Lumines on the 2600?

[cd-w]

For the past few days, I haven't done much work on my 2600 projects (or much work of any kind for that matter ) thanks to a very addictive puzzle game on the PSP called Lumines. If you haven't heard about it, you can find reviews here and here (and the cartoon). At first glance, it looks just like another Tetris/Columns clone, but after playing it for a while you realise that it is a lot more, and fiendishly addictive too!

 

This got me thinking if a Lumines clone would be possible on the Atari 2600. I think this would be a big coup (having one of the latest console games available on the first popular console!) if it could be achieved. The basic board is a 10x16 grid, and the pieces are all 4x4 squares. I think it should be possible to represent the board using the PF graphics (alternating colours on odd/even lines or interlacing), leaving the sprites free for the time line and other effects. The music in Lumines is a big part of the game, so this probably couldn't be replicated, but I can't see any technical reason why the rest of the game wouldn't work? Perhaps I am missing something obvious, but I though I would open this up for discussion ...

 

Chris

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Only two types of tiles? Looks very doable then.

[moderntimes99]

For those of you who don't have a PSP, try the links below.

 

Online version:

FreeArcade.com - Sweep

 

Clone (very well implemented!) for Windows PC:

Kaikai's Homepage - Lumines for win32

 

Regards,

"Moderntimes99"

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I just played the windows version (without sound). Nice, but IMO Tetris is still much better.

[cd-w]

I just played the windows version (without sound). Nice, but IMO Tetris is still much better.

925441[/snapback]

 

The sound is a big part of the game as it responds to your movements (like in Rez), and manipulates you into slowing down and speeding up I can't decide if it is better than Tetris, but it is definitely a contender. I think it would make a nice 2600 project, as there are already several Tetris clones.

 

Chris

[vdub_bobby]

Here's a slapped-together mockup with a striped PF.

[cd-w]

Here's a slapped-together mockup with a striped PF.

926269[/snapback]

 

I like it I think that changing the PF data every line might be a bit of a challenge though (getting the next line ready while the current one is displaying). Now you just need a border using the sprites, and a score, and it will be ready

 

Chris

Edited September 6, 2005 by cd-w

[vdub_bobby]

Here's a slapped-together mockup with a striped PF.

926269[/snapback]

 

I like it I think that changing the PF data every line might be a bit of a challenge though (getting the next line ready while the current one is displaying).

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but that pic is a screenshot from Stella, using the playfield for the in-place tiles and a sprite for the movable (dropping) tile, and missile 1 for the sweeping line.

[cd-w]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but that pic is a screenshot from Stella, using the playfield for the in-place tiles and a sprite for the movable (dropping) tile, and missile 1 for the sweeping line.

926380[/snapback]

 

My mistake - I was thinking Photoshop when you said it was a mockup. I tried to work out a design on paper, but I couldn't find enough cycles to update the PF every line and also get the next set of blocks ready while displaying the sprites. I guess you have already solved this problem!

 

Chris

[vdub_bobby]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but that pic is a screenshot from Stella, using the playfield for the in-place tiles and a sprite for the movable (dropping) tile, and missile 1 for the sweeping line.

926380[/snapback]

 

My mistake - I was thinking Photoshop when you said it was a mockup. I tried to work out a design on paper, but I couldn't find enough cycles to update the PF every line and also get the next set of blocks ready while displaying the sprites. I guess you have already solved this problem!

Well, solved may be a bit too strong. My mockup is a RAM hog and may not be workable in a full-blown game.

 

As far as the PF...well, 16 tiles wide works out beautifully on the 2600:

2 PF pixels per tile means 32 PF pixels wide which, with a reflected playfield, means you only need to use PF1 and PF2. Which means you only need to update the asymmetrical playfield 4 times per scanline rather than 6 times.

 

So, plenty of time

[keilbaca]

I just played the windows version (without sound). Nice, but IMO Tetris is still much better.

925441[/snapback]

 

I agree completely.

 

That's a great mockup, hopefully it'll make it faithfully to the 2600.

[Cybergoth]

Hi there!

 

I think my favourite of the genre is "Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine" or "Puyo Pop Fever" as it is called these days. But I fear it'd be a very tough job for the VCS.

 

Greetings,

Manuel

[moderntimes99]

Hi there!

 

I think my favourite of the genre is "Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine" or "Puyo Pop Fever" as it is called these days. But I fear it'd be a very tough job for the VCS.

 

Greetings,

Manuel

926683[/snapback]

There's a smaller version of Puyo Puyo called Puyolin (which was released as a keychain LCD game by Tiger). Puyolin only has three different types of "tiles" and therefore should be much more feasible to implement on the 2600...

 

Regards,

"Moderntimes99"