Spider game (prototype name) is a platform game, you play as spider and must walk around and climb platforms to collect goodies, while dodge all cast of dangerous enemies such scoprions, bats and others.
You can climb on upper platform, fix on it and walk in upside-down view, this is the novelty.
Please keep in mind this game is a work in progress and will improve over time.
Finally, finished the kernal, I don’t need to care about how the atari will display the game graphics. It’s done
Here’s what the kernal support :
10 Independent enemies, 2 per floor. Independent position, speed, direction, sprite and color.
5 Flying dot (item to be collected) 1 per floor, with independent position, direction and speed. They are ball object, so I can’t draw one sprite for them and they share playfield color. This object is one Fly (insect)
Probably I’ll use Frog Pond’s fly like.
1 Floating sprite, the spider, with missile (web) support.
4 Platforms, assimetrical, with possibility to set holes at any desired position (PF1-PF2-PF3-PF4) for now, holes with 3 and 4 pf-pixels size are possible.
5 Columns, simetrical, one per floor. Using PF2 only.
As it is simetrical, changing PF2 the same information goes to PF3. For create a sort of maze.
About the rom information necessary for one level :
10 Bytes, one per enemy. Using left nibble to select the enemy, up to 15, plus blank (no enemy)
And right nibble to select NUMSIZ1 (sprite wide, 2 or 3 copies etc…) Not added yet.
8 Bytes for the platform, 2 bytes per row, one nibble for each PF, I can add up to 16 possible combinations for the holes, including blank PF and full (no hole). 9 combinations already used, Blank, Full, 4 positions of holes with 3 PF-pixels wide and 3 positions with 4 pixels wide.
They can be set at any position of the platform, one hole per PF, maximum of 4 holes per row.
I still have 7 free combinations for future expansion (such 2 holes per PF).
It’s added and working.
5 Bytes for columns. 1 byte/column per floor, I can directly draw the wall. Using 1 pixel for example, I have two columns/walls, as it’s simetrical. And I’m using PF2 only, it’s enought.
Added and working.
10+8+5 = 23.
I can create about 90 unique levels (type of enemies, holes and walls places) using only 2 kb of rom data
And about the game itself (I don’t start to code it yet. It’s a to do list)
15 possible enemies types (Scorpion, bat etc…), maximun of 10 per screen, I can choose any of them in order of appearance.
Each enemy had own movement pattern. Scorpions just walk foward, turn and walk again. It’s most basic.
They don’t know where the spider is, and they are slow. Good for the first enemy of the game.
Bats fly fast crossing the screen, such bats from pitfall 2, mountain king etc…
There will be enemies that know where the spider is and attack.
About Fly, I don’t know if shoud be good display all five or only one per time… Anyway it’s possible display all 5 at same time.
The spider can fix and walk on the upper platform, also reach new floor using the web and crossing the platform’s holes.
But the spider can’t tru the walls, and not climb on it.
The enemies such scorpions can’t too, so I have plans to create enemies able to trough the walls.
Hiting the fly you collect it and earn points. Touching enemies, you loose one life.
I Don’t know the rules to go for next level, maybe collecting % of Fly, or by time, and if you not collect one amount of fly, you loose one life. I don’t care about this for now.
Around 10 levels per stage, each stage with own enemies and tricks, my objetive is about 6 or 7 stages (~70 levels).
It’s the game I have on mind. Things can be changed, removed or added.
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