Atari 5200 Detective Powers

[+Cafeman]

It's really a bit too early to do this, but since some folks are quite eager and are gently prodding me , I figured I'd post something now, and add to it as I go.

 

These are actual 5200/A8 graphics (done by AA member LS_Dracon in 2010. He bowed out already because he's busy with other stuff) , mixed with mock-up ideas by me. This is what I'm going for , for the city streets. Not sure what Holmes himself will look like yet, or how many colors he'll be.

 

Screen Description:

 

Top: Holmes will talk to you as you go, as though you are Watson. If you make a mistake, he'll say (for example) "Really Watson, this will NOT do!". Some of the clues he finds are footprints. I will put in verbiage that actually appears in various canonical Holmes tales.

 

Middle: the gameplay area. If your Detective Powers meter is charged, you'll find clues easily. Avoid Thugs. Use Observation to notice things that are supposed to be noticed. There will be items to pick up & use at the right times - for example, a Gold Coin can be used to bribe a guy at a pub, or to send the Baker Street Irregulars kid off to find clues for you. Another item will be a "disguise", which Holmes will need before he enters seedy places, else he'll be attacked.

 

Bottom Left: the Detective Powers gauge. If you get attacked by Thugs, you lose some DP. Over time, your DP decreases slowly. But find an item or clue, you gain more, making the game easier. If DP is depleted, the mystery turns into a "three pipe problem" and you'll need to find 3 pipes to refill it. It's all Atari-era abstraction, I'm not going for boring 'realism' here!

 

Bottom Right: your COLOR CLUE gauges. As you find clues, colors will disappear. To illustrate: after finding footprints, Holmes might say something about the art of reading footprints (read the books!), and it may either reduce 1 SUSPECT color, or it may reduce several. Once the suspect color of RED is the last remaining SUPSECT COLOR CLUE, you know that you'll need to touch a RED character - but you'll also need to deduce which Street and Door colors too. So if you touch a RED character on a GREEN street , you'll lose DP if GREEN isn't the correct street clue. If you enter a YELLOW door into a building but that's not correct, the police will eventually come & try to nab you - trespasser!

 

It will make more sense once I get it playable, and there will be simpler cases leading to more complex cases of increasing difficulty.

 

Oh, and this is NOT based in any way on "Elementary" (although I kinda like it) or the Robert Downey, Jr "interpretations. I'm thinking of Jeremy Brett!

[fernando marrin]

looks like the more complex 5200 game ever !

 

let's hope it's not "imposible mission 7800" again

[+Cafeman]

In English, I think it is more correct to write "the most complex 5200 game ever". fyi!

 

Anyway, if the game starts to get overly complex, I'll simplify it. All you really need to do is get good at avoiding dangers, learning the maps, and learning how to 'observe clues' in the game. See that guy in the window? That might yield you a color clue if you watch him for a little while!

 

I never played Impossible Mission, but I've read something about it actually being impossible.

[82atari5200]

That looks absolutely amazing. That look straight up NES and professional. Way to go.

[fernando marrin]

In English, I think it is more correct to write "the most complex 5200 game ever". fyi!

 

Anyway, if the game starts to get overly complex, I'll simplify it. All you really need to do is get good at avoiding dangers, learning the maps, and learning how to 'observe clues' in the game. See that guy in the window? That might yield you a color clue if you watch him for a little while!

 

I never played Impossible Mission, but I've read something about it actually being impossible.

 

 

you're right, the fact is that even if i speak 4 languages, english is not my native one, so sorry for my faults

[fernando marrin]

And its caféman fyi

[AtariBrian]

Really excited to see such an interesting and original game come to the 5200, I think you'll be 3 for 3 on programming a great game cafeman !

Edited November 4, 2012 by AtariBrian

[Greg2600]

Looks great, but don't think it can look anything like that on a 5200.

[+Cafeman]

Looks great, but don't think it can look anything like that on a 5200.

 

Why not? Here is an actual screenshot which is how it looks on Atari 5200 (and Atari computers). I haven't added the lower part of the screen yet which has the different color codes.

[+Allan]

This game reminds me of Black Belt (but better). So will the character be able to walk behind the fence on the screen? It looks really cool. Will you be able to walk into buildings?

 

Allan

[+Cafeman]

I never played Black Belt, myself.

 

Yeah, the plan is for Holmes to walk 'behind' the rails and you can enter the buildings, at which point the view will change - a more overhead view. There are alleys to bridge each horizontal street and function as shortcuts, but there could be danger in some alleys (thugs/dogs), but there may also be the doors to Pubs or other reasons you'd want to check out some alleys. If you enter the 'wrong' building, a cop will show up eventually and you better avoid him, or you'll get thrown in jail for trespassing. But if you enter the correct building (based on door color), you wlil find a necessary clue.

 

Here is an example of the first case, "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" - you will need to find enough "dancing men" icons in order for Holmes to deduce and to understand the dancing men "message". For clues at the bottom-right of screen, it will just say "dancing men" and have like 5 indicators which will disappear as you find each of the 5. I would like to flesh out this simple first case before I do any others, and see how it plays and how it is received. Then if its fun, I'll make the other cases which I have plotted out already. This game has been in progress since 2009 "on paper". It'll be fun once it is done, to revisit old threads like this to see if the final game resembles my original description!

 

A harder case will be "Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" with much more clue finding gameplay. If you already know the story, you will recognize elements from the story, but it won't make the case too easy to solve in this game, because you'll still have to find where the Dinner Goose came from, still need to visit a certain Pub, etc etc - it won't always be on Street 1 building 4 for example.

[Goochman]

One game I really liked was 'Snooper Trooper' from Spinnaker - when you 'trespassed' you have a limited amount of time when your light was on to be detected - or you could go in the dark, but if you bumped stuff it would set off the alarm.

 

The clues were pretty complex though you needed the sheets to keep track of everything - thats prob a bit much today

[atari5200dude82]

Looks very cool Cafeman. A very original concept game for the 5200, and awesome screenshots. Can't wait to play it. When you do release it on cart, are you going to release in complete in the box.

Edited November 6, 2012 by atari5200dude82

[+Cafeman]

Why not? Here is an actual screenshot which is how it looks on Atari 5200 (and Atari computers). I haven't added the lower part of the screen yet which has the different color codes.

 

I apologize -that image is not actual Antic 4 visuals. But this sample is, and it shows that visuals are well within bounds of 5200 graphics 'rules'.

[Cobra Kai]

Very original game for the 5200 Cafeman, I'll definitely be interested in a purchase in the future. I was awestruck by Adventure II, so I'm looking forward to another gem.

Edited November 6, 2012 by Nuclear Pacman

[sqoon]

Let me know when preorders begin..

[AtariBrian]

Probably waaay off from thinking of that since it sounds like he is just starting it. But I want one

[fernando marrin]

not really my cup of tea to play on a 5200,

 

but i will be first on the line to get one once it's out !

 

Great Graphics Caféman

[bombidragon]

Looks Great , Can't wait for it to come out

[peedenmark7]

In English, I think it is more correct to write "the most complex 5200 game ever". fyi!

 

Anyway, if the game starts to get overly complex, I'll simplify it. All you really need to do is get good at avoiding dangers, learning the maps, and learning how to 'observe clues' in the game. See that guy in the window? That might yield you a color clue if you watch him for a little while!

 

I never played Impossible Mission, but I've read something about it actually being impossible.

 

 

I've solved impossible mission on the C64 in 18 minutes. The Fixed 7800 version I got from Al last year took me about 40 minutes the first time through...

 

I love this type of game play and look forward to it , should you move fwd. on it

[AtariBrian]

Any updates on this game ?

[+Cafeman]

No updates. check back once spring comes, if I haven't updated this thread by then.

[KevinMos3]

I'll need a clean pair of shorts when that happens.

[AtariBrian]

Ok , spring has passed us And just checking in to see if there are still any plans to make this game ?

[Lynxpro]

It's really a bit too early to do this, but since some folks are quite eager and are gently prodding me , I figured I'd post something now, and add to it as I go.

 

These are actual 5200/A8 graphics (done by AA member LS_Dracon in 2010. He bowed out already because he's busy with other stuff) , mixed with mock-up ideas by me. This is what I'm going for , for the city streets. Not sure what Holmes himself will look like yet, or how many colors he'll be.

 

Screen Description:

 

Top: Holmes will talk to you as you go, as though you are Watson. If you make a mistake, he'll say (for example) "Really Watson, this will NOT do!". Some of the clues he finds are footprints. I will put in verbiage that actually appears in various canonical Holmes tales.

 

Middle: the gameplay area. If your Detective Powers meter is charged, you'll find clues easily. Avoid Thugs. Use Observation to notice things that are supposed to be noticed. There will be items to pick up & use at the right times - for example, a Gold Coin can be used to bribe a guy at a pub, or to send the Baker Street Irregulars kid off to find clues for you. Another item will be a "disguise", which Holmes will need before he enters seedy places, else he'll be attacked.

 

Bottom Left: the Detective Powers gauge. If you get attacked by Thugs, you lose some DP. Over time, your DP decreases slowly. But find an item or clue, you gain more, making the game easier. If DP is depleted, the mystery turns into a "three pipe problem" and you'll need to find 3 pipes to refill it. It's all Atari-era abstraction, I'm not going for boring 'realism' here!

 

Bottom Right: your COLOR CLUE gauges. As you find clues, colors will disappear. To illustrate: after finding footprints, Holmes might say something about the art of reading footprints (read the books!), and it may either reduce 1 SUSPECT color, or it may reduce several. Once the suspect color of RED is the last remaining SUPSECT COLOR CLUE, you know that you'll need to touch a RED character - but you'll also need to deduce which Street and Door colors too. So if you touch a RED character on a GREEN street , you'll lose DP if GREEN isn't the correct street clue. If you enter a YELLOW door into a building but that's not correct, the police will eventually come & try to nab you - trespasser!

 

It will make more sense once I get it playable, and there will be simpler cases leading to more complex cases of increasing difficulty.

 

Oh, and this is NOT based in any way on "Elementary" (although I kinda like it) or the Robert Downey, Jr "interpretations. I'm thinking of Jeremy Brett!

 

Pfff....Benedict Cumberbatch is the only Sherlock Holmes of this era. Forget the imitations, it's all about Steven Moffat's [bBC/PBS] Sherlock.