Shorty & The Big Deal 2600 by Suese

[raw]
made by Suese for LD25 (COMPO)
Short & The Big Deal 2600
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Emulates Atari 2600 Television Interface Adapter Graphics and Sound.

Only 51.4KB

Keyboard:
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W,A,S,D - Move
J - Attack / Purchase
F2 - Toggle Map / Stats

Objective:
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Trade
Amass Coins
Discover new places.
Upgrade your strength and agility,
Beat up the bobbies.
Buy a ticket to the next level.




Ratings

Coolness 72% 3
Overall 2.67 549
Audio 2.07 473
Fun 2.11 660
Graphics 3.11 293
Humor 2.14 499
Innovation 2.62 478
Mood 2.66 433
Theme 2.91 495

Feedback

apophenia
17. Dec 2012 路 04:03 UTC
Interesting game, but I found it a little difficult/tedious to get to the next level. I refreshed twice after accidentally converting some of my goods the wrong direction and gave up on the third try. It was pretty tough to remember which houses have which deals -- thinking of other games that utilize this mechanic (Suikoden III, etc), there's usually some sort of way you're tipped off as to where you found what trade after it's been discovered.
馃帳 Suese
17. Dec 2012 路 04:40 UTC
Thanks for playing. Yeah I wanted to add apartment names and addresses. I also wanted to add more obstacles such as cars, pedestrians and hazards. There is an informant graphic still embedded in the executable that was there to do just that, since I was running out of time I skipped the informant mechanic altogether. Again, thanks for playing.
ChainedLupine
17. Dec 2012 路 04:55 UTC
I love the fake color fringing effect! Nice touch!

Fairly accurate game, in a "what the real hardware could do" sort of way, so props for that too!

I do agree, game would be more enjoyable if you had a way to see what place sold what. It's fairly information dense (with 3-4 places in one screen) and hard to remember. At least for me!
馃帳 Suese
17. Dec 2012 路 05:07 UTC
Thanks. I'm glad someone noticed the bleeding / scanline effects. All I see now is an incomplete title high in potential and short on actual game play.
馃帳 Suese
17. Dec 2012 路 05:08 UTC
I find myself having to chase down the cops in order to beat them up x_X
Dark Acre Jack
17. Dec 2012 路 07:09 UTC
Now I'm deaf and really want to play my Atari.
chribbe1
17. Dec 2012 路 07:45 UTC
Cool game! Nice visual style. I especially enjoyed entering/exiting the buildings, it had a nice feel to it.
Christina Antoinette Neofotistou
18. Dec 2012 路 04:42 UTC
Awesome! Way to go Suese! The visual style is 100% nostalgia, lovely lovely.

a tiny bit more visual differentiation of the houses would hit the spot! Kudos
Razion
18. Dec 2012 路 08:52 UTC
Holy loud sound effects, batman. Lots of potential in this one! I only encountered one cop, which I thought was odd. But other than that, pretty cool.
馃帳 Suese
18. Dec 2012 路 09:08 UTC
@Razion. Thanks. I was playing with my sound down all the way, not realizing how loud it was. The updated version is much better. It's actually kinda fun even.
Colapsydo
18. Dec 2012 路 11:07 UTC
The retro aspect of the game is wonderful.
Even if the updated version is more dynamic (good initiative to change the bargains btw), the street part still remain empty in my opinion. A bit more bobbies would have increase the fun.
degtyarev
18. Dec 2012 路 13:38 UTC
Nice scanline effect
quill18
18. Dec 2012 路 13:40 UTC
Fantastic visual aesthetic. I'm old -- so this definitely brings me back!
Jiggawatt
18. Dec 2012 路 14:48 UTC
I love the trading system, hunting for efficient deals is what sets this game apart in terms of innovation. The Atari-themed presentation is heartwarming.

All the pieces of a good game are there, now you just need more content like you said.
lotusgame
18. Dec 2012 路 16:11 UTC
I like the retro game and the idea to play with colors.
I did take a while to understand what the frack i had to do ^^
Perhaps add titles to houses so you can remeber what is what ?
Starspell
18. Dec 2012 路 16:43 UTC
It took me a long time to work out that x for y actually meant you got what was on the left for what was on the right as payment. To me I instinctively took it the other way.

Man the audio was really painful! I know you were trying to emulate the Atari 2600, but perhaps that was a bad thing to try and emulate!

The idea behind the game is an interesting one - especially if you could have linked it to how much of the city you "owned" etc. But it is really hard to remember where anything is and not too rewarding to explore as you are usually only searching for one item.

The graphics were the best part of this by far. I loved the background and the sky.
馃帳 Suese
18. Dec 2012 路 23:11 UTC
@Starspell - Yes I didn't realize that it was loud because I had my speakers down almost all the way. No volume nob on these hand-me-downs.
馃帳 Suese
19. Dec 2012 路 03:59 UTC
@lotusgame - I SO-SO-SO wanted to add Random Street Names and Addresses and Random Building Names like I did with people in Tiny Civilization, but I ran out of time :(. They were going to have funny and unique names as you passed by. It was the NEXT feature on my todo list when time ran out.
Mezzomatto
19. Dec 2012 路 07:42 UTC
Nicely done indeed. Enjoyed it for a long time. Got a little bored by third level, I must admit, but this is clearly the start of something awesome. Just needs a bit more risk or something, harder fights perhaps? Great style too.
AdventureIslands
19. Dec 2012 路 22:10 UTC
A bit too retro for my taste, but I'm glad to see many other people like it and were nostalgia'd so nice work!
馃帳 Suese
20. Dec 2012 路 01:09 UTC
@AdventureIslands - Well authentic retro is what I do... Call it a niche. Many people try but they make mistakes like mixing resolutions, using too many colours, using non-standard palettes, using SFXR instead of programming real chip emulators, etc. All of my years of experience tell me that God is in the details, so I'm not sure how I can satisfy on the 'too retro' front.
馃帳 Suese
20. Dec 2012 路 01:33 UTC
Kind of a bit like saying "It's too well done, this is hogwash"
GreenPixelDev
21. Dec 2012 路 15:54 UTC
This takes me back to my first gaming experience! :D Great, truly retro graphics and solid, simple gameplay. Good job! :D
Xavier
23. Dec 2012 路 18:12 UTC
I love the retro game style!
goerp
23. Dec 2012 路 20:04 UTC
haha, gotta agree about the audio, authentic but LOUD (and I played with headphones).
Just like other people said: it had the look and feel of a real retro game.
I didn't know how to beat up a cop right away, because you didn't mention all keys, you villain :)
csanyk
23. Dec 2012 路 21:06 UTC
Awesomely retro. I felt like I needed an instruction manual to really tell me how to play. I get that you're supposed to find things and trade and power up, but it wasn't very clear how to do those things. I'd love to play this again with a better understanding of HOW to play, not just what I'm supposed to try to do. Consider posting a walkthrough video:)
LTyrosine
23. Dec 2012 路 21:53 UTC
Really nice retro style. A tutorial at start would help but I liked a lot the gameplay (as any Atari veteran will)
eli
03. Jan 2013 路 13:51 UTC
Solid visual here, liked the sound too (even though it was a bit loud as mentioned above). The gameplay wasn't really to my taste -- but I guess it was authentic? After reading some comments I decided to barrel through and buy a ticket to the next level. I did so, and the game seems to have crashed? I'm stuck at a map-like screen with bobbies on it. Nothing happens when I press all over the keyboard.

I also liked the combat (even though I didn't get a chance to try it out!).

Good work!