New Atari 2600 Homebrew - Space Game

[TrekMD]

AA game member kdgarris has released a new 2600 game called Space Game (working title).  This is his first demo for his WIP mindless space shooter game.  Move your ship left and right and shoot aliens, while dodging their fire and smart bombs.  Collect good powerups, and avoid bad ones.  There are 9 levels in this demo - each adds a new alien.  Each of the aliens have different abilities, with the later levels having more challenging aliens.


Premise

In the distant future, humankind has formed colonies throughout the solar system and beyond. While building a settlement on an extra-solar planet, humans came into conflict with an alien race known as the Xin  The Xin claimed that the uninhabited planet belonged to them, and that humankind had no right to colonize it. This dispute swiftly erupted into a full-scale interstellar war, with the more aggressive and war hungry humans easily defeating the Xin.

Defeated and humiliated, the Xin swore vengeance upon the human race. Not as bellicose as humans, the Xin were master biologists and genetic engineers. They utilized their skills to create an aggressive race of vacuum-dwelling creatures, which they released into human colonies. These creatures, collectively known as the Kraal, which took various forms, quickly began destroying humanity's cosmic presence- destroying spacecrafts, space stations, satellites, and communication arrays.

You are the pilot of a spacecraft that patrols beyond the edge of human-controlled space. During one such daily patrol, you receive a frantic distress signal from Human Command Center requesting help to protect humanity from the merciless attack of the Kraal.  Before you can respond, all communications cease.  Your only link to civilization is gone.  You are now alone in deep space, with the fate of humanity squarely on your shoulders.

You must seek out the Kraal-infested  colonies, and save the humans by destroying the <race name>.  The task is daunting, as the Kraal attackers are unpredictable and cunning.  You must do everything in your power to save the human race!  Keep your aim true and defeat the Kraal! You are humanity’s last hope! 


Gameplay

Controls

Steer your ship by moving the joystick left and right, and press fire to shoot.

Warp: If you are stuck by a smart bomb, you can sometimes warp to the other side of the screen by holding the joystick down (Cost: 1,000 points).  On the AFP, hold down the select button instead).

Skip Wave: For this demo, the select button may be used to jump to the next wave (for testing purposes).

Left Difficulty A: Your ships is twice as wide, making it an easier target.  The doubled ship powerup is unavailable, and is replaced by a narrow ship powerup, which allows the ship to temporarily be normal size (see "Powerups" below).

Right Difficulty A: Enemies shoot faster than normal.

Pause Game: Switch the Color/BW switch to BW or hot the second controller's fire button to pause the game.  To unpause, hit the first controller's fire button after the Color/BW has been switched back to color.


Powerups

Sometimes powerups get dropped from the location of the smart bomb after a group of aliens has been defeated.  Some of these can be helpful, and some can be harmful.  Only one powerup can be active at any given time.  If a new one is obtained, it cancels out the previous one.  Powerups also get lost when you lose a life.

Doubled Ship: You gain a second ship, which mirrors the actions of your first ship.

Wide Ship: Your ship doubles in width, making it an easier target.

Fast Ship: Your ship moves and shoots faster than normal.

Slow Ship: Your ship moves and shoots slower than normal.

Wide Shot: Your shots are wider than normal, and sometimes multiple enemies can be destroyed in the explosion from these shots.

Bad Navigation: Your controls are reversed, making the ship go left when you steer right, and vice versa.

Power Down: This cancels out any active powerup on your ship.

Random: This can be any of the above powerups, but you will not know which one it is without getting it.


Scoring

Each Alien Killed: 50 points

Group of Aliens Killed: 50 extra points

Extra Lives: An extra life is gained at 20,000 points, and then on every 100,000 point mark after that (one at 100,000, one at 200,000, etc.)

Development Thread