C64 16KB Cartridge Game Development Competition - Status Update #3

Well, that came around quickly, didn't it? We are already well into the final month now, so let's see how those competition entries are shaping up! Again, instead of showing the status of all the games (several of which have now been finished and submitted) I'll only be highlighting those with recent changes or news. The previous status updates can be found here and here.

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Competition Entry #2: Phase Out
Developer: Ernst Neubeck & Simon Quernhorst
Status: In Progress

I recently received a build of Phase Out and I have to say that I'm really impressed. With outstanding music, beautiful graphics and well considered puzzles to solve, it's clear that a lot of work has gone into getting the most out of that 16KB limit. Ernst is now completing work on the password system for the 50(!) levels, and has assured me that this one will certainly make the deadline. With only three weeks to go, that news is reassuring.

Your goal in Phase Out is to clear each screen by swapping the position of the coloured gems 'match-three' style, although in this case it's 'match-two-or-more'. To make things a little more interesting, the black gems can't be cleared and must instead be used to block gems from cancelling each other out whilst you move them around. It's challenging stuff, and you'd better not run out of time or the C64 will reset!

Of course, I'm guessing that isn't actually a feature and that the game over sequence just isn't finalised yet. It did make me laugh though! :D

Super Bread Box: Releasing a Golden Era Inspired Indie Classic on Golden Era Gaming Hardware

[This article was originally written by J. Monkman for issue 60 of the Commodore 64 diskmag Vandalism News, and has been reposted here with the editors permission].

Ok, so the content of the announcement quoted above isn't entirely true. Sure, RGCD had a part to play in negotiating with Vlambeer to grant Super Bread Box an official release, but really the serious work in converting the game was done by Paul Koller and Mikkel Hastrup. Let's be clear on that.

However, minor discrepancies aside, the above tweet still represents an important event in the post-commercial afterlife of the Commodore. Here we have an incredibly popular, relevant and acclaimed independent games studio taking ownership of what is essentially a C64 scene release. Visit www.vlambeer.com and see for yourself, it's on their shop page and everything. This is a good thing.

I'm James Monkman, the editor and founder of RGCD, and in this article I'll share the story of how and why this happened.

RGCD at GameCity / Super Bread Box Release Date!

Well, those were a busy past couple of weeks! Huge thanks to everyone who purchased a copy of Bomberland (either as a cartridge or download) - I've almost shipped all of the current batch now, and Skull and Conrad have been really happy with the feedback from players. As a little gift back to you, check your email inbox this morning for a couple of secret passwords that add a LOT to the game. ;)

Between packing and posting Bomberland to destinations all over the world, you might have noticed that we've also launched the website for Super Bread Box and added 'coming soon' placeholders to our shop. We'll be releasing the game to the wild on the 22nd of October at the GameCity festival in Nottingham, giving away 50 Vlambeer 'white label' CD-R copies and Super Bread Box posters for free as well as running a high score competition during the two days we're in the Open Arcade. If you are in the area on Tuesday and Wednesday, we'll also be revealing Paul Koller's secret new project (and entry for the RGCD C64 Game Development Competition) and will have a variety of other WIP games and previous Commodore 64 releases available to play at our stand (including Bomberland, The Vice Squad, C64anabalt, Get Em DX, Rocket Smash, Assembloids and many more). We should be easy enough to find - just look out for the massive RGCD banner.

Ok, back to packing computers in boxes. Hope to see some of you there!

Bomberland Cartridge Available! (C64)

Bomberland, one of the most long-awaited Commodore 64 games in recent history has finally arrived and is available to buy now as either a cartridge or downloadable .CRT rom image from our shop!

We're super proud to have teamed up with Samar Productions on this one - developed by a two man team (primarily by designer, graphician and coder Michal 'Skull' Okowicki, with Owen 'Conrad' Crowley providing the audio and support), Bomberland is a hugely ambitious project for a debut game release. Exclusive to C64 cartridge (due to using the rom space as additional memory), the game supports up to five players in the classic multiplayer deathmatch mode as well as offering an epic 36-stage single player campaign over six different worlds, complete with boss fights.

Featuring gorgeous high resolution graphics that give the game a deceptively 16-bit feel, tons of different enemies, C128 enhancements, password saves, game-changing power-ups and multiple play modes, Bomberland supports both the CGA (Protovision) and HIT (by Excess and Hitmen) four-player adaptors and even includes full keyboard support, so you can play it solo on a stock C64/128 without any peripherals!

Bomberland (C64) (2013)

System Requirements

* A Commodore 64/128/GS (PAL/NTSC).
* A joystick/joypad (Protovision or Hitman adapter required for five players).
* A VDU preferably connected to a loud sound-system.
* A group of friend to play with (optional, yet strongly recommended).


Downloads

Download the preview version of Bomberland in .d64 disk format HERE!

The retail version of Bomberland is currently not available for free download. You can buy the game on cartridge or as a download from RGCD here.

C64 16KB Cartridge Game Development Competition - Status Update #2

Well, things are getting pretty heated on the competition front now, with some exciting new entry announcements and impressive progress made on several projects. Rather than repeat the list from the previous update (which you can check out here), to keep things concise this time round I'll focus only on the games for which I've received updates.

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Competition Entry #2: Phase Out
Developer: Ernst Neubeck & Simon Quernhorst
Status: In Progress

Ernst is still working hard on Phase Out, which now has some new in game visuals and over thirty levels designed by Simon Quernhorst. With Simon being somewhat of an expert at mini-game coding (with no less than five C64 games released to date, soon to be six), we're pretty excited about this puzzle game.

Developer Interview: Magnetic Realms

(Further to RGCD's recent review of Inescapable, Matt Fielding of Magnetic Realms kindly took the time to answer some of our burning questions).

As a way of introduction, please could you give a brief paragraph or two about your history in the videogames industry and how/why Magnetic Realms was founded?

My first job was at Future Console Design in Doncaster, UK, where we made the Xploder range of cheat cartridges for the PS1, N64 and later the PS2. We also did some Dreamcast and Gameboy stuff. After I moved back to Australia I worked for Firemint in Melbourne on a few Gameboy Advance and mobile games, and a bit later at Transmission Games where I worked on a couple of Xbox 360/PS3/PC games.

Magnetic Realms was born from my disillusionment with the games industry and the nature of modern (console) game development. Game programming had lost it's fun for me, and I wanted to try and get it back.

Inescapable (PC/Mac/Linux)

'Lovecraftian cosmic horror meets 1960-70's science fiction' sets the scene of Inescapable, the debut release from Tokyo-based one-man indie studio Magnetic Realms, a dark tale of routine spacefaring mission gone horribly wrong in the guise of an exploratory platformer.

An unexpected rendezvous with the ominous sounding Templeman Industries in orbit above a mining colony results in you and your fellow crewmates crash landing on alien world, and after making your way to the dig site it soon becomes clear that the miners have found something a little more interesting than the usual minerals and ore. Before long you'll be exploring cyclopean ruins deep beneath the planet's surface, fighting your way through an endless army of monstrosities and solving a variety of item-based puzzles.

Heroes of Loot (PC/Mac/Linux/OUYA/iOS/Android)

Heroes of Loot is the latest OUYA title from Orange Pixel, developers of the superb Gunslugs. Whereas the latter is their take on the run 'n' gun arcade genre, Heroes of Loot is described as a Rogue-like with extra helpings of Gauntlet.

Doppleganger (PC/Mac/Linux/XBLIG)

Doppleganger has recently been released on PC, five years after making its debut on Xbox Live Indie Games and six years after we first previewed the game back in RGCD issue #03. Originating from a simpler time before the current day indie-scene explosion, the game is essentially a mash-up of Jeff Minter's Iridis Alpha and the coin-op classic Defender - and as that would suggest, it's a ton of classic retro-style twitchy-shmup fun. Also, in contrast to the XBLIG release the pc version is completely free - which is always a good thing.

Asgard Met Vikings (Amiga)

Is there anyone out there doesn't like beer and Vikings? Commodore Amiga owners are in for a booze-fuelled Nordic treat because Paradise/a1k.org's Asgard Met Vikings features beer in abundance and some Vikings thrown in for good measure!

Gravity Beam (Amiga)

Gravity Beam tips its second hand hat at classics such as Thrust or Lunar Lander, and as the old adage goes, 'Good artists borrow and great artists steal'. There are more stolen bits in this game than your local Cash Converters store but unlike the aforementioned pawn-shop, Gravity Beam won't empty your wallet to enjoy its wares.

There are tons of clones out there, but very few are willing to try something new with the concept. Gravity Beam's gimmick is its namesake, you have a gravity beam which allows you to tow objects to their destinations. If only modern games were so honest with their titles, we'd all be waiting for the upcoming release of 'Murder n' Drive' or 'Army-Shooter: Quick Time Event Cut-scene Watcher'.

Mrs. Dad VS Körv (Ouya)

With just about every tech-savvy gamer on the internet voicing their opinions on the Ouya's shortcomings, it can be a struggle trying to convince yourself (let alone others) that it's a device worth having in your everyday gaming set up. However, here at RGCD we're sticking by the Ouya because despite the fact that the micro-console has the most self-destructive marketing team in the history of videogaming, it is actually a neat little piece of kit and home to many equally neat little indie games - with the über-stylish, Ouya exclusive Mrs. Dav VS Körv being a perfect example of exactly what the machine is best at.

Sector Strike (Ouya/Android/iOS)

Decent Ouya shoot 'em up releases have been a little thin on the ground lately, so I was pretty surprised when I turned mine on the other day and discovered Sector Strike sitting in the sandbox. With the official blurb boasting that the game 'combines the mechanics of old school shooters and the aesthetics of modern 3D games' it had to be worth checking out. And now, several hours later, I'm rather glad I did.

A little Google research on the developers (Clapfoot Inc.) offered more information on this hitherto unknown release - namely that the game was originally released for Android and iOS devices back in 2012. My heart sank a little; as a follower of the shmup scene, surely I would have heard of the game if it was any good?

Droidscape: Basilica (iOS)

Droidscape: Basilica is one of the most interesting games I've come across in a very long time, breaking ground with some truly unique ideas and gameplay twists. The folks at Kyttaro Games have dubbed Droidscape: Basilica as a 'sci-fi, stop motion animated action puzzler' and I couldn't have described it better myself.

Let's start with sci-fi. Droidscape takes place in a pretty dark-sounding universe in the year 4057(!), a time when humanity has been plunged into a second Dark Age. Apparently, one of the last remaining 'Chronomancers', who must be responsible for saving said humanity in some capacity, has been taken hostage on the Basilica space station. Of course, as is usually the case in these situations, only a lowly little droid named Bishop 7 can save him.

This adorable little bipedal android is controlled by none other than you, the player. He, in addition to all the characters in the game, was hand-created in clay and brought to life with stop-motion. I have a deeply rooted love of stop-motion animation, fueled by childhood evenings huddled around the measly tube TV watching Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger with my father. Thus, the graphic presentation of Droidscape charmed me immediately. Characters and enemy androids really pop on the screen with colour, personality, and life. All of this is accentuated by ace, satisfying sound effects and an atmospheric soundtrack - when played with headphones as the game recommends, you won't be disappointed.