New Spectrum Game - Albatrossity

edited January 2009 in Games
Merry Christmas, and all that.

Here's a little Christmas present for Spec-chums everywhere. Albatrossity is a crazy golf game which doesn't take itself entirely seriously, and has extra bits and pieces you might normally expect from a platformer - like platforms for a start. Oh, and patrolling nasties, and keys to unlock doors, and gravity switches and stuff. You can also select one of three types of ball for each shot - rubber, steel and sticky - each with different properties for different situations.

It's evil and unfair, and you're all going to hate it, especially if you're already losing your hair because this game will have you tearing out large chunks out of it by the handful. Never mind, because if you can't get past a particular level, there's a screen editor included so you can cheat. There's also a great soundtrack by Matthew Westcott, written for the occasion. So, if you're feeling up for a challenge and to want to try it, you'll find the thing on my website now.

http://jonathan6.fortunecity.com/egghead/

How far can you get?
Post edited by jonathan on
Still supporting Multi-Platform Arcade Game Designer, currently working on AGD 5. I am NOT on Twitter.
Egghead Website
Arcade Game Designer
My itch.io page
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Comments

  • edited December 2008
    Excellent - knew we could count on you to release something to brighten the day!
  • LCDLCD
    edited December 2008
    Excellent, the idea to change the ball (sticky, rubber, steel) is great! I like the physics too. In level 2 I got a nice bath.
  • edited December 2008
    Yep! Cheers JC :)

    Haven't got time to play it right now, gotta go to sleep soon, the bastards have me working tonight :evil:
    Every night is curry night!
  • edited December 2008
    Argh! You ingenious f*cker, Jonathan!! ;)

    Love it! Shades of Pete Cooke in the game design (apart from the lack of a WIMP interface, of course).
  • edited December 2008
    This game is great! Such a simple concept, yet I don't think it's been done before, and it's got the usual Cauldwell polish and professionalism!

    I've only played it for ten or twenty minutes so far, but I'm really pleased. Thanks for another fantastic game, Jonathan.

    Actually, whilst I'm posting to you - why has the download of your game Lunaris been removed from your site? Is it because you think Lunaris is inferior to your own Blizzard's Rift? Lunaris is a great game in it's own right (though not exactly easy), and is well worth playing, and I think it's a pity that people can't download it if they want to.

    Anyway, thanks again for Albatrossity, and for all the other great games, and please don't ever pack your Speccy away - you're one of the reasons that the Speccy scene is so magical.

    Happy Christmas and New Year, mate.
  • edited December 2008
    hi
    just downloaded and started playing
    great game i really enjoy it
    thx
  • edited December 2008
    It's a great game: Very very fun & addictive!.

    Thanks, Jonathan!!! :)
  • edited December 2008
    Cool, perhaps do a review of this game, but only in portuguese, sorry!:smile:
  • edited December 2008
    Thanks again Jonathan, great little game, very addictive. Shall be having a review in Book 6 of the Speccy bible for sure !

    Thanks again and cant wait for your next game !
  • edited December 2008
    Thanks Jonathan, this is really good. After the recent polls about games released in 2008 I am going to pay a lot more attention to new releases now as I missed most of the 2008 and 2007 ones and so have some catching up to do.

    Some nice music too, with a 128k Spectrum rendition of God Only Knows too.
  • edited December 2008
    Neat stuff.
  • edited December 2008
    I've got to say - I really enjoyed playing this game the last couple of days. I would even have been willing to pay a few quid for this had it been a Cronosoft release. I've just finished it - thanks more to the wonders of ZXDS and its "save slots" than my game-playing skills!

    If only Loco Bingo were as easy for me - can never get past Level 4 (The Signal Box)!!! :sad:
  • edited December 2008
    Wow, this game is awesome, can't stop playing it!!!! :p

    Thank you, great job and great music too!
  • edited December 2008
    Nice job. A neat and simple game but quite original and very addictive. Listening Westcott rendition of Beach Boys' God Only Knows theme at the end, comforts in some pleasant way. 8-)
  • edited December 2008
    Really enjoying this - thanks Jonathan :)
    I must put it on my DS and XDA2 immediately!(it'll be particularly good for the XDA2 :) )
    "I should use simulator loosely 'cos I don't think it's quite like this on the beach with helicopters and fires and the jumping beach buggy" - paulisthebest3uk 2020.
  • edited December 2008
    I'm enjoying this game very much too. Quiet simple concept (which is always a recipe for success), and unique. The physics are very well implemented and they are also the sole responsible for making every game a unique game.

    However the game may still lack in replayability as it may become dull after a while and discarded for a long time. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing. Not all games need to be built for replay value and Albatrossity certainly falls in the category of casual games.

    My youngest (she's 10) loves it. She, my other daughter (15), my wife and I, have already played in 4 player mode. But we dropped this option since. Having to wait for one player to loose in order for the next one to play was proving too taxing.
  • edited December 2008
    It's very adicctive, and have a lot of fun... but graphics is too simple.

    prueba.gif

    Only with a few minutes I obtain this, with a day or two i can make very nice graphics for this game. ¿it's possible to contact author to help him in graphics?
  • edited December 2008
    Dont mind the graphics at all, being the Speccy to me its all about gameplay.

    But just private message Jonathan in the first post of this thread as hes the author and offer your services.

    Probably not worth changing graphics for this game but offering to do graphics for a future one could be good ?
  • edited December 2008
    radastan wrote: »
    It's very adicctive, and have a lot of fun... but graphics is too simple.

    prueba.gif

    Only with a few minutes I obtain this, with a day or two i can make very nice graphics for this game. ?it's possible to contact author to help him in graphics?

    I don't mind the graphics at all, being a Speccy fan I'm used to simple but clear graphics (like in this game). However, if you do improve them then I'll gladly download it. I don't think Jonathan would object, but you'd probably be best asking him first.
  • edited December 2008
    Cool game; nice music. I've just supplied a solution to the RZX Archive.

    The idea of switching between three balls reminds me of Atari's "Ballance" (great Windows puzzler released in 2006 or so; you have to get a ball through a 3D floating world, and you can change its material to make it lighter or heavier).

    I was thinking of doing crazy golf for next year's CGC as well, though it would be (i) an overhead view and (ii) something crappy in BASIC :)

    What are the key controls for the editor? Can levels be loaded and saved?
  • edited December 2008
    radastan wrote: »
    It's very adicctive, and have a lot of fun... but graphics is too simple.

    prueba.gif

    Only with a few minutes I obtain this, with a day or two i can make very nice graphics for this game. ?it's possible to contact author to help him in graphics?

    You might want to wait and see if Jonathan decides to do an "enhanced" version or even a sequel. I really love "Albatrossy" and I'd love to see a follow-up.
  • edited December 2008
    equinox wrote: »
    The idea of switching between three balls reminds me of Atari's "Ballance" (great Windows puzzler released in 2006 or so; you have to get a ball through a 3D floating world, and you can change its material to make it lighter or heavier).

    The different types of ball feature is like in Glover (N64, and I think maybe the PC or Playstation), where you have to move a ball through different levels, and can change the ball's properties, from a rubber ball, a heavy bowling ball (good for breaking through barriers), a magnetic ball bearing, and a crystal (which breaks very easily, but performing certain actions with it increases your score).

    Aside from that, Albatrossity and Glover aren't too similar, but they are both very good games.
  • edited December 2008
    I'm curious about the name though...

    What's with that Jonathan? Will you share?
  • edited December 2008
    jonathan wrote: »

    Google's Chrome doesn't like that link at all, after giving a malware error because of links to [url]www.ukbest50.co.uk:[/url]

    Safe Browsing
    Diagnostic page for www.ukbest50.co.uk

    What is the current listing status for www.ukbest50.co.uk?
    Site is listed as suspicious - visiting this website may harm your computer.

    What happened when Google visited this site?
    Of the 27 pages that we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 25 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time that Google visited this site was on 2008-12-29, and the last time that suspicious content was found on this site was on 2008-12-29.
    Malicious software includes 89 scripting exploit(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 0 new processes on the target machine.

    Malicious software is hosted on 23 domain(s), including gb53.ru/, lksr.ru/, cliprts.com/.

    This site was hosted on 1 network(s) including AS16197 (TOLLON).

    Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?
    Over the past 90 days, www.ukbest50.co.uk appeared to function as an intermediary for the infection of 1 site(s) including amdow.com/.

    Has this site hosted malware?
    Yes, this site has hosted malicious software over the past 90 days. It infected 1 domain(s), including amdow.com/.

    How did this happen?
    In some cases, third parties can add malicious code to legitimate sites, which would cause us to show the warning message.

    Next steps:
    Return to the previous page.
    If you are the owner of this website, you can request a review of your site using Google Webmaster Tools. More information about the review process is available in Google's Webmaster Help Centre.
  • edited December 2008
    Vanamonde wrote: »
    Google's Chrome doesn't like that link at all, after giving a malware error because of links to [URL="http://www.ukbest50.co.uk:"]www.ukbest50.co.uk:[/URL]

    That would be for the fortunecity webhosting company as a whole, not just Jonathan's site. :razz:
    If you still feel unsure, note that the game was added to the WoS archive yesterday.
  • edited December 2008
    The editor keys, anyone?
  • edited December 2008
    rahtgaz wrote: »
    I'm curious about the name though...

    What's with that Jonathan? Will you share?

    It sounds like a Gasman song title to me. Could the game have been named after one of the tunes in the soundtrack?
  • edited December 2008
    equinox wrote: »
    It sounds like a Gasman song title to me. Could the game have been named after one of the tunes in the soundtrack?

    Not guilty, your honour :-) I guess you're thinking of Raccoonerie - but Albatrossity was Jonathan's working title before I got involved.

    I would have thought it comes from albatross (golfing term - 3 under par isn't it?) + atrocity though...
  • edited December 2008
    Ah, makes sense. Didn't know there was a term above Eagle.
  • edited December 2008
    Jonathan,

    Downloaded it last night and played it on my DS on the way to work this morning.
    I love it, great concept with very clean execution in terms of controls and graphics.

    I was discussing the game with a colleague and we came up with some ideas to extend the gameplay (hope they're not in later holes as I've only reached hole 7).

    1) Have magnetised platforms that repel / attract the steel ball.
    2) Have vertical fire obstacles, melts rubber and sticky ball leaves steel alone.
    3) Moving or conveyer type platforms might be fun.
    4) Crushers that don't harm the rubber ball but flattens the steel/sticky one sending you back to the tee.
    5) Hi Scores for the time taken to complete each level as well as number of shots.

    I'm sure there are plenty of other attributes that could be added.
    I think it would make a cracking Wiiware title.
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