Games we want to see

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 2:30 am

I'm not sure if this topic fits best in Games or Programming, but as long as there are no programming details involved, I think Games is most suitable.

As posted in the other thread, I came up with a game concept for Froggipede:

One player controls Frogger, making his way over the road and river.
One player controls the Centipede cannon, shooting at cars and the newly introduced snake.
Both players have individual scores, but a common bonus every time Frogger reaches home. Both players also have common lives, making it a cooperative effort.

In this year's MiniGame 1K category, there was a puzzle game for the ZX Spectrum called SnakeMan, by Dr Beep. It doesn't look much to the world, but is a step time snake game where you guide the snake through a little maze full of Pac-Man dots. For every dot, the snake gets longer, but when you move onto empty fields, the tail follows. The key is of course to find a way around the maze without getting stuck. I hadn't seen this particular variation before, otherwise it is mostly Sokoban or Solitaire variants when it comes to puzzle games.

Now, I got an idea for another cross-genre game, SnakeTris for one player:

You play Tetris as usual, but with the difference that the computer runs a little snake inside the already installed blocks. At first, it is only one square and moves freely around. For every line you remove, the snake gets one square taller. However if you remove two or more lines, the snake shrinks. If you manage a Tetris (remove four lines at once), the snake is reborn at the size of one square.

One should always avoid removing a line where the snake is. You have 3-5 "snakelives" in case you accidentally chop the snake, at which it will be reborn as well. Eventually the snake will get stuck inside the Tetris blocks, so it will be unavoidable to sacrifice a snakelife. Whenever all lives are over, or you have hit the top as in usual Tetris, the game is over.

Do you believe in this game concept, any ideas upon improvement? It has been shown that Tetris can be implemented in 512-1024 bytes, so with a bit of tight code SnakeTris probably could as well. Maybe it is something for a future MiniGame compo?

How about you all, do you have any ideas or concepts that you want to post? Perhaps specific games available on other platforms that you'd like to see ported to the VIC-20, but even better with conceptual thinking.

Victragic · Post by **Victragic** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 3:39 am

I like the originality of both games, but would urge you not to set the arbitrary limitation on the memory size - for my mind, the unexpanded Vic is a natural size restriction if you want to go that way. I know there's minigame comps and everything, but I'd rather see the game come first for these ideas.. and I reckon you could do uncompromised version for unexpanded Vics..

Froggipede - sounds like fun - do you lose a life if the shooter accidentally shoots the frog?

-G

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 5:49 am

Well, I'd like to see this remake for the VIC: Telengard.

It should be doable, as this was an early C64 game with simple graphics and little animation.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:10 am

Glen: Yes indeed, you lose a life if Frogger is shot. Otherwise it wouldn't be very cooperative.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:17 am

Yesterday when I went to the toilet (?TOO MUCH INFORMATION ERROR) another totally unrelated game idea came to my mind. I don't want to speak about it too much before I have programmed a demo, but it will involve quite a bit of SIN and COS, and not resemble anything else at least I have seen in the way of computer games. If I come to the point of not implementing it, I'll disclose my thinking.

MacbthPSW · Post by **MacbthPSW** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:53 pm

carlsson wrote:Yesterday when I went to the toilet (?TOO MUCH INFORMATION ERROR) another totally unrelated game idea came to my mind.

That's okay, I find the toilet a great place for ideas, second only to walking. I'm serious!

gklinger · Post by **gklinger** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:00 pm

I'm all about thinking in the shower even if using all that water isn't the most environmentally friendly thing to do. I've even got a whiteboard in there so I can jot down ideas. Seriously.

pitcalco · Post by **pitcalco** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:30 am

carlsson wrote:Yesterday when I went to the toilet (?TOO MUCH INFORMATION ERROR) another totally unrelated game idea came to my mind. I don't want to speak about it too much before I have programmed a demo, but it will involve quite a bit of SIN and COS, and not resemble anything else at least I have seen in the way of computer games. If I come to the point of not implementing it, I'll disclose my thinking.

I would be extremely interested in that, you know me and my math infatuation!

Myself, I would like to see SimCity for the Vic (Vic-city, perhaps?) But perhaps that is far to ambitious for a VIC 20, even with memory expansion.

PaulQ · Post by **PaulQ** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:45 am

pitcalco wrote: Myself, I would like to see SimCity for the Vic (Vic-city, perhaps?) But perhaps that is far to ambitious for a VIC 20, even with memory expansion.

Apparently, Sim City for the Commodore 64 wasn't very good at all as it lacked many of the aspects that made it great on the PC and Amiga, according to the reviews I've read. My guess is that it wouldn't translate well on the Vic.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:46 am

Yes, Sim City for 8-bit platforms tends to be a little over ambitious, cluttered thing. But something similar to Sim City could be programmed, a game/program that borrows elements without being a perfect port.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:07 am

Yes, for one SIM CITY for the VIC could drop all the high-res graphics and only use PETSCII characters for the map. That would save a lot of memory right there. Also, it wouldn't need to scroll beyond the borders of the VIC's screen (i.e. the map would be 22 x 24 or whatever).

nbla000 · Post by **nbla000** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:12 am

My dream at the moment is a port of the C64 cart, Le-Mans.

Click here for a video.

gklinger · Post by **gklinger** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 4:59 pm

Semi OT: The source code to Micropolis (which you might know better as SimCity) has been released under the GPL. You can find out more here and here.

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:52 pm

Does anyone think Gyruss could be made for the VIC one day?

gklinger · Post by **gklinger** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:44 pm

eslapion wrote:Does anyone think Gyruss could be made for the VIC one day?

Yes.