A suggestion for a funny paddle game

[ComputerSpaceFan]

I always thought this might make a funny paddle game.

http://shaneshapiro.com/GAMES.swf/drunkwalk.swf

Does anyone know if someone has made something like this for the 2600? If not, would it be makeable? Obviously with reduced graphics, a static background and no singing, but I reckon this would make a decent game and in my opinion there just aren't enough paddle games out there.

[BigO]

I always thought this might make a funny paddle game.

http://shaneshapiro.com/GAMES.swf/drunkwalk.swf

Does anyone know if someone has made something like this for the 2600? If not, would it be makeable? Obviously with reduced graphics, a static background and no singing, but I reckon this would make a decent game and in my opinion there just aren't enough paddle games out there.

 

That's funny and actually kinda fun.

 

Personally, I'd be more inclined to play it as a 2600 game without the alcohol theme. Is there some other "inverted pendulum" type application that could be adapted? Something like balancing a pole on your hand, but less lame than that? A circus themed balancing act sorta thing? The drunk walk naturally lends itself to increasing instability to make control progressively more challenging. Piling on more acrobats could add to the instability, but the graphics limitations of the 2600 might rule that out? The singing wouldn't be necessary in that scenario, just some horribly annoying circus music to add to the challenge. Supercat, can you make the 2600 do caliope music?

 

I agree that there aren't enough paddle games out there.

Edited February 28, 2008 by BigO

[Allpaul]

I would be more inclined to play with the alcohol theme....

[Gateway]

My best is 36 meters before falling on my ass.

[BigO]

63 m was my maximum distance.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

I got 72 m in my drunken stupor before I fell flat on my face. Oh wait, were we talking about a game here?

 

So I figure anything that is remotely close to this game would be sweet, whether it's drunk stumbling like the original or acrobats piling on a balancing beam. I figured at first there was no way to make the background do what it does in the flash game but then I saw how the hallways in Escape from the Mindmaster move pretty smoothly for a 2600 game and thought hey that technique would work for a constantly moving background.

Darn it, I really wish I knew how to make homebrews.

[BigO]

Darn it, I really wish I knew how to make homebrews.

Would that be to accomplish the game part or the drunken part?

[aftermac]

It's not playable, but here's a quick and dirty animation I put together.

 

drunkwalk_001.bas.bin

[supercat]

It's not playable, but here's a quick and dirty animation I put together.

 

The 2600 could do much better. Actually, a game like this could be a perfect excuse to use Andrew Davie's "Chronocolor" in a gaming context except that I can't think of a good way to overlay it onto a full-resolution background; trying to overlay it on a playfield-style 'perspective vanishing point' background would look horrible.

 

Perhaps a couple of missiles could be used to draw a couple of diagonal stripes for the "road" while the playfield is used to mask the extra sprite copies. That might look decent and yet be simple to code.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

It's not playable, but here's a quick and dirty animation I put together.

 

drunkwalk_001.bas.bin

 

 

Pretty good for a quick and dirty attempt! Very impressive.

Clearly our little console wonder will never match the flash game in the looks department, but hey I can dream. It just totally seems to me like one of those rare "easy to learn, difficult to master" style of games that the Atari was so perfect for. And you can't beat it for simplicity and fun.

[bomberpunk]

rather than alcohol, make it a circus clown walking a tightrope. the game could be called tightrope. man where do i come up with this awesomeness.

[aftermac]

It's not playable, but here's a quick and dirty animation I put together.

 

drunkwalk_001.bas.bin

 

 

Pretty good for a quick and dirty attempt! Very impressive.

Clearly our little console wonder will never match the flash game in the looks department, but hey I can dream. It just totally seems to me like one of those rare "easy to learn, difficult to master" style of games that the Atari was so perfect for. And you can't beat it for simplicity and fun.

 

Thanks! With a bit of polish and some actual controls, this might make a fun little 2k game.

 

One of the best things about the Atari is that with most games you can sit down and start playing with very little instruction... and the games are still challenging. Unlike today's games with 10 buttons a d-pad and multiple analog sticks, where learning the controls is often more challenging than the game.

[Sonja]

Great idea! I hope somebody implements it. If there could be a simultaneous 2-player version, that would be awesome too. Maybe you have to cooperate somehow...

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Hey hey, someone made the original flash game above for the iPhone.

http://www.ituneappreviews.com/2009/01/17/done-drinking.htm

 

I still say a version of this would be awesome to play with a paddle on the 2600.