Prima Materia is an action arcade game based on video game classics Arkanoid and Breakout. The basic object of the game is to keep the ball bouncing around the playfield, using your paddle to prevent it from falling into the void at the bottom of the screen. As the ball bounces around it will destroy bricks and monsters in its path. Sometimes when a brick is destroyed a colorful goody will fall towards the void. If you catch the goody before it disappears into the void you will get a surprise of some sort. When all the bricks (with the possible exception of a few special kinds of bricks) on the screen have been cleared, warp doors on either side of your paddle will open up, leading to the next level. Where you go next depends on the door that you choose.
Current System Requirements:
68040 or PowerPC processor recommended
640x480 or larger monitor recommended
System 7.0 or later required
Sound Manager 3.0 or later required
5 megs free RAM required
Version 0.1.1 fixes a few bugs, adds support for different monitor resolutions and depths, includes improved online help, and adds a couple of requested configuration options.
Prima is not yet PowerPC native. This version was compiled using the CodeWarrior Gold 68k compiler, but I need to convert the level resources into a PowerPC compatible format before the PowerPC version will work. The next release, v0.1.2, should be PowerPC native.
I'm working on trying to optimize things so that Prima will run acceptably on a 68030 based Mac. Until then, I apologize if Prima runs slowly on your machine. The new Codewarrior compiler has an excellent profiling feature that I hope to put to good use very soon.
Prima is free. Copy it for your friends, your relatives, whoever, and feel no guilt. However, for-profit commercial distribution of any kind is prohibited without my permission. This beta version may not be distributed on any medium - including but not limited to floppy disk, optical disk, magnetic tape, data cartridge, CD ROM, or electronically via network, modem, etc. - that is charged for or in any way bundled with something that is charged for without the permission of Scumby Software. The distribution of altered versions of Prima Materia without my permission is also prohibited. If these terms are not clear enough, please contact me via e-mail at scumby@scumby.com, and I'll be happy to clarify them. Don't think that just because Prima is free that I don't care what happens to it. I will do whatever I have to do in order to protect my copyrights.
I make no guarantees that Prima Materia will work as promised. I can't even guarantee it will work at all. I have tested Prima on a number of different computers, and under a number of different configurations, and have tried to make sure everything works properly. However, this software is provided as is, and I will accept no responsibility for anything it might do to your computer. Use it at your own risk. If these terms are not acceptable to you, please delete Prima Materia and find another game to play.
Okay, now that all that ugly legal stuff is behind us, the only thing left to do is ask for your feedback. Basically, I am developing Prima without the intention of deriving any sort of monetary profit or gain from it. At this point in my life I am more interested in learning how to write a video game than I am in learning how to sell a video game. I am, however, a complete sucker for any positive feedback that happens to be sent my way, whether deserved or not. I'm also interested in any ideas you have for additions, improvements, etc for the game. And when bugs appear you should probably tell me about them, too. Please do write, I'm working on this game solely as a hobby and I have a tendency to ignore it for weeks at a time, but I get reminded to work on it again when I receive e-mail.
I would like to thank everyone who wrote in about v0.1.0. I've tried to incorporate all your ideas into the new version and will add the remaining ideas to future versions. I respond to every e-mail I receive, but occasionally the scumby.com e-mail system goes down and loses messages. So if you didn't hear back from me please write again. On the horizon for future releases are more complex monsters, more goody powers, interactive music, a lot more levels, and a level construction set.
Also, check out the new web site at http://www.scumby.com/~art/. I will try to keep it up to date with reported bugs and any tentative release dates. I'm also working on a Java game which I'll be releasing shortly, so fire up Netscape 3.0 and give it a try!
I hope you enjoy Prima, and don't forget to write!
Art
Scumby Software
scumby@scumby.com
http://www.scumby.com/~art/
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"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it."
- Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist"
It might be nice to be able to write a computer game all by myself, but fortunately I'm not capable of that. Credit is due to Scumby Software co-conspirator Bryan Campbell for the killer music, for being the source of a lot of the ideas that shaped Prima, and for being an all around swell guy. Bryan will also be creating new sounds, new music, and a new graphical interface for the final version of Prima... right, Bryan?
Thanks also to Jeff Andrews, Chris Coleman, Tom Murphy, Doug Overland, Matt Plunkett, Mark Rudholm, and Joleen White for alpha testing Prima Materia and for being good friends. I'd be a pretty lonely, bitter guy without all of you; with you I'm just bitter and pretty.
Many thanks to the people who were kind enough to publicly share their Mac source code for others to study and learn from. Without these examples, Prima would never have gotten anywhere. Specifically, I would like to thank Jim Bumgardner, john calhoun, N. Jonas Englund, Tony Myles, Dan Parks Sydow, Kevin Tieskotter and Ingemar Ragnemalm, as well as the members of the comp.sys.mac.programmer and comp.sys.mac.programmer.games newsgroups. Some of the graphics setup routines are based on code written by Chris Coleman for the immortal game HMWBS, so I'll thank him once more.
Finally, my thanks to the creators of Arkanoid, Breakout, and Pong, who developed and evolved the game design that Prima Materia is based on.
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The Prima Materia "To Do" List:
Gameplay:
Complex monster behaviors
More goody powers
Three ball juggle
Double paddle
Extended paddle
Super laser
Keep powers next level
Magnet bricks
Brick changers
More levels
Sound and Music:
Interactive music
Stereo sound
Sound fading
Game sounds / music mixer
Graphics:
Re-implement fades (caused weird conflicts with continuous sound)
Palette flashes
Graphics font
Graphics engine optimizations
User Interface and Application Shell:
User configuration
Improved error handling
Improved loading efficiency
Level construction set
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Version History
0.1.1 8/23/96 Bug fixes:
Moving bricks bug that didn't let you finish level
Score display bug at very high scores
Miscellaneous interface/display tweaks
Fading temporarily removed due to conflicts w/continuous sound
Additions:
Support for higher screen resolutions
Support for monitor depths other than 256 colors
Better online help
Ability to turn off background pats
Ability to turn off scrolling text
Mouse control improved
v0.1.1 was compiled with Codewarrior
0.1.0 5/8/96 Initial public beta release
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Prima Materia is Copyright 1996, Scumby Software. All rights reserved.
