(Insert stupid Blog name here) - One down...

RSS Bot · August 24, 2006

I just finished the manual for Lady Bug! I think (hope) the proof-reading is all done, and I've sent it (and the label) off to Albert for printing.

It's nice to have Lady Bug done, and it's incredible how fast the game came together (it was only started in January). I think the game turned out great, and I'm amazed John was able to pack so much of the arcade game into the 2600. I hope people like the manual artwork. John likes it (which is the most important thing) and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out, too.

We stayed away from the arcade game's artwork or Coleco-style labels. Personally, I don't think Coleco deserves to have a game this good attributed to them, even as an homage to "the good ol' days". I've always felt that if a programmer is going to go to the massive amount of work it takes to create a homebrew game, then the artwork should reflect it as a new creation, and not make it look like it might have been a leftover from Atari or some other company. Sure, I understand the nostalgia factor at work, but I think it detracts from the uniqueness of a homebrew game when an Atari-style label is used. (Of course, that hasn't stopped me from entering contests using those kinds of labels. But when I have a say in the look of a label, I prefer creating something new.)

The layout of the label and manual matches Conquest of Mars, since John wanted to create a unique identity for Champ Games. So for future games we'll probably keep adapting the same basic design, changing the logo, artwork and color schemes as necessary. The nice thing about having an established layout, is that if John wants to do a label contest in the future, people entering the contest would only need to submit an illustration and possibly a logo. I think that would make for a more "pure" contest, since then the focus would be solely on the illustration.

This time around, I was able to add some more illustrations to the manual. I've wanted to do this in previous manuals, but never had the time. For Lady Bug, all of the enemy bugs get realized as cartoon characters. It'll be interesting to see if people can match them up with their on-screen counterparts (hint: they're based more on the arcade versions, than on the 2600 sprites).

In the end though, it's all about the game. John did a fantastic job on Lady Bug, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

For me, up next is the manual for Four-Play.

As soon as I get the text from Zach, that is.

Meanwhile, I'm going to try and break 100,000 on Reindeer Rescue.

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?a...;showentry=1886