Code a game comp - 8-BIT WARS - Jan 25th to Mar 31st 2019

[Qube]

During the 1980's a war raged in every school playground. Locked in constant battle of who was superior and had the better games. To this day the argument simmers but never goes away.

Time to break the deadlock, reignite the flames and see who wins the 8-bit wars in 2019.

Chose your computer :

ZX Spectrum / Commodore 64 / Amstrad CPC / BBC

Theme & limits :

Create a game which matches closely the look and feel of your chosen 8-BIT computer. How technical you get is up to you but keep in mind that during voting one of the categories is "Authenticity". It's not a primary category but could be the decider between 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. You could make an HD Spectrum game if you want so long as it looks the part. The only real limit is the colour palette and primarily making a game that wouldn't look out of place on your chosen computer.

Brief graphical / audio outline of the computers ( for those wanting to match the tech specs ) :

ZX Spectrum :
 
Resolution : 256×192
Colours : 16 ( 8 bright and 8 half bright )
Audio : 1 channel / 10 octaves
Graphical limits : Maximum of 2 colours in an 8x8 block.

Colour palette ( must use ) :



** The ZX Spectrum 128 had better audio so if you are emulating the sound of the Spectrum then you do not have to stick with the original.


Commodore 64 :

Resolution : 320x200 / 160 / 200
Colours : 16
Audio : 3 channel / 8 octaves
Graphical limits : Although the C64 had a resolution of 320x200 most games were in fact 160 x 200 resolution

160 × 200 pixels with a maximum of four colours per 8 × 8 character block ( most common resolution for games )
320 × 200 pixels with a maximum of two colours per 8 × 8 character block ( rarely used for games )

Colour palette ( must use ) :




Amstrad CPC :

Resolution : 640×200 / 320x200 / 160×200
Colours : 27
Audio : 3 channel
Graphical limits : Had a palette of 27 colours but only a maximum of 16 could be used on screen.

160×200, 16 colours ( from a palette of 27 colours )
320×200, 4 colours ( from a palette of 27 colours )
640×200, 2 colours ( from a palette of 27 colours )

Colour palette ( must use ) :




BBC :

Resolution : 640×256 / 320x256 / 160×256 ( plus 480x500 teletext mode )
Colours : 8 colours ( +8 flashing colours )
Audio : 4 channel ( 1 white noise )
Graphical limits :

160×256, 8 colours
320×256, 4 colours
640×256, 2 colours

Colour palette ( must use ) :




Youtube links to how these machines looked and sounded :

ZX Spectrum
Commodore 64
Amstrad CPC
BBC


Prize fund : £750

Competition length : From Tuesday January 25th 2019 to Sunday March 31st 23:59:59 BST

Rules :

1.. No copyright media or modified pre-built game templates allowed.
2.. Game frameworks are allowed as are free / purchased media.
3.. Individuals and teams are allowed to enter.
4.. Provide a download with at least a Windows executable ( or link if a web browser game only ). Include other OS's too if you want.
5.. Choice of language is totally up to you. You do not have to provide the source code.
6.. One entry per person / team.
7.. Syntaxbomb has zero rights to any work posted here. You / your team hold total control.
8.. Prize to the winners payable via PayPal only.
9.. All entries must be in by 23:59:59 on the 31st of Mar 2019 ( GMT ). No extensions to the deadline will be granted.
10.. Games must be of a complete status and not merely a demo.
11.. No remakes allowed. Sequels are allowed but the game must be clearly original and not a copy with different levels.
12.. There will be a one week gap after the comp ends before voting starts to allow members to play the games and for developers to fix any bugs in their game and re-upload. Once voting commences then no further bug fixes can be submitted until after voting has been completed.

How to submit your game :

Game submissions must be made in this thread. You may link to your external webpage or showcase post about your game. If you have no means of hosting your game then please PM Qube and arrangements will be made.

When submitting your game please adhere to the following format ( if relevant ) :

Game Title
Download link and OS requirements
Required dependancies
Brief info about your game
Media information ( If using free / purchased media then please state where you obtained said media. )

How are the winners picked :

Voting will take place from the Monday the 8th of April 2019 for one week and a dedicated thread will be made and relevant voting information provided.

Voting :

Voting will take into account the below 3 categories.

1.. Playability - The main reason we kept playing those games over and over again.
2.. Completeness - No tech demo's or proof of concept. We're looking for full and complete games only.
3.. Authenticity - How close does it match how a real game on that computer would look, act and sound.

Note about category 3 : You do not need to go into crazy minute detail emulating your chosen 8-bit computer. You also do not need to use the resolution of your chosen computer. However, your game must clearly be recognisable as a game of that chosen computer.

Who will win the 8-BIT WARS?... Good luck

[Steve Elliott]

Cool.  I'm in.

[Qube]

Cool.  I'm in.

Me too - Think I'll be picking the ZX Spectrum even though I preferred the C64 but fancy a challenge to figure out if I can code a colour clash routine ( which is optional of course )

[Xerra]

Obviously I'm in too.

I have a sneaky feeling the competition is going to be really fucking competitive this time round.

GOOD !!

[blinkok]

Is the Amstrad CPC 2 colors plus the black background or just 2 colors. Sorry for my ignorance

[iWasAdam]

OK. I'm In.... 

I'm with Qube - Spectrum was my first (owned) computer... So I'm looking at £110 + £80 for the microdrive, 128k, no color clash and sound emulation.
Can I plug it into my monitor <methinks>?

@blinkok - black is a color

[Qube]

Is the Amstrad CPC 2 colors plus the black background or just 2 colors. Sorry for my ignorance

The hires *cough* mode on the CPC was 2 colours which includes black. As Adam says, black is a colour. So black / white or green / blue etc etc. I don’t think many, if any games used that mode though.

[TomToad]

Question.  Could I make an actual C64 game and run it in an emulator to meet the Windows requirement, or does it need to be a standalone Windows executable?

[Qube]

Question.  Could I make an actual C64 game and run it in an emulator to meet the Windows requirement, or does it need to be a standalone Windows executable?

Sure you could - just link to the emulator and provide instructions on how run the game.

[Xerra]

Question.  Could I make an actual C64 game and run it in an emulator to meet the Windows requirement, or does it need to be a standalone Windows executable?

Much kudos if you do that one. I did kind of consider that myself but I was never that good at 6510 assembly even as a teenager and would struggle to try and learn all that again now. No way I'd want to try and get a reasonable game speed doing it in basic.

[TomToad]

Been a while since I've programmed for the C64.  I will need to do a quick refresher. 

Actually found a wrapper that imbeds an emulator within an .exe.  Not sure how well it works, but might give it a try so no one would need to install an emulator themselves.
https://c64emulator.111mb.de/index.php?site=pp_make&lang=en&group=c64

[blinkok]

So if my resolution is 160x200 can i scale it up?
160x200 is just s spec on my monitor and probably unplayable on any monitor

[iWasAdam]

yup, scaling no problem. Use a bitmap or canvas at the res you need and scale it up

[TomToad]

You definitely want to do some scaling, or else your image will look squashed.  The 8 bit computers did not have square pixels like modern computers do.  A rectangle on a C64 in multicolor mode at 160x200 would have approximately  the same aspect ratio as a rectangle on a PC at 266x200.  I say approximately, as it could vary depending on the monitor/tv being used.

[Qube]

So if my resolution is 160x200 can i scale it up?
160x200 is just s spec on my monitor and probably unplayable on any monitor

I'd highly recommend scaling up. You also do not have to use the retro resolution if you don't want to