Zeviouz (2600)

[Bomberman94]

I‘m a big fan of this game! Are there any news about this beautiful game - something like a PAL60 release or so? ?

[+Nathan Strum]

No updates to report. As with all homebrew projects, progress is entirely dependent on the available free time of the programmer.

 

I'm sure Chris will pick up this project again, but "when" is subject to whenever real life permits it. Best thing to do is keep an eye on this thread, and when there's something to announce, it will be announced here.

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

  INTERVIEW WITH DEVELOPER

CHRIS WALTON (cd-w)

AT PRGE 2022

 

Chris Walton @cd-w

 

[CapitanClassic]

On 8/18/2020 at 12:50 PM, cd-w said:

Here is a screenshot of the game - note the 4 color Playfield and awesome sprites by Nathan.

 

Chris

With these 4 color backgrounds, I bet a decent vertical golf game could be made. 
Dark Green - Rough

Light Green - Fairway

White - Sand Trap

Blue - Water

 

NOTE: didn’t notice that you may need a 4th color to differentiate the green, that could appear adjacent to any of the above colors/types.

 

Tree obstacles would be limited to 2 sets of double/triple sprites. 

Think the right hand side of the NES Open Golf image below, with only a power gauge below the course.

Maybe a 3-click golf game is a pipe-dream on the VCS.

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

2 hours ago, CapitanClassic said:

With these 4 color backgrounds, I bet a decent vertical golf game could be made.

 

Wow, that would be an incredible use of the Zeviouz playfield scrolling technology! The vertical course could be taller than the screen and could let you preview it by moving the joystick up and down before selecting your club etc... After you hit the ball it could scroll vertically as the ball travels up the course with the ball sprite getting bigger and smaller as it goes higher and then lower in the air.

 

2 hours ago, CapitanClassic said:

Maybe a 3-click golf game is a pipe-dream on the VCS.

 

The controls and graphics in 2019's Pro Golf is really good with its horizontal course perspective but I think that there's no reason that a vertical game like you've described couldn't be done if someone has the will to do it. Great idea!

 

- James

 

[+Philsan]

I was doing some cleaning in my WIP folder and I rediscovered this game.

Pure awesomeness.

[+jetset]

OMG This is sick! It works 100% on my Encore, WITH the Genesis 2 button support. Needless to say I'm following this. Many thanks cd-W!!!!!

[BrianC]

On 10/25/2022 at 5:11 PM, CapitanClassic said:

Think the right hand side of the NES Open Golf image below, with only a power gauge below the course.

I see your point, but that's the Famicom Disk System Golf Japan Course, a game that came out in between the original Golf and NES Open but stayed in Japan.

[insertclevernamehere]

It seems that Atari arcade games are an exception to AtariAge's new no arcade conversions for physical release policy?  Not sure but if so, I hope that means this beauty will eventually be finished and get a physical release.

[alex_79]

Xevious is by Namco despite the fact that it was distributed by Atari in North America.

According to this post, it won't get a physical release (at least not by AtariAge).

[Mr SQL]

Fantastic arcade port! Just played it back to back with Frye's excellent proto.

 

@cd-w nice detail on the Engine I think you could port F-16.

 

[Bomberman94]

Now after things changed a bit (…) do we ever see a PAL version of this already fantastic port? 🥹

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I am not even sure if the game will be finished now.

[+Gemintronic]

I hope developers aren't choosing to punish themselves and their projects because they can't make unlicensed ports.

 

Swap the graphics.  Change the name.  Have fun and share it with others.

 

The "it's not a problem until it is" era is over.  We were always skating on thin ice.  I'd rather make new games on my own terms than get sued 6 months into development.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

20 minutes ago, Gemintronic said:

I hope developers aren't choosing to punish themselves and their projects because they can't make unlicensed ports.

 

Swap the graphics.  Change the name.  Have fun and share it with others.

You can't blame a developer when he is losing interest into finishing an almost done game in this situation. 

20 minutes ago, Gemintronic said:

The "it's not a problem until it is" era is over.  We were always skating on thin ice.  I'd rather make new games on my own terms than get sued 6 months into development.

The ice was quite thick from my perspective. We were not hurting anyone and (almost, except the notorious big N) nobody cared for 20+ years. But now our hobby has become business (🤑🤑🤑). At least for me that kills a lot of fun.

[Bill Loguidice]

50 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

You can't blame a developer when he is losing interest into finishing an almost done game in this situation. 

The ice was quite thick from my perspective. We were not hurting anyone and (almost, except the notorious big N) nobody cared for 20+ years. But now our hobby has become business (🤑🤑🤑). At least for me that kills a lot of fun.

Clones of games with different names were released all the time in the past, and, frankly, they still are if you stretch the definition a bit. I think the biggest problem is that it seems to be pretty well established that the homebrew games that sell the most are those with the original names attached, and, depending upon the system in question, those games that best match the original's audio-visuals. If we can get past that, then developers would be free to clone their favorite games, just changing up the visuals and doing some quality-of-life enhancements appropriate for the platform. In that regard, we'd simply be going back to what was done previously commercially.

 

Again, though, the issue is getting the players/buyers to accept that. I know I'd be onboard with the idea (after all, original ports were always more impressions than recreations, creating their own unique variations), but I suspect many others wouldn't. Hopefully, the homebrew community can come out stronger from this, but it's definitely going to take time. Frankly, this was always a ticking time bomb. While I do genuinely wish there was a legal precedent for "hobby" creations of less than 300 copies (or whatever) were OK to be created and/or sold, it's obviously a slippery slope and we do have to work within the current legal system.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I am sure there are ways to circumvent the IP problems. But that is not my problem.

 

I do not want to work with a scissor in my head, permanently wondering if I can do this or that. I want to be free in my decisions, do what I like, whenever I want, with a result the pleases me first. And not some lawyers. Or potential customers. Also I do not want to act in a fully commercialized market, where games are just assets, ideas have become IPs, meant to make as much money as possible. I just want to do what is fun and freely exchange with other people who have the same hobby, instead of being in the same business.

 

I know that this is naive and probably it always was. And others will think different. But until the latest events, the Atari homebrew community at least felt like I wanted it to be. For me this has changed radically now. And I know I am not the only one.

[Bill Loguidice]

50 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

I know that this is naive and probably it always was. And others will think different. But until the latest events, the Atari homebrew community at least felt like I wanted it to be. For me this has changed radically now. And I know I am not the only one.

I get it, but times changes. It's been a good 25+ year run for modern homebrews as we knew them. Things just have to change a bit. Change is never a big deal to me, but I know it doesn't sit well with others. I mean, even the relevancy of discussion forums like this one on AtariAge has waned, with much more focus on social media. It happens.

 

I suspect as with all shifts like this, there will be pluses and minuses. Perhaps one of the pluses will be greater innovation and taking genuine advantage of a platform's quirks rather than that being a side effect of trying to replicate prior art. We'll see.

[Bomberman94]

It could also be a great opportunity: Xevious, for example, doesn't have to be exactly like its model. Why not take this opportunity to improve it and add cool features like random level building, different ships and enemies, day and night mode, sections that scroll faster, etc.? Why not for a time ask the community what they would like to have included and vote within the possibilities and take the best.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

4 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said:

I get it, but times changes. It's been a good 25+ year run for modern homebrews as we knew them. Things just have to change a bit. Change is never a big deal to me, but I know it doesn't sit well with others.

I am not opposed to change, as long it is positive. This one seems disruptive and limiting.

4 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said:

I mean, even the relevancy of discussion forums like this one on AtariAge has waned, with much more focus on social media. It happens.

Not for me. I stay away from anti-social media.

4 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said:

I suspect as with all shifts like this, there will be pluses and minuses. Perhaps one of the pluses will be greater innovation and taking genuine advantage of a platform's quirks rather than that being a side effect of trying to replicate prior art. We'll see.

You are comparing apples and oranges here. Some people are better at coding, some are better at designing new ideas. And only a few can do both very good. I am much more a coding guy, I know my limits. People like me will not suddenly change into creative game designers.

[+TwentySixHundred]

You can still develop a port if having no intentions on selling it. This only effects the AA store so there really isn't any restrictions

[Mr SQL]

On 7/31/2023 at 9:50 AM, Bill Loguidice said:

Clones of games with different names were released all the time in the past, and, frankly, they still are if you stretch the definition a bit. I think the biggest problem is that it seems to be pretty well established that the homebrew games that sell the most are those with the original names attached, and, depending upon the system in question, those games that best match the original's audio-visuals. If we can get past that, then developers would be free to clone their favorite games, just changing up the visuals and doing some quality-of-life enhancements appropriate for the platform. In that regard, we'd simply be going back to what was done previously commercially.

 

Again, though, the issue is getting the players/buyers to accept that. I know I'd be onboard with the idea (after all, original ports were always more impressions than recreations, creating their own unique variations), but I suspect many others wouldn't. Hopefully, the homebrew community can come out stronger from this, but it's definitely going to take time. Frankly, this was always a ticking time bomb. While I do genuinely wish there was a legal precedent for "hobby" creations of less than 300 copies (or whatever) were OK to be created and/or sold, it's obviously a slippery slope and we do have to work within the current legal system.

 

Great observations. Different ports of the same games on different platforms, or on the same platform, introduced intriguing differences ranging from nuanced detail to compelling genre enhancements. 

 

Espial is a good example of a Zevious port that is different and an excellent addition to the genre.