RetroGaming Shorts Part 071 - Section Z

Section Z 1987 (Famicom/NES)

Section Z is an NES game nominally based on the arcade game, but Capcom dramatically redesigned the game for the home version. This video dives into the game design changes, and why the home version is much better and more interesting than the original arcade version.

Section Z mixes things up by having different scrolling speeds - some sections scroll so fast that you can do little more than dodge the terrain. Some sections scroll very slowly, turning them into endurance survival tests. Unfortunately none of the levels scroll at a rate of classic force scrolling games, like TRS-80 Sea Dragon, where you must judiciously use diagonal rearward movement and sprinting forward when you get the chance, to navigate the terrain. But, for a Section Z inspired game, you could add that into the design.

Another thing that makes Section Z particularly interesting is the way you choose the next section to go to. Unfortunately, it does not include any sort of "automap" feature, but if you design a Section Z inspired game, you can include this. Without automap, Section Z only becomes playable with manual mapping. Bleh.

I'm not sure, but I may use both ideas with Rivers of Impossibility. Forced scrolling with different speeds allows interesting different player challenges, while keeping the basic game engine and graphics assets the same. The non-linear choices of which section to go to next all for a feeling of exploration while automap should alleviate the frustration of uselessly going in circles. The basic idea is that you need to seal off all of the spawn points in a level, so a "single pass" scrolling paradigm won't do. The player must be able to circle around to redo any sections as needed to seal off remaining spawn points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPljIydOWOk

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RetroGaming Shorts Part 054 - Rootin Tootin

Rootin Tootin 1983 (Commodore 64)

This enchanting Pac Man type game has a lot of interesting features that make is more than just another Pac Man clone.

First off, the main mechanism is that you "shoot" a note when you "eat" it, which makes it difficult and interesting to attack enemies, as they usually chase you.

Second, when an enemy is shot, it instantly respawns from its pen. This makes getting at notes near the pens an interesting challenge.

I'm this principle of instant respawning for my Rivers of Impossibility game. It's sort of like Gauntlet, but each generator only spawns one creature at a time. You need to touch a spawn point to seal it, but a simple direct assault won't generally work well because the creature will simply respawn instantly no matter how many times you shoot it. So you have to think about how you will lead away the creature or get around it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIM8OtNf1yg

#retrogamingshorts #RetroGaming #C64 #Commodore #Commodore64
#RiversOfImpossibility

I'm going to start posting random development thoughts on my current project, "Rivers Of Impossibility", a sort of MC Escher inspired hybrid of Realm of Impossibility and Gauntlet.

First off, my isometric perspective inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OC6vJaeExk

This C64 BASIC program shows an interesting random isometric maze generator. Unlike true isometric, the dihedral angle is a steep 45 degrees (it should be 30 deg for true isometric). But there are a number of mathematical and geometric conveniences to this 45 degree isometric perspective.

#RiversOfImpossibility #GameDevelopment #c64 #retrogaming