Calling all amiga coders/gfxrs/etc... [crazy :P] Amiga Game Project!

[Amiga1992]

Hey EABers

I was playing a game today, on my Famicom, and it inspired me decide to start a project. I had the idea in my head for quite a while, but never started it since I never learned to code anything on the Amiga...

I still don't know how to program in Amiga ASM, and I don't want this to be done on C or something slow. I'll be doing most of the GFX bits (I could use help from someone in this area) and the music/sfx.

The target hardware for this game to run would be an unexpanded A1200. This is what I have in my mind but technical limitations might make this unfeasable and the specs would have to be increased, but I would like to stick to the stock EC020 setup, and probably adding some memory and an HD to the minimum requirements(probably a WHD-only game? this is an idea.). Of course it should also work on higher processors, that's why a WHD-only release comes to mind. I think nobody ever did a game specifically for WHDLoad, I could be wrong though, please correct me.

Of course as I said I can't do this alone, so I am in need of help. This is what I would need:

* Amiga programmer. I think ASM is a must to achieve the results I'd like. You have to be able to code some smooth, fast scrolling scenery (with some parallax). Speed is *key* to this game. I am open to suggestions though (Blitz or else)

* Pixel artist. Proficient with Deluxe Paint and any other tool you might want to use. To help me with the gfx bits.

* Chipmuso. To help with the music and stuff. Dunno which format should be used, I guess it depends on the coder's needs. I'd say Protracker or maybe AHX would do great.


Obviously, this project is for the love of the Amiga. I want to produce something for the Amiga, I want to thank this computer and the community around it for all that it gave me and taught me. There's no money involved in it, it will be free (we might accept donations though. send me all your old computers! :P), and it might cause some (c) problems :P Therefore, I'll be hosting game files in a server here in Argentina, since the I*DS*A and other shitheads cannot touch the files. I don't feel like saying yet what it is exactly so I don't create troubles in advance (aforementioned shit I*DS*A, creating false expectatives, etc.). As soon as the team is formed I will make a little website to tell you all about it.

Yes, I could be fucking crazy, but I'd really like this to be done. I have already started my work so we don't start from ground zero. And if this goes well I have other games in my mind that this new team could create.

That is all for now. If you are interested please PM me.

Mega thanks in advance!

[Enverex]

I have the time to help, but what I could help with, I am not entirely sure....... (did you know, everytime I post I add NS at the end then have to go back and edit my post..... EVERY SINGLE TIME )

[Amiga1992]

Originally posted by NightShade737
(did you know, everytime I post I add NS at the end then have to go back and edit my post..... EVERY SINGLE TIME )

Yer crazy. That's a good sign!

What area would you be able to help with?

Oh yes, I have but one day a week to dedicate to this. It might be a slow project but I would like tyo get it going nonetheless.

[Codetapper]

One game springs to mind when I read all that - copyright infringement, fast scrolling etc!

You want to make Sonic don't you?

[RCK]

(c) problem ?

how could it be if you produce all gfx, music, and code ?

[andreas]

like in music industry:

if you steal an idea (just remember that silly E-F-chord-combination discussion with Metallica! ["THESE CHORDS ARE OURS!"]), you might get into trouble.

Remember what happened to Great Giana Sisters - it was cancelled shortly after release, just because Nintendo claimed they had stolen the idea!

So this should be taken with a grain of salt. :hoo

[Dastardly]

@Akira
Ive had a little practise with Dpaint (I have a thread with my work if your interested) and Id be happy to help out in this area

I suggested this idea a while ago as an EAB game but it just seemed to go round in circles and then didnt go anywhere. I hope the same doesnt happen again.

[Amiga1992]

Originally posted by RCK
(c) problem ?

how could it be if you produce all gfx, music, and code ?

Err... Codetapper hit it right in the nail :P

I might expose myself in the line of fire here but I'll just say what I told to Codetapper, about what is the full idea. Sonic is an ideal game I'd love to see done, a game I am SURE is possible to make.

Have you seen the shit Amiga stuff like Bubble Heroes or something), that Puzzle Bobble clone? It makes me want to cry.

The idea here is to gather a group of talented Amiga people who will make unofficial ports of games that we were neglected or similar. Sonic, Puzzle Bobble, Kung Fu Master, whatever, there are shitloads of old, and not so old, feasible games that were not ported to the Amiga maybe because it was not profitable, or maybe because they just didnt know the machine (japanese developers spring to mind).

The idea is to make ports as close as possible, and not yet another, for example, Sonic-wannabe like Mr. Nutz or Kid Chaos. This will pose a definite (C) threat, recently on the NeoGeo Pocket dev community, a guy made a port of Manic Miner. It was exactly like the Speccy version! A brilliant game!! The bloody owners of the copyright (Jester Interactive methinks) told him to remove the game from his site. Fer fuck's sake, it was a game for a bloody dead console!

Same would apply here, that's why I wouldhave to host files in a place where copyright laws are mostly non-existant (ie argentina):P Just to avoid trouble and let the people get access to the files to spread.

I've seen Sonic on the neo Geo Pocket, and it';s brilliant, almost as good as its Genesis granddaddy. And today I was playing Somari on the Famicom, and that game is as close as Sonic on the NES as you can get, and it was almost better than the SMS port. If a bloody poopy NES can handle almost the same game, why not an Amiga? We were just neglected. Sonic got a PC release, but not an Amiga one because the market was just not there anymore.
Same could be said about shitloads of other games. Twinbee? Konami of japan never knew what an Amiga is, but you just have to go and watch Amibee to know how capable our little computer is. Amibee (get it from aminet, I am not sure how Konami didn;t try to pull a lawsuit on this guy, probably because he lives in Peru!@) is an excellent, almost perfect port of Twinbee. Galahad, your Atari ST game port is a good examplke of what I want to do!

While I wait for Mr. IDSA to come for my head, I await any comments that you guys might have. And if you can help I'd be a very happy boy.

[Amiga1992]

I forgot to add... the main idea here is to form a group and start doing things. Sonic is my idea but we could of start with some other idea, or an already "in the works" game.

Say, Nightshade (picked a name at random mate ) wants make a game like Gals Panic. He has the core, but he has no gfx except the nekkid girl he drew with his hands (very poorly, might I add ).
I could of come up to help, taking Gals Panic's gfx, and adapting that to the core made by NS. Probably he was not planning a straight port, so changes will have to be made, but the concept will be in there and it would be a good start.

I started redoing Sonic GFX like 7 years ago on my Amiga, but I lost most of that work. Today it makes no sense to rework them from scratch if you can rip them from a rom image.
I also have some tunes for the game, which I might post some time soon. recomposed, of course, and not sounding too bad. This is what I have, and I will save it until the project gets finished.

I also started making graphics for porting R-Type to the NeoGeo Pocket. I found a coder and all, but due to my disappearance I never knew from the guy again (he had an R-Type engine running already, which coupled with my gfx would have been pretty good). Except for the disappearance part, this is the kind of stuff I want to generate.

Ok I am digressing now, I need food bye bye!

[FromWithin]

What's the point exactly?

I can understand doing a handheld version of a game, but why do a new Amiga conversion when emulators can run the real thing?

[killergorilla]

Because it's an achievement. I'd join in if I had any skills that would lend to such a task, but alas, tis not to be.

[IFW]

Let me quote someone here - it might sound familiar:
"Nothing beats the real thing" (TM)

If that fails you can still try to write or port a decent mgd (genesis) emulator and play the next best thing to the real thing...
The worst that you can do is imitate. The Sonic Team spent many man-years making the gameplay right.

Any good Amiga programmer should be able to do a Sonic like engine within a few weeks, months at most. Getting the gameplay right would be a few years more

Another point is innovation.
Amiga was the synonym for innovation in its heyday.
With a project where there are no financial, deadline or management constraints you should be able to do the absolute best game that ever graced the Amiga scene. Instead you copycat an existing one.

Please do the miggy a favor and create your dream game instead - I am sure everyone has one, I know I do (just not the money to make it happen).

[gary]

Can anyone tell me where I can find some good examples of Amiga assembly code? (eg: code that shows how to use the blitter, scroll backgrounds, etc). I've found some small examples before but they were usually messy, undocumented and took quite a bit of fiddling before they would compile and run. I don't suppose anyone has compilable source code for a full game (doesn't need to be a complicated game)? I'd really like to help on a project like this but my 68000 assembler knowledge is next to zero so it is not very realistic for me to put up my hand.

There still seem to be people actively creating demos (and games?) on the C64, I wish that was happening for the classic Amigas.

[Mr Softy]

This is ace. I cannot participate, but I wish you luck!

[blackcornflake]

Originally posted by IFW
The Sonic Team spent many man-years making the gameplay right. Any good Amiga programmer should be able to do a Sonic like engine within a few weeks, months at most. Getting the gameplay right would be a few years more

Great point. Something us non-coder types can help with perhaps.

I'll playtest the thing until it begs for mercy.

[KombatSanta]

hum, this sounds like an interresting project. i would love to get my hands dirty with a tracker program again. Don't know about the amount of time I have... but give me a howler when it's time to compete for intro and in-game music.

[Dastardly]

Originally posted by IFW


Another point is innovation.
Amiga was the synonym for innovation in its heyday.
With a project where there are no financial, deadline or management constraints you should be able to do the absolute best game that ever graced the Amiga scene. Instead you copycat an existing one.

Please do the miggy a favor and create your dream game instead - I am sure everyone has one, I know I do (just not the money to make it happen).

I have to agree with this point. With all the gaming experts gathered here at EAB we all know what makes a good game and whats been done before so why not try to create something original?

With a brainstorming session Im sure we could all come up with some very original ideas.

[KombatSanta]

Originally posted by Dastardly
I have to agree with this point. With all the gaming experts gathered here at EAB we all know what makes a good game and whats been done before so why not try to create something original?

With a brainstorming session Im sure we could all come up with some very original ideas.

well, the irc channel on day X at time Y. Akira set up the meeting

[Marcuz]

Some months ago i had proposed to rebuild a Eye of beholder clone or to decompile and reshape the real thing... all that it remains of it is a (bad in the end: the palette was screwed) new monster , a skeleton warrior.
on the other hand i have the time to do handdraw graphics, scan them and color them but i'm no good in pixel-by-pixel art.
anyway i used DPaint back then to redraw comic's panels/shots

[Frootloop]

I sometimes enjoy seeing game remakes. Most of them are crap (especially on the PC with Klik 'N Play!) but there are always a few gems to be found. And perhaps if your team works on a remake it'll be easier than designing something from scratch, so you'll build up some skills as a team and then be able to better create something totally new in the future.

As for Sonic the Hedgehog, that would be awesome on the Amiga, it could do it no problem. Heck, there's a Sonic demo for the ZX Spectrum. Sega also seems to be very lenient regarding fan games since there are many Sonic games for the PC on the net and I've never heard of any trouble. The Sonic Fan Games HQ has been running for years. But you could always make a Sonic-like game with a different looking character.

You know what I'd love to see on the Amiga? I decent Double Dragon remake! The official version was terrible, it didn't do the Amiga justice at all. Double Dragon 2 was better, but the first one has a special place in my heart since I enjoyed playing the arcade version.