RAM - Code a game competition 5 - May 4th to June 30th

[Xerra]

For this competition I decided to go with the retro/strategy category and do a card game themed around the computers of the 80's. Naturally the simplest idea is some kind of Top Trumps variant but I want to have a bit more to it than just playing like that so I decided to have several gameplay modes as roughly shown below. Some of this is still subject to change as it gets nearer the deadline and I start panicking.

Story mode (Tournament) - play through 8 matches with story chapter before each part. Losing game means story would restart. Player option to skip round on 3 losses so the story can be completed without frustrating people. The story is themed around the player (nickname entered on game start) playing through 8 rounds of a knockout tournament trying to win the ultimate prize - which I've not decided yet. Possibly ownership of the RAM game itself, which is hugely popular, and makes them filthy rich, or something. Naturally there will be the names of the players featured in the quarter finals onwards in the story including the obligatory Nemesis.

Good/Evil mode (Overlord) - Every RAM card also has a good and evil stat on it and you have 30 rounds to ditch all evil cards, or the highest stat ones, while trying to get the high good stat cards as much as possible. If player has higher good than AI has evil then player wins etc. Still got a few more ideas to tinker with on this mode.

Max points mode (Name tbc) - Each RAM card also has a points stat on it and player plays over 30 rounds. The strategy is to ditch good cards if they have poor points so the player can get poor cards if they have a better points total. Cards are actually swapped in this mode rather than just surrendered, so plenty of opportunity to stitch the AI player up.

Free play mode to purchase upgrades for super computer (Magnate) - endless playing round accumulating money per win.


Unlocks
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Player can edit the card stats which will be an unlocked feature on Free play mode completion by finishing the super computer.

Gallery mode available for viewing all the cards that will be an unlocked feature on story mode completion.


I'm mostly done on the design aspect and some of the card stats coding but there's nothing to really show yet so I'll update the post with screenshots when at least some of the cards are in place.

I'm hoping to use large images of our favourite computers randomly as backgrounds and small images on the cards themselves. Free images available via Wikipedia will help a lot with this. I'm currently working with 34 retro computers and stats that will need tweaking once I get to a point where I can actually test things. Each card will have four base stats which are Memory, Speed, Price and Retro Rating. Naturally the last stat is likely to be very subjective. Lucky I'm planning an edit stats unlock in the game.

I spent most of the bank holiday weekend designing the complete game while watching the snooker and researching old machines so hopefully I won't make the mistake of wanting to add stuff in very late which bolted badly into the main game and caused a lot more work last time. It's pretty ambitious to get all this done in 8 weeks, though, but I'm hopeful that I can do it.

Updates to follow over the course of  the competition...

[round157]

Hi,

You presented a very thorough explanation of the gameplay of your card game. Thanks. You have choosen a nice concept! This

entry should be fun to play. I expect that this game can offer a solid gaming experience to strategy game audience. If this

entry is also great visually, overall experiences of gamers will be enhanced.

[Xerra]

I'll be putting more information up here as it develops. At the moment a lot of the work has been to get decent retro computer images and tidy them up, as well as do a spreadsheet full of data that will be used by the card deck. You'd think this would just need four stats in a csv file for each card and that would be it but I've taken it a bit further than that now.

Another plus is the chap who did the Airwolf music in my last game has let me use two of his other tunes for RAM, which I was very happy about.

[Xerra]

Just over a quarter of the way towards the competition deadline now so I thought I'd get a little input on the retro computers I'll be putting onto the cards in RAM. I'm almost done with the editing on the larger pictures and have all the data for the 42 cards I currently have but I still have scope to add any more that could be interesting without slowing me down too much.

Originally RAM started with 30 of the cards but I've expanded it when digging around has made me realise I had a few that really should go in as well. A lot of you guys are probably younger than me and weren't hitting your teens as the home computer revolution began in the early 80's but, with so much interest in retro computers via emulation or even collection, I think it would be interesting to see if I'm possibly biased with just my choices so far.

Here's the 42 I'm currently using in no particular order:

TRS80, Apple II, Atari 400, Atari 800, Vic  20, C64, ZX80, ZX81, CPC464, TI99/4, Spectrum, Pet
BBC Micro, Electron, Adam, MSX, Macintosh, Jupiter Ace, Electonika BK, Atari ST, Amiga 1000, C128
C16, Plus 4, Archimedes, Atom, Atari 600XL, Lynx, Aquarius, Dragon 32, Oric, Newbrain, QL, Sord M5
Amiga 2000, Amiga 500, Amiga 3000, Amiga 4000, Amiga 1200, Atari 1200 XL, Oric Atmos, Dragon 64

All of these are in my data spreadsheet which the game eventually will load in as a CSV and have access to 9 bits of information for. Some of it is used in-game for the statistics for playing the card and others are just stuff like filename and some stuff to be used for alternative game modes. Each of the computers has a large image which will be used as some kind of marquee that I've half implemented now for the title screen, and a smaller image for the actual cards. Because i'm researching these computers to find old photo's that I need to edit to remove background stuff and resize, not to mention sometimes rotate or clean up, I'm having to make sure none of these are copyrighted or need crediting. So most of the actual work has been working on the data for each card rather than code, although I do have the base game framework in place now.

I've put a fair amount of time in already just to get this far but I can already see I've got to put more time in, even at this early-ish stage, if I want to get the game finished for the deadline.

So have I missed any computers that should be essential? Bear in mind that I've not considered using the standard desktop PC or Imac as they're not really retro, and there's so many different models of them now. I'm still debating the MSX as it was a cross-brand name for multiple companies to push their own models out, while adhering to compatibility with the other machines, so I may still pull that one out.

[iWasAdam]

Coleco ADAM
Enterprise 64 and 128
Tandy 1000
Sharp MZ series
Sinclair QL

I think this is a great idea for a game. can't wait to try it

[Xerra]

Coleco ADAM
Enterprise 64 and 128
Tandy 1000
Sharp MZ series
Sinclair QL

I think this is a great idea for a game. can't wait to try it

The QL and Adam are both already in the list. The Sharp is one I vaguely remember, now that you've mentioned it. Pretty sure I had a tinker with one of them in the local Debenhams back in the days when I skived off school to mess around in the computer department. I'm not so sure on the Enterprise machines so I'll check both of them. As for the Tandy I do have the TRS80 but can use another one if I need an extra card to make sure there's an even number.

[round157]

Hi, I think that people should know a lot about your game from the descriptions in all your posts...yes!

Oh...will we see some screenshots of your game soon? I remember that your last game is a GM game. Is this strategy game also developed in GM?

[Xerra]

Hi, I think that people should know a lot about your game from the descriptions in all your posts...yes!

Oh...will we see some screenshots of your game soon? I remember that your last game is a GM game. Is this strategy game also developed in GM?

I'd love to show some screenshots right now but at present most of the work is doing the large images of each computer so I can use them for a marquee and backgrounds in-game possibly. I then need to do the smaller images of each one which are going to be on the cards.

However, apart from the extra ideas Adam gave me earlier, which I'm currently working on, the rest of the large computers are now done so I hope to get at least some kind of front end thing using them so I can post a video so people can at least see that for now. That should be possible pretty soon now.

This is a Retro/Strategy game and is being done with GameMaker 2 - just like the last one.

[Qube]

Please sir, can you change and add the following :

Ti-99/4 should be Ti-99/4a - That computer holds a special place in my heart. Plus the feel of the keyboard is one of the best ever!

I know you mention Atari 800 but you have to add the Atari 800XL - I spent many very early mornings before school playing IK+ and Bruce Lee on the 800XL. It's a very underrated machine.

[Xerra]

Please sir, can you change and add the following :

Ti-99/4 should be Ti-99/4a - That computer holds a special place in my heart. Plus the feel of the keyboard is one of the best ever!

I know you mention Atari 800 but you have to add the Atari 800XL - I spent many very early mornings before school playing IK+ and Bruce Lee on the 800XL. It's a very underrated machine.

I'll add in the 800XL and consider dropping out the 1200XL - if I need to dump one of them to have an even number of cards. All the research into retro computers I've done has turned out some right interesting machines. I've got a piece of trivia about each machine I'm going to use on a scrolling display for the title screen but there's so much more that's interesting about these guys. Starting to think that maybe I should have a weblink too, so that people can have a look at the wiki page for that model, if they see something interesting. I'd never heard of a CompucolorII before yesterday. Had to put that glorious beast in too just for the whacky coloured keyboard.

And as for the TI99/4a - don't worry. It's a misprint on my part as I know the A was for the upgraded model as the original machine wasn't all that. This is one machine I will never forget from my childhood probably because of two things. One is that keyboard - which I remember being by far the best of any machine I used to tinker with in the computer shops of the time. And, secondly, Parsec. The hours i put into playing that before Debenhams had to physically evict me from the computer department. I already had my C64 by then else I'd probably have tried to talk mum into getting me the TI with that game instead.

[Steve Elliott]

Boy this is a blast from the past - good stuff.  Oric 1 was omitted I think...And far too many Amigas lol.  The 500 and 1200 were the key ones.

[Xerra]

Boy this is a blast from the past - good stuff.  Oric 1 was omitted I think...And far too many Amigas lol.  The 500 and 1200 were the key ones.

I have the Oric 1 and the Atmos in there. I remember both of them pretty well from the time. I was thinking I had too many Amiga's but the same could be said of Atari's. Not sure if I should remove two from each or something. It's always going to be a case of which ones.

[Xerra]

Here's a Compucolor so you guys can see what I mean. Wild looking thing, isn't it?

[Xerra]

Oh, and some computer porn just for Qube. I reckon it's his thing, you know :-)

[Steve Elliott]

Well you called it the Oric,  I guess that counts as the Oric 1 lol.

The TI I always thought was a good looking computer.

The 800 XL was like the Electon to the proper BBC Micro B. Hardly a proper 800 lol.