CU Amiga Super CD-ROM 17/CU Amiga Magazine's Super CD-ROM 17 (1997)(EMAP Images)(GB)[!][issue 1997-12].iso/CUCD/Programming/AMOSList/AMOSLIST.0897/[e-mail]_Thu Aug 7 16:08:04 1997.msg

Text File | 1997-09-09 | 7KB | 121 lines

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Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 13:36:31 -0700
From: --==Murray==-- <[e-mail]>
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This is quite long, but there is a point at the end of it...

I don't want any of the many people writing 3D engines to go mad at this but I sometimes wonder
what people want from games.

I remember the good old days.... :)
when games like Turrican II and Kick Off II were around.
Super smooth, super playable and just plain brilliant. These are the sorts of games that if you
play them on a PC, they just aren't as good. Technically, they may have more colours or more
fancy effects (normally a CD video intro... wow!) but as for the game, its just not the same.

And its the same the other way around. PCs have good 3D games, although personally I only really
like Doom and Duke Nukem, Quake is too... I don't know but it seems to lose some gameplay to me.
You play the AMIGA clones and they lose something too.
Gloom was quite playable and before Duke Nukem (which I think is super-playable) I would have
said it could almost stand up to the PC stuff (for playability).

Why is it that all new games try so hard to be like PC games?
When you compare brand new A1200 games to A500 games of 4 years ago, the old games always win!

Fancy 3D, super effects etc. attract all the 12 old little kids who just want to show off to
their friends but for the rest of us, we want a captivating, PLAYABLE game that is long lasting.

Now the Amiga can't do all those fancy effects as good as the consoles/pc's (at least not with
the current standard setup) so surely we should all aim for the playable side? Oh, and playeble
doesn't mean small either.
Some people, if they were told to make a playable game, would make a Tetris clone. Big,
complicated games can be playable too.

What every struggling computer needs is a game that is unlike anything on any other computer.
It doesn't need to be completely original. In fact, I think that the best way to do it would be
to take an old concept except with a new twist and just keep adding little details until you get
a game that everytime you play it, something new happens.

Basically, thats what I try to do with alot of my games that I make. (not all, addmittedly)
My games Kill Em All and Hanger 18 are just a simple walk and shoot on the outside, but then you
take into account the AI and the fact that you have characters that actively help you and an
intirely new twist is created allowing scope for all sorts of new interesting features.
Of course, I'm just one person doing this, so they can't reach their full potential but its still
there.

Anyway.... my point is, I think a list game could make a difference with Amiga gaming.
Some people have said, be realistic, an AMOS game could never be spectacular enough to do this,
but what I've been trying :) to say is that if you come up with the right idea. One that can be
done on AMOS (i.e. doesn't need to be super fast/super smooth - it's only limitation in my view)
and one that is suited for the AMIGA with all its custom hardware (i.e. 2D!!!!) then you have a
winner.
For the last list game, when people were contributing ideas, almost everyone just quoted another
game! Whats the point in a remake unless you add something new and great?
As for the current list game, I think it will do very well indeed. But not commercially.

The 2nd list game (the Command and Conquer one) appears to have got no where and I'm not sure
that it is actually going to be original in the slightest (but I could be wrong)

Look at some of the most popular past amiga games and come up with some great new way of doing
it.
Syndicate, Civilization (Civ 2 on the PC is in my opininion the best PC game ever), Chaos Engine,
 Flashback, IK+, Space Hulk. Theres a few to think about.

Flashback and Space Hulk especially could be EASILY done on AMOS with no speed problems. (I
started a version of Flashback myself which ran at perfect speed).
Space Hulk was amazingly atmospheric. One of the few games that can actually induce panic as you
race to save the marines once you realise an alien has broken through.

Anyway I've talked FAR too much. (I'm a bit bored really) :)

Summary:
1. Make games that the Amiga is good it.
2. Make games that AMOS can handle.
3. Make games that have some twist never done before (I know they are hard to think of, but they
are worth it)
4. Make it an AMOS list game? (and this time, pass the code around so everyone can optimise it)

---===THE END===---

-Murray

--

           \\|//     Alastair Murray
           (o o)       [e-mail]
|~~~~~~oOOo~(_)~oOOo~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
|         AMINET         |Web-Page (Amiga/Games/AMOS/trek/Music/    |
|     game/role/CHAOS    |                  +more)                  |
|game/jump/Banana Islands|http://freespace.virgin.net/malcolm.murray|
|   game/shoot/Hanger18  |Current Projects: >Chaos 2                |
|    dev/amos/keystate   | >Kill Em All     >Hanger 18 II           |
|    dev/amos/picpack    | >Skool Daze      >The Crow               |
|   game/shoot/traitor   | >Game Creator    >Banana Islands         |
|                        | >The Turtleminator                       |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~