ORIGINAL GAMES PLEASE

[EgoTrip]

As much as I appreciate the effort people put into making old games what they feel they should have been (Bubble Bobble, R-Type, etc), can't people just put the same amount of effort into producing new, original games? Or, at least remake a game for the CPC that doesn't exist on it.


There needs to be more adventure/platform type games on the CPC. I think shooters have been done to death.

[Bryce]

I fully agrre, can we please have:

Attack of The Mutant Camels
Worms
Banshee
Dropzone
Zybex

And, and, and....

Bryce.

[tastefulmrship]

Attack of The Mutant Camels
Worms
Banshee
Dropzone
Zybex

Remakes 4 da win!

How about some Amiga classics for the CPC+/GX4K machines? (Paradroid'90, CarVup, Blood Money, Horace Goes Skiing Turbo Remix Plus)

[Bryce]

Well Worms and Banshee are Ami titles

Bryce.

[tastefulmrship]

Well Worms and Banshee are Ami titles

Indeed they are, yes.
But as long as we're clear; WORMS (and/or DIRECTOR'S CUT) and not WORMS ARMAGEDDON. The sequel was just pants in comparison to the original.

[sigh]

Well...there are original ideas being done, but its whether people are interested in them to be worthwhile creating. Was it it okay for me to spend the past 6 months animating a full on footy game if people don't want it or I cant get an AI programmer on board? Or should I have put that effort elsewhere that may have garnered a better interest like Rodland, Double Dragon or the StreetFighter 2 mock up. Things which people are more familiar with?

I've already spent some time figuring out a music RPG game (which is in the programming section) and asked if any music programmers would be interested in such a project, because I dont want to make the same mistake again.

Also, there are people who may just want to create a remake of their favourite game, that may have not been given the love first time round. (Bubble Bobble/R-type)

[Bryce]

For me it's the "What would it have looked like / played like on the CPC". The list is of games I liked playing on other platforms, but weren't released on the CPC.

Bryce.

[TotO]

As much as I appreciate the effort people put into making old games what they feel they should have been (Bubble Bobble, R-Type, etc), can't people just put the same amount of effort into producing new, original games? Or, at least remake a game for the CPC that doesn't exist on it.

There needs to be more adventure/platform type games on the CPC. I think shooters have been done to death.

Producing new original games like Orion Prime take times, skill, flair and you are not granded to reach the quality goal, else all games of all times have been greats. 

Remakes are more "easy", because you chose first : a good game.    (good gfx, good music, good gameplay)
So, you are sure about the succes if you are not too bad, because you know where you go.
Usualy, it's a game that you love on another platform (arcade for exemple) and that you want to enjoy on your favorite system ; Here, the CPC.

In most cases, all games already exist on CPC and if not, it's because the computer is too much outdated to allow a port. (advanced 16 bit games)
It's why remakes sound like "fixing the past" on our computer.

I got ideas about a new adventure game, but after... I have to found peoples that enjoy the concept and are OK to work during more than a year on it... So, my next game will be a "remake" too.

And you ?

[mr_lou]

I've said this before, and also tried getting a few developers interested, but without so much luck.

I'd love to see an original game for the CPC in the same style as "Knytt" and "Within a deep forrest".
The part that should be "new" about it, should be the music each level has. It should be very atmospheric ambient tunes. There is thread about the idea here.

I'm still very hooked on seeing a game like that on the CPC, and would love to do several ambient atmospheric tracks for it. Other musicians, graphics artist and level-designers should participate too. (Go play the games by Nifflas for more inspiration).

Optimus showed interest at one point, but has been very busy ever since. I suppose the biggest problem in getting developers interested in this, is that it may seem like a kinda boring game. It is indeed a relaxing game in the same category as e.g. Spindizzy, but as EgoTrip says; shooters has been done to death...

[tastefulmrship]

As much as I appreciate the effort people put into making old games what they feel they should have been (Bubble Bobble, R-Type, etc), can't people just put the same amount of effort into producing new, original games? Or, at least remake a game for the CPC that doesn't exist on it.


There needs to be more adventure/platform type games on the CPC. I think shooters have been done to death.

Actually, if you look at the releases of 2012 alone (according to CPCPower), you'll see that only a few of them are shooties and remakes.

- Strategy
Strego (English translation)

- Adventure
Hampa 1930
Le Mur De Berlin Va Sauter

- Arcade
Pac-Man Arcade
BB4CPC (Version 4, August 2012)

- Shoot 'Em Up
R-Type
Super Edge Grinder

- Action/Fighting
Sardina Forever
Viaje Al Centro De La Tierra (Version Extendida)
Imaginario Colectivo

And, to be honest, I am aware of at least 2 more original platform games and another puzzler remake in production. So, I think there are a lot of non-shooties and non-remakes for CPC already planned/released. More are obviously welcome, but so are more shooties and more remakes! MORE GAMES! MORE DEMOS! MORE THINGS TO MAKE THE CPC FUCKING AWESOME! (puhleeze!)


EDIT: Looking back at 2011, CPCPower shows 2 shoot 'em ups, 1 adventure, 3 platformers and the amazing BB4CPC! 2010 had 2 arcade/action games, 2 puzzlers, 2 platformers and 1 shoot 'em up (Dead On Time).

[TFM]

Currently I'm doing Cyber Huhn (PC version here: Cyber-Huhn). The first Moorhuhn clone (IMHO). For GFX I got help from MacDeath. Now I need somebody with a SF2 and FutureOS for testing. ... (no sounds yet...).

[mr_lou]

If I ever get my sMIDP2lib created, I'm pretty sure I'll start a platformer game myself too.
Been wanting to make one for years, but know that I'll only be able to pull myself together if there's a chance I can target multiple platforms in one go.

(Any developer out there with SDCC experience feeling like helping out with the creation of sMIDP2lib, don't hesitate to contact me).

[Bryce]

EDIT: Looking back at 2011, CPCPower shows 2 shoot 'em ups, 1 adventure, 3 platformers and the amazing BB4CPC! 2010 had 2 arcade/action games, 2 puzzlers, 2 platformers and 1 shoot 'em up (Dead On Time).

What Category is Sub-Hunter counted under? That was the highlight of 2011 as far as I'm concerned. A great game.

Bryce.

[tastefulmrship]

What Category is Sub-Hunter counted under? That was the highlight of 2011 as far as I'm concerned. A great game.

Sub-Hunter is down as 1 of the 2 shoot 'em ups!
http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=6258

[00WReX]

Of course a great original game would be fantastic, but that would take an extreme amount of effort.

For me I love to see the great games "fixed up" that were originally released on other systems, and then quickly rushed to be ported to the CPC.

If these games can be brought back to the original games look & feel then that is fantastic (and I imagine still takes a lot of work).

For me that also keeps the nostalgia alive as it revives a great game that you loved as a kid but were probably disappointed in if you had seen it on another platform...R-Type being a classic example of this, and now look how good it is.

I also think that these remakes are showing some fans of other platforms how good & capable the CPC really is (and was).

I'm sure some of these crappy ports contributed to the perceptions of a fair few people back in the day thinking that the CPC just was not as good as it actually was, and in reality is just as capable if not more so than other 8-bit machines of the day.

Thanks to all that are putting a lot of effort into making these games look and play as good as they do.

Cheers,
Shane

[TMR]

i've started posting a variation on this when similar topics appear elsewhere... if anybody feels that their genre/game/idea of choice isn't represented/has been slighted/could do with more representation then there's always the option of picking up a decent cross assembler and a couple of teach yourself Z80 books. There's enough folks here with the skills to help if you get stuck, others who've got the graphics or musical skills to plug those gaps if you don't feel able to do them yourself and you're never going to have a shortage of playtesters or technical advice.

But you have to stick to doing what you want to do and remember that even the more "simple" job of porting a game from somewhere else really isn't as simple as it seems when you don't have the source code; you don't have to be stubborn but it does help. Oh, and start relatively small with something like a single screen action game and get it finished, if you dive into a vast, technically complex project with the idea that "i'll grow into it" there are good odds that you won't because you're trying to skip the practice required to get to that level of expertise.

The most common argument i hear is "i don't have time" but if you want it bad enough that time can in most cases be found and i've heard of C64 bunnies taking a month off work to learn 6502 and begin their first game in the past - you chaps wouldn't want the Amstrad to get left behind because you're not as committed would you? =-) Once that initial learning is done with, coding can be slipped into a couple of spare hours every few days so it's just a matter of finding those gaps and having a laptop ready, that's almost certainly how most of the people already coding are doing things.

[arnoldemu]

If I ever get my sMIDP2lib created, I'm pretty sure I'll start a platformer game myself too.
Been wanting to make one for years, but know that I'll only be able to pull myself together if there's a chance I can target multiple platforms in one go.

(Any developer out there with SDCC experience feeling like helping out with the creation of sMIDP2lib, don't hesitate to contact me).

I have some functions I can contribute. I don't know if they follow the syntax you want for smidp2lib.. perhaps I can modify them.
They are the same functions I am using to write a game with sdcc.

[sigh]

i've started posting a variation on this when similar topics appear elsewhere... if anybody feels that their genre/game/idea of choice isn't represented/has been slighted/could do with more representation then there's always the option of picking up a decent cross assembler and a couple of teach yourself Z80 books. There's enough folks here with the skills to help if you get stuck, others who've got the graphics or musical skills to plug those gaps if you don't feel able to do them yourself and you're never going to have a shortage of playtesters or technical advice.

But you have to stick to doing what you want to do and remember that even the more "simple" job of porting a game from somewhere else really isn't as simple as it seems when you don't have the source code; you don't have to be stubborn but it does help. Oh, and start relatively small with something like a single screen action game and get it finished, if you dive into a vast, technically complex project with the idea that "i'll grow into it" there are good odds that you won't because you're trying to skip the practice required to get to that level of expertise.

The most common argument i hear is "i don't have time" but if you want it bad enough that time can in most cases be found and i've heard of C64 bunnies taking a month off work to learn 6502 and begin their first game in the past - you chaps wouldn't want the Amstrad to get left behind because you're not as committed would you? =-) Once that initial learning is done with, coding can be slipped into a couple of spare hours every few days so it's just a matter of finding those gaps and having a laptop ready, that's almost certainly how most of the people already coding are doing things.

I've been working on the beat em up most lunch times at work and also the evenings. I usually try and work out at least 1 or 2 frames of animation, from the different body parts during that hour, as it does take a time optimizing the graphics to make them manageable. Working this way helps me keep the ball rolling.

It's amazing how much work you can get done this way:)

[Gryzor]

One thing is what we want, another is what we get. While I have my personal preferences, naturally (Canabalt! Please!), I'm really happy to get whatever the devs give us. More than that - grateful.


Frankly, even though I love shmups and therefore I fell in love with RType 128k, I marveled at Orion Prime and cooed with delight at Bubble Bobble.


Whatever comes out, it's always a really special moment for me when I load it onto my 6128 and watch it do its stuff. Never once have I thought "oh, I wish this was an original title" or "damn, if that talent had gone into a shmup!".


I do understand the logic behind the discussion - people prefer this or that - I think one must be a bit careful not to put pressure on anyone who might develop a title...

[TFM]

Well, spoken! (a lot of you gentlemen :-))
Especially that pressure thingy can get a major drawback soon. Some people forget that we still talk about a CPC (or a C64, Speccy whatever...), but they expect games/apps to be like on a PC! Yes such douchebags exist, and they really, really take away all your motivation - if you allow them to do / listen to them.
For example our all well beloved Kangaroo told me about my ROManager: *Forget the FutureOS version, *kick it in the trashbin, *Everybody could do better, *Better do nothing than the software you did.
http://forum.classic-computing.de/index.php?page=Thread&postID=38614#post38614
Well, this is the best way to motivate people - to leave a system!

Sorry for talking too much about myself, but it's a good example! Now, what I'm driving at is, that it is IMHO very, very important to IGNORE such kind of persons.
Focus on people who support you, or who use critics in a fair way. Yes, it's hard, but that's a need. Really! Please focus on positive aspects, that will save your project :-D

[mr_lou]

Well said Gryzor.

I agree with TFM/FS too, that there's too much "Eeew, don't make that. I won't watch/play it".

However, in my opinion there's a difference between replying a project-thread with such negative feedback, and posting a new thread requesting your preference.

[Gryzor]

Oh yes, I agree, it's totally valid and ok to air your preference; my point was based precisely on the fact that this happens mostly when a title is announced, as a response to it.

[TFM]

Well, I must admit once a while I'm telling someone that he shouldn't do this or that project, because it would be too much work. However I may be wrong in my judgement and should better leave it the persons choice.
On the other hand TMR is really soooo right, it's a good - a very good - thing to start with a smaller project. I still will consume much more time than expected 

[TMR]

Well, I must admit once a while I'm telling someone that he shouldn't do this or that project, because it would be too much work. However I may be wrong in my judgement and should better leave it the persons choice.

i think it matters how it's worded, but i've done the same in the past because i know, as you do, how long a big project can actually take and how demotivating it can be to get two thirds of the way through and find yourself still staring at a continuing uphill struggle. i've seen similar circumstances kill off a coder's motivation and in a few cases scare them away from programming entirely.

Motivation is a key point for anyone picking up programming as a hobby, it never seems a problem at first but that depends on the person; some can announce a game and use the occasional bump to that thread to spur them on, others will get a few months in and those prompts from other people may actually become... well, a little irritating even to the point they don't encourage at all. And for a few folks it's better to just keep quiet and write the thing in the background, borrow one or two people in private for testing and only announce when it's all but finished. i think every newly-minted coder has to experiment at the start to see which works for them.

[arnoldemu]

And for a few folks it's better to just keep quiet and write the thing in the background, borrow one or two people in private for testing and only announce when it's all but finished.

This is what I do.

It allows me to take my time and get the game polished.
Also there is no pressure to get it finished.

If I thought of a game idea and in practice it doesn't work I can throw it away.

Also, what I like to do is do a load of coding, use coder gfx and some other sounds to get the game working. Then I can get a real artist and musician in, do some iterations to make it a real game. then release it.

The reason then is the code is mostly working, the artist and musician do not get tired waiting for me to finish it.