RE: [stella] Role-Playing Game Development

Subject: RE: [stella] Role-Playing Game Development
From: Glenn Saunders <cybpunks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 09:23:40 -0700
When it comes to RPGs, no game packs more world into a smaller frame than
Adventure (if you want to call it an RPG, it's actually more of a realtime
simulation).  This is, of course, not the same perspective as Ultima, but
reflective playfield is pretty efficient!  (And the adventure engine has
the benefit of having constantly updated monster locations, something most
other RPGs don't have.  Most other RPGs have monsters that always stick to
their lair.)  However, due to RAM and CPU restraints, there are limits to
how big a world like this can get on a 2600.

But think tiling a limited number of prototypes, and especially think color
coding to get more room.  Haunted House, Superman, Raiders, the Swordquest
series, they all use these methods to some degree.  An RPG in a narrower
scale like this has a more immersive feel than a wide perspective overhead.

Other games employed poly counters therefore a long repeating series is
used to seed the aspects of the world.  River Raid and Pitfall use this
approach.  I don't know how Pitfall II does it.  Its design doesn't seem
that random.  The problem with this approach is that you have less
individual control over the world.  You are at the mercy of the series.

Dragonstomper is pretty close to what you want, which employes a single
large scrolling map.  Of course, Dragonstomper benefits from all the RAM it
can share with the program space.  If you move to 16K you won't get any
additional RAM unless you attempt to build a SuperChip cartridge, which I
hear isn't easy.




=========================================================
== Glenn Saunders  --3D Graphics / Videography / Web development--        ==
== krishna@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1698      ==
== Cyberpunks homepage      http://cyberpunks.atari.org	                 ==
=========================================================


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