1st game competition of 2021

[Dabz]

Just a suggestion, what about carnival games or arcade type ones (Like, say, coin pusher, grab machines, XO bandits etc etc)

I'm just thinking how I'll be next to the seaside next week and no arcades will be open so I wont be able to run about like a complete child! lol Cos I would of been in'em!!!

Dabz

[Xerra]

A fruit machine on a computer. Most completely pointless exercise ever, as it's virtual money you play with and win/lose. I still fancy having a crack at writing one, though.

[Dabz]

I made one, like absolutely ages ago, I'm talking eons mind... Its long gone now, though, I've just checked over on SoCoder to see where I linked it too, and apparently it was stored on the last syntaxbomb site that Qube had up (As an attachment), so maybe he has a backup from the old servers, be interesting if he did, lol, see how dire it was!

Little tip if you do make one, I used the reel setup from Amsofts Fruit Machine Simulator, the cassette cover has the reel layouts in so you can cheat when nudging, but the beauty is... All the odds were there when picking a fruit at random on each reel... So you had say XXX/1 at landing 3 bells in a row!

The thing is though, last time I looked at fruit machines on app stores, there wasnt a great deal amount of British pub style bandits, you know, with all the little games etc etc, you just had the usual, and I find, very boring casino style.

Anyway, aye... Just a suggestion!

Dabz

[Kris]

I vote for the theme to be Apocalyptic, maybe save the world from a virus? 

Apocalyptic sounds cool!

[therevills]

Funny you should mention a fruit machine Dabz... we added one as a mini game to our WIP game!

Not the nicest code to get it working mind, but it works 

[Qube]

it was stored on the last syntaxbomb site that Qube had up (As an attachment), so maybe he has a backup from the old servers, be interesting if he did, lol, see how dire it was!

A backup of the old SyntaxBomb, eek, that's donkey's years ago.. I *might* have it on an old hard drive or DVD. Will check

[Dabz]

Well, since the main competition thread is up... I see no reason why I cannot spoil this one with chitty chat!

Funny you should mention a fruit machine Dabz... we added one as a mini game to our WIP game!

Not the nicest code to get it working mind, but it works 

Looks at cutie though matey!

But yeah, like I said, a fruit machine, as an avid ex-player of them in pubs and clubs until the day I put change in one from a pint at Witton Gilbert WMC, and it never made a noise, only for a bloke to drop a quid in and on his second spin, landed four jackpot 7's on the reel like this 777S7, with another 7 directly above the strawberry, and having FIVE nudges, thus, winning £200... I stopped playing them as often, in a huff... I only needed 20p... Stupid things, so they get a three quid now or a fiver, and anything over what I put in originally, I keep, if I say drop £3 in and win £2, that'll go back in, and then I'm done... Hit lucky a couple of times, which proves you dont need to put a fortune in to win a decent wedge, you've just got to be there at the right time when it wants to give you something.

I digress, yeah, anyway, you've got to make them interesting, have features (mini-games), light up a word for a go on the board and all that... At least that is fun for a virtual bandit, yeah, you win no money over all, but it's all about exploring the machine, see what the games are, I've never understood the need to play a casino style one "for a laugh"... DONK DONK DONK... 5 LINES... 2x20p 1x50p 2x5p and then a message pops up "Congratulations, BIG WIN!!!", Irish lepricorn cartoon fella does a jig... You've won... £1... Gerrr in!!! :/

I actually made two of them, dont think the one on the old site was feature rich mind, but I made another which I was going to drop into Nags Heed Darts but decided not to include it and I had loads of stuff going on it in, stars on the reels to get on the board, as in 3 in view got you a basic start, 3 stars on a line got you a x2 start, lighting up NagsHeed with increments of money on the right hand side of the word got you a better start on the board depending on how far passed NagsHeed you got... All the usual gumf.

Dabz

[3DzForMe]

So.... The next compo is Virus, plenty of scope there for some intriguing ideas 

[Xerra]

When I was a teenager I liked the fruit machines a little too much for comfort. I have vivid memories of working in an office block after school emptying both bins and ash-trays on the sixth floor for around an hour each evening to get my £8.00 per week wages on Friday. After that it was down the chippy and the lot would go into the fruit machine. Even when winning, I really wasn't as I always told myself I'd be happy winning my original stake back after a few goes, and invariably rarely did. Even then I was always raising the bar again until I eventually lost the lot.

I'm lucky that I don't have too much of an addictive personality so, like I did with smoking after 20 years, I went cold-turkey and pretty much haven't played any much since.

When I was considering making a game design for some kind of fruit machine I had in mind that it should have a few more bells and whistles that the later machines had to keep it interesting. If you've ever played GTA online then the casino in that game has quite a few but they're very limited in that you don't have features like a hold button on the reels, no light-show games on the top of the machine, no gambling your wins, etc. The one thing they do have though is a button to choose the stake you're playing for each spin. I'd definitely put that in as one feature.

Hold and nudges also, no question. And I think some kind of wild-card symbol to fill up on some winning combinations. Probably none of this multiple win-lines as that's a bit confusing. When you play the ones they have on iPad you often find you're hardly aware of how you've won when some spins come up winner because of so many combinations.

Probably the most interesting ones are the machines that let you rack up a certain amount of stars (which sometimes hold over to the next spin) and can illuminate up to the secondary game, which might be something like a simplified monopoly type board on the top Half of the machine that you can spin to move round positions, with each square having a different positive or negative effect, as well as boosting the prize of any win you're getting from it.

[Steve Elliott]

Maybe do not limit to "ancient" games

*sigh* that old line - again.  Nobody here has the time to single-handedly produce say, a GTA 5 in 3 months.  So by necessity your game has to concentrate on gameplay.  That doesn't mean 'ancient' at all, it just means you have to be realistic (given the time limit).  There are no limitations regards number of colours or resolution (a good thing).  So hardly ancient.  People will produce what they like and produce games that are fun, and that is all that matters.  I'd take a simple game that is fun over a game that has better graphics and more in-depth gameplay (but is very dull) anytime.

[Derron]

What I meant is - that requiring "remaking" or "rethinking" games some never played  would be not the "best thing".

Not everyone here was growing up in the 70s or early 80s - yet more of us have played games in the 90s or early 00s ... (and even this will not include everyone).


And yes - the time limit is a constraint for many aspects of the game - and of course people _could_ help their imagination / creativity by looking at older games, it just should not be a "requirement". And ... the compo does NOT have this requirement - so no argument needed


bye
Ron

[Qube]

@Dabz

I've scoured through the original SyntaxBomb from 2007    and found this :



My backups even go back 13+ years

Attached is the game and media ( bb code )

[Dabz]

Lol...

Eeeeee eh, there's a flash from the past!

Doesnt play too bad actually for what it is, I do recall having some gamble/nudge features implemented in a version but they seem to be missing on this one, but aye... Blast from the past!

Thanks for that Qube, was good to roll back there for a bit*

Dabz

*Then the thought occurred... Why hasnt time got a hold button?

[Derron]

*Then the thought occurred... Why hasnt time got a hold button?

Maybe time is like your bladder ? :-)


bye
Ron

[Dabz]

Maybe time is like your bladder ? :-)

lol, I like that!

Dabz