"Show me the money!"

Jerry Maguire (1996)

So I'm working on a new game.

The story begins in 1986, when Ariolasoft published a game in Germany called "They Stole a Million" [More info on Lemon 64]. It's a game where you plan and execute heists. You have to buy plans, information about the swag, hire a crew and a fence. Then you plan the job on the blueprints and hope that you were clever enough to come out of this with enough money for the next job.

Buying information about the target and the swag.

Hiring a team and then going to the planing phase ...

After reading the reviews, it was clear that it was a game I wanted to play - badly. So I bought a copy of it on tape. And I played it. For Weeks.

But I discovered that without Excel (or extensive notes) I could not get beyond the 2nd heist. I always ended up short of cash. And Excel wasn't a thing back then.

Years later, when I started making games again (Flash!) the game's "simple" idea still fueled my imagination, but I didn't want to do a port or just remake the game with new visuals, I wanted to add my own twist to it. And make it "easier". First, though, I made other games (and then no games for quite a while).

BUT I already had a name:

Rein. Greifen. Raus.

When the idea of making a new game came up, I explored some old ideas, but none caught my attention for long enough to go beyond "early pre alpha greybox" state.

There still was this heist game!

The C64 game was far too complex for a "fun" game, and I had to reduce the complexity, while keeping the idea intact. One thing I wanted to remove was the need for an Excel sheet to crunch all the numbers, I also wanted to get rid of the planing phase - even though it was the main part of the original game.

The main gameplay loop should be:

• Pick target
• Buy infos about the target, swag, alarm
• Pick a team
• Pick a fence
• Scout the target [optional]
• Do the heist in real time, repeat if needed

The current demo level with a lot of debug info, showing movement and (stub) interactions.

For testing, I'm going to use the first target of the original game: "H. Humbug & Son Antique Coin Shop" (and maybe keep it in the game as tribute to "They Stole a Million").

See you next time ...

"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know."

Animal Crackers (1930)

Since I missed last week's post, this week is a bit more elaborate.

When I found this game on the tapes that came with my C64 I was hooked. I think it was on one of the later tapes, because I played the games one after another, and it must have been well over a half year after Christmas that I stumbled upon:

The Sword of Fargoal

Title screen (from a cracked version) and the original "main menu"

Originally released on the VIC-20 in 1982 the C64 version made it to the stores in 1983, it is what I might call now a Rogue-lite (or Roguelike, but quite reduced, so "lite" might be more appropriate).

Our nameless hero has to venture down randomly generated dungeon levels until he (we) find the magic Sword of Fargoal, and then go all the way back up (along with a hefty time limit, more monsters and fewer stairs up).

Generating the map and showing some stats.

You gain XP by collecting gold (and sacrificing it in temples) and slaying a varied cast of monsters. With each new level you get some additional hit points, can carry more gold, and deal a tad more damage. There are healing potions, magic sacks (to carry more gold), beacons (teleport to thingies), and some spells to keep you alive - and you better uses these as you only got one try.

The spells make you invisible, regenerate HP, teleport (random location), summon a shield, let you drift and widen your light radius.

You also may find enchanted weapons for more oomph against monsters.

A cleared map and a level for which we have found a map.

You start with a covered map, and each step uncovers a 3x3 area around the player (or some more using the light spell). You make same steps, then the monsters move until you've complete cleared the map or took the stairs down to the next level. The checked spots on the map (that look like the covered pieces) contain something random: helpful things like: spells, potions, sacks, maps (that uncover later levels) and weapons OR unpleasantries like: traps, holes ...

Traps may make you lose your orientation (thus coving up the map) and holes can be used to skip levels (although not knowing where you end up).

Level 15, where the sword can be found, and made it out again.

I'd say this game was the first real killer for my (not very big) enthusiasm for going to school. It killed it right on the spot. For a few weeks (and some abysmal school tests) it was all I wanted to do. I came home, dropped my bag and played Fargoal (well, until my parents took away the C64 ... "You get it back when you can concentrate in school again").

I'd give it a 5/5 for replayability.

Another one I got via GamePass and I'm quite undecided about what to make of it. It's word free, so no messing with tiny subtitles (I see a rant coming), but it pushes the needle towards "unfinished" with its controls.

Place with a view.

The controls are annoyingly fidgety at times and there are spots where you have to hit a spot on-the-pixel (see image below where you need to position yourself in the shadows of the umbrellas in order to cross the screen).

Don't go towards the light.

On the plus side ... I haven't rage-quit yet, but I'm also not sure if I really want to go on after 5h.

I haven't found a homepage with a quick search, so here's the link to the Xbox page:
Somerville

In favor of the game, I have to admit that I don't like survival/horror games, making Signalis an odd choice. What made me try it, was that it came with GamePass and the retro look.

(Screenshot nipped from the Signals page, I didn't get that far)

The first hour or so was really enjoyable (more puzzle/exploration and less survival), then came the shooting and the dying and time for me to say "goodbye".

I had a quick look at a walkthrough to see where the shooting and dying might lead me and if I should just swallow my dislike of "not enough of everything" (including inventory space). But reading a few chapters into the guide I found a shitload of things I would have forgotten and would have made me reload/restart that chapter, resulting in a rage-quit.

 

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