Humblejack Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Just wondering how hard it would be for one of you smart guys to make an Intellivision games of the Lord of the Rings? I have absolutly no programing skills nor what it would take to program such a game. I would love to be involved in the story line or help with the box, manual and overlays although I am sure Mark would do a much better job. At any rate has anyone out there thought of this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Spear Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 What would the game look like in your mind? Just wondering how hard it would be for one of you smart guys to make an Intellivision games of the Lord of the Rings? I have absolutly no programing skills nor what it would take to program such a game. I would love to be involved in the story line or help with the box, manual and overlays although I am sure Mark would do a much better job. At any rate has anyone out there thought of this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humblejack Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 (edited) I was thinking along the lines of the one that was announced by Parker Bros back in 1983. There was a pretty good write up of it here on AA http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/lotr/lotr.htm Also some info here: http://www.atariage.com/features/lotr/ Edited March 24, 2017 by Humblejack 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I was thinking along the lines of the one that was announced by Parker Bros back in 1983. There was a pretty good write up of it here on AA http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/lotr/lotr.htm Also some info here: http://www.atariage.com/features/lotr/ Cool stuff! I'm an LotR fan but am not sure how good gameplay in the Intellivision would work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cmart604 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I'd love to see this game get made. I'm in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-crew Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 precious the game would be, my precious ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Nice summary on the Atariproto site, that eventually the game simply is boring. I remember there was a spoof game Bored of the Rings for home computers, but apparently a would-be licensed game suffered from this as well. I'm almost getting E.T. vibes in that when ambitions might exceed both hardware limitations and what players are used to, the result may be considered a let down. Technically I'm sure the Intellivision is superior to the 2600 anyway, at least when it comes to a bit more complex games like this one looks like. Obviously LOTR is a strong brand so any fan made homebrew game might want to fly under the radar and at least avoid any commercial release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DZ-Jay Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 (edited) Just wondering how hard it would be for one of you smart guys to make an Intellivision games of the Lord of the Rings? As hard as any other home-brew, which means that it would have to compete with the interests and other projects of anybody already programming games. I have absolutly no programing skills nor what it would take to program such a game. Perhaps this is a good time to learn? There is IntyBASIC, which makes life a lot easier, and there is a growing community of experts at all sorts of experience level that are willing to lend a hand and show you the ropes. Remember, while older home-brews were made in Assembly Language which can be daunting and exhausting to pick up from scratch by anybody; IntyBASIC is a dialect of "BASIC" -- the language even little kids picked up by merely dabbling back in the day. Making games is "hard," I won't kid you; but it is just as hard as any other craft, and perhaps not as hard as some may imagine, certainly not impossible for a layman; and most importantly, it is deeply satisfying. I would love to be involved in the story line or help with the box, manual and overlays although I am sure Mark would do a much better job. Although there is a case to be made for good game designers to elevate games from purely technical endeavors to a creative masterpiece, "idea men" are cheap and plenty. You'll find that most programmers came to their craft for the same reasons as you: they had an idea and they wanted to turn it into a game, and eventually took action. All that to say that although creative ideas are good, they are not really all that useful, since most programmers are already full of ideas that they want to create. What we could use is another programmer turning their conceptions into art. At any rate has anyone out there thought of this? I personally have not thought of a game based on The Lord Of The Rings, but perhaps others have. Why not try your hand at it yourself? Dip your toe into IntyBASIC, you may like it... So, what do you say? Heading on over to the Programming Forum? -dZ. Edited March 24, 2017 by DZ-Jay 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifan88 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 (edited) LOTR on the INTV would be awesome! Instead of making a game similar to the Atari one released by Parker Bros., I think it would look great making something similar to AD&D Cloudy mountain where you can move around a map of middle earth, then choose your destination and get transformed to a town (Hobbiton, Bree, Rivendel), a dungeon (Moria), or a battlefield (Mordor). Along the way you would have to find things in order to advance to the next area on the map (perhaps the ring, Aragorn, Gandalf, etc). This would be very Intellivision-like while keeping to the LOTR story. Edited March 24, 2017 by atarifan88 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Another question is how long would it take. These projects can be a huge investment in time. You dont have to be a full blown programmer to be a games designer. Which is good because alot of programmers arent game designers. Its one reason you get alot of conversions of existing games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DZ-Jay Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Another question is how long would it take. These projects can be a huge investment in time. You dont have to be a full blown programmer to be a games designer. Which is good because alot of programmers arent game designers. Its one reason you get alot of conversions of existing games. Yeah, but as I mentioned above, in the home-brew scene at least, most "idea peddlers" are ignored because the programmers are in it for creative expression themselves (for whatever worth that may have), not just coding. That's why I recommended he try his hand at doing the game himself. dZ. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humblejack Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 As hard as any other home-brew, which means that it would have to compete with the interests and other projects of anybody already programming games. Perhaps this is a good time to learn? There is IntyBASIC, which makes life a lot easier, and there is a growing community of experts at all sorts of experience level that are willing to lend a hand and show you the ropes. Remember, while older home-brews were made in Assembly Language which can be daunting and exhausting to pick up from scratch by anybody; IntyBASIC is a dialect of "BASIC" -- the language even little kids picked up by merely dabbling back in the day. Making games is "hard," I won't kid you; but it is just as hard as any other craft, and perhaps not as hard as some may imagine, certainly not impossible for a layman; and most importantly, it is deeply satisfying. Although there is a case to be made for good game designers to elevate games from purely technical endeavors to a creative masterpiece, "idea men" are cheap and plenty. You'll find that most programmers came to their craft for the same reasons as you: they had an idea and they wanted to turn it into a game, and eventually took action. All that to say that although creative ideas are good, they are not really all that useful, since most programmers are already full of ideas that they want to create. What we could use is another programmer turning their conceptions into art. I personally have not thought of a game based on The Lord Of The Rings, but perhaps others have. Why not try your hand at it yourself? Dip your toe into IntyBASIC, you may like it... So, what do you say? Heading on over to the Programming Forum? -dZ. You know, you are a silver tongued devil. I think I may do just that. I do own the INTV Basic (Never opened it). I have a few ideas and quite a bit of time as I am retired. This may work out. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humblejack Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 Another question is how long would it take. These projects can be a huge investment in time. You dont have to be a full blown programmer to be a games designer. Which is good because alot of programmers arent game designers. Its one reason you get alot of conversions of existing games. I would never take on such a task by myself when there is a treasure trove of knowledge here on AA. If and when I start a project like this, until I can move on my own I will bug the snot out of a bunch of "Smart" guy who know how to talk Intelligently Intellivision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Those so-called "idea peddlers" often have very vague concepts too, which means even a programmer who likes the concept will have to flesh out actual gameplay. I believe the more specific you can be about ideas - while being humble about those may need to be entirely reworked anyway - the easier it is to get someone else onto the train. In this case we both have the 2600 prototype game, the AD&D style games, various computer games ranging from text adventures to strategy games and that you might know existing or brand new types of gameplay that could be doable. I suppose a good knowledge of the books/films would help to make it an enjoyable game, then whether you would like to follow the storyline or just base it on the Tolkien worlds is another matter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BBWW Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Yeah, but as I mentioned above, in the home-brew scene at least, most "idea peddlers" are ignored because the programmers are in it for creative expression themselves (for whatever worth that may have), not just coding. LOL - I can testify to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DZ-Jay Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 You know, you are a silver tongued devil. I think I may do just that. I do own the INTV Basic (Never opened it). I have a few ideas and quite a bit of time as I am retired. This may work out. Awesome! Head on over to the programming sub-forum and start asking questions. A lot of us started by bombarding the forum with questions before we even got anything done. There's lots of nice and knowledgeable people there willing to help. -dZ. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DZ-Jay Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 14905038373521466887129.jpg I wonder... is the Dark Side a variant of Assembly Language, Fortran... or Visual Basic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 I wonder... is the Dark Side a variant of Assembly Language, Fortran... or Visual Basic? VB... I hear there is a ointment that can treat that. Man, I remember dabbling with Visual Basic and then went right back to C++. It was ok but nothing special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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