Re: [stella] Programming Contest?

Subject: Re: [stella] Programming Contest?
From: "Erik J. Eid" <eeid@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 19:20:45 -0400
At 06:19 PM 10/25/01 -0700, Chad Schell wrote:
The contest would involve the creation of a 2600 game which uses the driving controllers. You see, my all time favorite 2600 game is Race / Indy 500. The Tag and especially hit the box games are just too much fun! However, these poor controllers were otherwise ignored and I'd like to see them get used. (I know, Bob Colbert's Stella Sketch used them, but that's not available anymore.)

*laugh* I've often thought the same of the keyboard controllers!


There is definitely potential for games to use the driving controllers, or perhaps driving in combination with a joystick. Discs of Tron, anyone? :)

So I thought I'd ask the collection of people who do the most 2600 programming. Is such a contest worth holding? Would anyone here be interested? Would it help if hacked versions of current games counted, like Race with more courses, or tag on ice, or Gyruss with driving controllers etc?

This is definitely a contest worth holding - if nothing else, you get games using driving controllers out of it. :) (Those of us without them will make a quick trip to eBay or a dealer.) As for me personally, I haven't finished my Euchre game yet (I have concentrated on a class and lots of personal business in the last two months), so I might be out of the running. However, I'd like to encourage other authors to get in on it.


Regarding including hacks in the mix, I'd be cautious about putting them side-by-side with original works, primarily because starting with a hack means a good portion of the work is done (although there is work in disassembling or in identifying sprites, level data, etc.), and the goal is different - enhancing an existing game rather than creating something new.

Then again, without hacks, we wouldn't have the arcade Ms. Pac-Man...

Maybe you could create a second contest with a different prize for the best hack...


. . \_ +\_ + o_-/ . O
. \-_o -=/- . .
. . \=// .
---------\_______ ||O ___.______
/* Erik Eid */ \____||L/\_____/
/* eeid@xxxxxxxxx */_______________________



- Archives (includes files) at http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/archives/ Unsub & more at http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/

Current Thread