Homebrew Games like this just piss me off

[PDog]

http://youtu.be/L_bulqAxkMc

 

It's really making me lose faith in the homebrew scene which used to be a labor of love for the developers (and thankfully still is for many) but then we have guys like this, asking $72 (after shipping) for a half-assed, rushed game. Worst of all it looks like dozens of people have already pre-ordered it!

Edited August 2, 2014 by PDog

[+Gemintronic]

Lesee..

 

* Multi colored player

* In game soundtrack

* Professional art, box and manual.

 

Yep. Total. rushed. crap. I see your point.

[+save2600]

Huh? This isn't half-assed or rushed... it's basically the Smurf game with modified graphics/title (and soundtrack?) so the game can be released.

 

Now, if you want to argue whether this particular game is worth that kind of scratch to you...

 

I see the flashcart making a lot of sense for people like me that don't need to be spending $70 on certain games. A $10 ROM, sure!

[+Gemintronic]

I don't enjoy the Smurfs style platforming. At all. The control is too frustrating for my feeble skills.

 

See, that's genuine feedback. Y'all know why I'd think twice about purchasing this. Getting on a soap box and proclaiming a game is crap is valuable information to no one. Give negative feedback if you think it's constructive. Just explain yourself regardless of a games cost.

[sega_SHARK]

Welcome to the OFFICIAL I HATE GAMESTER81 CIRCLEJERK

 

 

[PDog]

I don't enjoy the Smurfs style platforming. At all. The control is too frustrating for my feeble skills.

 

See, that's genuine feedback. Y'all know why I'd think twice about purchasing this. Getting on a soap box and proclaiming a game is crap is valuable information to no one. Give negative feedback if you think it's constructive. Just explain yourself regardless of a games cost.

Fair enough. I thought the video spoke for itself, but I guess not. If you viewed the video you'd see it's a guy that runs through the same 4-5 screens over and over again with no change, just needing to occasionally jump over something and maybe avoid 1-2 flying things. It's unoriginal, not fun-looking at all, and offers little to no challenge. You mentioned that it does have a multicolored character, a soundtrack, and a box, but I sure hope your standards are higher than that!

[+Gemintronic]

It's a niche market for sure. The Smurfs was a side view platformer before Super Mario Bros advanced the genre. This game has some deep roots in that earlier tradition. I failed at playing the Smurfs as a kid and I'll probably fail at this game too.

 

Everyone appreciates games differently. I definitely find the multi-colored sprites a turn-on because I have some idea of how these games are developed and what the system can do. In-game music was also not the standard for the time.

 

So, not the game for me and you. Not rushed or half-assed either.

[bennybingo]

[jetset]

Is it a from scratch game or just a hack? If it's a hack, box or not, he's making a decent profit off someone elses' work. That's kind of shitty.

[bennybingo]

Is it a from scratch game or just a hack? If it's a hack, box or not, he's making a decent profit off someone elses' work. That's kind of shitty.

AFAIK:

 

• To the best of my knowledge, this game was originally coded from scratch, destined to become a Smurf Rescue homebrew for the Intv. (There was never an official release version of Smurf Rescue released for the Intv.)
• Just prior to its' release, a C&D was issued over the Smurf trademarks, halting the sale of the Smurf Rescue homebrew project.
• The game was re-worked with the Sydney Hunter sprites, theme and artwork. (all of which had been created by the same homebrew team)
• Rather than just issue a refund, folks were given the option to roll their pre-orders over to Sydney Hunter, knowing what transpired.
• The vast majority of folks pre-ordered, happily opted for the Sydney Hunter game.
• The End.

[AtariBrian]

I am glad homebrews are being made on all systems . I respect everyones own opinion on if they like a game or not . I do ask ... why are Intellivision homebrews from what I have seen 72 shipped ? What makes them cost so much ?

[8th lutz]

I am glad homebrews are being made on all systems . I respect everyones own opinion on if they like a game or not . I do ask ... why are Intellivision homebrews from what I have seen 72 shipped ? What makes them cost so much ?

You are dealing with games that are boxed with cartridges, overlays and and instructions. I am saying that because I've seen Atari 2600 and 7800 homebrew titles cost $20.00 more it they are boxed compared to if they games are not boxed. I am going by the Atariage store.

 

I am sure making a homebrew game boxed for the Intellivision raises cost of the title by $20.00 also like the Atari 2600 and the Atari 7800. I can't answer how much it costs to make overlays for homebrew intellivision games. though.

[8th lutz]

Sidney Hunter & The Shrines of Peril isn't rushed to me based it being a port of the Atari 2600 and Colecovision versions of the Smurf Rescue with some changes. I'm not buying it or spending over $70.00 on it though.

 

Smurf Rescue actually was planned back in the day as for the Intellivision and the author of the homebrew Intellivision version was forced to make some changes to the sprites and music.The Intellivision homebrew scene does release games that were planned titles for the Intellivision before the the system was discontinued or titles were canceled for one reason or another including the video game crash.

 

The game itself to me based on the youtube video is a victim of not aging well due to the genre it is in and that is not a sign of a rush job to me as a result. Should the game been ported to the Intellivision is the big issue since its not a classic like Boulderdash, or Choplifter as examples.

Edited August 2, 2014 by 8th lutz

[BassGuitari]

Fair enough. I thought the video spoke for itself, but I guess not. If you viewed the video you'd see it's a guy that runs through the same 4-5 screens over and over again with no change, just needing to occasionally jump over something and maybe avoid 1-2 flying things. It's unoriginal, not fun-looking at all, and offers little to no challenge. You mentioned that it does have a multicolored character, a soundtrack, and a box, but I sure hope your standards are higher than that!

It seems like your issue is really more with Smurf Rescue (which this game is essentially a port of) than with the homebrew itself. In which case, I agree. I find Smurf Rescue to be a pretty lame, uninteresting game. I don't know why someone would bother to port it to the Intellivision, and I certainly wouldn't pay any $72 for it.

 

Apart from being a port of a weak title (and by extension probably being weak itself), Sydney-whatever at least looks very well done from a technical standpoint.

[mipaol]

I loves me some Gamster81, but I hates me some overpriced retro games.

 

Lemme know when this is twenty bucks.

Edited August 2, 2014 by mipaol

[Greg2600]

Now see I watched that video, knew nothing of that game, yesterday, before reading this. I thought the game looked and sounded incredible for an Intellivision game. Incredible. But to me seems just way too slow and boring.

How is it overpriced? The game includes a professional label, manual, 2 overlays, and a box. Collectorvision work is top notch, and most of their games as well as CIB Atari Age games cost $50-$60. The shipping is higher because they're up in Canada, which is not really their fault!

[fiddlepaddle]

Just a little bit of a defense of this game...

 

Smurf Rescue on the Colecovision, when it was new, was pretty impressive. I enjoyed the scrolling landscape (though it wasn't smooth scrolling), varied difficulty (if you played different difficulty levels), and it was certainly a challenging and playable game (though the controls for jumping were not exactly intuitive), and it had a memorable little tune which changed with the room you were in). I don't play it much now, but still enjoy an occasional game, for old-times sake.

 

No, it's not SMB, but for crying out loud, have a little respect for the effort and ambitions and achievements of those who sweated to invent what became the predominant format for many years...

[boxpressed]

I'm not sure how much what I'm about to say is true, so I'm open to hearing more from publishers such as Elektronite, LTO, IntelligentVision, and, of course, CollectorVision. This applies mostly to Intellivision, but it may also apply to ColecoVision.

 

Tell me if I'm wrong: a publisher can produce a homebrew that has horrible gameplay and very low replay value for the Intellivision (not thinking of any title in particular--this is hypothetical), and as long as it has a nice box, manual, overlays, and--this is the important part--is limited to 200 or fewer copies, it will sell out at $60 a copy. It may even sell as many as 300 copies at that price.

 

The point I'm trying to make is that gameplay doesn't matter for CIB Intellivision homebrews to be viable (which isn't the same as fun or good, clearly). There is what I will call a collector's "floor" of 200 copies. The ceiling isn't that high (maybe 500 for a popular title), but I don't know at what figure the project becomes viable, so 200 may be okay if creators just want to fulfill a personal goal. I know already that Intelligentvision says that their games would be made if no one bought a copy and that Elektronite is a legit business that needs to turn a profit, so there's no need to go there with the discussion.

 

Thoughts?

[Atari_Bill]

Agree with boxpressed. Homebrews will sell regardless of quality to a certain percentage that have to have everything made at almost any price. That percentage has climbed in recent years it seems. Not saying that's good or bad, just my view on the homebrew market today.

[bennybingo]

I'm not sure how much what I'm about to say is true, so I'm open to hearing more from publishers such as Elektronite, LTO, IntelligentVision, and, of course, CollectorVision. This applies mostly to Intellivision, but it may also apply to ColecoVision.

 

Tell me if I'm wrong: a publisher can produce a homebrew that has horrible gameplay and very low replay value for the Intellivision (not thinking of any title in particular--this is hypothetical), and as long as it has a nice box, manual, overlays, and--this is the important part--is limited to 200 or fewer copies, it will sell out at $60 a copy. It may even sell as many as 300 copies at that price.

 

The point I'm trying to make is that gameplay doesn't matter for CIB Intellivision homebrews to be viable (which isn't the same as fun or good, clearly). There is what I will call a collector's "floor" of 200 copies. The ceiling isn't that high (maybe 500 for a popular title), but I don't know at what figure the project becomes viable, so 200 may be okay if creators just want to fulfill a personal goal. I know already that Intelligentvision says that their games would be made if no one bought a copy and that Elektronite is a legit business that needs to turn a profit, so there's no need to go there with the discussion.

 

Thoughts?

 

Agree with boxpressed. Homebrews will sell regardless of quality to a certain percentage that have to have everything made at almost any price. That percentage has climbed in recent years it seems. Not saying that's good or bad, just my view on the homebrew market today.

That said, if there weren't a collector's market, then there would be almost no new homebrews made at all, as there needs to be a viable market in order for folks to invest time and money into these projects. Some homebrews are better than others, but I think they have all been pretty darned good for the most part over the last few years. Personally, I can't even remember purchasing a homebrew game where I was bummed about it afterward. Not one.

 

I think it all comes down to good old fashioned game preference. There are some homebrews which I like better than others, but it is only due to my own personal likes vs. dislikes…not due to the game's overall caliber or any gameplay issues.

 

So, you can count me as a member who occupies the space between "the collectors floor & ceiling". I will continue to support the hobby and the programmers who go to great lengths in order to produce game releases like this one…and to those that don't agree with my sentiment, I say: you're welcome.

[accousticguitar]

I can buy two 7800 games for sixty bucks or three 2600 games for that same price, but only one Intellivision game. Hmmm, I do like Intellivision but I'm going to have to go with Atari on this one.

[Greg2600]

Agree with boxpressed. Homebrews will sell regardless of quality to a certain percentage that have to have everything made at almost any price. That percentage has climbed in recent years it seems. Not saying that's good or bad, just my view on the homebrew market today.

 

It's no secret that Atari, Coleco, and Intellivision have a small # of collectors who will buy every major/well produced homebrew release. I mean, the hoopla over the Charlie Brown 2600 prototype reproduction, a game that was NOT playable.

 

However, check the AA store. Ixion, a great game, is $60 for the 2600.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Greg2600

[AtariBrian]

Ixion also uses the Sega shells and the special packaging that Albert had made so the higher price for that is understandable . All Colecovision homebrews are ten dollars cheaper than the Intellivision brews and I was just curious why . All 2600 and 7800 brews even if boxed are 50 plus shipping . Also , I thought some of the Intellivision brews I have seen were shipped from the U.S. so why 12 shipping to the U.S. And since I said ( I thought ) I am not stating this to be accurate . But I was just trying to figure out the higher prices and nothing more . In no way am I complaining about prices or anyones product , just a curious thought . I am a huge fan of the homebrew community and I own LOTS of them .

[+frankodragon]

You could always wait for another game to come like, say, Shatneroids? If it ever comes out on cart.

[NIAD]

Maybe the original Smurf Rescue rom file could also be supplied to all those that purchase the game... secretly that is and secretly serialized to discourage people from spreading it around. Seems that the video should have been a bit longer to show the extra enemies that you need to avoid and additional screens that were not shown as you play further into the game.

Anyway, I'd like to see the O.P. put together a CIB release and come up with a better price point with shipping included.

BTW, I remember a lot of shitty CIB games selling for upwards of $50 back in the 80's and I can't even imagine what that $50 would come to when adjusted too today's dollar.

So to wrap-up, try some constructive criticism first instead of going on the attack as theloon brought up and if the game doesn't appeal to you or is too expensive for your tastes then simply don't buy it... maybe in a couple year the rom file will be shared freely by the publisher like they have done with numerous other games.

Edited August 3, 2014 by NIAD