New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Discuss general Uzebox topics here: features, wish list. nice to have, etc.
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D3thAdd3r
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New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by D3thAdd3r »

Hey guys, 2018 is coming up and this little console is still *really* having a good run. There are interested developers longer than a lot of commercial consoles, and in some cases more overall games. I thought I was going to bust out a little game before the end of the year but that effort has failed, so instead I am just thinking out a different target with a bigger goal to hold interest better.

There are a number of games myself and probably others can agree would be awesome to have. Something like Castlevania is one of the most interesting possibilities for me, as well as other things like Zelda-like action RPGs(which nicksen already has a good place into and realistic to complete someday). There are a lot of video modes now, and something like Contra or a Raiden-like space shooter with Jubatian's new super sprite mode is starting to interest me.

I am at a total deadlock and have tried to start developing something, but I am not getting anywhere before I start thinking to develop something else. IMO the most neglected genre on Uzebox is RPG. I would really like to just start making some simplistic turn based thing and see where it goes(versus more elaborate ideas I have talked about, also turn based), but there is definitely a lot of content that needs to be generated on that; as well as quite complex code which at the surface might seem simple(even simple RPGs need scripting systems, etc to handle quest states, items..). The other idea that is very interesting to me is an overhead, very fast, very arcade physics, racing game similar to RC Pro Am, but with a few cues from other games like Micro Machines. This should be totally doable with existing modes, and an SPI Vram video mode would be even better. I like the racing game as I always mean to do more scrolling stuff instead of static screen. I like the RPG because there is nothing like a traditional JRPG on Uzebox, where in particular I think the Uzebox has big strengths towards this genre if done well; unlimited storage, expansion ram, *network connectivity in the future, and high color count. Some of my reasoning is towards things that would benefit from network development(a chicken and egg problem, being no existing network games and so no need for networking..).

I have really specific ideas for either one, but the racing idea seems significantly easier and potentially has a broader appeal. The RPG I feel could be pushed to have an enormous feeling to the world past what has currently been felt in other games(no long term quests or all that, not that technically some amazing stuff hasn't been done in several titles, just no RPG besides Roguze as of yet).

Anyway, what do other people think would be the most interesting developments to see in 2018? We have some real clever people around here, so I am excited to see what happens this year!
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nicksen782
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by nicksen782 »

I myself was hoping to pop out a quick game before the end of the year. Actually, I'm just dealing with some basics (collision detection vs tile backgrounds). But I have the math, resources, etc all figured out. It will likely (finally) be my first completed game.

Worry not! Zelda and Bubble Bobble aren't going away! They will each be completed in some fashion. I learned quite a bit about character slots (a concept that I probably didn't invent first) and how to manage lots of actors on the screen. Oh, and the entire Zelda world from SD is good. Bubble Bobble got me into SPIRAM and streaming music. I improved upon many of Zelda's ideas but ultimately the games were too big as they are. I will either have to change the character dimensions (an idea that I am currently experimenting with) or remove several bad guys. I did actually manage to have a few screens with animation in the form of ram tile data from SD. Lots of great concepts... just need to finish a game.

I have a new game WIP, it is a type of action platformer. I purposely tried to keep concepts more simple since I have a habit of going big (and then not finishing.) Actually, I had to manually draw the graphics since the game I'm basing mine on doesn't technically use tiles. That's the only clue you get!

With the streaming music and the ability to store many many screens on SD an RPG should be realistically possible. In my mind I am thinking FF1. Hardest part would be the scrolling. I would recommend that instead of a 1 to 1 port that you port the concepts and ideas over more than just try to replicate every screen. The battle mode shouldn't be too bad at least graphically. I would try but I want to finish a game first.

I love this stuff. 2018 will be a great Uzebox year. So many new ideas and possibilities!
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ry755
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by ry755 »

Happy (almost) new year everyone! It's not everyday you see a small open source project last so long! :D Since 2008, right?

All those game ideas sound great! For D3thAdd3r's racing game idea, something like this?

Image
https://github.com/Rodot/UFO-Race
This is a game for the original Gamebuino called UFO Race. Maybe you could get some ideas from that.
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D3thAdd3r
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by D3thAdd3r »

@ry755 UFO Race looks pretty fun. I even think there is some possibilities of directly *source porting* that one and a few others without too much trouble(ones not too C++-like), maybe. Yes, Uzebox is coming up on a decade...crazy. I think by 2028 I will get everything I want to do on Uzebox done :)

@nicksen782 Bubble Bobble will be very cool and Zelda in particular I would really like to see done. I have briefly considered something like Golden Axe Warrior(very similar to Zelda). It is actually a good game with some rough edges, maybe I would randomly start something along those lines but original, taking cues from both of them.
immortalx
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by immortalx »

I'd love to see some isometric games in the style of Batman, Head over heels, Quazatron, etc.
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nicksen782
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by nicksen782 »

I'll have to do some creative reduction on Zelda and Bubble Bobble. All ports are subject to this. I based mine off the NES versions. I may have to think about cutting tilemap width in half. You can still make Mario look good as a 1x3 sprite. And of course, as a bonus since the sprites are thinner, you could reduce the VRAM_TILES_H a bit and save some vram/ram.

It is okay to challenge yourself. I still learned from my incomplete (as of now) games.

@immortalx : You both have already gotten passed some technical hurdles so early on. I really look forward to what you guys bring to the table.

2017 has been pretty interesting. A console is only as good as it's developers. There are some great people here.
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L4rry
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by L4rry »

I'm toying with an idea for a beat'em up in the mould of double dragon. The pseudo-3d depth and perspective of the background will be doable with a standard tile mode. The biggest challenge will be to have reasonably sized sprites and animations. I'm hoping to have something out in the first half of the year. I'm also going to try and do a WIP release cycle where I'll knock out something fairly early and then share the progress and get some feedback. Up to now I've just dumped my games complete. I want to be more interactive with this one.
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D3thAdd3r
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by D3thAdd3r »

L4rry wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2018 6:47 am I'm toying with an idea for a beat'em up in the mould of double dragon.
I'd like to see that. If you end up going that route, I do hope you will document the development progress as that is always interesting to see.
CunningFellow
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by CunningFellow »

I am going to finish the RLE mode game.

Then I have a new video mode mapped out on paper that hopefully will make people just say wow.
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uze6666
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Re: New Games and Genres for 2018!?

Post by uze6666 »

I love the beat em up genre, always wanted to see something like double dragon or renegade. I tough also of pinball game like Pinball Fantasies ...not too hard to code I would guess. A driving game a la RC pro am would be super cool plus I still have a special sound engine I made a long time ago for a driving game for someone else. The engine revving sound made my modulating two channels was pretty good. :D Finally, I'd like to finally do SMB after all those years and a Castlevania game! I have undertaken way too much things in the last years and I will need to finish them one at a time. Ideally starting with my Uzeox portable!
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