Nateo Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 Have any of you guys played Fall Down for the Texas Instruments Graphing Calculators? In the game, you have to guide a ball down a bunch of platforms without getting crunched at the top of the screen. The play area looks something like this (in ASCII art): ___________ _____ ____ ______ ____ _ _____ ____ _ ___ ____ _________________o The platforms are constantly moving upward, and you have to fall down through the gaps. Your score is determined by how long you can stay on the screen, and you only get one chance. Everyone loves playing this game on the TI-83 at school, so I thought it would make a great 2600 game. It should be an easy-to-make game. Whaddya think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 Sounds like it has potential. Maybe add some monsters or something that try to eat the ball and perhaps a power-up item that makes the ball invincible or able to fall through the floor at will (like Make-Breaks in Entombed.) The basic concept is cool and probably fun to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Night Phantom Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 I'm with StanJr: an additional wrinkle or two might go far in making the game all the more addictive. Perhaps the additional threats could be activated/deactivated via the game select or difficulty switches. To complement the onscreen action I recommend some driving music and/or sound effects. In any case, this sounds like a fun project. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 There is an arcade game similar to that, it's called Kaos. You have a knight that must work your way to the top of the screen. Coins move downward (a la Mario Bros.), and change into dragons if they reach the bottom. The walls and floors shift from side to side, and attempt to push you off the maze. Try it out. Mame homepage Rom / screenshot [ 10-08-2001: Message edited by: Nukey Shay ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 I think this would be an ideal game to do on the 2600 hardware. I also don't think anything quite like it has been done yet on the VCS... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 One more thing. I always disliked the early games that didnt have a goal to shoot for other than the high score. Why not make it where you eventually get to the bottom and get something,before you move onto the next screen (different color platforms..faster)Perhaps the goals could be to collect the swordquest prizes?? A crown. A chalice etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid_sky Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 woah..falldown.. i thought i was the only person who played that game... its so addictive and fast you dont need anything else to speed up the gameplay, trust me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel D. Park Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 Sounds like a fantastic idea... I want to play it RIGHT NOW!!! Someone hurry up and write it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid_sky Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 I have a TI Calculator emulator, if anyone can find the executable file out there i can send it to you, and anyone else who wants it, to get a better grasp of how addictive this game is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 Sounds like an awesome game, and probably not too hard to do on the Atari either (Just some playfield stuff and a sprite or two). I hope someone makes this.... --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostalgic Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 A TI calculator emulator? Now I have seen everything... Seriously, it sounds like porting games on highly limited platforms such as graphing calculators to the 2600 isn't a bad idea. I remember in high school some classmates had an HP calculator with a game similar to Minesweeper. That was quite popular. If there is such a thing, could someone post a link to a collection of calculator games? This might inspire the programmers out there to scrounge for ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nateo Posted October 11, 2001 Author Share Posted October 11, 2001 Umm.. Nukey Shay, that's not what I'm talking about. You see, you are a little ball trying not to get squished at the top of the screen by constantly moving down, while the platforms are constantly moving up. Oh, and by the way, I can't program this! I don't even know the DIM command in BASIC! But, however, if anyone is willing to take on this task (which isn't very hard), please try! And if you decide to try it out, make it use the paddle controllers. That would make the game absolutley perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 Why the paddles? Just curious... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Night Phantom Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Nateo: Oh, and by the way, I can't program this! I don't even know the DIM command in BASIC! Not an obstacle: there's no DIM or similar in 2600 programming...so, have at it! [ 10-10-2001: Message edited by: The Night Phantom ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 Paddles would work. You only would have to move left and right. To go down you'd fall thru a "hole" and you wouldn't go up. Im just guessing ...I never played the game their talking about. Would your character move too fast with paddles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 Nateo-- I was commenting on StanJr's suggestion of adding stuff to make it a bit more challenging. Kaos is very close to the suggestions made. BTW Diggerbonk for the 8-bit computers is also similar, except that you are in an actual scrolling maze (with enemies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 quote: Originally posted by moycon: Would your character move too fast with paddles? I think the idea was that the original game was probably done with buttons for directions (Unless the TI has some hidden paddle that I'm not aware of ). Sounds like it probably would work nicely with a paddle though. One thing I've never really understood is why games can't do both. Hell, if Astroblast can do it... --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapdash Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 Entombed by US Games is a LITTLE bit like the way this game sounds from your description. Check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 ENTOMBED! does sound similar, but in ENTOMBED! you can move up and around and such. This games sounds more interesting because you are a victim of gravity, you can only fall down. I'm not saying toss in the monsters and "floor acid" (ie make-breaks) right away, but these are things that could be included on advanced levels or something like that. Sounds like a lot of fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid_sky Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 quoteA TI calculator emulator? Now I have seen everything... If you think that is obscure, I had a field day looking for odd emulators the other day, I found a speak and spell emulator.. NOW you have seen everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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