Joystick Johnny

Makke · Post by **Makke** » 02/07/2007 - 20:20

As some of you might know I'm working on the music for an independent game called Joystick Johnny. You may think of it as a remixed Lazy Jones, though Joe Lesko who's designed and programmed it didn't know Lazy Jones existed when he hatched the idea.

There's a playable beta over at the game's official site:
http://www.joystickjohnny.com/

The final game will feature three in-game songs, and probably a menu-tune by me in what hopefully sounds like 80's style.

I do know when the final release deadline is (very soon), but since that will probably be pushed a bit I'll leave it up to Joe to disclose that.

It's quite a nice game, and please check the beta out and report any bugs you encounter or changes you think of. I know Joe wants some "difficulty input" so the game gets balanced.

Analog-X64 · Post by **Analog-X64** » 02/07/2007 - 21:41

Sweet!!! Thats some Makke-Licious Music!!! I like the game pretty nifty!!

So was this programmed using some kind of Dev Kit?

Makke · Post by **Makke** » 03/07/2007 - 18:07

Analog-X wrote:So was this programmed using some kind of Dev Kit?

Joe works in Blitz Basic. I'm not too read up on how to develop things using that, but I'd expect there's some dev kit involved in the process.

Chris Abbott · Post by **Chris Abbott** » 03/07/2007 - 18:10

Makke wrote:
Analog-X wrote:So was this programmed using some kind of Dev Kit?
Joe works in Blitz Basic. I'm not too read up on how to develop things using that, but I'd expect there's some dev kit involved in the process.

Nah, it's just a PC programming language.

Chris

Analog-X64 · Post by **Analog-X64** » 03/07/2007 - 21:16

I'm researching ways I can program a game without a steep learning curve. Blitz Basic is one of those languages did come up when doing some research.

I'd like to make a C64 Remake, it will probably take me a year or longer to do so, but I think it will be a fun learning experience along the way.

Looking forward to the full version of "Joystick Johnny"

xo · Post by xo » 03/07/2007 - 21:21

If you're looking for light weight stuff, you can also check out haXe which compiles to flash, javascript and Neko. haxe.org

Waz · Post by **Waz** » 04/07/2007 - 23:27

Great fun little game, this. The music's pretty neat too, very 1980s retro synth, good job Makke! :)

I managed to get on the top 5 scores too, I got a perfect in all four games that I played in the demo along the way, but it took me a few attempts.

Edit: I'm now second in the all-time list! :)

Joystick Johnny Scoreboard as of 08/07/07

I've not lost the old touch just yet ;)

agent4125 · Post by **agent4125** » 08/07/2007 - 8:38

Thanks, guys. =) I hope to get the full version launched by the end of the month. Since the game is very much inspired (or fueled, even) by the remix scene, I will probably offer some kind of promo here when it's done.

BTW, I just uploaded a new version of the demo. If you give it a go, please submit your scores online so I can measure the difficulty curve, though Waz's scores will be tough to beat.

You can use the scoreboard: REMIX64

Thanks!

Joystick Johnny Website

agent4125 · Post by **agent4125** » 08/07/2007 - 8:44

Oh, and I currently use BlitzMax, an object-oriented, cross-platform game programming language. The original language BlitzBasic actually began on the Amiga. The community is active with remakers and even some old school developers like the Pickford Brothers.

http://www.blitzbasic.com

For beginners, I would highly recommend Blitz3D which also does 2D. With that, you can have a simple working game your first weekend using it.

If you're not keen on programming, I would recommend GameMaker by Mark Overmars.

Analog-X64 · Post by **Analog-X64** » 08/07/2007 - 11:28

agent4125 wrote:Oh, and I currently use BlitzMax, an object-oriented, cross-platform game programming language. The original language BlitzBasic actually began on the Amiga. The community is active with remakers and even some old school developers like the Pickford Brothers.

http://www.blitzbasic.com

For beginners, I would highly recommend Blitz3D which also does 2D. With that, you can have a simple working game your first weekend using it.

If you're not keen on programming, I would recommend GameMaker by Mark Overmars.

Time to download and play and see what score I get

I want to do a remake, taking a classic and re-doing it with updated graphics.

So you recommend I start with Blitz3D and than moving onto BlitzMax?? Or should I just jump into BlitzMax??

I've done C/C++ Programming before but that was 12 years ago.

I need some guidance!!!

Would you mind if I pm'ed you some questions time to time?? or is there a forum you recommend that I can ask questions?

I've seen how you can make levels with Gamemakers they normaly have builtin facility for this, but I have no clue how I would make up levels on my own with Tile Mapping.

Analog-X64 · Post by **Analog-X64** » 08/07/2007 - 11:44

agent4125 wrote: You can use the scoreboard: REMIX64

I'm submitting under "ANX"

kjetiln · Post by **kjetiln** » 08/07/2007 - 13:51

Analog X: Here's a tip if you want make games and not want to go all the way and learn how to program..

Multimedia Fusion 2 (or it's limited version The Games Factory 2)

They are exellent game makers and I have used them for 10 years.. They are also quite cheap. TGF2 doesn't cost more than a new pc game. These latest additions though are quite powerful. You don't need to know anything about programming to use these tools, yet what you can do with them are beyond your imagination

For games made with MMF2 TGF2 visit: The Daily Click

MMF2 and TGF2 also have the best user community I've ever seen. Just check out the forum on http://www.clickteam.com

Waz · Post by **Waz** » 08/07/2007 - 22:02

agent4125 wrote:Since the game is very much inspired (or fueled, even) by the remix scene, I will probably offer some kind of promo here when it's done.

Sounds a good idea to me. I'm interested for sure, because the games are simple to pick up, fun to play and difficult to put down. It has that "one more go" factor with a score to aim at.

agent4125 wrote:If you give it a go, please submit your scores online so I can measure the difficulty curve

I think at the moment it's just about balanced in terms of that level. It is possible to get a perfect on each of the games that are in the demo, but you do need to practice a little, and there's a bit of an allowance for errors, so you can still complete it, albeit with a much lower score.

It might be worth considering making the "treasures" a little bit easier to spot though - I stumbled across the one in one of the games completely by accident when I hit a small lit blob, and I thought I'd actually hit something and lost time.

agent4125 wrote:Waz's scores will be tough to beat. ;)

I'm using the REMIX64 scoreboard now, so far only AnalogX (ANX) and me (WAZ, as if you couldn't guess) are on there. Come on guys - give this game a blast. You'll be addicted. And... you've now got a score to aim at :)

Analog-X64 · Post by **Analog-X64** » 08/07/2007 - 22:12

Waz wrote: I'm using the REMIX64 scoreboard now, so far only AnalogX (ANX) and me (WAZ, as if you couldn't guess) are on there. Come on guys - give this game a blast. You'll be addicted. And... you've now got a score to aim at

Yeah!! Lets seem some other names on there, surely its not just Waz and I who are addicted

agent4125 · Post by **agent4125** » 09/07/2007 - 9:02

Hey, check out the new badges you can get at the bottom of the scoreboard page! =)

http://www.joystickjohnny.com/scoreboar ... id=REMIX64

When everyone else sees the ultra-cool badge in your sig, you'll be swimming in competition.

ANX, I would recommend starting with Blitz3D over Max, because there is a lot more documentation, since it's been around for a long time. The Blitz forums are very responsive and can probably give better answers than I can, but if you get in a bind I can offer some help. Just start with a *really* small project and you should be okay.

WAZ, thanks for the feedback. =)