reason when you find it.

[+Nathan Strum]

Played the latest version a little bit.

 

I think there still needs to be a reason (other than more points/power-ups) for the player to speed up. A timer to beat, or a threat to keep ahead of. Maybe the screen fills up with a different color from below - the slower you go, it rises, the faster you go, it begins to drop. It touches you - you die. Something along those lines.

 

Good start to the game though.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Played the latest version a little bit.

 

I think there still needs to be a reason (other than more points/power-ups) for the player to speed up.

Or maybe there should be more bonus resulting from flying fast. E.g. things (speed increase, narrower gaps, fast moving barriers etc.) happening time based and not points based. So the faster you fly, the more points you can gain, before the game becomes (too) difficulty.

 

A timer to beat,...

Good one.

 

...or a threat to keep ahead of. Maybe the screen fills up with a different color from below - the slower you go, it rises, the faster you go, it begins to drop. It touches you - you die. Something along those lines.

I like that idea. And it works in Wall Jump Ninja too. Though it works better on a vertically oriented screen. We should think about how to indicate this. A color from below may reach the jet too soon, so there is little space for it too grow. Maybe the colors in general should darken, the closer that deadly thing comes.

 

The story could be running away from something fast and deadly (vulcano, explosion,...)

Edited January 11, 2016 by Thomas Jentzsch

[+Nathan Strum]

Or maybe there should be more bonus resulting from flying fast. E.g. things (speed increase, narrower gaps, fast moving barriers etc.) happening time based and not points based. So the faster you fly, the more points you can gain, before the game becomes (too) difficulty.

 

That's more of an enticement than a requirement. Instead of an optional element, and I think it should be integral to being able to continue. Effectively, this is like a driving game, but currently you don't have to get anywhere. Having to reach an exit or a new stage, or keeping ahead of something before time runs out would be an incentive to speed up. Escaping from exploding reactors works pretty well as a game element (see also: Conquest of Mars, Gravitar, Major Havoc, Cosmic Chasm).

Edited January 11, 2016 by Nathan Strum

[r_type2600]

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 !

[Lumi]

Whoa, a lot of responses all of a sudden! I do need to remind everyone that I don't have as much free time as I did when I started this, so an update probably won't come for a little while.

 

I know there's a lot of room for improvement, but keep in mind there are some limitations as to what I can feasibly do, especially with the "new" paddle controls (which eat precious kernel time due to the paddles' design, and prevent the player from being drawn any higher). The game is about at its limit in terms of what can be displayed on-screen at once.

 

I really like the idea of some kind of "bar of death" chasing you down, but the low position of the player sprite won't give you much time to react. I don't think it would be very fun to play if you died the second you saw it pop on the screen. The background color getting lighter/darker is the only way I can think of to indicate your distance from death, but I'm hesitant to make that an essential part of the game as it's not very intuitive.

 

I agree that the setting doesn't make a lot of sense. The fugitive on the run idea could work. Another idea I just thought of is that the player is running down an old bridge that's collapsing behind him, and he's trying to collect treasure along the way without falling into pits. The only catch is that the name "Jet!" isn't going to make as much sense, and the problem with changing the title is that I can't change the name of this topic.

[+SpiceWare]

Whoa, a lot of responses all of a sudden!

That's normal - interest in a project begins low, then increases as the game becomes more developed.

 

I do need to remind everyone that I don't have as much free time as I did when I started this, so an update probably won't come for a little while.

There's no deadlines here.

 

I know there's a lot of room for improvement, but keep in mind there are some limitations as to what I can feasibly do, especially with the "new" paddle controls (which eat precious kernel time due to the paddles' design, and prevent the player from being drawn any higher). The game is about at its limit in terms of what can be displayed on-screen at once.

Post your source, you may be surprised at the amount of help you'll get.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I really like the idea of some kind of "bar of death" chasing you down, but the low position of the player sprite won't give you much time to react. I don't think it would be very fun to play if you died the second you saw it pop on the screen. The background color getting lighter/darker is the only way I can think of to indicate your distance from death, but I'm hesitant to make that an essential part of the game as it's not very intuitive.

Agreed. But if you combine each luminosity change with a positive or negative sound, it should become more intuitive. Also people will find out soon, that the game ends when everything becomes very dark (or even pitch black). And a little sentence in the manual is nothing negative.

 

I agree that the setting doesn't make a lot of sense.

Star Wars: Death Star Escape.

 

The fugitive on the run idea could work. Another idea I just thought of is that the player is running down an old bridge that's collapsing behind him, and he's trying to collect treasure along the way without falling into pits. The only catch is that the name "Jet!" isn't going to make as much sense, and the problem with changing the title is that I can't change the name of this topic.

I am sure one moderator can do that for you, e.g. into New Name (was: Jet!).

[keilbaca]

Just might have to suggest this as a Homebrew up and coming for a homebrew block on the HSC

[Lumi]

Hey guys, it's been a while so I should probably give an update on the status of this game.

 

 

I haven't abandoned it, I just have other priorities at the moment. I still work on it occasionally, adjusting things and fixing issues, but nothing to warrant an update yet.

 

My plan is to eventually adjust the premise of the game. I'm thinking of making it about a guy driving down an ancient Aztec-themed bridge that's collapsing behind him, trying not to fall through gaps, and collecting treasures along the way. Maybe called "Drive!" Yeah, I'm not the best at titles.

 

So hang tight, I'll try to make this as good as I can.