The Game-Maker Archive - User contributions [en]

Kozmo Kat

2011-10-18T14:10:28Z

69.114.143.115:

{{box
|header='''''Kosmo Kat'''''
|file=[[File:KOZMO2.GIF|290px|border]]
|text=
'''Release type:''' [[Freeware]] 
'''Release date:''' 1992 [[Category: 1992]] 
'''Levels:''' 3 
'''Author:''' [[Alan Caudel]] 
'''Website:''' [http://www.dummyduck.com DummyDuck.com] 
'''Related games:''' ''[[Dummy Duck]]''
}}[[Category:Pending articles]]<center>'''FULL ENTRY COMING SOON!'''</center>

<blockquote>''Kosmo Kat'' was one of my earlier games. The character is a cat in outer space who has a trusty remote control that can do lots of crazy things. You can use it to shoot nets and capture eggs that are scattered across the planet. And you can ride on it like a hoverboard. (I was kind of obsessed with hoverboards after seeing Back to the Future 2.)</blockquote>

==Instructions==

[[File:KozmoShot.gif|thumb|320px|Bedeviled by eggs, in level one of Kozmo Kat.]]

To move Kozmo Kat around, press the arrow keys in the direction you want him to go.

Press UP to make him jump.

To make him jump left or right, press "7" OR "9" on the numeric keypad.

[[File:KozmoSprite.gif|center]]

To use his jet board, press either the "+" or "-" key.

To fire a net at his enemies, press "SPACE"

To shrink, you must pick up the Kozmo icon by pressing "P". Then, hold down "S".

==Credits==

By: [[Alan Caudel]]

Special Thanks To: [[Adam Tyner]] and people who helped me, of course!

''[[Dummy Duck]]'' and all associated characters are copyright 1992

[[Category: Alan Caudel]]
[[Category: Freeware]]
[[Category: Side-scrolling]]
[[Category: Platformers]]
[[Category: Character games]]
[[Category: New discoveries]]

Rōdïp: Rover of the Deep

2011-09-03T19:10:15Z

69.114.143.115: /* Threats */

{{box
|header='''''Rōdïp: Rover of the Deep'''''
|file=[[File:RodipTitle.gif|290px|border]]
|text=
'''Release type:''' [[Incomplete]] 
'''Release date:''' N/A (begun in [[1994]][[Category: 1994]]) 
'''Levels:''' 83 
'''Author:''' [[A-J Games]] 
'''Related games:''' ''[[BM]]''
}}''Rōdïp'' came out of a sort of competition with [[James Faux]] to design the best ''Blaster Master'' tribute. Jim's game hewed very closely to the source material; I took the basic concept and a variation on the vehicle design, and I wandered.

The plan was for six main levels, five bosses, and four vehicle upgrades. I finished everything except the bosses, two thirds of the levels, and some elements of the presentation. Then I got distracted, and the game sat on the shelf for 15 years.

In early 2011 I dug it up again, and I realized that the game ain’t half bad. For a [[Game-Maker]] game it controls unusually well. The existing monsters and background tiles are distinctive and meticulously built. The existing levels were pretty good, if rough around the edges — and certainly unlike something I would design now.

So I tidied up the levels, making sure that platforms and monsters were placed sensibly, and then I began to design a new one. The slot was already there; I just had to fill it.

In the game’s structure, level 3 is the first new level after the player gains the hover upgrade, allowing much more free movement through the terrain. It made sense, then, to capitalize on that new element and create a free-flowing map, not so dependent on platforms as on environmental hazards and barriers.

[[File:Rodip.gif|thumb|320px|Soaring through the mountains in ''Rōdïp'']]

There is a contrast, though. For all the player’s new freedom, in a way the new map should be more constrained than ever. One concern is to give the level a sense of structure. It means nothing if the player can go anywhere, if there is nowhere specific to go. So throw in some long vertical corridors, or awkwardly connected rooms, to underline the potential of the player’s new mobility.

The other concern is to give the player a challenge that offsets the new ability. You don’t want the game to get easier just because the player is more powerful. Sure, earlier sections become a cinch — but a new rule should change the game’s focus, and give the player something new to master just around the time the player starts to feel comfortable. So the new level should present new sorts of problems that can only be solved with the new concepts at play.

None of this was a big priority. I have articles to write, a life to attend to, skills to learn. I don’t need to spend too much time messing with old, abandoned projects. So maybe once a week I would spend an hour or so tinkering with the map, adding another screen or two. After a few months, I finished. It may not be the strongest level in the world; much of it was improvised, rather than planned out deliberately. Still, that improvisation was informed by certain principles and, I think, a pretty good sensibility. Which is to say, I rather like it.

I’m uncertain whether I ever will finish the game; it’s been a decade and a half, so there’s no rush. Further discouraging me is that, after all, this is a pastiche. If I could take the rover out of the game, and turn the project into something wholly original, then maybe I would feel less reluctant. And yet then, the game would lose much of its identity — so there’s no point.

The tower level that bridges levels 1 and 2 is closely inspired by ''Tower Toppler'', a CGA DOS port of John M. Phillips' ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebulus_(video_game) Nebulus]''. On first glimpse at the Game-Maker box, I took the screenshot of ''[[Pipemare]]'' in [[Block Designer]] as a frame from a game like ''Tower Toppler'', designed with RSD's tools. The concept sent my mind racing. As it turned out, I had totally misinterpreted the picture. Nevertheless, the idea was planted. Years later, I finally found a way to implement the idea -- at least, close enough to satisfy me.

Other influences include the original ''Metroid'', Tecmo's NES version of ''Rygar'', Human Entertainment's ''Monster Party'', ''Castlevania: Bloodlines'', ''Contra: Hard Corps'', ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Roadblasters'', and ''Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode''.

==Story==

Make your way through the caverns and badlands, find upgrades for your vehicle, and destroy whatever threats lurch before you along your journey.

==Instructions==

[[File:RodipLevel03.PNG|thumb|320px|Level 3 of Rōdïp, completed July 2011]]

===How To Pilot Your Deep Rover===

'''On numerical keypad:'''

* 4/6: Drive left/right
* 7/8/9: Leap left/up/right
* 7/8/9: Hover left/up/right (with appropriate upgrade)
* 1/2/3: Dive left/down/right (with appropriate upgrade)

'''On standard keyboard:'''

* A/S: Fire left/right
* SPACE: Equip upgrades

[[File:Rover.gif|center]]

===Items===

'''Known rover upgrades:'''

* H: Hover Drive - Explore the heights
* S: Super Cannon - Discharge more energy
* D: Dive Rotor - Explore the depths
* K: Key Codes - Access secure portals

'''Pickups:'''
* Stable power cell: Gain 1 energy unit
* Overcharged power cell: Gain 2-10 units
* Lazarus pod: Gain 1 failsafe cycle

=== System Keys ===

* ESC: Exit game

* F1: Help screen
* F2: Status screen

* F3: Toggle music
* F4: Toggle sound

* F5: Record progress
* F6: Recall progress

* F8: Toggle joystick
* F9: Adjust joystick

===Threats===

[[File:RoverMons.gif|right]]

* Mole Men
* Scarabats
* Sultivalvia ("Springers")
* Saguaroids
* Thermajels
* Hemasuckles ("Devil's Fingers")
* Hypnagogs

===Levels===

* The Pit
* The Hall
** Level 1: The Hive
* The Tower
** Level 2: The Wasteland
* The Rift
** Level 3: The Foundry
* The Culvert
** Level 4: The Cavern
* The Aqueduct
** Level 5: The Cistern
* The Highway
** Level 6: The City

==Credits==

Graphics, sounds, animations, design: [[Aderack]]

Discussion, concept: [[OmegAkira]]

Original concept: Sunsoft

==Links==

<videoflash>wXfvfvFrtBA</videoflash>

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgknE7-d40M Level 3 playthrough (YouTube)] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRRTraVDmpI Culvert and Level 4 playthrough]
* [http://www.aderack.com/journal/2011/07/rover-of-the-deep/ Rover of the Deep (Gloaming Crackle)]
* '''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/java/rodip.php Play ''Rōdïp'' online]'''

[[Category: Game-Maker games]]
[[Category: Incomplete games]]
[[Category: A-J Games]]
[[Category: Nonlinear]]
[[Category: Side-scrolling]]
[[Category: Action-adventure]]
[[Category: Tributes]]
[[Category: Accomplishments]]

A-J's Quest

2011-08-10T01:26:49Z

69.114.143.115:

{{featured}}{{box
|header='''''A-J's Quest (v4.0)'''''
|file=[[File:A-J1Title.gif|290px|border]]
|text=
'''Release type:''' [[Shareware]] 
'''Release date:''' [[1992]][[Category: 1992]] (original release) 
'''Levels:''' 6 (in final version) 
'''Author:''' [[A-J Games]] 
'''Registration bonus:''' ''[[The Return of A-J|A-J 2]]'' 
'''Registration price:''' $30 
'''Related games:''' ''[[The Return of A-J]]'', ''[[Zoom the Super Bear]]'', ''[[A-J 3]]'', ''[[Fluffy Ralph]]'', ''[[Octolris]]''
}}''A-J's Quest'' is a product of four years of planning, and another three years of refinement.

When I was young, I expected to be a cartoonist. From 1988 to 1992 I wrote and drew a spectacularly unfunny comic strip called ''Andrew-Jonathan''. Although there was no particular story or humor, there were plenty of characters – all with complex relationships, backgrounds, and personality quirks. The strip was also an outlet for themes absorbed from adventure movies, ''Tintin'' and ''Uncle Scrooge'' comics, and personal experiences.

1988 was also the year that I began to design my first game, in the margins of homework assignments and in the back pages of notebooks. The game started as a clone of Konami’s ''The Goonies II'' — attic setting, inventory, and all. As the ideas developed and took on their own life, they absorbed elements of ''Hudson’s Adventure Island'', ''Contra'', and ''Super Mario Bros. 2''. The cast of ''Andrew-Jonathan'' (in particular the title character) was also absorbed into the concept, almost from the start.

[[File:A-JWalk.gif|center]]

This imaginary game began to trickle back into both the text and the metatext of the strip. The Crabby monsters (likely a subconscious influence from ''Super Mario 2'') started to appear. The strip absorbed some of the game’s scenario, and the sort of violent 8-bit sense of cause and effect. Most curiously, whenever A-J’s friend Freeport was shown playing a videogame, it was a variant of that game –based on the strip and featuring those characters.

[[File:A-J1.png|thumb|320px|Exploring the warehouse in ''A-J's Quest'']]

In a way, the strip’s four-year run was a build-up to and replacement for the game that I dreamed of playing. When in 1992 [[RSD]]’s [[Game-Maker]] presented itself, my attention shifted entirely from the comic.

My first task on installing the software was to implement the game as directly as possible from my extensive plans. The result, I called ''A-J’s Quest''. Barring the engine’s limitations and some improvisation along the way, the result was fairly close to my intentions – if a bit rough.

The biggest diversions came from the limits on idle states, the odd key-mapping restrictions, the engine’s strange treatment of counters, and the lack of an on-screen display for hit points, items, and whatnot. I also envisioned the ability to equip and unequip weapons, as in many NES adventure games. None of these were big problems; I just adapted, and found more pragmatic implementations.

Soon after completing the game, I responded to a note in the Game-Maker box and mailed a copy off to Recreational Software Designs. They quickly responded with an unexpected call, then a long correspondence. They sent me the beta to an upcoming release of Game-Maker – one with provisional Sound Blaster support. In turn I went out and bought a sound card.

[[File:A-JGame.png|thumb|320px|Freeport Bruin plays an early concept for ''A-J's Quest'']]

The adjusted version of ''A-J’s Quest'', now labeled 2.0, found its way into a demo for the 2.0 release of Game-Maker. It was also a feature of the short-lived [[Game-Maker Exchange]] program, where RSD compiled peer games onto floppies and sent them out to contributing users.

A couple of years later, after the conclusion of development on ''[[A-J 3]]'', I stripped down the sprite and incorporated it into the original game. I also adjusted most of the background tiles and some of the layout, added another level, and smoothed over some awkward concepts. After all the adjustments, the game wound up at version 4.0.

Both the 4.0 and the 2.0 releases achieved fairly wide distribution. The others, not so much. Whatever its form, for all its quirks and compromises, ''A-J’s Quest'' is probably one of the most familiar and influential games to come out of RSD’s tool set.

Many background and monster elements, particularly the Crabby, have since made their way into subsequent games.

==Story==

[[File:AJ1Map1.png|thumb|320px|Level 1 was designed long before Game-Maker came about.]]

A-J Bear was late for school, so he decided to take a shortcut through the abandoned Milton lot. He was in too much of a hurry, apparently, as he tripped over a large rock, sitting right in his path.

A-J tumbled head over heels and landed with a loud thump against the warehouse next door. Hedge followed him over and nuzzled his ear.

He was stunned, and before he was able to reorient himself enough to get up, A-J heard voices coming from inside.

While the window above him was boarded up, it was done so sloppily and A-J could easily peek between the boards.

Inside was an army of giant pretzels. Two chickens were standing by the window, talking.

"What do we need all of these for? *Bwaack!* Ostro doesn't need any dough boys -- they'll just screw up our whole operation."

"*Bwuk!* Look at it this way: pretzels are expendable. Would you rather have a pretzel blasted to smithereens for you or get yourself killed?"

"Good point. *Buk!*"

Ostro? They can't mean evil Prince Ostro, who escaped from Bearton Clink last year? Before A-J Was able to debate the issue any further, he heard Hedge making noises and felt a large crack on his skull. The world went dark.

A-J awoke inside a dark warehouse. It didn't look like the one the pretzels had been in. Hedge was there with him.

It would be pointless to list all of the thoughts that whizzed through A-J's head then, but in a nutshell he decided that he had to stop Ostro, however possible.

==Instructions==

[[File:AJ1Map5.png|thumb|320px|Level 5 is new to later versions of ''A-J's Quest'']]

7 - 8 - 9: Jump
4 - - 6: Walk
- 2 - : Duck

P: Pick up
[Space]: Attack

[[File:A-J.gif|center]]

===Weapons===

You automatically use the most powerful weapon you have. They are, in order of power (except for Hedge):

[[File:AJ1Map3.png|thumb|320px|Levels 2 and 3 have flipped around in different game versions.]]

* Flying Disc
* Slingshot
* Wooden Sword
* Yo-Yo
* Hedge

Hedge is very powerful and is always with you. Learn how to use him.

===Items===

* Disc Refill
* Slingshot Refill
* $1 Bill
* 1 Crown
* 1 HP
* 1-Up

It takes three crowns to open a latch. After a latch is opened, you come to a store. In the store, you can buy things if you have enough cash. To leave the level, go to the wooden door.

[[File:AJMonsters.png|thumb|320px|The rogue's gallery of ''A-J's Quest'']]

===Monsters===

* Pinky
* Pretzel
* Crabby
* Leaf
* Rock
* Flaming Turnip
* Dirt Clod
* Bwuk
* Prof. Shroom
* Bat
* Ostro

==Credits==

: Graphics: [[Aderack]]
: Sounds: Aderack
: Idea: Aderack
: Testing: M.O.S.H.
: Engine: [[RSD]]

==Updates==

[[File:oldA-J1.gif|right]]
[[File:oldA-J2.gif|left]]

The game was upgraded several times between 1992-1995. There are many differences between the later, more well-distributed releases, and the early versions. Some changes -- differences in menus, animation, and background tiles; added cutscenes and intertitles -- are obvious. Other differences are subtler and more curious.

The level layouts and ordering would change. In early releases there are extended bonus stages between levels, and at the end of each level is a "boss" enemy encased harmlessly in ice. There are many curious design decisions that give the early releases a personality somewhat missing from the later, more polished ones.

Version 2.0 was distributed with a slideshow demo of RSD's [[Game-Maker]] 2.0.

==Links==

<videoflash>UKVuNY85-MA</videoflash> <videoflash>xZNHxdwDd4Y</videoflash>

* [http://www.aderack.com/journal/2011/04/the-history-of-a-j-games-part-one/ The History of A-J Games, Part One]
* [http://gameguidewiki.de/?title=A-J%E2%80%99s_Quest GameGuideWiki entry]
** [http://gameguidewiki.de/?title=A-J%E2%80%99s_Quest_%E2%80%93_Listen Detailed breakdown]
** [http://gameguidewiki.de/?title=A-J%E2%80%99s_Quest_%E2%80%93_Walkthrough Walkthrough]
** [http://gameguidewiki.de/?title=A-J%E2%80%99s_Quest_%E2%80%93_Tricks Tips and Tricks]
** [http://gameguidewiki.de/?title=A-J%E2%80%99s_Quest_%E2%80%93_FAQ FAQ]
* '''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/java/ajsquest.php Play ''A-J's Quest'' online]'''

==Downloads==

* '''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/downloads/a-j1.zip ''A-J's Quest 4.0'']''' (1.1 MB)
* '''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/downloads/gm20demo.zip GM 2.0 Slideshow + ''A-J's Quest 2.0'']''' (443.5 kB)
* [[Media:AJ1Map1.png|Level 1 map]] (121.8 kB)
* [[Media:AJ1Map2.png|Level 2 map]] (251.2 kB)
* [[Media:AJ1Map3.png|Level 3 map]] (164.1 kB)
* [[Media:AJ1Map4.png|Level 4 map]] (195 kB)
* [[Media:AJ1Map5.png|Level 5 map]] (173.7 kB)
* [[Media:AJ1Map6.png|Level 6 map]] (145.1 kB)

[[Category: Game-Maker games|Aj's Quest]]
[[Category: Shareware|Aj's Quest]]
[[Category: A-J Games|Aj's Quest]]
[[Category: Side-scrolling|Aj's Quest]]
[[Category: Platformers|Aj's Quest]]
[[Category: Character games|Aj's Quest]]
[[Category: Accomplishments|Aj's Quest]]
[[Category: Game-Maker Exchange|Aj's Quest]]
[[Category: Game-Maker 3.0 CD|Aj's Quest]]

Adam '99

2011-08-02T13:08:19Z

69.114.143.115:

{{box
|header='''''Adam 99'''''
|file=[[File:unknown.png|290px|border]]
|text=
'''Release type:''' [[Unknown]] 
'''Release date:''' May 10, [[1999]][[Category:1999]] 
'''Levels:''' ? 
'''Author:''' [[Alan Caudel]] 
'''Website:''' [http://web.archive.org/web/20021027174940/http://users.ilnk.com/acaudel/adam99.htm Adam 99] 
'''Related games:''' ''[[Adam's Birthday Game]]'', ''[[The Adam's Birthday Saga Continues]]'', ''[[Adam's B-Day 3: The Saga Continues]]'', ''[[Adam 97]]'', ''[[Adam 98]]'', ''[[Adam 2000]]''
}}The sixth game in the ''[[Adam's Birthday]]'' series.

<blockquote>The newest installment in a long series of games my friend [[Adam Tyner|ADAM TYNER]] and I have made for each other's birthday every year. I got addicted to LEVEL 2 of this game...ContainsViolence!</blockquote>

[[File:Adam99.gif|center]]

==Links==

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20021027174940/http://users.ilnk.com/acaudel/adam99.htm Adam 99 (Internet Archive)]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050427041625/http://www.geocities.com/timessquare/2809/games.html On Target Programming (Internet Archive)]

[[Category: Unknown games]]
[[Category: Alan Caudel]]
[[Category: Side-scrolling]]
[[Category: Platformers]]
[[Category: Insertion games]]
[[Category: Sequels]]

Category:2010

2011-04-06T21:15:04Z

69.114.143.115:

__HIDDENCAT__

[[Category: Games by year]]

Category:1991

2011-04-06T21:13:31Z

69.114.143.115:

__HIDDENCAT__

[[Category: Games by year]]