16 replies to this topic

[Animan]

I've had a game idea for a while now, and I need a break from Atari 2600 programming.

Which of these 3, or any others, should I program my next game for? I don't know much about programming them, but I would be interested in learning how to, and I have a rough idea of their capabilities.

(I would put Odyssey2 on the list, but it won't be able to handle my game idea quite right.)

Edited by Animan, Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:13 PM.

[GroovyBee]

All 3 machines in your poll have a different CPU, video architecture and RAM constraints. Maybe if you gave more information about the number of colours, maximum sprites on screen, sprites per video scan line etc then the best target for the game could be selected.

[Animan]

It'll probably feature a maximum of 7 sprites on screen, maybe less. A nice, full-screen castle background and forest background. Color isn't a huge factor, but a wide palette will help.

The 2600 might be able to pull it off, but I want to try something different.

Edited by Animan, Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:39 PM.

[Random Terrain]

You could always do this instead and get rich making games for phones and Facebook:

http://www.scirra.com/construct2

[GroovyBee]

Animan, on Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:38 PM, said:

It'll probably feature a maximum of 7 sprites on screen, maybe less. A nice, full-screen castle background and forest background. Color isn't a huge factor, but a wide palette will help.

If you take the Lego brick approach and make your background screens so that they are made up from a limited selection of 8x8 tiles then I'd say Intellivision because it needs the most love at the moment. The Intellivision only has 64 programmable 8x8 "tiles" but with programmer tricks this can be extended (by reprogramming some on the fly during CBLANK).

[atari2600land]

Oh why wouldn't Odyssey² be able to handle it? IT needs the most love, seeing as how there aren't very many homebrew games for it.

[Animan]

Random Terrain, on Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:52 PM, said:

You could always do this instead and get rich making games for phones and Facebook:

http://www.scirra.com/construct2

How on Earth would I make money from that? App stores and Facebook are so cluttered with games it's nearly impossible to get popular.

atari2600land, on Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:59 PM, said:

Oh why wouldn't Odyssey² be able to handle it? IT needs the most love, seeing as how there aren't very many homebrew games for it.

Actually, it might pull if off, but it won't look nearly as pretty. Otherwise, I'd love to program the O2. One of my favorite classic systems .

Edited by Animan, Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:28 PM.

[Random Terrain]

Animan, on Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:24 PM, said:

How on Earth would I make money from that, let alone millions?

Make something that doesn't suck? If you create something that is fun and hasn't been done to death, your game could be the next big thing.

[Austin]

What? No Game.Com?! THAT'S IT, I'm outta here!!! *throws arms up and storms out*

[GroovyBee]

Austin, on Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:54 PM, said:

What? No Game.Com?! THAT'S IT, I'm outta here!!! *throws arms up and storms out*

Well... at least you didn't say the jag.

[Animan]

Random Terrain, on Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:31 PM, said:

Animan, on Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:24 PM, said:

How on Earth would I make money from that, let alone millions?

Make something that doesn't suck? If you create something that is fun and hasn't been done to death, your game could be the next big thing.

I find programming for older systems more enjoyable, also. I find odd amusement in trying to see how much I can do with so little resources.

Maybe when I do game programming for a living (while still doing them for my amusement), I'll make games for "modern" systems.

Edited by Animan, Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:35 PM.

[atari2600land]

If you do decide to program this for the Odyssey², join and post in this forum: http://www.videopac.nl/forum/index.php

[sack-c0s]

I'm not sure your description of spritecount and game type rules any of the above machines out to be honest. I think it boils down to:

*The 7800 is an Atari (important for some folks), has a flexible display, is still 6502-based but there's a learning curve for the graphics hardware
*The coleco is z80-based (so a bit of learning to do, and not too obscure), the sprites would only be 8x8 though, so it depends how big you want them, or how many on a line. You could trade up to the sega mastersystem afterwards though - it's fairly similar to code for.
*The intellivision is nice, but the CPU is a little obscure and I found it a bit odd - but nothing that couldn't be overcome. You just wouldn't get so much reuse out of what you've learned compared to the other two though.

There's pros and cons for all of them, but nothing that screams 'forget about this machine' or 'it has to be this one'.

On a personal note I would suggest colecovision though so you can repurpose the code for the mastersystem afterwards - that's an underrated console I've got a lot of time for

Edited by sack-c0s, Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:04 AM.

[Animan]

So, with much batari Basic experience, some assembly knowledge (see Monaco GP 2600), and little bit of C++ knowledge, how hard would it be to go from the 2600 to the 7800? How different is the MARIA from the TIA in terms of programming it?

[GroovyBee]

Animan, on Wed Feb 1, 2012 10:44 AM, said:

How different is the MARIA from the TIA in terms of programming it?

Completely different. Head over to the 7800 programming forum and check out some of the examples. There is also the 7800 programmers wiki here :-

http://sites.google..../atari7800wiki/

There is also technical material on Curt's Atari museum web site.

[theloon]

I'd consider making a game that uses the cc65 compiler. After you know cc65 you can use the various libraries to compile games for MANY different systems. I'm personally too much of a wuss for C but you could handle it Animan.

Edited by theloon, Wed Feb 15, 2012 4:00 PM.

[Moya Jackie]

I think it'd be cool to write your game for the 7800, then when you've finished you could port it to the Lynx!