Hmm, after playing games like Bust-A-Move...

I was just playing a game similar to Bust-A-Move recently on the SuSE Linux platform, called, "Frozen Bubbles." However, seeing how this is a simple game of matching balls in a row, or in a cluster to make them drop, and a slingshot to launch the balls up there, I'm sort of trying to bring a game like this to Blitz (after my Shaolin Gong game, of course (the Pong clone that I'm doing now)). Just keeping this idea fresh in my mind for a project to break ground on sometime before year's end. Does anyone have any ideas on how to do a Bust-A-Move clone under Blitz at all?

You gotta be kidding right? The algo may take you a little while to work out but it's dead simple really. Ask Michael R :)

Puzzle Bobble Puzzle Bobble PUZZLE BOBBLE! :)
Bust-A-Move has got to be the gayest and most unrelated import name change in existence. It's a dancing term for christ's sake. I really love the game 'Puzzle Bobble'! But hate Bust A Move. :)

PS Yeah making a puzzle bubble clone shouldn't be too difficult as it's simply a sphere sticking to an object. Once you have that, the rest should be easy :)

Does Pong take more than 5 minutes to code these days?

http://djes.free.fr/

This is a great clone I found back on Blitzcoder. It's got just about everything you'd want to include in a Bust-A-Move clone.

Download the zipped version which includes the full blitz source.

Not if you make it fancy, schmancy it won't. I sorta wanted to disassociate my game from Pong at all costs, it's on the same engine, but it uses fancier graphics, and it uses gongs and a shruiken, rather than paddles and a ball, and I gave it that Legend of Zelda/Gauntlet II-style look in the background, to add that extra flair.

EDIT: Oh, now back to that Bust-A-Move clone, I forgot. Seems like that a game like this would be almost like combining pinball and Tetris together, basically, or Hexic for that matter, am I correct?

Will you quit referring to some Pong engine? Sorry to pick on you, but this is really annoying to me. Way to dilute the word. You aren't licensing some packaged game technology, you're writing your own version of an old game.

Well, then you got R* Table Tennis which DOES use an engine (same one that GTA 4's gonna be on). Hmm, since I am doing this on Blitz 3D, maybe the 3D-ness will come with something that'll revolutionize something. Bubble Bobble in 3D mode, where you're in a ball cam, and then, well, you may know such games that have it where you chase the ball around, and watch it line up with others, well, using "Ball Cam" technology may rectify a new way of looking at Bubble Bobble AND Pong. Hmm, may even think of that.

@ RAM, sorry man but you are without a shadow of a doubt the king of nonsensical gibberish!!

Uhh, maybe some proof of my development may help you?

Seriously, every post from 8IronBob aka RAM Digital Media is just one post closer to the day when I expect him to say "HA! I FOOLED YOU ALL! YOU THOUGHT I WAS *SERIOUS*!! AS IF!! HAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!111". Unfortunately, each time it happens, it's one more post we have to look slightly away from as we read, as one might half look at footage of a pedestrian being hit by a car.

I am loathe to take potshots at those obviously less talented than others (myself very much included), but 8Ironbob's inane rhetoric has driven me to it:
- Your artwork is atrocious and would have Atari 2600 coders sniggering behind your back.
- It's PONG, FFS!

I love to see people try, and I love to see people try with their craptacular - but honest - programmer art. But for the love of God please keep the delusions of grandeur to yourself - or at least spread them out a bit.

Back on topic:

Check the generously posted source code. That will tell you exactly what sort of thing you need to do.

LMAO.

I have to agree with Linof7s. I am no artist but those graphics are truly dreadful. The light direction is inconsistently and the colours are extremely dull.

You really should stick to one game & finish it. Forget about the graphics for now and concentrate on the game engine. Great graphics help but they won't make a game

Stevie

Atari 2600? I was shooting for SNES, which I thought this was closer to. I believe that this was Miyamoto-inspired, and looks more like Gauntlet II or Zelda to me. Well, the original Gauntlet was made by Tengen/Atari, so you may have a point. Thought that this would've been a fancy version of the game that takes place in a Chinese Shaolin temple, with gongs and shruikens instead of paddles and a ball. Don't make me think of this as another failure. Guess that's how game design works in the Midwest instead of the Pacific coastline. I can see why Cleveland would never be a software design town. If only I were trained in Seattle, WA instead of Cleveland, OH. Grrr...

Well, then here's the code behind it:

; Main.bb - This is the main program segment featuring the game and keyboard functions
; (c)2006, RAM Digital Media, Robert A. Morin
; -----

; Set standard graphics resolution
Graphics 640,480

; Randomize the seed count generator
SeedRnd(MilliSecs())



; Game constants

; Keyboard Controls
Const UPKEY = 200
Const DOWNKEY = 208
Const PAUSEKEY = 25

; Object targets
Const PLAYERSPEED = 7
Const COMPUTERSPEED = 6

; Types and definitions

; Player type
Type player
	Field y,score
End Type

; Shruiken/starblade type
Type ball
	Field x,y,xv,yv
End Type

; Media files

; Audio
Global backmusic = LoadSound ("back.mid")
Global pingsound = LoadSound ("ping.wav")
Global gongsound = LoadSound ("gong.wav")
Global pausesound = LoadSound ("pause.wav")
Global pointsound = LoadSound ("point.wav")
Global gosound = LoadSound ("go.wav")
Global threesound = LoadSound ("three.wav")
Global twosound = LoadSound ("two.wav")
Global onesound = LoadSound ("one.wav")
Global gameoversound = LoadSound ("gameover.wav")

; Graphics
Global backimage = LoadImage ("ground.png")
Global playerimage = LoadImage ("gong1.png")
Global computerimage = LoadImage ("gong2.png")
Global starimage = LoadAnimImage ("star.png",32,32,0,2)
Global pauseimage = LoadImage ("pause.png")
Global threeimage = LoadImage ("three.png")
Global twoimage = LoadImage ("two.png")
Global oneimage = LoadImage ("one.png")
Global goimage = LoadImage ("go.png")
Global gameoverimage = LoadImage ("gameover.png")

; Type Initialization definitions
Global ball.ball = New ball
Global player1.player = New player
Global player2.player = New player

; Pregame initialization
DrawImage threeimage,0,0
PlaySound threesound
Delay(1000)
Cls

DrawImage twoimage,0,0
PlaySound twosound
Delay(1000)
Cls

DrawImage oneimage,0,0
PlaySound onesound
Delay(1000)
Cls

DrawImage goimage,0,0
PlaySound gosound
Delay(200)

; Default settings for buffer and central image handle
SetBuffer BackBuffer()
AutoMidHandle True

; Level initialization function
InitializeLevel()


; Initial score defaults
player1\score = 0
player2\score = 0

; Track rotation of shruiken
rotationcount = 0



; Main program loop
While Not KeyDown (1)

	Cls		; Clear screen
	
	; Draw background image
	DrawImage (backimage,0,0)
	
	; Draw shruiken starblade
	DrawImage (starimage,ball\x,ball\y,rotationcount Mod 2)
	
	; Rotation count track
	rotationcount = rotationcount + 1
	
	; Draw player gong
	DrawImage (playerimage,32,player1\y)
	
	; Draw computer gong
	DrawImage (computerimage,576,player2\y)
	
	; Keyboard test function
	TestKeyboard()
	
	; CPU AI function
	TestAI()
	
	; Score display function
	DrawScore()
	
	; Game Over function after 10 points has been reached 
	GameOver()
	
	Flip
	Delay 20
	
Wend
End

; Initialization of level function
Function InitializeLevel()

	; Centerize the shruiken in the middle of the screen
	ball\x = 320
	ball\y = 240

	; Randomize the direction the shruiken takes
	ball\xv = Rand(2,6)
	ball\yv = Rand(-8,8)

	; Place the gongs in the middle of their respective wood rails
	player2\y = 240
	player1\y = 240

End Function

; Once player reaches 10 points, end the game
Function GameOver()

	; Once player or CPU hits a score of 10, hit the Game Over screen
	If player1\score = 10
		Cls
		DrawImage gameoverimage,0,0
		PlaySound gameoversound
		Delay 3000
		End
		
	ElseIf player2\score = 10
		Cls
		DrawImage gameoverimage,0,0
		PlaySound gameoversound
		Delay 3000
		End
	EndIf
	
End Function

; Display the scores above the player location on the top of the screen
Function DrawScore()
	; Player score above player on top left
	Text 0,0,"PLAYER:\>  " + player1\score
	; Computer score above computer on top right
	Text 512,0, "COMPUTER:\>  " + player2\score
	; Display POINTS SCORED in top center
	Text 300,0, "POINTS SCORED"
	; Display game and company identification on bottom of screen
	Text 0,464, "SHAOLIN GONG - Version 1.0 Beta"
	Text 420,464, "(c)2006, RAM Digital Media, Robert A. Morin"
End Function

; Keyboard functions
Function TestKeyboard()

	; Move player gong up with Up Key
	If KeyDown (UPKEY)
		player1\y = player1\y - PLAYERSPEED
	EndIf
	
	; Move player gong down with Down Key
	If KeyDown (DOWNKEY)
		player1\y = player1\y + PLAYERSPEED
	EndIf
	
	; Restrain player from going too far beyond stone wall barrier
	If player1\y <= 32
		player1\y = 240
	ElseIf player1\y >= 448
		player1\y = 240
	EndIf
	
	; Pause game with P Key
	If KeyHit (PAUSEKEY)
		Cls		; Clear Screen
		
		; Display pause image, and play pause sound
		DrawImage pauseimage,0,0
		PlaySound pausesound
		
		Flip
		
		; Standby for player to press P again
		While Not KeyHit (PAUSEKEY)
		Wend
		
	EndIf
End Function

; CPU AI Functions
Function TestAI()

	; Move CPU paddle up when ball rises
	If ball\y > player2\y
		player2\y = player2\y + COMPUTERSPEED
	; Move CPU paddle down when ball lowers
	ElseIf ball\y < player2\y
		player2\y = player2\y - COMPUTERSPEED
	EndIf
	
	; Restrain CPU from going beyond stone wall barriers
	If player2\y <= 32
		player2\y = 240
	ElseIf player2\y >= 448
		player2\y = 240
	EndIf
	; Ball hits player gong, reflect, and sound gong
	If ImagesOverlap (starimage,ball\x,ball\y,playerimage,32,player1\y)
		ball\xv = -ball\xv + Rand(-4,4)
		ball\yv = ball\yv + Rand(-4,4)
		PlaySound gongsound
	; Ball hits computer gong, reflect, and sound gong
	ElseIf ImagesOverlap (starimage,ball\x,ball\y,computerimage,576,player2\y)
		ball\xv = -ball\xv + Rand(-4,4)
		ball\yv = ball\yv + Rand(-4,4)
		PlaySound gongsound
	; Ball hits north wall, ping the shot, and reflect it down
	ElseIf ball\y <= 64
		ball\yv = -ball\yv + Rand(-1,1)
		ball\xv = ball\xv + Rand(-1,1)
		PlaySound pingsound
		
	; The following restrains the shruiken from doing something goofy off screen
	ElseIf ball\y <= 32
		ball\x = 320
		ball\y = 240
	ElseIf ball\y >= 432
		ball\x = 320
		ball\y = 240
	ElseIf ball\x <= -16
		ball\x = 320
		ball\y = 240
	ElseIf ball\x >= 656
		ball\x = 320
		ball\y = 240
	
	; Ball hits south wall, ping the shot, and reflect it up
	ElseIf ball\y >= 408
		ball\yv = -ball\yv + Rand(-1,1)
		ball\xv = ball\xv + Rand(-1,1)
		PlaySound pingsound
	; Ball hits left wall, award CPU one point
	ElseIf ball\x <= 0
		player2\score = player2\score + 1
		Text 320,240, "POINT - Computer!"
		PlaySound pointsound
	
		Flip
		; Delay two seconds
		Delay(2000)
		
		; Reinitialize game
		InitializeLevel()
	; Ball hits right wall, award player one point
	ElseIf ball\x >= 640
		player1\score = player1\score + 1
		Text 320,240, "POINT - Player!"
		PlaySound pointsound
		Flip
		; Delay two seconds
		Delay(2000)
		; Reinitialize Level
		InitializeLevel()
	; Reset shruiken if it goes beyond stone wall barriers
	EndIf
	
	; Refresh and update ball position
	ball\x = ball\x + ball\xv
	ball\y = ball\y + ball\yv
End Function

Gotta add a title and epilogue to this later, and all that other presentation stuff for SNES-inspired games like this. So I got influences from playing Gauntlet II and Pong at the same time, and thought I'd blend a little of this, and a little of that. Thought I'd find a niche in hybrid game design, combining two arcade hits, and making one game with elements from famous game franchises, and thinking I'd do an original clone. Serves me right for having Shigeru Miyamoto AND Nolan Bushnell as a role model on this game.

Miyamoto meets Bushnell, east meets west, you get the point.

o_O WTF?


O_O

I now leave this thread, shake my head mournfully, sit in a corner and stick a pencil in my eye.

Less painful.

See you at your next festering carcass of a post, Bob.

Well, just thought I'd be a little creative with a simple game, yet revive it in a fancy form, that's all. Man, can't a trying hobbyist get any respect around here?

[/me utters angry Ukrainian expletive]

LOST:
One Point
Sadly Missed
Contact RAM Digital Media

I didn't think the graphics were 'that' bad. But Jeez, if all you're going to do is take the piss out of other people's work then what good is that?

We all have to start somewhere and nearly all of us coders are NOT graphic artists. This guy is asking for help, not jibes. It's no wonder people are cagey about showing their stuff when this is all they get.

> - Your artwork is atrocious and would have Atari
> 2600 coders sniggering behind your back.

Says Mr Perfect.



Are those men parachuting, or bogies out of my nose?

The thing about Pong, is that is practicly impossible to make the graphics worse than the original.

Unfortunatly RAM, the addition of postGame-Retro-graphics is pointless. I have nothing against bad graphics, (I did have a ZX81), but either stick to the original graphic style, or make it as modern as you can.

As loath as I am to say it, (Bacause its better than anything Ive posted), you do seem to have made the graphics worse. I do see your "Gauntlet" style, and... well your remaking pong not Gauntlet.

LINEOF7S IN CRAP GRAPHICS SHOCK!

You too seem to have missed the point Enay. I'd quote a bunch of stuff now from this very thread to illustrate the point I was trying to make, but if you couldn't be bothered reading it the first time, there's no reason to suspect the second would make a difference.

Thankyou for your input though.

Well, I thought that the graphics were more around Nintendo than Atari, after all, with those tile-based graphics, that was Nintendo's idea, IIRC.

Maybe outsourcing my project to a Japanese company may do me some good. Dunno if there's anything against sending my project across country borders, knowing how this country's been after 9/11. I don't want to surrender another project, either (boy have I been there before). I may see this come back on the DS Lite as a handheld, that would be my biggest wish.

Thanks for the suggestions, anyway. Well, guess it's probably best to design a Pong game with a true tennis court in mind. Just thought that a temple with gongs and a shruiken would've made a good Samurai game of sorts. THAT was the point, trying to disassociate traditional Pong with a game that's been popular in martial arts for years, almost centuries. Bruce Lee and Nolan Bushnell all rolled into one, there you go.

@ram,

Dont call it a pong clone then

Hmm, well, if you look at that siggy right next door to that RAM HD logo, you can see what I was originally gonna do, which was a combination of Geometry Wars and Pong, and calling it by a sci-fi tech name of, "Gridtron." I am a big fan of wireframe grids, and spacey-looking high-def elements to make it pay off. maybe it'll be good enough to do that instead, and try it out on that X360 development thingy, see if it pays off. Maybe add a "shoot to serve" element where you press a button, and then you can shoot a star to start a match. Should be cool.

@ Enay,

I think if you read RAM's last post in it's entirety then you will understand our negative comments.

@ Ram,
I'm sorry but I have to admit that your posts do amuse me although I'm sure they were not intended to be that way, unless you are winding us all up ... you are aren't you? I have no wish to put you off anything and will always help any member of the community where I can. I do think it's time for you to wake up and smell the coffee though. I may be wrong but I can't imagine any Japanese company would be interested in a pong clone. BTW, which project did you surrender before?

@ Line .. nice bogey's man ;)

Stevie

Wait a minute....the last person to post large amounts of code on the forum and made some mindless rantings was......

Just wanna clear two things up.

1) It's not about the graphics. Lemme say that again for the people who just like to skim threads looking for some out-of-context flamebait: IT'S NOT ABOUT THE GRAPHICS.

2) RAM is making my point better than I ever could, with each and every post he makes. "Outsourcing my project to a Japanese company"??!! For the sake of my sanity, I must accept that RAM is a twisted figment of my imagination. Twisted. Figment.

@Stevie,
Thanks. I've always loved you. :o) (well, since that all-in-code tank game in the archives, anyway)

@ Line,

[RamSpeak]
I'm planning on turning my tank game into some sort of Halo2 meets Q-Bert hybrid and see if it pays off but I'll probably stick with the lightcycles & man from atlantis idea which I've been toying with. In fact, maybe a mario vs asteroids with a Metal Gear Solid slant would work. That's it settled then. Probably port it to the Linx, BBCb and maybe the PS3 with that SDK I just bought. One things for sure ... that Yamawhtsit Nintendo dude'll be shiting his pants ... maybe I'll sell it to him for £1million or outsource it to Berkina Fasso ( do they have computers? ) ... we'll see.
[/RamSpeak]

I've changed my mind RAM .. you are a Legend and if it's ok by you could we have a RAMSPEAK contest and whoever rabbits the most pish wins a copy of your pong game? I'd be honoured if you'd be a guest judge :)))

Okay, okay, I admit it, I have been a bit of an egomaniac, and I should wear a dunce cap for a year because of it. Maybe Plasmorg tanked, now Shaolin Gong may have tanked, but at least give me another chance to prove myself worthy. I promise that I won't fume about anything, I'm gonna play it cool, design a game that will get that Xbox Live seal of approval for the homebrew developers' club that MS has now, and see if I can wow a big crowd, assuming that there's no specific language that you have to develop under for XBL. Now, give me room to concentrate, you WON'T be disappointed next time, I guarantee you that.

Hey man, noone said you weren't worthy. Just Walk the Talk .. it's that simple ;)

Finishing any game from craddle to grave can be very tough going ( even with simple concepts ) but the sense of achievement when you get there will stand you in good stead for future projects. Good luck to you!

Cheers
Stevie

Walk quietly and carry a gun.

Well, you gotta remember, I'm more of a base coder, I usually offer game segments (not full game projects) on an OEM basis for others to write better games off of, I've never written any true games, per se. Right now, I'm developing for the high-def era, as you can notice from my siggy. I feel that tech demo projects are the way to go for me anymore. That's probably where my primary focus may be for now.

Whatever.

RDM, out of seriousness, how old are you?

Me? Oh, I'm 25. Just a grouchy urban 25 year old looking to get into a hobby of game design that one day I hope to see as a profession. Trying to break out of the financial industry, and into the software industry, actually.

RAM:

A noble goal. More power to you, seriously.

A serious suggestion though: put together your Pong clone, finish it, and release it. Crap graphics or no, no-one sensible is going to disrespect a finished game. Finished = good.

The key is not to waffle on in a pretentious way about what you're doing unless it really is that good. And nothing ever released in this community has been anywhere near as good as what you've been talking about.*

In short: Less talk, more do.

It's actually why I don't post very often. :o)





*For those playing at home, that's a comment about how high-falutin' RAM's speech is, not the quality of Blitz-community releases.

Forgive my ignorance but what does offering game segments on an OEM basis mean? Is this more JibbaJabba?

No offence meant but I figured you for 15-16 years.

Ram,

If you are 25, then either stop taking the drugs, or start taking the drugs, whichever is relevent.

If you are on the other hand a minor, then ignore everyone else. If you think an idea is good, and you think that you can write it well enough to make money, then do so. As I said earlier, I havent come close to finishing anything for a very long time. And as 7s said, one finished product is worth a million clever Thread posts.

You do "talk it up" a bit, and to be Honest thats what everyone does when thay are trying to sell somthing. So its not an automaticly bad thing. However, this is an Indie peer group, and finished products count a lot more than hype. If any of the "real" programmers here, (and by that I mean published), said what you said, it wouldnt be taken anywhere near as badly, because we as a group are more likly to believe it.

If on the other hand people like myself, who have released nothing, start to talk it large, no one would listen, and I would expect to get shot down. This doesnt mean I dont talk it up to friends, just that I wouldnt when saying it to people who know exactly what Im talking about.

So please feel free to complete you pong/sulkrin game, if you make money out of it then well done. But as a piece of advice, dont talk it up on a programing site.

Well, OEM basis means that I'm doing a "skeleton" game for other developers to build their own projects off of, sort of like when John Carmack makes an engine, and then he sells the engine to third-party developers to design a game off of. Same thing I'm looking at doing with this. I'm just designing a barebones game, and letting others design their own game around it, and make it more creative. That's all.

/me looks around

Is this the Twilight Zone, or something?! :P

You know graphics don't have to be good for a game to sell. This is Snood, a Bust A Move / Puzzle Bobble clone that sold extremely well and is now available on the GBA or DS (I forget which) with the same crappy graphics: