Pixelboy's 1000th post!

[Pixelboy]

Wow, 1000 posts! When I joined the AA forums in 2005, I wouldn't have dared predicted that I would reach that magic number, especially less than three years later! When I noticed that I had made my 999th post, I decided to celebrate this milestone in the Homebrew Discussion forum, by presenting my want-to-do list of ColecoVision homebrew projects.

 

Free time being a rare and precious commodity, I'll probably never do all the projects outlined below. If I complete only a few of these over the next few years, I'll be very happy, but for now, please consider these as projects that I often think about and would like to do once I've sufficiently mastered ColecoVision programming. The games are listed below in no particular order, for you reading enjoyment only.

 

 

K.C.'s Megamaze : At first, what I wanted to do was a port of the TRS-80 game Mega-Bug, but it seemed impossible to do accurately given the graphical limitations of the ColecoVision. But then I looked at K.C. Munchkin for the Odyssey 2, and the idea came to my mind: Why not make an unofficial sequel in the K.C. franchise based on Mega-Bug? After doing some analysis, I was able to come up with a design that actually works, although it involves some VRAM-intensive routines that would probably have to be coded in assembly language. Still, wouldn't it be great to guide that familiar blue Pac-Man look-alike in a giant maze?

 

Nibbler : There's not much to say about this one, except that it's a fun arcade game that could be done very well on the ColecoVision. And it could probably be done in C language relatively easely too. A nice project for a beginner like me.

 

Quest for the Golden Chalice : I was supposed to do this project with Scott Huggins last year, but the birth of Scott's second child caused us to put the project on hold indefinitely. It's a remake of the Atari 2600 game "Adventure", with a playable character with arms and legs instead of a simple square. The game itself was going to be mostly the same as the 2600 version, with the dragons, the bat, the castles, and the same usable items, only with Zelda-style graphics. Both Scott and I would really like to continue the project and make the game a reality, but it's not going to program itself, is it? Who knows, perhaps I'll actually code it all myself one of these days...

 

Utopia : Probably the only Intellivision game I'm really interested in converting for the ColecoVision (although Bomb Squad and Dreadnaught Factor are very good candidates too). It's the kind of game that would make good use of the keypad on the ColecoVision controller.

 

Asteroids : I've come to believe that doing a good port of Asteroids on the CV is entirely possible. And without any on-screen flicker. It's the kind of programming challenge I would love to tackle.

 

E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial : I have never seen a good E.T. game on any video game console in my entire life, and considering how the movie simply doesn't lend itself well to a video game adaptation, it would be quite a challenge to do one that's actually worth playing. The Atari 2600 game may get awful reviews, but I can actually appreciate what the programmer tried to do, on a game designing level. The ColecoVision version I envision would borrow a lot from the Atari 2600 game, but would be rendered using more realistic isometric graphics, and would have more involved play mechanics: You could switch between E.T. and Elliot, each with their own abilities that would complement each other, and the game would follow night and day cycles, so for example, you could have E.T. visit Elliot's school during the night, something you wouldn't dare do during the day unless you want the government to storm the school and capture E.T.! I'd say there is definite potential there, in terms of game design, but no one has managed to nail down a good design formula.

 

Indiana Jones - Raiders of The Lost Ark : This is another remake I would love to do with isometric graphics, just like E.T. above. And again, it would borrow several elements from the Atari 2600 version, and expand upon them to create a more polished game.

 

Module Man : Many years ago, my brother used to own a Coco-2, and when I visited him with my parents, he would let me play with it. And every time, I would play Module Man. It's a neat little platformer with randomized item locations, so no two game sessions are ever the same, and this gives the game tremendous replay value. The game's graphics are nothing the ColecoVision couldn't handle adequately, and this would make a wonderful addition to the ColecoVision's game library.

 

Arabian : Ahhh... The fond memories I have of playing this arcade game... I have always perceived the ColecoVision as the ideal system for platformers, and games like Roc'n Rope, Popeye, Burgertime, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., H.E.R.O., Montezuma's Revenge and several others certainly proove it. Arabian would be right at home here.

 

Championship Sprint : If I had to choose a game to make for the CV's Driving Module, this would be it. Well, either that or Super Sprint, as they're both highly similar. Something that would be interesting to do is make the game support two Driving Mudules simultaneously, for two-player driving action. This implies that the steering wheel and pedal would be the unique method of player interaction, with no keypad input involved. Of course, standard joystick controls would also be available.

 

Missile Command : Let's face it, the Roller Controller was litteraly designed to accomodate this game. And the ColecoVision could do it justice too, in terms of graphics and sounds effects.

 

Star Wars - The Empire Strike Back : It's one of my favorite Atari 2600 games, and it would be an honor for me to do a ColecoVision version. I would put a lot of effort into the appearance and animation of the AT-ATs.

 

Of course, there are a lot of games I would like to do on the CV that aren't listed above, but I had to draw the line somewhere, didn't I? As a footnote, I'd like to append Super Mario Bros to the list, just because I'm in the process of actually doing it with Mark2008. As for my own REAL projects, my first CV game will be a simple game of Sudoku, which should be done by the end of this year if all goes well.

 

Thanks for reading! Comments are welcome!

[ten-four]

Hi Pixelboy...

 

 

We CV gamers always have our dreams for our ColecoVision.

 

I have some too.

 

Wizard Of Wor

Qix

Elevator Action

Zippy Race

Space Zap

Galaga

 

All classic games, i would like to have in my collection.

 

I almost go for games close to these games you have played from the "Gamesroom" (Arcades) in the good early days.

 

But "Super Mario Brothers" is not my favorit version, it is "Mario Brothers" instead.

I think Eduardo had this game in his mind for a few years ago.

 

"Missile Command" for CV, and with Roller Controller that would also be a great idea.

 

Just my comments.

[+opcode]

Ok, let me see...

 

Quest for the Golden Chalice: I would buy this one for sure.

 

Utopia: Maybe a good starting point, but RTS games have evolved so much since, that I believe you could create something far more interesting now.

 

Asteroids: possible, but that depends on how close to the original arcade game you want it to be.

 

E.T.: I don't know why but i agree: ET is nice. It's a nice movie and not too bad as a game. Of course it would be improved a lot but the basic elements are already there.

 

Raiders: The original game is a mess... Sorry, IMHO it would require a totally new game concept...

 

Arabian: I would prefer Kangaroo...

 

Championship Sprint: Nice idea.

 

Missile Command: Not the eaiest game to port for the CV, but that would be done.

 

Star Wars: Ah, the CV deserves a good Star Wars game, not necessarily SW:TESB. And I was a kid I dreamed about creating a Star Wars game, along with a TRON game. In fact I think TRON would be even cooler. Not the arcade game, but a kind of adventure game, complete with story. Maybe a RPG...

 

If I was to suggest a few arcade ports, I would want Phoenix, Kangaroo, Moon Patrol, Commando, Pole-Position and Xevious. And of course I would go with anything Mario.

 

Eduardo

[Pixelboy]

Quest for the Golden Chalice: I would buy this one for sure.

Of course, since I showed you the graphics I made for the game.

 

Utopia: Maybe a good starting point, but RTS games have evolved so much since, that I believe you could create something far more interesting now.

I was thinking of adding some AI to the game in single-player mode. So perhaps I could do a faithful reproduction of the Intellivision version, and then later release a "Deluxe AI" edition. I'm fairly certain there would be room left on the cart to add some AI.

 

Asteroids: possible, but that depends on how close to the original arcade game you want it to be.

How about extremely accurate, given the TV screen resolution?

 

E.T.: I don't know why but i agree: ET is nice. It's a nice movie and not too bad as a game. Of course it would be improved a lot but the basic elements are already there.

If I embarked on that particular project, I would rent the movie and study it carefully in order to include all the locations seen in the movie.

 

Star Wars: Ah, the CV deserves a good Star Wars game, not necessarily SW:TESB.

"Star Wars The Arcade Game" is already a pretty good Star Wars game on the CV...

 

If I was to suggest a few arcade ports, I would want Phoenix, Kangaroo, Moon Patrol, Commando, Pole-Position and Xevious. And of course I would go with anything Mario.

I would add Pengo, Vanguard and Discs of Tron to that list.