Atari 7800 Q*Bert Prototype Revealed!

[+batari]

Just tried this on an emu, this screen keeps popping up:

[Clint Thompson]

So are you saying it doesn't go to the game but instead just pops this text up over and over again? Hmm..

[+batari]

When you're on this screen, it doesn't let you start the game or do anything else except watch the text - kinda reveals the limitations of this proto...

[DracIsBack]

The graphics are really nice..    

 

This would be worth finishing.. unlike that Turbo proto...

 

 

What Turbo proto?

[sku_u]

 

What Turbo proto?

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23555

[Alexius Wronka]

I got to the game the only problem is their is only one kind of enemy.

[Albert]

APRIL FOOL'S!

 

This rendition of Q*bert on the Atari 7800 was programmed from scratch by Ken Siders, much in the same way as Beef Drop (Burgertime) has been. It is not a long-lost prototype, but a new homebrew game that Ken continues to work on and one that shows great promise. Ken's done a great job so far and I look forward to the finished game!

 

..Al

[DracIsBack]

APRIL FOOL'S!

 

This rendition of Q*bert on the Atari 7800 was programmed from scratch by Ken Siders, much in the same way as Beef Drop (Burgertime) has been.  It is not a long-lost prototype, but a new homebrew game that Ken continues to work on and one that shows great promise.  Ken's done a great job so far and I look forward to the finished game!  

 

..Al

 

Ha ha ha!

 

For that, thou must either find 7800 Electrocop or program it from scratch!

[Albert]

For that, thou must either find 7800 Electrocop or program it from scratch!

 

Next year.

 

..Al

[SteveW]

Well, if he's programming it from scratch, is there any way he can implement some extra stuff into it? You know, instead of a triangular playfield, he could do a much larger group of blocks, and have the screen scroll with the character. There were loads of good Q*Bert rip-offs in the early '80s, with a lot of good ideas added to the gameplay. Maybe he could get some good ideas from those, and create a Q*bert sequel, or an entirely new game that doesn't violate any copyrights.

[Brad2600]

APRIL FOOL'S!

 

This rendition of Q*bert on the Atari 7800 was programmed from scratch by Ken Siders, much in the same way as Beef Drop (Burgertime) has been.  It is not a long-lost prototype, but a new homebrew game that Ken continues to work on and one that shows great promise.  Ken's done a great job so far and I look forward to the finished game!  

 

..Al

 

 

If it's anything good like Beef Drop, it will be worth looking forward to.

[Curt Vendel]

Curt!! ....Ken!  .....where ARE you guys???[shouts from the Atari look-out fort that I built in my back yard when I was 10]

 

 

ALBERT MADE ME DO IT!!!!

 

 

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS.... ya fools! :-)

 

 

 

Curt

[birdie3]

Nice work!! Now that the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, I am sure people like me are dying to know:

 

* Is there a finished version yet and if so, may we please try it?

* Are we ever going to see this or anything else like it (ie: Beef Drop) released as a cartridge?

* What other tricks do you crazy jokers have up your sleeves?

[kenfused]

Just tried this on an emu, this screen keeps popping up:

For anyone who hasn't figured out my subtle hint. That screen should only popup if you flip the left difficulty switch back and forth a few times. If a 7800 has a bad switch where different values are being returned or if an emulator doesnt return a constant value for the switch then it may go right to the screen pretty fast.

There is also a little more to the screen then what was posted.

 

Sorry, I had hoped to participate a little more but didnt expect to start getting sick last night. Still feel ickly but can't stay in bed for ever.

 

--Ken

[Dutchman2000]

Yep, I was brought into this by Albert...

 

I do have some REAL projects in the works though, stay tuned!

[Clint Thompson]

At least it's a WIP! That's awesome!

[DracIsBack]

Gotta tell you, Ken -- you do beautiful work! Can't wait to see this when it's done!

 

Maybe you could do a good 7800 Tetris next!

[rockman_x_2002]

Awesome job Kenfused. Started to believe it for a second. Game looks great though.

 

Well, if he's programming it from scratch, is there any way he can implement some extra stuff into it? You know, instead of a triangular playfield, he could do a much larger group of blocks, and have the screen scroll with the character.  There were loads of good Q*Bert rip-offs in the early '80s, with a lot of good ideas added to the gameplay. Maybe he could get some good ideas from those, and create a Q*bert sequel, or an entirely new game that doesn't violate any copyrights.

 

The only problem with this is you get a game similar to the "Q*Bert for Game Boy" or the SNES game "Q*bert 3". I never really cared for either version. I liked the games and they were okay. They just didn't feel very much like Q*bert though in how they played.

 

However, if you did implement a "Q*Bert Deluxe" version such as this, you might could keep in an option to also play "Classic Q*bert." That would work out well and you get to serve both worlds. I do play "Q*Bert for GB" every so often. Just that I end up playing the classic original more.

 

Again, a truly awesome job, Ken. Keep it up.

[SteveW]

Well, he probably won't be able to release the game as "Q*Bert", considering it would be next to impossible to get the license. So if you're going to make it a rip-off, go hog wild with it. At least, that's what I would do.

[kenfused]

Well, he probably won't be able to release the game as "Q*Bert", considering it would be next to impossible to get the license. So if you're going to make it a rip-off, go hog wild with it. At least, that's what I would do.

"Beef Hop"? :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well.......probably not

[SteveW]

Beef Hop? That might work, oddly enough..... You control a chef, hopping across cubes while hot dogs, french fries, and pickles chase you around. You could use a Robotron style controller scheme, and have him fire pepper independently of his direction.

 

Or here's one. Instead of changing each cube's color, there are dots on each cube, that your Pac-Man looking character has to eat while navigating the board. Meanwhile, floating on platforms above the playfield, are two Donkey Kong-style gorillas, throwing barrels at you. Regular barrels will just zip through the air around you, but flaming barrels will land on the cubes and chase you. When you've completed a board, a bunch of logs and lillypads will show up at the bottom of the screen, and the screen will scroll with you as you jump across them and the other obstacles until you reach the next board, when it starts all over again, just faster.

 

Here's another idea. You play a square that jumps from cube to cube. Three dragons that look like ducks chase you across the board. You can occasionally pick up an arrow-looking sword to defeat the dragons, but a bat will steal it from you after five seconds and deposit it somewhere else. There's some little batches of other cubes not connected to the main board, so you have to go collect a bridge to cross the gap. Some parts of the board aren't immediately accessable, so you have to pick up a key to unlock that section. A couple times a round, a color-cycling chalice will pop up randomly, giving out bonus points.

[ubersaurus]

You could also throw in the More Challenging Q*Bert sequel that never came out

[rockman_x_2002]

Beef Hop? That might work, oddly enough..... You control a chef, hopping across cubes while hot dogs, french fries, and pickles chase you around. You could use a Robotron style controller scheme, and have him fire pepper independently of his direction.  

 

Or go further with this idea and combine it with one of your other ones. Give him limited pepper and you must pick up more pepper that randomly appears on the board somewhere. Keep the Q*Bert style strategy when you aren't firing your weapon. Still have the objective to change the colors of the blocks to a target color, but any enemy that lands on the square changes it back to the original color (not just the green guys).

 

The green balls that you pick up still stun the enemies, but pick up a small blue ball and you can clear the screen of enemies, just like a disc, only you don't get kills toward your quota for enemies to get rid of. You do get the points, however.

 

Finish a level by destroying a quota of enemies or by managing to change the squares to the target color, which is the harder objective and, by doing so, you get bonus points for the enemies you did not have to destroy somehow. For example, the quota kill total is 12. You've killed 8 enemies and you changed the colors to the target color. You get 4,000 bonus points for the 4 enemies you didn't have to destroy. Naturally, if you clear a level by destroying all enemies and there's no bonus, because that's the easy way out.

 

Just... something that came to mind. Perhaps a bit much for this game since we're looking at a Q*Bert clone here. But still a few ideas for maybe another game.

[Shawn]

To get around a Copyright andor Patent your product only has to have a 5% difference from the orignal copyrighted andor patented product in question. So, with that said, I offer the obviously sutable title of:

 

               B*qert!

[Clint Thompson]

I tell you what.... you just keep the name Q*Bert on it and I'll burn my own cart and print my own labels. I want it to say Q*bert.... haha..