MAGS 2008-07: Retrofest!

Eggie · Sat 05/07/2008 16:34:08

This is dumb, this is so dumb. I didn't even want to make a new thread for it, it's so dumb...

Here's my entry...The Shawshank Redemption
The classic 1983 adaptation of the film from 1994. Created for The Atari, I believe.
It has ghosts!
http://www.datafilehost.com/download-466b6466.html

Yeeeaaah... I'm sorry, everyone.

EDIT: Hmmn, also

QuoteYou are not allowed to (re)use material already created before this competition, you game must be completely new! An exception goes for sounds and music where you can also use free material that is available to the public.

Please do not just enter the competition with a rushed entry (a game created in just some hours or a few days)!

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Sat 05/07/2008 17:09:03

I'd rather people stayed as close as possible to the limitations of the system, that is why I made it so there were so many options available

. If you absolutely can't make music with square waves and such I guess you can use higher quality methods.

Mazoliin · Sat 05/07/2008 18:04:00

QuoteYou are not allowed to (re)use material already created before this competition, you game must be completely new! An exception goes for sounds and music where you can also use free material that is available to the public.

Does this count for plug-ins and modules to?
If so, then I'm screwd $:-\$

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Sat 05/07/2008 20:45:26

I think those have always been allowed.

Mazoliin · Sat 05/07/2008 21:54:44

*phew*

Then I can continue on my entery. Would be a shame if I didn't finish it, 'cause you can't beat that retro graphic

Zyargeikunn · Sat 05/07/2008 22:35:35

Making NES music is fun.

Nagania · Wed 09/07/2008 08:29:04

me being a snail, i don't think i'm going to get a game done this month. but i will try my hardest for next month! (if the theme takes my fancy)

anyway, I'm kind of busy with my current game in progress.... mwahaahaa!!!

derboo · Wed 09/07/2008 20:29:01

Does it have to imitate a real existing machine, or is it also OK to define some specs that would have been doable in the mid-80s?

And can we use software renditions of would-be hardware? Like we have blocky sprites but a beautiful hi-res background that always stays the same cause we say it would really be an overlay?

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Wed 09/07/2008 23:46:50

It needs to be an existing machine as the rules stipulate, of course. Not sure why people try to bend and warp rules so much

.

MAKE ME SOME GAMES!

derboo · Thu 10/07/2008 01:36:34

What about the second question? There where a lot of Machines that used overlays (Game&Watch, Vectrex, many 70s arcade games), though they weren't part of the software.
Or as another example something like "this is based on the original pong hardware, so it's supposed to have paddles as input device, but instead we use the mouse wheel"?

How serious should we take micromanagement such as memory constrains and the like? For Example, can a NES-Imitation get disqualified / regarded inferior if it displays more than 4 sprites without flickering?

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Thu 10/07/2008 03:17:57

Those overlays were typically static images and not actually displayed by the hardware but I don't think there's a problem with using them. Sticking with the proper resolution and colors of the system (audio faithfulness would be nice but isn't a necessity) is pretty much the only rule being enforced.

I don't think focusing on memory limitations would even be realistic when using a separate engine like AGS so it's not an issue. I'm not really going to answer any other questions about this because I think some of you are reading too much into this and wasting time you could be spending MAKING GAMES!

Akatosh · Fri 11/07/2008 17:50:42

Maybe it's time to hurry up indeed.

Rocco · Mon 14/07/2008 11:20:56

Great Rules this month, unfortunatly i discovered them to late

Rocco · Tue 15/07/2008 14:07:57

Quote from: Klaus on Tue 01/07/2008 08:23:23
Rules:

3. You must adhere to the limitations of the style you are emulating. For example, if you use AGI/C64 then everything must be drawn with a 2x1 pixel. Some systems have tough color restrictions per sprite as well, so pick an older system that most appeals to you and remember that this competition isn't about the most beautiful sprites or backgrounds but about gameplay and fun!

ok, if i can make an entry in time, it would be a C64 style game.
but i dont understand the above rule exactly, the only thing i know is that the c64 uses 320x200 with 16 colors.
what you mean by drawn with a 2x1 pixel?

scotch · Tue 15/07/2008 16:36:16

C64 has various graphic modes, but most games use pixels that are double wide, so the screen is 160x200 instead of 320x200, stretched horizontally. The reason is that you can only use 2 colours in each 8x8 area in full resolution mode, whereas you can use 4 in half resolution mode, which makes things a lot easier. Example, notice there is never a single dot of colour in the background, always two next to each other. You can mix and match high res sprites and double wide sprites if you like, but it looks a bit odd. AGI on PC also used this system to save memory.

You don't need to be completely strict, people rarely are in retro theme games, because it's a bit tedious making graphics for the actual system restrictions, but the stretched pixels are a simple signature of C64 graphics.

Rocco · Tue 15/07/2008 17:32:27

thx, that means i use 160x200 and when im finished i stretch the pic to 320x200, right?

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Tue 15/07/2008 17:46:46

The results will look much better if you draw natively for that resolution; ie, use a 2x1 brush for all your art. Otherwise you will most likely end up with images that look horizontally stretched. As far as color usage, there were so many modes for the later c128 model that you could virtually have as many on-screen colors as you want (up to the 16 maximum) as long as you broke the sprites up into parts. IFLI mode, for instance, allowed for up to 6 colors in each 8x1 cell. This is why I often ignore the sprite color limitation of the c64 because there were so many ways around it (barring the inherent memory limitations of the system, that is). You are free to limit the colors as much as you like, though.

Rocco · Tue 15/07/2008 18:03:17

but on this screen, ->

there are also 1x1 pixels, i guess.

Akatosh · Tue 15/07/2008 18:21:35

Quote from: scotch on Tue 15/07/2008 16:36:16
You don't need to be completely strict, people rarely are in retro theme games, because it's a bit tedious making graphics for the actual system restrictions

So mind if I ignore the Gameboy's limit of 40 sprites maximum at a time? It's being a real, genuine pain in the ass...

scotch · Tue 15/07/2008 18:47:38

Rocco: You are able to have at least 8 sprites on the screen, so smart people used the spare ones for detailing, that is what seems to be going on there (Last Ninja is a relatively graphically advanced game). Sprites can be set to single pixels or double wide pixels regardless of the background display mode.

I don't think anyone cares how many GB sprites you use, Akatosh.