atari2600land's Blog - Straighten up

RSS Bot · February 27, 2017

So I noticed yesterday when I took a screenshot of my Francis game that the pencil was bent when it was at the extreme left side of the screen. At first I just wanted to say that it was fine and keep working, but something inside me wanted to fix it. So I went to work fixing it. For five long, excruciating hours I worked last night. I think I've truly now turned my life around now that I'm asleep all day and up all night now. I don't want to be, but 2600 programming has a way of changing my life. But it wouldn't be the first time either. I do it periodically. Anyway, I noticed the clock on the computer when I was done. It said 3 AM. I didn't realize I had been working on it for that long. But at last I did it: No bent pencils. I went through such a trial I'm beginning to wonder whether I should keep doing 2600 assembly, even though it does give me the freedom to change player and background and playfield colors. 262 separate colors each on a different row of pixels if I chose to (and if the 2600 actually HAD 262 different colors to choose from.) While working, I was also working to make the buildings taller. Working on two separate things at the same time. There's something I don't want to do. But as the game progresses to be worked on, more challenges await. Which is kind of odd because I hate challenges. Now it struck me: Perhaps the reason I enjoy these certain challenges is because I love video games so much, even though they're a challenge to play. That's the power of video games for you. I guess it really is a form of art. You can make them abstract like the 2600 or realistic like modern video games. The only difference is the canvas is the TV screen.

Attached thumbnail(s)