Escape from Kukuku Temple (Atari 2600)

[TidusRenegade]

I wanted to share the new game I've been working on - Escape from Kukuku Temple

Controls:

Left & Right = move player

Fire = hold while moving to run faster (you'll need it on later levels)

Down = when falling, hold to fall quicker (you'll need it on later levels)

The game is simple, its a platform game where you need to run and avoid the objects, which increase in quantity and speed as the levels go on. Its built off the Shifty Lifty base game that I created so this is a similar premise.

The current version is fairly complete game-wise, though I welcome any comments etc. There is more flicker than I was hoping for though.

There is no sound currently as I'm having hassle trying to come up with any decent music - if anyone has some suitable Batari Basic compatible music that they want to contribute then that would be great!

I haven't tested this on actual hardware - if anyone has a melody cart and could test it that would be great

Note this game uses DPC+ so it has to be a melody cart.

Also only NTSC download below - for now, I'll upload a PAL60 one soon

Hope you guys enjoy it!

Escape v0.8 NTSC.bin

[TidusRenegade]

Also if anyone has a better suggestion for the game name Im open to suggestions. It turns out that a name that you come up with after a few beers seems less sensible every time you see it!!

[CrazyChris]

I would suggest adding jump so you can jump over boulders.

Edited April 16, 2018 by CrazyChris

[easmith]

I plan on playing it a bit tonight and providing some feedback . I think I caught a bug .... seems pretty promising so far !

[carlsson]

I can tell you that is a game title that will bring a lot of amusement among Swedish speaking and perhaps elsewhere too.

[StanJr]

I am liking this a lot. Obviously this is the RotLA platformer we never got. Is there room for power-ups or treasures? Would be great to have something to collect. Is there an end? Jump wouldn't be a bad idea, but more for jumping over pits or other perils. I think the boulder being inescapable is a great way to have a timer for each level.

[easmith]

Here are a few observations:

It is fun . The animation of the player is very good. Title and game over screen are nice. But there a few game play suggestions that might take it to a next level although they might be hard to program. I encourage you to push this a bit farther:

 

1. There are some cheap deaths on the first level :

 

-- I would suggest eliminating the top platform and starting on the second level from top. This way you could see a bit more warning if boulders are coming down

-- sometimes the giant boulder is behind you and you get forced into the falling rocks, and there is no way to save yourself. If the giant boulder was a bit smaller where you could jump over it , that would help. But , I think programming a good jump , with a gravity effect might be difficult.

2. On the second level, perhaps some obstacles approaching from he left side that could be jumped over or ducked under would be interesting. BUT , I did not make it very far so perhaps in higher levels the dropping rocks get very challenging on their own.

 

3. Bug--On the falling level, if you move down while still on the platform you can move through the platform and the falling dynamic is bypassed.

I did not make it very far , but I never saw more than 2 arrows. If there were arrows at a lower level that would make it more interesting. But maybe I just did not make it far enough .

 

4. Is there an end ? Perhaps have an actual escape after so many levels? Again I did not get very far.

 

5. A timer might be nice in terms of making it through a screen and/ or escaping the temple .

 

Again, it is very good work . When I first put up my 1st game I was a bit frustrated when not everyone loved it as-is, but in the end I was grateful for all the suggestions ...

[KevinMos3]

So cool. Thanks for sharing. I don't know what else to say right now.

[TidusRenegade]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, its really appreciated and it sounds like its worth persisting with this game.

 

A jump sounds like a good call, that would allow me to mix up the obstacles a bit too as it wont be constrained by the lack of movement. It would also allow a pit like level to be put in - the only issue is that Im quite limited on graphics space at the moment so I may have to sacrifice the game over screen.

 

On the name, Im thinking of just some generic like Escape from the Lost Temple. Though Im very intrigued to know what it means in Swedish now!!

 

Is it best to include an ending or just continue to speed up? The issue with an ending is that there is then a limit to the maximum score you can get. Thoughts?

 

Again, all the feedback is welcomed thanks

[vcsrocks]

Very cool. On the second wave of five stones the game start to get challenging but, unless there is a change in format I guess it will quickly go from challenging to impossible.

 

I think easmith's suggestion to eliminate the first platform will help. I can also confirm the bug he found.

 

My suggestion is to work a bit on the transition of the screens. The player moves fast and often there is a rock already waiting for you in the next screen.

 

Great work!

[vcsrocks]

I can tell you that is a game title that will bring a lot of amusement among Swedish speaking and perhaps elsewhere too.

 

Why's that carlsson? Does it mean anything funny in Swedish?

 

Please share so we can all get a laugh (and learn some Swedish)

[carlsson]

Try something like "Escape from Dickelidick temple" or similar. Yes, that sounds like a Mystique game and has a significant ring of genitalia to it.

[MemberAtarian]

Not bad for a first game. What I was thinking is there any reason to not pressing the fire button all the time? I like the Indiana Jones kind-of feeling with the hat and the rock following, but I would put there more levels and make it a lot harder. Platforming games should be about your skills and reflexes, and most Atari fans are over 25, so, we just got worse in them. XD

[TidusRenegade]

Try something like "Escape from Dickelidick temple" or similar. Yes, that sounds like a Mystique game and has a significant ring of genitalia to it.

Ha ha, That makes me more tempted to keep the name as-is!

[xybot67]

Is it best to include an ending or just continue to speed up? The issue with an ending is that there is then a limit to the maximum score you can get. Thoughts?

 

 

 

Why not have an ending and then it starts over and gets progressively harder (like Montezumas Revenge after the treasure room).

[TidusRenegade]

 

Why not have an ending and then it starts over and gets progressively harder (like Montezumas Revenge after the treasure room).

I like that, each level could end with collecting treasure and there could be an increasing number of screens before then. Good call

[TidusRenegade]

Ok based on all the feedback Im going to give the game an overhaul - I have some ideas! May take a little time but Ill be back with a better game (and maybe less phallic name!) soon

[TidusRenegade]

Ok I finally had some time to work on this and what I was hoping to do is failing miserably so I think I need some Batari Basic help!

 

To revamp the player and boulder physics to allow for proper platforming I really need to base the player and boulder movement based on screen pixels rather than specific co-ordinates and the conversions are just not working at all.

I tried using the following:

 

temp3 = (player0x-14)/4

temp5= player0y+1

if !pfread(temp3,temp5) then player0y=player0y+1

This should look at the pixel below the player and if the pixel is not populated then allow the player to fall until he hits the next platform.

Strangely its partially working such that the player drops correctly at the first gap in the platform but doesn't make it to the next platform??

My defined playfield is 88 pixels tall and 32 pixels wide - so the y coordinate mapping so really be a 1:1 ratio between coordinates and pixels - right? (please let me know if I'm being dense here!)

For reference my resolution values are:

DF6FRACINC = 255 ; Background colors.

DF4FRACINC = 255 ; Playfield colors.

DF0FRACINC = 128 ; Column 0.

DF1FRACINC = 128 ; Column 1.

DF2FRACINC = 128 ; Column 2.

DF3FRACINC = 128 ; Column 3.

Can anyone help on this?

If I can't get a proper conversion from coordinates to pixels then creating a fluid jumping / falling platform game is going to involve a lot of hard-coded platform checks - which will likely eat up all of my memory (and patience!!)

Edited April 21, 2018 by TidusRenegade

[easmith]

 

Ok I finally had some time to work on this and what I was hoping to do is failing miserably so I think I need some Batari Basic help!

 

To revamp the player and boulder physics to allow for proper platforming I really need to base the player and boulder movement based on screen pixels rather than specific co-ordinates and the conversions are just not working at all.

I tried using the following:

 

temp3 = (player0x-14)/4

temp5= player0y+1

if !pfread(temp3,temp5) then player0y=player0y+1

This should look at the pixel below the player and if the pixel is not populated then allow the player to fall until he hits the next platform.

Strangely its partially working such that the player drops correctly at the first gap in the platform but doesn't make it to the next platform??

My defined playfield is 88 pixels tall and 32 pixels wide - so the y coordinate mapping so really be a 1:1 ratio between coordinates and pixels - right? (please let me know if I'm being dense here!)

For reference my resolution values are:

DF6FRACINC = 255 ; Background colors.

DF4FRACINC = 255 ; Playfield colors.

DF0FRACINC = 128 ; Column 0.

DF1FRACINC = 128 ; Column 1.

DF2FRACINC = 128 ; Column 2.

DF3FRACINC = 128 ; Column 3.

Can anyone help on this?

If I can't get a proper conversion from coordinates to pixels then creating a fluid jumping / falling platform game is going to involve a lot of hard-coded platform checks - which will likely eat up all of my memory (and patience!!)

 

Have you tried asking this in the Batari Basic subforum? I do not know BB myself. Would be a shame if you don't finish this in my opinion.

[TidusRenegade]

I'll be honest I had forgotten about this project as I had been working on other ideas.

Good call, I'll post it on the programming forum now

 

It would be good to get good working platformer out of this project and nice to see there is at least some interest in it

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

Hi TidusRenegade! We'll be showcasing your game 'Escape from Kukuku Temple' tomorrow LIVE on our ZeroPage Homebrew Twitch stream! :-) We're doing a WIP Homebrew special!

 

Twitch Livestream Channel: https://twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew

YouTube Archive Channel: https://youtube.com/zeropagehomebrew

 

We're be broadcasting live at 11AM PT/2PM PT tomorrow (Wednesday) but if you can't catch it live it will be posted in our YouTube archives 24 hours later. Hope to see you there!