Team Pixelboy News Bulletin - April 1st 2013

[Pixelboy]

Good day, ColecoVisionites! Welcome to another edition of the Team Pixelboy News Bulletin! I've got some juicy news for you today, so let's get right to it!

 

 

THE NEW BATCH OF OLDER GAMES ARE FINALLY READY

 

March will have been a very long month for me, with the preparation of all those new copies of my older releases, in addition to several new copies of my 2012 releases. But I'm pleased to say that all these games are now resting in their boxes, and I will contact everyone registered on the Team Pixelboy reminder service this coming Wednesday (April 3rd) to let them know in a personalized manner. I guess I'll be busy packing shipping boxes for the next two weeks!

 

I have a couple of unreserved copies of each game in stock, so if you missed the January 31st deadline for pre-ordering these, you still have a small chance to get some of them if you act quickly. After these few extra copies are gone, all these games will be sold out forever! First come, first served!

 

Also, I would like to point out that I will have only a few new copies of Princess Quest to offer in the short term. I want to make more, but I'm missing the MegaCart PCBs to get the job done. Rest assured that I will produce more copies as soon as possible (as the back-order waiting list for this game is quite long) but it's going to take a while.

 

 

RELEASE SCHEDULE REWORKED

 

As you may have heard recently, Eduardo Mello will be releasing The Goonies and Knightmare under his own Opcode Games label later this year. This list will also include Spelunker, The Stone of Wisdom, Zanac, Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2 and Ghostbusters. So Team Pixelboy will not be publishing any of these titles, and it's up to Eduardo to decide if and when he will release them. With him concentrating on Goonies, Knightmare and Donkey Kong Arcade this year (as well as the second batch of Super Game Modules for those who missed the first pre-order period last year) you can expect the other games to be released by Opcode Games in 2014, presumably.

 

In the case of Stone of Wisdom and Ghostbusters (and perhaps some others) I believe it's a good thing that Eduardo will be releasing them himself, because then he will be able to use his new Super Game Cartridge PCB to implement game saves on the carts. No emulator supports the SGC format and the AtariMax SD cart doesn't support it either, so beta-testing of these games should be left to Eduardo's care.

 

So now the Team Pixelboy release schedule looks like this:

 

- Mecha-8

- Battle of Hoth

- Jewel Panic

- TwinBee

- The Black Onyx

- Riddle of the Sphinx

 

You'll certainly notice TwinBee as a new entry in my release schedule, which will be the last MSX port done by Eduardo Mello for Team Pixelboy, but the real exciting news is found at the very end of the list! Riddle of the Sphinx??? Where did that one come from? Read on below!

 

 

RIDDLE ME THIS, BATMAN!

 

A couple of days ago, I received an early work-in-progress ROM from Mystery Man for a game that we're developing together, and which will be released in 2014: Quest for the Golden Chalice II : Riddle of the Sphinx!

 

I didn't have time to add the game to the Team Pixelboy web site on such short notice, but I found it interesting to announce it today, on April 1st. Is this a real game truly in development, or a complete April Fool's hoax? I'll leave you all guessing for now, but just to make you cross your collective fingers a little harder, allow me to reveal a few details about the game.

 

First of all, you will find some screenshots of the game attached below. Now before you get too excited, I need to mention that the title screen image is a mockup (for now anyway, the real title screen will probably look the same) and the other screenshots are from the demo ROM provided by Mystery Man. The demo ROM only contain a few screens used to test the new display engine which he is working on, as well as the menu system. There's also a short conversation with the goddess Isis, which occurs when you approach the pool of water from below.

 

Here's the story of the game in a nutshell: After the Prince returned the Golden Chalice to the Yellow Castle in the first game (and more importantly, after it was discovered that Mardok's dragons could be defeated with a single strike of a sword) the royal guards and the other inhabitants of Larosia returned and kicked Mardok out of the kingdom. But Mardok once again vowed revenge on the royal family of Larosia, and after just a few short months, Mardok put his mischievous new plan into motion: He secretly placed a curse on the Golden Chalice, which would take effect upon the first person to touch the Chalice with his bare hands. The victim was none other than the Prince, who was magically transported to the middle of the desert, in Egypt! With nothing more than the Golden Chalice in his hands, the Prince must now find a way home.

 

The game is a remake of the Atari 2600 game Riddle of the Sphinx (released by Imagic in 1982) but it's more than what you may expect. I mean, let's face it, Quest for the Golden Chalice was simply Adventure with a fresh coat of "Zelda paint", but the sequel will have a LOT more to offer. This will be a 128K MegaCart game, and it's going to be much, much larger than the previous game. You'll be travelling across the vast deserts of Egypt, entering pyramids and other various temples, and also a couple of villages.

 

Most of the items found in the original Atari 2600 game will be used in this ColecoVision remake, and the pyramids and temples will feature elaborate underground mazes filled with dangers and puzzles, in the vein of the first Legend of Zelda game on NES. Fact is, I want to make this game a true Zelda clone. However, at the same time, the game will stay true to its Adventure roots: You will carry only one "main" object at a time (two main objects once you find the "bag" item during your adventure) and you will need to solve puzzles with this important inventory limitation. As you can see in the "inventory menu" screenshot, you will be able to carry up to 12 "auxiliary" items (which are distinct from "main" objects). There will also be a "randomized" variant of the game (same as Quest #3 in Quest for the Golden Chalice) which will give the game ample replay value.

 

Some of the key elements from the original 2600 game will also return, such as the Prince slowing down and growing weaker when he gets thirsty. During your journey, you will meet such characters as Isis, Anubis and a few other egyptian gods, as well as merchants, thieves, the Pharaoh, the Son of Pharaoh, and also the Astrologer (which is proheminently featured in the instruction manual of the original 2600 game). Some will help you, some will work to terminate your life in short order if you give them half a chance. The game's intriguing storyline will unfold via dialogues with these characters.

 

As I mentioned before, the game will be released some time next year. I plan to release the other five games listed above on Christmas Day 2013 (December 25th).

 

This concludes this edition of the Team Pixelboy News Bulletin. We now return you to your regular AtariAge forum activities.

[+cmart604]

Well Luc, I hope it isn't an April Fool's Joke as it looks sounds like it would be a great game!

[youki]

Same remark as cmart604 !

 

Screenshot looks amazing!!! .. i just hope it won't be a super game module game.

[Pixelboy]

Same remark as cmart604 !

 

Screenshot looks amazing!!! .. i just hope it won't be a super game module game.

 

It may require the SGM, it's not a sure thing yet because the design is far from finalized. We'll try to keep the RAM requirements within 1K, but if it doesn't work out, we won't hesitate to use the SGM to have more RAM to work with.

[+grips03]

Riddle of the Sphinx looks great. Will Golden Chalice II cart support save memory, like Zelda carts did?

 

Did Zelda games only allow for single (now two) items to carry? The limited inventory does add to the puzzle part of the game, at the same time it reduces the adventure part of the game - unless the adventures need to backtrack for some reason

 

The 2013 line up looks excellent.

Edited April 1, 2013 by grips03

[Pixelboy]

Well lookie here what I just received: A new version of the demo program from Mystery Man! This version implements the night and day feature of the game. As you can see below, I can switch between night and day at the press of a keypad key. It's kind of funny too: Night, day, night, day, night, day. I think the Prince is getting seriously desoriented in the demo.

 

By the way, did you notice the sundial in the menu screen? It indicates the time of day during the day, and it becomes useless during nightime, obviously. You will be able to purchase it from a village merchant.

 

Also, just in case you're wondering, the "rank" number in the menu screen corresponds to your score. It's the same "inner strength" point system from the original Atari 2600 game, with a new name.

[Shinju]

Looks nice!

[youki]

hue... for fun , i just translated the hieroglyph we can see on the title screen. ... is it an april joke? ... it seems yes...

[Pixelboy]

Riddle of the Sphinx looks great. Will Golden Chalice II cart support save memory, like Zelda carts did?

 

No, we'll be using regular MegaCarts for this game, so no game save. But the thing is, you won't actually need to save your game. The game will be a Zelda clone and will be bigger in scope compared to Quest for the Golden Chalice, but it will retain the quick-to-finish gameplay of the original Adventure. To be more precise, I'm going to design the game so that a single play session can be finished in roughly an hour, 90 minutes tops. That's why the "randomized" quest mode will be important, because otherwise, you'll feel cheated after finishing the game within an hour with no reason to play again.

 

Did Zelda games only allow for single (now two) items to carry?

 

No, you have a full inventory in Legend of Zelda, and you can map any two items from that inventory to the A and B buttons of the NES controller at any time. Riddle of the Sphinx will be different in that respect. You'll be able to carry "auxiliary items", as I mentioned before, which are essentially single-use items (tannis leaves, jugs of water, teleport scrolls) or magical items that you can wear to alter your stats (Disc of Ra, Necklace, etc.). But you will only be able to carry one "main" item at a time, just like in Quest for the Golden Chalice. Once you acquire the "bag" item (which you can actually see in the menu screen) you'll be able to swap between two items at the press of a keypad key.

 

Oh, and did I mention that I'm planning to include a controller overlay with this game?

 

 

The limited inventory does add to the puzzle part of the game, at the same time it reduces the adventure part of the game - unless the adventures need to backtrack for some reason

 

Backtracking will be omnipresent in Riddle of the Sphinx, much like it was in the first game. At a design level, I will strive to make the backtracking manageable and not too tedious. Most of the time, you'll bring the objects you need one at a time to a pyramid or temple, and drop an item near the entrance before going off to locate and bring back another. Then once you have all the items you need in one place, you can start your trek inside the underground maze. There's going to be trial and error involved, obviously.

 

The 2013 line up looks excellent.

 

Thanks.

[Pixelboy]

hue... for fun , i just translated the hieroglyph we can see on the title screen. ... is it an april joke? ... it seems yes...

 

It would seem so at first, but think about it for a minute: This forum is full of geeks who are fully aware how to translate egyptian hieroglyphics, and I knew it wouldn't take long for someone to attempt a translation of the cartouches in the title screen. I did say that the title screen was a mockup, so it begs the question: Is the entire game an April Fool's joke, or is the joke limited to the title screen? Hmmm...

[NIAD]

I'd guess the joke is limited to the title screen seeing how much of an investment of time you have into this already (screen mockups/screenshots, very detailed description of gameplay, numerous posts, etc.) even with it being April Fools Day.

 

You have far too many games to package up and ship out to be spending your time playing these kind of games!

 

If I'm wrong, at least we still have Mecha-8, Battle of Hoth and all the others to look forward to come X-Mas time.