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Zoo Keeper (2600, Champ Games)


johnnywc

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Outstanding!!! I'm so excited for this one.. The 1st ever, home version of Zookeeper! It's about time. :D

Thank you so much for taking this gem on.. It's a criminally underated game. It looks very, very close to the arcade original so far and it's only up from here. Absolutely incredible work! I'll be watching this thread like a hawk. ;)

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The only way to play Atari is on an old CRT TV! I have mine hooked up to a late 70s RCA.

The screen looks great! I always wanted a home version of Zoo-Keeper. There was one in a 7-11 near my house and I played it a lot. It was a great game, but as far as I know, it was never ported to a home system.

 

I've been hunting for a late 70's RCA because that's what I grew up with. :thumbsup:

 

Can't wait for Wow, Zoo Keeper and Avalanche! 2019 is shaping up to be the Year of the Champ! :-D

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Outstanding!!! I'm so excited for this one.. The 1st ever, home version of Zookeeper! It's about time. :D

Thank you so much for taking this gem on.. It's a criminally underated game. It looks very, very close to the arcade original so far and it's only up from here. Absolutely incredible work! I'll be watching this thread like a hawk. ;)

 

Thanks! I discovered Zoo Keeper back on MAME and it's one of my favorites; we're hoping to do it justice on the ol' 2600! :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 6 months later...
  • 2 months later...

WORLD PREMIERE OF ZOO KEEPER
FROM CHAMP GAMES THIS WEDNESDAY!!

 

Wed Dec 18, 2019 @ 11AM PST | 2PM EST | 7PM GMT!!!
TWITCH: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew/

 

ZeroPage Homebrew is honoured to be debuting the latest and greatest Atari 2600 homebrew from the good people at Champ Games this coming Wednesday! This 1982 Taito arcade game has NEVER been ported to ANY console or computer system before this! @johnnywc (John Champeau) has faithfully recreated all three stages from the original arcade game in this new 2600 WIP version of Zoo Keeper. Make sure you follow our Twitch channel so you're alerted as soon as we start broadcasting so you can be the first to see this new game in action!! See you on Wednesday!

 

Zoo Keeper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_Keeper_(1982_video_game)

 

EDIT: Link to YouTube archive

 

(SET VIDEO TO 1080P60 FOR FULL QUALITY)

 

 

2600-Zoo Keeper v2.png

Note: Cartridge graphic was created by ZPH and is not representative at all of the final artwork.

Edited by ZeroPage Homebrew
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On 12/14/2019 at 7:09 AM, H.E.R.O. said:

Can't believe it's been a year since Johnny announced Zoo Keeper. Also, unless my memory is wonky, Zoo Keeper had NO home conversions.

You're correct, there are have been no ports of Zoo Keeper to any console or computer system. There's only been one home release available for Zoo Keeper, it was an emulated inclusion on PS2 Taito Legends compilation in 2005.

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3 hours ago, Nathan Strum said:

Clearly, we need to do Plump Pop next.

our friends from the antipodes might appreciate The New Zealand Story, which was in the same compilation.

 

https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8859

 

 

Edited by D Train
because I do not know how to make an inline link. sad!
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Thank you so much to John Champeau (@johnnywc)  from Champ Games for the World Exclusive Premiere of Zoo Keeper on ZeroPage Homebrew yesterday. It's a truly incredible port of the arcade game with relentless fast paced action!!

 

Below is the archive of the episode on YouTube, skip to 37:26 in the video if you want to jump straight into the action!
 

(SET VIDEO TO 1080P60 FOR FULL QUALITY)

 

Edited by ZeroPage Homebrew
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On 12/17/2019 at 2:45 PM, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

You're correct, there are have been no ports of Zoo Keeper to any console or computer system. There's only been one home release available for Zoo Keeper, it was an emulated inclusion on PS2 Taito Legends compilation in 2005.

It's odd this happened, honestly. I'm very surprised Coleco didn't pick up the license considering some of the other titles (released or vaporware) that they picked up. A Colecovision port could have been a hell of a release.

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Hello all,

 

As promised, here are the demo ROMs for Zoo Keeper, both NTSC and PAL60.  We estimate the game to be about 90% complete.  This is a fully playable demo with the following restrictions:

  • There is no Savekey support (high scores are lost when the game is powered off)
  • the game will wrap around back to Round 1 once Round 6 has been completed.

How to play:

 

Zoo Keeper for the 2600 is a port of the 1982 arcade game from Taito.  In ZK, you control Zeke the Zoo Keeper.  There are 3 unique screens in ZK, each with their own objective:

 

Zoo Stage:

 

In this stage, use the joystick to move Zeke around the outside of the zoo, building up walls to keep in the animals.  When an animal escapes, they will chase you around the perimeter.  Press the button to jump over the animals.  Jumping over multiple animals earns big points (up to 30,000,000 if you can jump 16!!! ? ).  The object of this stage is to survive until the timer ends.  As the timer counts down, a bonus item will appear on the perimeter of the zoo.  Collect these bonus items for increasing points.  If you collect the net, the screen will turn blue and you will have a few seconds to capture the escaped animals and send them back into the middle.  When the timer ends, you are awarded bonus points for any animals that have not escaped.

 

Platform Stage:

 

In the platform stage, the object is to navigate Zeke to the top platform and rescue your girlfriend Zelda who has been captured by the monkey.  Use the joystick to move Zeke left and right on the current platform, and press the button to have him jump to the next platform for points (the higher the platform, the more points your get).  Along the way, collect bonus items as they appear for even more points!  Avoid the coconuts being thrown by the monkey; if one hits you Zeke will fall to his death!  Also keep an eye on the bottom platform; as it scrolls off to the right, if Zeke falls in the opening he will lose a life as well.

 

Bonus Stage:

 

In the bonus stage, use the joystick to move Zeke towards the escalators to reach Zelda.  Press the button to jump over the animals charging out of the cage.  If you can reach Zelda, you will earn an extra life.  Note that this level is a work-in-progress and currently doesn't accurately simulate the collision between Zeke and the cage.

 

Skill Levels:

 

There are 3 skill levels:  NOVICE, STANDARD and ADVANCED. 

 

STANDARD plays most like the arcade game.  You start with 4 lives.

 

NOVICE starts with more lives (5), plus each stage is a bit easier:  On the Zoo stage, the wall starts off with more bricks and less animals start the level.  On the Platform stage, there are less coconuts.  On the Bonus stage, you have less escalators to navigate and less animals to avoid.

 

ADVANCED starts with less lives (3), plus each stage is a bit harder:  On the Zoo stage, there are less bricks and more animals to start.  On the Platform stage, there are more coconuts to avoid.  On the Bonus stage, there are more escalators to navigate and more animals to avoid.

 

The game ends when all reserves have been lost.  You can then enter in your initials if you obtain a high score.  Note that Savekey support has not yet been added.

 

We are currently aiming for a full release sometime in the summer of 2020.  Nathan Strum has graciously volunteered to do the packaging for the game (and is also responsible for the amazing graphics and has helped immensely with game design - thanks Nathan! :) ).  I would also like to thank James and the crew over at Zero Page Homebrew for debuting Zoo Keeper on their Twitch stream and providing valuable feedback on play-ability, testing, etc.  In case you missed it, you can watch the entire video here.  

 

Any feedback is appreciated!

 

Thanks,

John

 

Note: these ROMs will run in the latest version of Stella or Stellarator.  

 

Brick pattern display:  Zoo Keeper uses a special technique to draw the vertical lines in the brick pattern on the first and third screens.  This feature requires that the game be played on a CRT with real hardware or that S-Video video effects are enabled (in Stella).

 

To enable S-Video video effects in Stella:

 

  1. Start the game in Stella.
  2. Press TAB to bring up the options menu.
  3. Click on the Video... button.
  4. Click on the TV Effects tab.
  5. Click on the TV Mode dropdown and select S-Video.

 

There may be other ways to make the brick pattern look better; feel free to experiment and share your findings here!

 

Happy Holidays to all from Champ Games! :D  

 

zookeeper_20191223_demo_PAL60.bin zookeeper_20191223_demo_NTSC.bin

Edited by johnnywc
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