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New game - 'Magic Tokens'

ShiruShiru
edited September 2010 in Games
After long, long break, my new game (everything by me). TAP version, works on the original 48K. It is a Bejeweled clone, made for 'Your Game' compo. The game is public domain, feel free to do whatever you want with it.

Download

The game has new original beeper music engine, which I've released recently. Source code of the game will be published too, I need some time to prepare it.

magic_tokens.png
Post edited by Shiru on
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Comments

  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited August 2010
    You can blame Woody for getting me hooked on this one in FB ... gotta try it out on the Speccy!

    THANKS!
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited August 2010
    Great stuff this!

    Love that it steps up the sound if you're quick enough.

    Only naggle is that one can't continue to play while the game is getting rid of "accidental" combinatorial balls (like you can in FB).
    But I do understand this, it's probably not easy to have to deal with two tricky things going on at the same time, the accidental combo-balls and player choice.
  • fogfog
    edited August 2010
    very nice.. I really like the fade effect.
  • mermanmerman
    edited August 2010
    Pretty tricky, but good fun and nicely put together!
  • ccowleyccowley
    edited August 2010
    Grrrr! Every bit as frustrating (and playable) as the pop-cap version! I've just spent several minutes repeatedly getting 19/20 gems on level 3.

    Really good, smooth implementation. And the sound effects and music work really well too.
  • kgmcneilkgmcneil
    edited August 2010
    ...is that a new music engine there...?... [hint, hint to Ccowley]...
  • dm_boozefreekdm_boozefreek
    edited August 2010
    Personally I can't stand Bejewelled, but I've downloaded this anyway. Maybe this'll be a speccy game my wife could play she was glued to her computer for weeks playing the online version of the original. Had it on her phone as well.
    Every night is curry night!
  • ccowleyccowley
    edited August 2010
    kgmcneil wrote: »
    ...is that a new music engine there...?... [hint, hint to Ccowley]...
    Don't worry, investigations are already taking place :)
  • deadpan666deadpan666
    edited August 2010
    Nice, addictive wee puzzler! Good work! :)
    The Black Cauldron (PC)
  • jpjp
    edited August 2010
    Have enjoyed playing it - somewhat frustrating yet addictive.
    Really well presented and nicely polished. Well done! :)
    jp nz | TZXs updated with new loading screens | youtube bits and bobs
  • RalfRalf
    edited August 2010
    Very well presented, smooth action game.
    But this time limits are for cyborgs, not humans :)
  • Tom-CatTom-Cat
    edited August 2010
    VERY nice game. Polished and all... and I thought I was good at Bejeweled... but I can't complete evern the first level :) HARD as a nut.
  • IvanzxIvanzx
    edited August 2010
    There is a Bug!!

    I was playing at level 5, and then the time counter stopped at 40 seconds and never started to ran again. Obviously, I completed the level easily. In the net level everything was ok again.

    Weird...
    <a href="http://rincondelspectrum.blogspot.de/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://rincondelspectrum.blogspot.de/</a>;
  • ewgfewgf
    edited August 2010
    This is great, but can I make an important suggestion - please can you alter the game so that the clock stops when the three or more items in a row are being removed, and the clock does not start again until the player can again move a piece, as it's unfair having to watch the clock count down whilst you can't do anything until the game allows you to re-assume control. This is especially bad when the game drops more pieces, after removing a row you made, and then makes a row itself, so it has to remove that row, which in turn might make another row, etc.

    This can result in a few wasted seconds, whilst the player can do nothing but watch in dismay.

    Aside from that, it's excellent - very addictive, great presentation, and plays very well. Thanks for this, it will be making my commuting time pass much faster, no doubt.
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited August 2010
    ewgf wrote: »
    This is great, but can I make an important suggestion - please can you alter the game so that the clock stops when the three or more items in a row are being removed, and the clock does not start again until the player can again move a piece, as it's unfair having to watch the clock count down whilst you can't do anything until the game allows you to re-assume control. This is especially bad when the game drops more pieces, after removing a row you made, and then makes a row itself, so it has to remove that row, which in turn might make another row, etc.

    This can result in a few wasted seconds, whilst the player can do nothing but watch in dismay.

    Thank you!
    That's what I was trying to get at with my comment yesterday. (You do get the score though for what the system automatically removes, right? (I think I saw that))
  • ewgfewgf
    edited August 2010
    Actually, can I make another (important!) suggestion; when the time reaches ten seconds, can you make the game give a quick beep every second, as it's difficult to notice that your time is slipping away, when you're concentrating so hard on playing the game. And also, when the time reaches five seconds, can you make the game beep in a higher pitch ever other half-second (so that it beeps every one second, as it started doing at the ten-seconds-to-go mark, but now (starting at the five-seconds-to-go mark) it beeps in a higher pitch every half second between the other beeps.

    I.e.:


    Time remaining in seconds / Beeps

    15 / No beep
    14 / No beep
    13 / No beep
    12 / No beep
    11 / No beep
    10 / Beep
    9 / Beep
    8 / Beep
    7 / Beep
    6 / Beep
    5 / Beep, then a higher beep at 4.5 seconds to go
    4 / Beep, then a higher beep at 3.5 seconds to go
    3 / Beep, then a higher beep at 2.5 seconds to go
    2 / Beep, then a higher beep at 1.5 seconds to go
    1 / Beep, then a higher beep at 0.5 seconds to go
    0 / Game over!


    Note: the "/" doesn't mean divided by, or anything, it just marks the two seperate columns in my post's text, as for some reason this forum's software doesn't show multiple spaces or properly spaced out text or anything.

    Please think about adding this, and the pause-whilst-rows-are-removed suggestion in my earlier post, as this game is great, and could be even better if you include my suggestions.
  • ShiruShiru
    edited August 2010
    Thanks for comments.


    First, I'm not going to make major changes in the game, because it is for the compo, so it would be cheating. And it is finished game, not WIP. However, when I'll release the sources, you'll be able to make an improved version, if you want.


    Second, about difficulty. Remember how some time ago I've said here (being hardcore enough player) that Invasion of the Zombie Monsters is way too hard for me, and a lot of people said that it is easy? Now it's my turn.

    For test, I just ran the game, played by fingers on Sinclair joystick keys (imagine how it is uncomfortable), and beat the first level having 30 second remaining. Levels in the game tuned rather tight to provide some challenge, but the game is easy on the first to middle levels, and difficult on latest - beatable, though, I've played through every level a lot of times.

    There could be some uncontrolable peaks of difficulty, though, because too much randomness invoved, but there could be very lucky combinations as well, so you can beat last levels having minutes of remaining time. The same problem in all the commercial Bejeweled clones I've seen - you have to play level tens times in some of them (I had to), and they are considered 'casual'.

    To beat levels fast, you should focus on collecting gems at first levels, trying to not make unnecessary combos. Later, you should change focus to making combos and try to collect gems when possible. Combos provide you with bonuses, which helps to make better combos.


    The thing that you can't do anything while combo progresses is major flaw, I completely agree. I had no time to think up better system, which allowed to continue play the same time, because it is not so easy to implement.


    Regarding sound for time indication, did you notice there is 'clock clicking' begins in last 20 seconds, and the timer is blinking? I thought these two things are enough to inform you that time runs out.

    Ivanzx wrote: »
    There is a Bug!!

    I was playing at level 5, and then the time counter stopped at 40 seconds and never started to ran again. Obviously, I completed the level easily. In the net level everything was ok again.
    Thanks for the report.
  • roberthazelbyroberthazelby
    edited August 2010
    Morning!

    I just wanted to say what a fantastic game this is. The presentation is absolutely first class, and would have easily sold commercially back in the day.

    The music and sound effects are absolutely lovely. The beeper in-game sounds are truly impressive, and had me listening a few times to check if it was AY produced.

    The difficulty though - by god do you have to be fast! I can't get past level 2.

    I think my only recommendation would be for either the time limit to be a little less harsh on the early levels, or have the timer stop counting down when you're getting loads of chains going.

    Fantastic stuff. Now, how about someone with good artistic skills knocking-up a nice inlay for printing up?
  • MorkinMorkin
    edited August 2010
    Ralf wrote: »
    Very well presented, smooth action game.
    But this time limits are for cyborgs, not humans :)

    :lol::lol: I agree with this, I'm absolutely rubbish at it, took me about 10 attempts to get to level 2! Might have to go back to Penalty Soccer, that's more my skill level :smile:.

    Plays nicely though, very polished for something produced so quickly.
  • mickmogmickmog
    edited August 2010
    A lovely piece of work.

    Really nice graphics, smooth and lovely to look at.

    I share the view that the fact you are not moving towards your goal - but are losing time - whilst chains kick in, is a bit of a shame.

    But, otherwise, really really nice indeed and thanks for sharing!
  • psj3809psj3809
    edited August 2010
    Really nice game, very polished, looks great etc

    But way too hard, i mean for level 1 i thought it was a bit ridiculous. Agree with Rob.Hazelby above.

    If it was a bit easier then i really would enjoy it. I know Shiru perhaps had a quick go and completed level 1 instantly with 30 secs left but i'm sure if i created my own games i would be very good at them.

    I'll wait for an easier version, way too difficult on the first screen sadly
  • Neil ParsonsNeil Parsons
    edited August 2010
    Someone wrote these pokes into my blog:

    poke 43256,0: 43257,0 : Infinite Restarts
    poke 33596,0 : Freezes Time

    Credited to thEpOpE
  • psj3809psj3809
    edited August 2010
    Cool , thanks i'll give that a go

    Overall the game is very good though, great sound/graphics, just find it a bit too tricky !
  • ShiruShiru
    edited August 2010
    Don't worry, although I've said there will be no major changes, I consider few minor changes: more time for every level, fix the bug, *maybe* time stop while combo (if I add enough time, this would be not needed). I think I'll release updated version with the sources release.
  • viejo_archiveroviejo_archivero
    edited August 2010
    Excelent work, it looks and plays great. Thumbs up!
  • ZagrebZagreb
    edited August 2010
    It's infuriatingly hard and a random element seems to come into play regarding whether you get a gem or not (is this the case?).

    But... very addictive and beautifully presented. I think I like.
  • na_th_anna_th_an
    edited August 2010
    I'm loving this... Sleek and well designed. But I'd add the time-stop feature while combo.
  • ShiruShiru
    edited August 2010
    During the development I had thoughts about stopping the time during the combos, actually. But I've decided that it would be not consistent (sometimes time goes, sometimes stops - common sense tells you that timer should go all the way, and this would be cognitive dissonance); time limits for the levels were determined without time stops, so they include inactive time; and this adds some more strategy on the first levels.

    I absolutely agree that games should be not too difficult, though. Better solution may be two difficulty settings - hard (current one) and easy (almost no challenge, a lot of time).
  • RalfRalf
    edited August 2010
    Yes, two levels of difficulty would be good.

    I played it with time stop poke and it's really more playable this way. But I would feel better if it was an option in the game to have a lot of time.
  • Mister BeepMister Beep
    edited August 2010
    Shiru wrote: »
    After long, long break, my new game (everything by me).

    I know nothing about games (not to mention the logic ones) but the music is incredibly good and 4 channels simulation is most clever.


    ____________EDIT____________
    Erm. Moment. "The game has new original beeper music engine"? So they actually ARE 4 channels????? Wow.
    ZX Spectrum 48K BEEPER Music:
    http://mister_beep.republika.pl/
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