DZ-Jay

What do you think a blueberry has against a cranberry? Are they natural predators? I would imagine that, ahem, the ants you mentioned, would be the most natural enemy first. Then there's monkeys. Everyone knows that monkeys love cranberries and can't get enough of them. Games should have more monkeys. -dZ.

I buy all my movies in DVD and rip them to my computer to play on my AppleTV. No hassle with commercials and funky menus.

Yeah, that Dwarven Mine game was a last minute surprise! -dZ.

I hear ya'! It's still a great start. You can work on those details later on. Just make sure to ask here for any help if you need it. There's plenty of knowledgeable people willing to lend a hand. I believe there is, although I haven't used it. I think you can plug it via USB to your computer and build and run. Perhaps someone else can provide more details. -dZ.

That helps quite a bit. I re-watched the video and was able to follow better what was going on. Will you be releasing a work-in-progress ROM for others to play-test? If not, don't forget to make your submission to the judges tonight! There's no time now, but here are a few suggestions for future enhancements in case you wish to continue working on the game for an eventual release. Feel free to ignore any of it. I understand that the game is a translation from a board game, but still it seems much too static. The sound effects are good, but perhaps you could add a bit of animation to liven it up. Maybe the screen could be laid out differently to give a larger focus on the "latest encounter" view. It's a video game, so it is mostly a visual medium; and the most interesting part of it is the exploration of the mine. With a larger "latest encounter" view, you could get a bit more fancier with the graphics, maybe even animate the dangers (slithering snake, rocks actually falling, gems with shining and radiating light, etc.). That's it for now, I may have more after I play and review the actual game. It looks good, and the game-play seems solid. Good job! -dZ. P.S. DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY!!!

Wow! This game is difficult!!! You have a few hours so, here are a few suggestions: The title screen music is harrowing (which sets the mood) and just a tad discordant (which seems random). You may want to tighten it a little. The player sprite moves a little slower than some of the enemies. This seems unfair if there are no obstacles to protect him, and he has to wait for his "ball" to make a complete round trip. He should run a little faster than them. I should be able to see how many hits I've taken or how many I can still take before dying. The controls need a little tweaking: sometimes I hit the disc to turn, press the action button immediately, and it shoots in the previous direction. I don't understand some mechanics: Sometimes I get "Game Over" even without being hit. It may be that the collision detection is off. Consider the following scene. I had not being hit, and the game is over right before the collision. The rules about the gates seem a little complicated, you may wish to revise them. There should be a way to go back to the "Title" screen or restart the game after dying. Other than that, I find it intriguing. Not bad! Now, back to work!! -dZ.

We encourage all participants to submit their latest stable version. Don't be afraid of experimental or unpolished features, as long as they work and add to the playing experience. There's always time to work on it after the contest. The idea is to let the judges experience as close to your vision as possible so that they can judge fairly. We can only judge what we see during play-through and there are no extra points for "potential." -dZ.

And yet, the sun still rises from the east and sets in the west, and the TV networks still make money. *shrug*

Is your plan to disassemble the boot-loader, then translate that to Forth? I guess I lost the connection to the first post... :\ -dZ.

Wow! What a delightfully weird story!

Wow, it's like "Bizarro World!" Personally, I like Sub Hunt more than Sea Battle, although that's not saying much for I don't play either much. Sure, why not?

The video is a little confusing, but it kept me interested watching you having so much fun. I can't say I completely understand everything that's going on, but it looks like an interesting start. Don't forget to submit your entry to the contest! -dZ.

Ah! I didn't really noticed that pressing it twice would return. Sounds good, but I wonder if you should also offer a Key Pad entry. You could have certain buttons on the Key Pad represent "Reset," "Return To Menu," and "Pause." That's typically the "Intellivision Way" (even if you don't create an overlay), while the action buttons are usually intended for, well, "actions." That may help. I do like the count-down. Once I figured it out I went, "aaaaah!" and from then on it was very natural. Perhaps it'll help if you added an icon next to it representing the one, two, and three stars par; and change it as the player moves from one to the next. Point taken. I haven't made it to the later levels yet. Still, you are not hard-pressed for carving out space for your HUD and status information. For instance, two columns at either side is more than most games reserve. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying you need to carve out the space; just that it's there if you want it. Also, don't be afraid of offsetting the mazes flushed to one side and leaving 4 columns on the other for status. The (screen) world is your oyster. It's truly my pleasure. I'm excited to see what else comes! :thumbsup: -dZ.

Hi, postpostdoc, It's getting better and better! Below is some feedback after a quick play session: It seems you removed the one-page story introducing the character. I like the "Level Select" menu screen with the stars and the locked levels, but I can't seem to find a way to return to that screen. The "Pause" screen seems to take its place, but it seems oddly disconnected in that it only gives you the "par" information for the current screen, not your progress. There should be a way to see the stars earned for each level completed -- perhaps a way to return to the "Level Select" menu. It took me a while to figure out what the numbers in the HUD were, and that one of them reset multiple times, and then started counting up at some point. I know now what they mean, but perhaps there's a better way to convey what they are? There's plenty of space around the maze, so there's no reason to be stingy with information. May I suggest using different colours for the HUD text instead of just plain ol' black? it just blends too much into the background. The "heads-up display" should be easily noticed at a glance. I know it's a bit late and you're pressed for time, but... how about a short musical ditty for the title screen? On a pinch, you could pick up one of the many songs tracked already and available around these parts. If I try to select a "locked" level from the "Level Select" screen, it should buzz me with a raspberry or some other "you can't do that!" sound effect. Other than that, it's still a very solid and interesting puzzle game and it is getting better and better. Still has some ways to go in terms of polish, just a little bit; the main elements are there, they just need a bit of cohesion to elevate the experience. You got two more days... make it happen! -dZ.

I think he wants to edit the first post.

Rev...? Are you paying attention?

The post is not "blocked" or "locked, " in the sense that a moderator closed the thread. Like Thomas Jentzsch said, a post loses the ability to be edited after a while. This is normal in AtariAge forums. Just ask a moderator for access to edit the first post in the thread, and you'll be fine. -dZ.

I guess MIDI as a format for sharing music is obsolete. Back in the earlier days of the World Wide Web, when it was all pastures around here and dinosaurs roam the network, it was customary to download your music in MIDI format to play on your SoundBlaster card (or Yamaha, if you had the bucks). The alternative as WAV files, but those were too big, so it was mostly used for short samples from movies and TV shows (like memes are done in pictures today). Eventually, MODs, WAVs, and MIDIs were replaced by MP3s, and the rest is history. However, as a device interchange format, MIDI is still popular with modern synths and software. -dZ.

Are you really? Because it seems that the answer is rather obvious... You see? You knew it all along. Commodore was trying to make money in a cut-throat business, not make your life easier. As one who owned a Commodore 64 back when in the early 80s, I agree that it felt like some cruel joke that the machine had some of the best hardware capabilities in the industry, in terms of graphics and sound synthesis, yet provided no interface to them other than the rudimentary direct memory-mapped access to the chips. Yet even after Simon BASIC, Turtle Graphics, Graphics BASIC, MetaBASIC, and the myriad other extensions to the crude language were released; most games were still programmed in Assembly Language, or in BASIC with PEEKs and POKEs. So yeah, it would have been great had Commodore invested some of their viciously acquired profits into making our lives easier, but apparently, that didn't make their machines any less capable or popular. -dZ.

It's an interesting game, but it seems much too simple for the Intellivision. It reminds me of one of those BASIC programs you type in from a magazine. It's a good implementation, but perhaps it could use some more sophistication, like smoother movements rather than the stepped jumps it has right now, or more detailed graphics. Also, the blocky "card-alignment" of the weather attacks and house destruction looks too abrupt. I know you may not have the time for that right now, but I'm thinking for a future revision. Not bad, though. -dZ.

I think he means dithering two colours by rapidly switching between them at 30Hz. It does help "blend" the colours, but at the cost of severe reduction in brightness. Plus, depending on the quality of the TV, it may still retain some perceivable flicker. -dZ.

Yeah, sorry about the delay, but I had trouble building the installer properly on a Mac. I plan on releasing the Mac SDK along with the latest version for Windows at the end of the month. -dZ.