Tag Archives: programming

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Zoltar

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Mandarin Software’s STOS marketed itself as “The Game Creator”, but really it was a lot more than that — it was a whole programming language based on the conventions of BASIC, meaning you could do a wide variety of things with it.

One of the showcase titles included with the STOS package was Zoltar, a simple shoot ’em up that tasked you with taking down pre-scripted waves of aliens as they swooped, bobbed and weaved around the screen. As a game, it’s not great, but it’s a good showcase of what STOS is capable of — particularly as it includes a fully functional built-in level editor!

Check it out — and hear about my lost ST game ZAPP — in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: F*ck Man

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Modern programming competitions on classic systems often throw up some really interesting results… particularly when there are some creative restrictions put in place.

F*ck Man is the product of a competition where programmers of various 8-bit computers were allowed just 10 lines of the BASIC dialect of their choice to put something together. It was actually the work of the competition’s organiser, and came in fourth place.

As for the game itself… well, it’s understandably simplistic, but it’s actually a surprising amount of fun, and a creative twist on a classic formula. Also it has an entertaining name.

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Sumika Tokiwa

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Being a Compile Heart game, Death end re;Quest is, naturally, overflowing with colourful, interesting and delightful female characters.

In fact, women make up the majority of the cast… though, again, this is nothing unusual for a Compile Heart game. What is a little unusual this time around is the fact that the game unfolds across two discrete “worlds” — the “real” world and the “game” world.

For today’s Waifu Wednesday, we’re taking a look at one of your companions during your time in the “real” world, as you attempt to uncover the conspiracy that has led to heroine Shina Ninomiya — and possibly others — becoming trapped in the virtual reality massively multiplayer online game, World’s Odyssey.

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Features, Visual Novel Maker

Visual Novel Maker: The Breath of Life

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Last time, we looked at how to get up and running with Visual Novel Maker as soon as possible using its built-in assets and template project.

Today we’re going to take a look at how you can use your own assets to create something unique to you! Because built-in assets are all well and good — and Visual Novel Maker certainly has some lovely default artwork and character designs — but if you’re serious about getting creative, you’ll want to take control of as much about your work as possible.

That means, among other things, creating your own characters with which to tell your story. So let’s take a look at that today!

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Features, Visual Novel Maker

Visual Novel Maker: First Steps

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Now that we’ve had a whistle-stop tour of Visual Novel Maker’s main features, it’s time to delve into how it all works.

Today we’ll be taking a look at how you can get started with the application using its built-in resources. In subsequent articles we’ll look at importing custom resources and creating new characters, but for today we’ll primarily be focusing on the core functions of the program, getting a playable game up and running as soon as possible.

Let’s dive right in, then!

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