I'm making a little Jumpman clone...

[Raptisoft]

Hi all,

I'm making a little, simple Jumpman clone (it's my Chuzzle cooldown) and I know there are some people on this board who have many thoughts on that game.

I wanted to feel out anyone who is a Jumpman lover and see if there's any kind of variety level you'd like to see in the game. I've got 30 specific levels planned, but I would like to hit 40, so here's you chance to be in the credits of the most amazing remake that nobody's ever heard of. :)

I can't offer financial compensation, because I'm not sure it's not going to be freeware yet (or $5, or what), so this is basically, if you'd like to see something on your old jumpman wishlist realized, now's your chance.

Thanks all!

[TimS]

Jumpman... rock.

I played through both Jumpman 1 and 2 for commodore 64... but that was long ago... I'd have to revisit them via emulator in order to suggest particular levels. All I can say is... go with the speed of Jumpman 1... and you've got my $5 if it comes to that.

-Tim

[soniCron]

I played through both Jumpman 1 and 2 for commodore 64... but that was long ago... I'd have to revisit them via emulator in order to suggest particular levels. This may satisfy you:

http://www.classicgaming.com/jlounge/

[svero]

Im a huge jumpman fan... So don't mess it up.

Anyway folks.. here's a REAL game developer. He just finished a big release and to wind down he's making a game.

[ggambett]

I've just finished a big release and to wind down I'm toying with image-based rendering. We're a bunch of weird people :D

[svero]

Well my big post release plan is to go dive with thresher sharks...

http://www.malapascua-diving.com/

Which I guess is a little like making a jumpman clone I suppose...

[arcadetown]

We're talking about the old Jumpman from the Atari 800 and other genre computers? Totally rocked!!

[ggambett]

Well my big post release plan is to go dive with thresher sharks...
Ooooh, I see, surviving a tsunami of biblical proportions is not enough for you, you have to go fight against sharks now?

[svero]

Well I've dove with lots of sharks in the past... except never threshers .. which have these really nice big tails. Although I must admit when I first read about that site I thought they said the sharks were 5-6 feet long. Turns out that was meters.... For some video of threshers see...

http://www.oceanfootage.com/oceans/search?screen=search&savesearch=1&keyword_sorter=cat&cat_keyword_sorter=and&keywords=thresher+shark&DVfSESSCKIE=dc20ec813bf673e7fa80e3cab9a107055ac70e 34

All these were taken in the phillipines. No surprise I suppose. I think its one of the only places in the world that they're readily available to view. Anyway... waaaayyy off topic... sorry

- S

[lakibuk]

What about a Figurit level that can actually be solved? I mean, has anyone of you ever solved this weird Figurit levels without dying?
Are you planning to make a <save game > feature? Old C64 games usually didn't allow saving. But nowadays having to start all over after game over sucks.
Eager to see your version, big Jumpman fan,too.

[Midnight Synergy]

Jumpman Junior all the way!

Ah, the memories.

[Raptisoft]

Anyway folks.. here's a REAL game developer. He just finished a big release and to wind down he's making a game.

Heh.

* * *

It's not going to be casual, but it will have some casual features. For one thing, I'm tossing lives, completely. Jumpman is way too hard to be considered right now as a 'game.' Playing it, I end up so furious so quickly that I find myself wanting to slam the computer a-la 1985.

So I think I'm going to do a simple "here's your time limit... pass all the levels before it runs out." Sort of like Hamsterball, I guess. And yeah, save/continue, of course.

I've got 31 levels designed-- a lot of them are 1:1 rip offs of the original jumpman. I'm trying to make the graphics a little more cartoony and whatnot, too.

I was debating going with a style looking like PuppyTron, which I really like, but then I figured that would be a bit bastardly. Then I tried to contact Cas to see if they could work out a graphics deal, and they didn't.... even.... reply!

[princec]

Hey John, we never got your mail! Turns out our contact form has been broken for 6 months when Oddlabs fiddled with our server :( What was it you wanted? Chaz tends to be completely snowed under with work but large amounts of cash often help him rearrange his priorities.

Cas :)

[arcadetown]

Try Alex In Danger (http://www.arcadetown.com/alexindanger/gameonline.asp), a pretty cool run & jumper. The first couple levels aren't very hard but the difficulty ramps up very fast and harkens back to Jumpman and some of those insanely difficult levels. Come to think of it I remember bashing my computer's keyboard quite a few times over Jumpman, just like I'm doing because of this game :(

[arcadetown]

For one thing, I'm tossing lives, completely. Jumpman is way too hard to be considered right now as a 'game.' Playing it, I end up so furious so quickly that I find myself wanting to slam the computer a-la 1985.
Great idea. Actually in our Midnight Strike (http://www.arcadetown.com/midnightstrike/playgame.asp) (adapated from Alex in Danger) we completely tossed lives and time limits trying to remove as much frustration as possible. Seriously I've been bashing my keyboard because of Alex in Danger, it's limited lives, and complete frustration. Starting to really dislike this game and now recall those same feelings coming back about Jumpman. In Midnight Strike there is no lives and the timer is a bonus timer thus the object is to complete each level as fast as possible to score the highest for the shared highscore list. So you can play the game at your own pace.

[papillon]

(loads Midnight Strike, sighs in exasperation as the VERY FIRST bit of dialog pops up with a huge grammar error in it :) )

[arcadetown]

One thing that's cool about freeware is you don't have to be quite as sensitive. Next up is Betty's Wild West Strip Bar (just kidding Gabriel).

[soniCron]

Next up is Betty's Wild West Strip Bar (just kidding Gabriel).
Funny you should mention that, because I'd been thinking about doing some "adult" themed games in the future (under a pseudonym). I think there really could be a market for those, especially on the internet. That's quite a niche, and people may actually be willing to pay for it.

[princec]

Great idea. Actually in our Midnight Strike (http://www.arcadetown.com/midnightstrike/playgame.asp) (adapated from Alex in Danger) we completely tossed lives and time limits trying to remove as much frustration as possible. Seriously I've been bashing my keyboard because of Alex in Danger, it's limited lives, and complete frustration. Starting to really dislike this game and now recall those same feelings coming back about Jumpman. In Midnight Strike there is no lives and the timer is a bonus timer thus the object is to complete each level as fast as possible to score the highest for the shared highscore list. So you can play the game at your own pace.
I tried precisely this for Dudester and the result is the worst sales of any indie game, ever.

...maybe it'll do well on arcadetown?

Cas :)

[ggambett]

One thing that's cool about freeware is you don't have to be quite as sensitive. Next up is Betty's Wild West Strip Bar (just kidding Gabriel).
It seems this joke comes up every time we release a game :D But Brian is right, you wouldn't believe how sensitive are some segments of the public. For example, remember the Wild West Wendy map? Of course you don't - during the beta it had a territory named Changtown with a smiling chinese face and a geographical accident called Laundry Creek. I don't see anything offensive about that and it's a widely used stereotype in western literature. But you guys suggested a change, so we changed it to Chop Suey Creek, which I think it's even less offensive, even flattering (I love chinese food!). And now a Big Portal just asked us to change it again because they think it may be offensive! So we removed the chinese theme altogether and it's now Gunsmoke Gulch, with Smuggler's Creek. Now I just hope the next Big Portal doesn't say there aren't any chinese represented in the map :)

[Savant]

A well done strip club game done in the WWW or BBB style would be great, IMO.

The more people it offended, the more coverage it would get. It would almost be self fulfilling - assuming the game was good, once the masses downloaded it because they just HAD to check it out, you'd be set!

[Raptisoft]

Wow guys, thanks, these are all great ideas for Jumpmanesque levels.

Not