mickmuze Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 4 hours ago, abrower9d9 said: I want to be the first to snag this one! Love all the art. Looks amazing. Hey, I’ve been watching your YouTube channel. Love it! Great reviews ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socrates63 Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 I ❤️ the cartridge art. It takes me back to the 80s when I played D&D as a kid -- the atmosphere is very reminiscent of old school AD&D books and module art. I was even more floored when Al mentioned to me in FB that the programmer and artist were one and the same person -- you're very talented Mr. @mickmuze. Looking very forward to the physical release. I hope it comes with a box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickmuze Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 Thanks @socrates63 and everyone else who commented I’m really glad it gave you that D&D vibe because that’s pretty much what I was going for. My older brother was the dungeon master when I was a kid so we had a lot of those books around the house and I just loved flipping through the art and getting lost in them. as for the box, yes, there will be a box. ?? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManCaveArcade Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 Wow, I just saw this and the game looks awesome! Love the artwork and game play looks really fun. I would love to get a copy of this one when finished! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickmuze Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 Went for a walk today and came across the strangest thing... 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Here's the finalized box for Deepstone Catacomb! Can't wait to see this in print! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 48 minutes ago, Albert said: Here's the finalized box for Deepstone Catacomb! Can't wait to see this in print! Yes yes yes yes, awesome! I've really been looking forward to the release of this game on cart, it's so much fun! Ouch my wallet, SO MANY good titles coming out! - James OH WOW, I just noticed I have a quote on the back of the box!! I'm honoured!! ❤️ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 On 5/15/2020 at 4:48 PM, abrower9d9 said: Take my money already! That box is great! Love the art and old school Atari box look. This would make a nice mini poster or even a cool 8 x 11 advertisement. Please consider including with the CIB. Looks like something I could have come across in one of my Electronic Games issues.? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Fun game and great in-game art and box art! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinMos3 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 (edited) I love the artwork, and I'm REALLY looking forward to this game. I also like when authors choose to go with an Atari style box and label. There's one thing I wish would be taken into consideration though, which is the quality of the game in comparison to the era of the 2600's timeline. Ex: The black label games being very early releases, '77-'81, had the quality you'd expect from an early release on a system, (not saying the games were bad -- many are classics -- but the graphics and game style were more simple, ie. typically single screen games with a few exceptions like Adventure, Berzerk, Superman, and most used double line sprites). The silver label games, typically '82-'84, usually had a pretty substantial leap in graphical quality (I'm thinking Pac-man vs. Ms. Pac-man or Pole Position vs. Street Racer). Many of these were multi-screen games and often used single line sprites, (Crystal Castles, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Krull, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Vanguard, Battlezone). Red label games are the ones I viewed as a kid as being the really high quality games. These late releases often had yet another quality jump and the graphics usually really impressed me, even in the NES era -- when they weren't just re-labeled earlier releases, (Crossbow - which I would show off to my NES friends, Roadrunner, Dark Chambers, Jr. Pac-Man, Secret Quest, and so on). Again, I love the artwork for this, but the quality and style of the game places it in at least the silver label era... at bare minimum, but more probably a red label game. Advantages of red labels is you get to see a bit more of the artwork and they're still easy to print. Many silver labels had fuller faced artwork (like Gremlins) and silver would look great with this game's artwork, but silver is hard to print without significant cost. I understand that many people have more nostalgia for black label games because that's the time period they relate to playing Atari, but this is just my 2 cents. Of course, this is speaking generally and for the North American region (as there were various re-releases to which this doesn't apply). Regardless, I'm really excited for this game. Edited August 1, 2020 by KevinMos3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickmuze Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 You make very valid points, and I get where you are coming from, however I went into this with a different mindset. Before I wrote my first line of code, I knew what I wanted this box to look like. The choices I made when creating every aspect of my game was to make it visually appealing to myself (also, in high hopes that others would like and enjoy it as well of course). Having a game on cartridge and in a box was kind of a dream of mine since I was a kid. This is my first completed game and It is also a giant mix and match of my childhood. I’ve mixed so many things together that defines a lot of what I was into as I was growing up. Everything, even down to the choices in colours have meaning to me in some way. It was less about following the proper rules and timeline for me than it was to mix everything that I thought was good about the era. It’s fun, it’s art. That’s one reason that the back of my box has a bit more life to it than the original boxes did. It’s more about what feels better than how it actually should be to fit into the exact time period. But what you said is fair... I like rules and structure, but then again, I don’t. It’s complicated ? Thanks for you’re input and I’m glad you are looking forward to my game 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinMos3 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 3 hours ago, mickmuze said: You make very valid points, and I get where you are coming from, however I went into this with a different mindset... ..Thanks for you’re input and I’m glad you are looking forward to my game I completely respect your decision. As I was typing, I was hoping it would be received as more of a compliment than a criticism. It's something that I think of every time I see it happen but never say anything. I just hope that the point will be brought up with future releases and if the author chooses otherwise, that's totally their decision. Thank you for receiving it with grace and explaining your reasoning (I know you did not owe that to me, but it will help me feel better about it when I pop it into my console). You're a class act. There was another game that did the same thing just the other day (same color box and all). Perhaps it was two in such close succession that got me to say something. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FroggoGamer Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 I wish more homebrews would make boxes that look like the old Atari boxes no matter if it is original run, the red boxes, or the silver ones. Hell, I'd love to see a Telegames mock up. Even better, if someone could replicate the hand drawn art of the early boxes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickmuze Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 4 minutes ago, FroggoGamer said: Even better, if someone could replicate the hand drawn art of the early boxes. Agreed, would love to see more of this. I was flipping through the Art of Atari book while I was creating DeepStone’s box art and thought of attempting to emulate one of my favourite artists in there. However, I did decide to go a different route in the end. I have a huge appreciation for those original paintings though. Each artist used different tools and had a completely different take and style on what they felt the box art should be and portray. On a side note, Brian’s Man Cave reviewed the game if anyone hasn’t seen it. Thought I’d share it here: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevKelley Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 I like the art but there is something about those classic covers. I was having a hard time figuring out what I wanted for mine and it is hard because, in my opinion, you have to reconcile the age of the hardware with everything else. When I look at things like video games or board games, my choice is sometimes influenced by these considerations. Would a 1970s game look good with 2020 style artwork? I do think your cover captures it all very well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickmuze Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 Was looking at old Atari catalogues.. Decided to make this tonight ? 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifan88 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Gret job! I can't wait to play it! Will this be released as a ROM for those of us who like to play it on Stella? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickmuze Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 13 hours ago, atarifan88 said: Gret job! I can't wait to play it! Will this be released as a ROM for those of us who like to play it on Stella? Thank you, I appreciate it Just the box and cartridge will be released initially Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenJ Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 "...Just the box and cartridge will be released initially..." Bummer. Some of us don't collect boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted September 26, 2020 Share Posted September 26, 2020 Say, are you 5bytes on YouTube? Is this the 'Under the Castle ' game? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted September 26, 2020 Share Posted September 26, 2020 4 hours ago, 4ever2600 said: Say, are you 5bytes on YouTube? Is this the 'Under the Castle ' game? Oh wow, I never even made the connection. The games certainly share a similar look Under the Castle Video: https://youtu.be/vaAlYC_8YSA Left: Deepstone Catacomb | Right: Under the Castle - James 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 Was hoping that was the case as this person fell off the map with his series. Figured that might put some closure on what he was doing with his game. Oh well, mystery continues... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickmuze Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 No, sorry, I am not 5bytes, they do share a similar look but that was not intentional. I was trying to keep my game following a 8x8 tiles based graphics to feel like an NES Zelda-like clone on the Atari. I think we made very different choices in our gameplay designs. :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickmuze Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) This is a game guide for Deepstone that I was working on. It's not really needed, but was fun to do. I just represented each floor by four rooms to keep it simple. All the floors are random, so it won't help map your way out in the game, but it does show what type of monsters to expect on each floor. Also it will give you a rough idea on how much further you have to go to reach the Dark Lord at the bottom. Edited November 7, 2020 by mickmuze 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 14 hours ago, mickmuze said: This is a game guide for Deepstone that I was working on. It's not really needed, but was fun to do. I just represented each floor by four rooms to keep it simple. All the floors are random, so it won't help map your way out in the game, but it does show what type of monsters to expect on each floor. Also it will give you a rough idea on how much further you have to go to reach the Dark Lord at the bottom. Great map, very handy reference! I'm really looking forward to the boxed release to continue diving into the Catacombs and conquer level 2! - James 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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