Update and new (old) games

[Ian Price]

Just a quick heads up to say that I've updated my dice rolling app. Dicey. It now includes FUDGE dice -



Get it HERE - GP2X, WIZ and PC.


I recently entered the Pandora Angst coding comp with an updated remake of the old DOS game Rodent's Revenge, called Cat Trap. It includes updated sounds and graphics (although the original graphics are included too) -



Grab it HERE - GP2X, WIZ and PC.

This is still incomplete, due to a save high-scores bug discovered just before entry, but the game in unaffected.

[EDIT] Forgot to add this one -

Shadow Of The Beast in GLBasic. Very early.


This is an image from the original version.

 http://www.iprice.remakes.org/my_stuff/SOTB_GLB.rar

[Scott_AW]

I dig the art style of SOB, very nice pixel art.  You're own doing?

[Ian Price]

No, SOTB is an old Amiga game by Psygnosis. None of the media was created by me - only the code.

[Kitty Hello]

Wow, cool stuff.
I was a bg fan of SOTB back then. Mostly because of the music.

[erico]

so did I, I enjoyed the almost impossible difficult level, loading time though was pretty bad.

[Wampus]

Dice app was a good idea.

Cat trap game is cute. I freaked out, hiding and not moving, the first time I let a cat through!

SOTB is so far very true to the original Parallax layering of the outdoor scenes is still impressive now. Only one issue, which might be obsolete to bring up since its very early on in development: I seem to be getting a noticeable frame rate variation. I hope that's not

SOTB was my favourite game on the Amiga. Gameplay might have been restrictive but the music & images were so beautifully creative & strange. Very inspiring game. I swore that if 3D PC screens sell enough to be popular I will at least have a decent try to put into code a SOTB clone I first designed when I was fourteen.

[Scott_AW]

I've heard of Nintendo working on a 3d display version of their handheld.  From what I understand, 3d screens are great for portable devices since you tend to stare directly at them.

 I am refering to the glasses free screens if thats not what you ment.

You know what I'd like to see someone clone?  Out of this World.

[doimus]

Oh man... SOTB... I had it on C64 and it made me wish I had Amiga so much. :'(
Sadly I never got one.   :'(

But SOTB has some seriously HORRIBLE design issues which were taken for granted back in the day.... and then we say modern games rely too much on graphics.
@Ian - I compel you to implement better collision detection in the remake! 

You know what I'd like to see someone clone?  Out of this World.

By that you mean "Another World", right?
If that's it, then this will cheer you up!
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/another_world_15th_anniversary_edition

[bigsofty]

SOTB was a great game, really showed off the Amiga hardware. Another World unique IMHO, kinda graphical adventure/plat-former/sci-fi film that even the second one (Flashback?) did not match, lovely game.

[Scott_AW]

Nice, it was an awesome game.  It was OOTW instead of AO in the US. 

I really missed the amiga boat in my past experiences with gaming.

And its kind of sad the graphics are in essence killing games by making them more like movies.  At least anything thats not a novelty or puzzle game.  But then that leaves a niche for the indie crowd so no worries.  People still love retro-style.

[bigsofty]

Maybe looking through rose coloured specs here but I don't really feel the game-play or design innovation element has improved much since to 2D era.

[erico]

the challenge level (dificulty) had sure decreased, it's what first puts me down on new games...

[doimus]

the challenge level (dificulty) had sure decreased, it's what first puts me down on new games...

True. I've played some great games recently, like Assassin's Creed 2 for example. While it is probably the best game I've played in a long while, it is ridiculously easy. I had that skill-challenging moment exactly ONCE in the whole game! And it was stupid timer I had to run against, so that experience was actually more frustrating than challenging.

But there are still some old-skool hard games out there.
Last that I've played are Professor Hatsworth on the DS and New Super Mario Bros on the Wii.
Both can be frustrating at times, but in a good way - makes you play more and more until you're skilled enough.

But not many people like this type of games. Publishers don't like them too, as people tend to stick longer with them and then they don't buy new products.

[Ian Price]

With regard to difficulty levels, has no-one here played BioShock 2 then? Feck! The difficulty curve is (like the original game) pretty (to use a pun) shocking. You are slaughtered every few minutes until you start getting tooled up. And even then, it's not easy. Still a fun game, but seriously flawed. You can rush through the game, not collecting ADAM or rescuing/harvesting the girls, but then it would be pretty dull.

But yes, I agree most big games are very easy nowadays and way too short in the challenge dept. I suspect this is actually deliberate as the game is done and dusted, so that -

a) The developers can then make a sequel (if successful)
b) The developers can make a new game (if not successful)
c) Short games mean punters buy more of them, more often
d) All of the above=more money for Mr Publisher (and keep Mr Developer in a job)