Jump to content
IGNORED

Two-player simultaneous games


Pixelboy

Recommended Posts

I was working on the manual of TwinBee tonight, and it made me think about how few two-player games there are on the ColecoVision where the two players play simultaneously. Even though I don't have any friends in my town to play two-player CV games with, I do recognize that playing against (or even with) a human player is really fun.

 

I thought it would be nice to start a topic about this, so let's say, hypothetically-speaking, that a homebrewer was in the mood to create a new and original ColecoVision game (not a direct port/adaptation from another console or computer) where two players can play simultaneously, but he wasn't sure what type of game he should do. What would you suggest to him?

 

- A platformer like Mario Bros?

- A shooter like TwinBee?

- A sports game like tennis or soccer?

- A simulator like Utopia on Intellivision?

- An RPG, either action-oriented or tactical?

- A puzzle game where two players cooperate or compete?

- Something else?

 

Also, still totally hypothetically, is there a game already released on the ColecoVision that is single-player (or two-player alternating only) that you wish could be remade as a two-player simultaneous game?

 

Discuss. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An action RPG like Gauntlet would be great for me personally. I'd love to see Gauntlet and of course Joust obviously but not sure how taxing those are to the CV. A two players Berserk type maze sc-fi game would be cool. I wouldnt mind a Puzzle game either like Tetris where two players battle each other (Puzzle Fighter).

 

Existing Games:

Frogger

Gateway to Apshai

Popeye (one player as Popeye the other as Bluto)

 

I used to play Tron and Mad Planets quite a bit back in the day. So something like that too.

 

I want it all. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An action RPG like Gauntlet would be great for me personally. I'd love to see Gauntlet and of course Joust obviously but not sure how taxing those are to the CV.

Joust will be released on ColecoVision at CGE in September, and the "official" release of the game will happen next October, if all goes well. And yes, it has the same two-player mode as the arcade version. :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, anyway, to answer my own original post, I would suggest to this hypothetical homebrewer to do a street fighting game à la Double Dragon, which would of course offer a two-player co-op mode.

 

As for a CV two-player remake, my vote would go to Venture. A split-screen two-player Venture would be really cool. :)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldnt mind a Puzzle game either like Tetris where two players battle each other (Puzzle Fighter).

 

KevTris offers two-player simultaneous gameplay although it doesn't have the battle elements of Puzzle Fighter. Best of all, the rom image is freely available.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only thing I can think of is maybe time pilot where you could both be shooting at the planes and getting through the boards and then if you get pissed off at each other then you can shoot each other. :evil:

 

It would be better if it came with the upgrade to also be more like the arcade as well though so we get two awesome advancements in one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Advance Wars feels to me like an Adam game instead of a ColecoVision game. But still it has my support.

 

My son plays my "Warm Fuzzy Makes Salad" game against me quite often, and he is super competitive about it -- maybe because I usually win. ;)

 

I have some great ideas for two player versions of many of those genres, since I also make game jam games, and most of the time the popular Game Jam games are multiplayer (and making a game in one weekend with AI is too hard usually). But although there are few simultaneous games out there, I feel that most people play alone usually. So there'd be pressure to have a single player mode as well, with either an AI side kick/enemy, or so that both players aren't required.

 

Lego Star Wars and friends are cool co-op games. Maybe some elements from those games could be fit into a CV game.

 

Something like Simpsons arcade or TMNT arcade that both supported up to 4 players could also appeal as a co-op game.

Edited by hardhat
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Venture: with both players cooperating to eliminate the bad guys in each room...

 

Maybe the guy with the highest score gets to choose which room to enter next and they both enter together (I never like split-screen games because they limit the screen size so much). If one player dies, he just waits until the other guy leaves the room.

 

Pepper II would make another good upgrade for an existing game: two players cooperate to complete a board. Boxes could be filled in with different colors for each player.

 

If the players run into each other, they don't collide, but just unzip each others path. When one player dies, the other keeps going until he/she goes off into another maze.

 

If both players leave the maze together, they go, but if one tries to leave by himself, he just comes back in on the other side of the screen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the self-published Atari 2600 homebrew game "Fall Down". Don't be put off by the simplistic graphics and deceptively simple gameplay - it is great fun with two simultaneous players and becomes highly competitive. My daughter and I have a great time playing this game and a CV version with jazzed up graphics, sound and power-ups would be awesome. A YouTube video is also available here.

 

Check out the glowing reviews here.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...