Kirby-esque platformer

[The21zonz]

I’ve jotted down some ideas but I haven’t started coding this game yet.
 

I don’t know if I need to move development to ASM or even the 7800 due to the scope of my project, but here goes…

 

You play as a small, square robot with a detachable magnet hand.

 

You can throw the magnet and if it touches an enemy or item it will stick to it. Once the magnet returns to you, you pick up the thing and hold it over your head, able to throw it at things.

 

You go through 4 worlds:

A grassland,

A desert,

A volcano,

and a space station

 

each with 6-8 screens (hopefully.)

Thoughts?

[LatchKeyKid]

Good luck with the game and I'm looking forward to seeing a new platformer hopefully sometime in the new year!   A big limitation on the 2600 is the sprite limit so you'll have to manage that carefully from the sound of it and design around that limitation.  (like using the ball for a simple hand and flicker management for the second enemy sprite)

[+Gemintronic]

Yeah.  My spidey sense tells me you should go 7800.  You kinda have to love serious limitations to prefer 2600 programming.

[r_chase]

If you can implement TIATracker or Furnace Tracker tunes, well...I might consider making some music for you if you want. idk if TIATracker still works with batariBasic.

Also, if you really want to work with the limitations, try the DPC+ kernel for this game. DPC+ definitely helps alleviate some of the limitations.

P.S.: I should note that the Atari 2600 TIA has only 2 channels of audio; so expect some difficulties implementing the sound and (maybe) music. I'm honestly not sure, but I might suggest using one channel for music (or short jingles) and one channel for sound. Otherwise, programming with batariBasic should be a breeze if you can work with the limitations. Thanks.

Edited December 29, 2023 by r_chase
Forgot a plural. Also added a PS.

[ZippyOasys]

Quote

idk if TIATracker still works with batariBasic.

@r_chase It does, I used it for my Lyra game.  

[r_chase]

15 hours ago, ZippyOasys said:

@r_chase It does, I used it for my Lyra game.  

Thanks for letting me know. :3

[ZippyOasys]

@r_chase Yeah, just follow @mksmith's tutorial  

[+mksmith]

Thanks @ZippyOasys for the shoutout!

 

@r_chase Here is a repository with an example and steps to added TIATracker to the 2600 (batariBasic) or 7800 (7800basic).

https://github.com/chunkypixel/TIATracker

 

The one awesome enhancement we need to add is the ability to play more than one tune using a lookup pointer table but it works well regardless and has been used in some released homebrews.  I just managed to get it working all the credit goes to the original developer.