r_type2600

Got it now. Another ignorant question: can missiles appear on screen if the corresponding player is not displayed? Idea is to then create a phantom sprite (a few lines red, a few lines white) and then be able to use its missiles for the road strips. Would likely increase the flicker a bit, but the game seems to still have some tolerance in that regard and we've seen how well the flickering has been tamed in Galagon, Mappy, etc. Redundant idea of course if missiles can only be displayed at the same time as their player...

Thanks for the explanation on the background colors rationale, it all makes a lot of sense. I imagined you sure would have tried to go for the arcade look, but likely had to make compromises. I also understand that convincing recreation of the city, tunnel entrance and curved wall were priority and you hence went for PF horizons for those scenes. (I assume the bridges also recur to that technique). Interestingly in these scenes, one's eye doesn't notice the separation of the data area so much. The overlapping of the scenery into the horizon in these scenes alleviates the appearance of separated areas to a major extent. It's mostly in those scenes where the horizon remains separated from the scenery, that the splitting of the screen into different areas becomes most obvious and slightly distracting from the sensation of being "in the game". Would it make any sense to try to mix techniques depending on scenery? e.g. PF horizon /black data area for city, curved wall, etc. & solid color+sprites/horizon colored data area background for the other scenes like forest, hills, etc. I mean such a mixed approach worked neatly for your Wizard of Wor for example, where you used multicolor sprites for the Worlok and Wizard and monochrome sprites for multi-enemies levels. Of course the transition should remain smooth to the eye. Not worth it otherwise. I see the issue of legibility, but experiencing with contrasting colors might address that?

The player sprite has red and yellow (a good replacement for white). So, accordingly, red/yellow road strips using missiles would be feasible? Sorry if I don't grasp that properly... Or, would it mean that the missile color on every horizontal line has to correspond to the one of the sprite color on the same line? Makes sense that it would not help then.

Another striking Champeau/Strum cooperation, and Turbo is a great choice for a port. Good to see another groundbreaking early arcade game being faithfully converted to the 2600 😃 The road strips definitely are essential for the driving experience. I wonder if the missiles are being already used in the scenery/gameplay portion of the screen? If not, have you thought applying the technique used in Pole Position for the road strips? It would be a natural fit. Also, would it be possible to have the background in the game data field correspond to the horizon color? (e.g blue for most scenes). Not sure if the current black is due to technical constraints? A uniform appearance would certainly increase the draw-in effect of the game, akin to the arcade version. Love your plan to create additional scenery, such as the desert/cacti one John mentioned in the ZPH stream. 🙂

Thrilling! Wonder if we can expect anything audacious?

I understand conversion rights for the vast majority of pre-1985 arcade titles are now owned by the current Atari (including those games originally released by Parker and Coleco). At least for the classic Atari consoles. I'm not a lawyer but I would believe it's therefore not a matter of concern to the owner of the IP rights, but to the owner of the conversion rights. Back in the days it was Atari who sued Magnavox on K.C. Munchkin for the Odyssey2 and not Bally/Midway. Same case with Demon Attack, where Atari saw an infringement on its Phoenix conversion rights. Current Atari does only seem to bother if their own IPs for original Atari creations are used without license, since licensing is their main business model nowadays and they need to enforce their rights.

That was one very enjoyable interview, with lots of revealing insights and entertaining anecdotes. Eugene came over as a very straight, smart and passionate game creator and player. Thanks for sharing this excellent interview!

Same here, Galaxian is such an iconic game that it would deserve to get a Champ treatment on the 2600. Atari's done a honorable job with its conversion, but it just lacked the feel and challenge of the arcade game. A 2600 version that captures the starfield and hypnotic sound (literally bells & whistles) of arcade Galaxian would be fantastic! John's working on so many cool projects at the moment, so I'm sure he has other priorities. Still hoping though that he may some day find time and motivation to also consider Galaxian 🙂

BlackJack has a tough standing in the action-orientated video games world, but the complexity of your version coupled with a sleek design is impressive and attractive even for one who isn't too much interested in card games (like myself). I really like the elegant appearance of the desk including the different shapes for the chips, but wonder if you couldn't make them different colors for a more intuitive recognition. Also it appears that in some cases selecting multiples of one chip type does not correctly reflect in the upper part. For instance you would only see one 10 chip, despite having selected two. I know that it raises the bet amount correctly, but it should also show it in the visuals. The cards animations have really enlivened the game and look rather convincing. One thing I am missing in the game is a purpose (apart from raising your funds). Some kind of game goal to drive the player's interest. For example Breaking the Bank, which in the context of your game story, would then allow the player to escape Theta VIII with a fixed spaceship. This celebrated by a nice animation/win graphic would definitely motivate to play the game for more than a couple of card shuffles. A Game Over animation/graphic would further increase the appeal of the game. Just a couple of suggestions to spice up a game type that by its nature is rather sober and, in the realm of video games, "boring". Your next project plans sound very exciting and given the quality shown on this one, promise to be games to look forward to!

Indeed tricky. Tune is too good to be shortened. On the other hand the demo is indeed best kept silent. Hmm. - Judging from some of the comments, most posters had some difficulty to figure out the gameplay initially. So some kind of guidance would be useful. The demo does not really help here as it's too short. Why not introduce a screen that presents the "bestiary" with their behavior. Nothing fancy. Just a running animation of each of the critters along with a short text description of their behaviour. (similar to Wizard of Wor) Say: (Animated Ant Graphic) - Dazzles Aardvark when touches tongue. Eat with tongue tip. (Animated Caterpillar) - Avoid from front. Eat from behind. ...and so on. (Text definitely could be improved.) - You already have an option screen. Include it in the title loop as well. This helps to better integrate that screen in the overall presentation as well. - To extend the demo part let it run through 3 deaths consecutively. But drop the Aardvark intro for the demo. That icing is better kept for the proper game. With this, the title mode would loop through 4 screens now (Title, Options, Instructions, Demo). The music could fully play through the first 3 screens, and then switch to the silent demo. A good balance is of course subject to trial, but I feel a nice loop could look like this: - Title (5/8 of the title tune) - Options (1/8 of the tune) - Instructions (2/8 of the tune) - Demo (silent. 3 times without Aardvark intro) Hope this all makes sense

Simply beautiful. Aardvark is shaping up to become another must-have homebrew masterpiece belonging into every self-respecting 2600 collection. An all-around charming and captivating game, with all its elements blending together smoothly for an exciting experience. What I love: addicting, challenging gameplay great graphics with silky smooth animation (the aardvark is spectacular for a 2600 game), beautiful title screen, etc. catchy and fitting tunes and sounds beautiful presentation. Title screen graphic sets the tune perfectly now (the earlier graphic was nice, but the new one is adorable), and the Aardvark intro immediately draws the player into the gameworld. the attention to detail. Playful fonts, score value displaying when critters are being swalloved, etc. Consequently my suggestions would not target to make it better, as it already is close to perfect, but to make “more” out of this brilliant creation :-) Finetuning requests: better timing of the title screen / demo loop. It's really pleasant to listen to the full title screen music, but a bit odd to watch the title screen for a couple of minutes first, while the subsequent game demo then usually only lasts a dozen seconds atmost. likewise the Game Over screen should automatically end and switch back to the title screen after a while. Ideally with some kind of “extro” animation. Like having a handful of ants doing a “victory dance” and then carrying away the Game Over logo. Switch back to the title screen after that. Wishlist!: ( to add more variation and longlasting appeal) A couple additional foes/ gameplay elements for later levels: egg-laying antqueens. These would appear on later levels to fill up already cleared rows. bonus aardvark cucumber (only vegetable an aardvark does eat according to wikipedia). Appears randomly, static, gives big points, but: slows down the tongue. → a tactical gameplay element termites: they travel the anthill down and up in a clockwise pattern. Behave similar to worms Intermissions. It would be fantastic if the game would treat players to some kind of simple yet clever animated intermission every 5 levels or so to keep the player hooked. This type of breaks has proven to add a lot of atmosphere and longterm appeal to such single-screen arcade games. Only wishing... Would be great if any of these could be considered to make Aardvark the ultimate Anteater version, but in any case it is a fantastic 2600 game already. Thanks for the treat!

Please put me down for number 25 of each version (Zippo, Dupont, and Classic). Thank you!

Anybody who doesn't love this game? :-) One small finetuning request: once a game is over and the player does not select to continue right away and press the fire button, it should automatically switch back to the title screen after a while (say 5-10 seconds).

Chimning in with all other comments - a Doodle Jump version was predestined for the 2600 and the Amoeba has assumed that role brilliantly so far! It's good to see it developing its own flavor and personality, in true 2600 style. In that vein - how about including a variation in which the "combo spring-jumps" is included as a bonus level after reaching a certain threshold (say 10.000 pts.)? Player has a chance to maximize his scorer until he falls off in that round, game carries on thereafter. Something around the lines of the bonus round in Paperboy.

I'd like to take 4 please, if still possible.

This is such a fascinating effort. It oozes exceptional originality and artistry on so many levels. The evident attention and commitment to details further contribute to make this game stand out. More than fun - an experience! I must admit that I was not particularly fond of bBatari given the hordes of mediocre games it has generated. But Plague, the Gizzle Wap games, Space Cactus Canyon, and a few others, have now opened my eyes to what a great tool bBatari can be in the right hands (minds). An accessible platform that allows genuinely creative spirits to unleash their imagination on the 2600, treating gamers to unexpected worlds and surreal experiences. Feels like the early 80es again :-) Magyar?

Die G 7000 version ist halt schon ein sehr archaisches Vergnügen. Da muss man schon sehr viel Liebe aufbringen für so eine primitive Kost. Quasi Knödel mit Ei mit wenig Ei.

Cool stuff! The second was used in the ad for Tac-Scan: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-tac-scan_7653.html

Somehow missed out when first contacted last year, and would appreciate if you could put me back on the current list. Thank you!

Bubbles and the sound ideas all sound like great complimentary effects and welcome extra polish to the game. Any consideration for a title/menu screen? Always a thrill to discover what a diverse mix of fascinating personalities the Atari scene has and is continuing to host and attract. Karri is for sure another one injecting a lot of rhythm and vision to our Lynx community (Hope the trip up to Salzburg is the right contrast to Werther )

A couple of simplistic suggestions: Gologo or as a reverance to Syzygy: Gylygy

Seriously !?! We hunger ! :-)

Wow, really impressed by this! Simplistic gameplay, but surprisingly challenging and addictive. Presentation is topnotch considering this all fits into 1k ! Changing graphics, extra sound don't hurt if you can still squeeze more into 1k, but they certainly are not required. A title screen would be a waste for small games - such games thrill by delivering an optimized balance between gameplay/graphics/sound/presentation (in that order).

Spooky - an Activision ad from the early 80es:

Love how the box artwork captures the 60es-SciFi vibe of the game. And great original layout design for Champ Games boxes - hope Lady Bug & Conquest of Mars will eventually also get boxes following that design