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I finally finished it... My newest game attempt, "Riding for the Brand."
With this game, I reached for some of the things that meant most to me... Loyalty, Justice, The West, music, the TI-99, Louis L'Amour, and Spaghetti Westerns. I spent way too much time on this game, tweaking and trying different things... It started off as a Forth game, but I couldn't get my head around some aspects of the language, so I decided to try assembly language. I spent 3 or 4 days plugging through Lottrup's book and my digital copy of the Ed/Asm manual and I made SOME progress... but, as usually happens with me, I attempted to do a mockup of the game in XB to give myself some direction, and that ended up being the final format.
Over the last couple days I've been trying to get it polished enough to release and I'm leaving a bunch of stuff out that I wanted to add... sadly. For one, I wanted to add a bunch of bitmap XB images using Convert9918 by Tursi... but I just don't have the time to integrate it like I want to. I'll probably make some additions and re-release, but I wanted to have it done in time to enter it to the Rainy Day contest. I came online last week and saw that the contest had been extended--- I was 50% done with this game already and had no intention of entering it in any contest at all... I just had it in my blood and had to write it. But... since the contest is rolling, I thought I'd throw it into the ring. I spent some time on the music and application of it--- using Matthew's soundplayer and really combing through the melodies and counter melodies. I feel like it's my best TI music to date... In case you can't beat the game (for some reason), you can hear the winning/nnnending score by running "DSK1.WINMUS". The theme music can be played by running "DSK1.RAINMUS". The "death" music isn't much to speak of... for that one, just play the game and get shot a few times... you'll probably end up hearing it plenty. =)
Dedicated to my son, Buck.
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So... to the fun stuff.
"Riding For the Brand"
Tucumcari, New Mexico, 1862......
You are Buck McShane, a loyal cowboy who 'rides for the brand'. (This is a term which describes a loyal employee... A man who rides for the brand is fiercely dedicated to his employer and expects the same in return. A man who rides for the brand pulls his own weight and is highly respected in the outfit.) Your foreman has been murdered and the majority of the cattle herd has been stolen. Bounties have been placed on the heads of the 9 outlaws, and yo+u aim to collect. You were injured in the gun battle between the outlaws and your foreman, so you are not as quick as you once were. Still... your loyalty and rage drives you to bring justice to these criminals. You have no experience as a gunfighter and you have only an old Navy pistol to use as a weapon. This pistol jams and misfires often, so you cannot be too careful when you come up against the outlaws who intend on killing you as well.
The 9 outlaws you will face are true hardened criminals... They are good with a gun and quick to dodge your bullets. You will be given bounty information on each outlaw before you face him... Be careful and wise and you will once again bring peace back to Tucumcari. Be careless. .. and you'll be coyote food.
Good luck, cowboy. Keep Riding for the Brand.....
Game info:
written August, 2011
by: Owen Brand (Oprysoft)
Extended BASIC Autoload
Sound Player by Matthew Hagerty
Original musical score by: Owen Brand
Controls:
Joystick and Keyboard... (Classic99 use "Q" for joystick "fire")
***GAME NOTES:
*DL the DSK1 file and drop it into your Classic99 folder. You can also transfer it to the real TI via serial or compactflash device. You will need the "RFTB" file, the "LOAD" file, and the "RMUSO" file for the game to function properly. There are additional files contained within the DSK1 folder, but none of them are necessary to transfer for game operation. (text files, XB music, etc.)
*Select your level of difficulty: When you start the game, you will be able to select your level of difficulty... The easiest level is "Pig Farmer"... the Intermediate level is "Cowpoke"... the Advanced level is "Gunslinger"... I have yet to beat the game on "Gunslinger," so anyone interested in trying... please DO let me know how you fare. =)
*You will find that learning to shoot your pistol can be a bit cumbersome... It misfires quite a bit at first... but as you knock off the first few outlaws, your ability to fire your weapon consistently and accurately will increase. You're not a gunfighter... so some of your bullets will go over the heads of the outlaws... but never fear... you will get better as you go... =)
*There are strategies that will get you some kills in this game... play it enough and you will learn what those are. However as you face the tougher opponents, the strategies that got you to that point might get you killed. Remember that each outlaw you face has increasing abilities and is quicker on the draw than the ones prior.
*Sometimes... if you're lucky... you can hit the outlaw's pitol with your bullet... it will jam the outlaw's gun until you hit him again.
*If you begin to hear the soundtrack slow down and drag after playing the game a few times in a row, simply turn off your TI or your emulator, turn it back on, and it will return to normal.
*Each outlaw (save one) has a name of "significance." Anyone who can give the origins of the names of each character you face AND tell me which one has no "significance" gets extra credit. =)
**It felt really good to get another game written. I miss the community very much... Mostly I miss the banter and shop talk... I miss the personalities. Everyone on here has much to offer and contribute and I hope this little game gives you all something to do during a rainy day.
Owen Brand
