New Atari 2600 Homebrew - Game Panic LCD

Started by TrekMD, June 24, 2014, 21:27:46 PM

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TrekMD

Expert level collector and contributor to the Cowlitz Gamers for Kids charity John Hancock has collaborated with RVG and AA member theloon on a new Atari 2600 game!
 
Game Panic LCD attempts to recreate the experience of handhelds such as Radio Shack Plane & Tank.  As such the controls and graphics are extremely simple.  Dash to the other side of the screen for points!  How long can you last?
 
An enhanced version will be offered by John with some proceeds going to the Children's Justice & Advocacy Center.
 
Please feel free to comment and add suggestions.  With your input the cartridge version will be even better!

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GAME PANIC LCD

John's game room has been overrun by spiders and water leaks!  To further complicate matters his garage door has gone on the fritz and will only open periodically.  Help him dash to the right-most exit with a handful of games while avoiding falling water and creepy critters!
 
SKILL SELECT

Setting either difficulty switch to pro will result in the game starting with more spiders and water.
 
JOYSTICK CONTROLLER ACTION

Use your joystick to maneuver your player within the lower half of the screen left and right. After game over press the fire button to return to the title screen.  Pressing reset during game play will return you to the title screen.  Reset is not available on the title screen, while losing a life or immediately after game over.

SCORING

100 points are awarded for each successful exit to the far right-hand side of the screen.

STARTING THE GAME
 
A title screen will appear displaying the current high score.  After a short duration a game play demonstration will appear.

When you are ready to play, press the fire button. The score will be displayed bottom center on the TV screen. Just above the score six joypad icons will be displayed, indicating that the player has six lives left.

The players will start behind the west facing garage door.  If you wait too long both west or east facing garage doors will force you out.  Water and spiders will begin to fall in increasingly larger volumes.  Avoid contact and proceed right until the exit is reached.

No traversal-able space is safe from falling objects!  Obstacles will increase over time until eventually becoming random (even changing mid flight!).  If contact is made between falling objects and the player a joypad is deducted.  When all six joypads have been spent the game is over.  Upon loss of all lives the current high score is displayed.

[align=center:343pizij][size=80]Posted with permission from theloon.[/size][/align:343pizij]

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


bogstandard

Thanks a bunch TrekMD :)

One of the ideas I was discussing for the cartridge version was to make it in Chromadepth.  With special glasses red appears in the foreground and blue is receded.  They used the same technique in Hover Force for the Intellivision.  Here is what Game Panic would look like in Chromadepth.  If you have any Crayola 3D glasses you can see the screenshot in 3D!  This screenshot was taken just now for RVG:

TrekMD

Oh, that's cool!  Thanks!  I'll have to get some of those red and blue 3D glasses and check out the image with them.

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


bogstandard

No dice on the red/blue glasses.  These are specially made for the Chromadepth effect.  Thankfully, Crayola popularized them with their 3D line

http://www.crayola.com/products/color-explosion-3d-product/

TrekMD

That's not what I had in mind.  I guess that's yet another method for 3D! 

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


bogstandard

Quote from: "TrekMD"That's not what I had in mind.  I guess that's yet another method for 3D!

The strange thing is some games unintentionally work GREAT with the Chromadepth effect.  If you ever want to get completely munted without drugs put on a pair of Chromadepth glasses and play Phoenix!

TrekMD

OK, I guess it is time to find me some of those 3D glasses and give that a try!  LOL

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


TL


TrekMD

I just looked at the image with the Chromadepth glasses.  Looks cool.  I wonder what it'll be like to play the game that way.

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


bogstandard

I've since tweaked the colors even more.  I've only got the Crayola 3D glasses made for kids..  It works but I can't say the glasses fit well :p  Thanks for trying it out TrekMD!


TrekMD

Nice stuff.  Yes, the glasses are for kids, so the fit is tight on me as well. 

Going to the final frontier, gaming...