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Idea for a 5200 RPG port


thegoldenband

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I've been firing up the ol' TRS-80 Model III/IV emulator lately and playing an RPG I used to enjoy as a kid, "Quest for the Key of Night Shade" (aka Nightshade):

 

http://www.trs-80.com/trs80-1m.htm (scroll down a bit)

 

It's a fairly simple/primitive game, but one that has a few nice touches and distinctive elements...and more than a few rough edges, including a ridiculous difficulty curve.

 

Anyway, it occurred to me the other day that it'd make for a great port to an Atari console system. It'd probably be too ambitious for the 2600 [1], both on account of RAM requirements and control issues (numerical entry), but it'd be absolutely perfect for the 5200. The game is written in BASIC, so the inner workings are quite transparent -- so much so that even I can understand them. (i.e. hit the BREAK key, type "G = 500000", type "CONT", and voila, a whole lot more gold! :twisted: )

 

It'd also be pretty easy for an ambitious coder to both polish up the game's rough edges, and to possibly add some new features (experience points/leveling up, more monsters, a fancier ending, and so on). And the 5200 controllers would be perfect for the numerical entry that the game requires ("How many water units would you like to buy?").

 

So, any interest?

 

[1] (though I could be wrong: perhaps the 2600 could handle it!)

 

[EDIT: Here are some screenshots to give you an idea of the flavor of the game. The first one is simply walking around, the second is a town menu, and the third is the start of a battle.]

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post-6067-1129475810_thumb.jpg

Edited by thegoldenband
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