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View Full Version : The C64 never died and never will die



bbagnall
06-26-2004, 11:07 PM
I've always been a little sad the C64 died off as a computer of active game development, but then something occurred to me.

There are 15,800 games according to Gamebase. If you played each one of those games for 10 minutes each, that's 109 days of straight play with no sleep or meals or bathroom breaks. At 1 hour per day, or 6 games per day, that's over 7 years of play, if you didn't take any weekends or holidays off. In other words, you will probably never play every single c64 game in your life. You definitely could not complete every c64 game, not in 10 lifetimes. It just ain't possible.

So if you somehow took only the good games (and I keep finding good ones I've never heard of like Exile) you might be able to complete just the good ones before you die. Right now I'm working through Legacy of Ancients and having an amazing time. I can't stop playing it once I get going (can't say the same for Deus Ex II, despite considering it a great game). Upcoming C64 games include Mars Saga, Dan Dare, Shogun, Neuromancer, Legend of Blacksilver, and on and on and on.

There are always worthy unplayed games to move on to after completing a game. So basically what it boils down to is, the situation is exactly the same as if new games were being made for it every day. The C64 will never die in my opinion.

Shane R. Monroe
06-27-2004, 11:35 AM
Great post!

You aren't cheating with Legacy of the Ancients are you? Part of the fun is mapping and exploring.

Damn, that's a great game ain't it? Where are you at in the game?

This is why I bitch so much about modern gaming .. with 15,000 games (even if only 10% were good, thats 150 TOP GAMES) that could be easily redone and updated with simply better graphics and sound so the box shots look good ... they are still a blast to play.

bbagnall
06-27-2004, 12:34 PM
You aren't cheating with Legacy of the Ancients are you? Part of the fun is mapping and exploring.

Damn, that's a great game ain't it? Where are you at in the game?

Not a chance with cheating! I've got two large pieces of paper, one for the Tarmalon overworld map and one for writing down buildings and prices for each town (banks, magic shops, etc...). Plus four pieces of paper for the pirates dungeon (2 levels per piece of paper). And the museum map. All done in pen as I explored them. I didn't bother mapping Baron Kelfor's castle since it's pretty basic.

Right now I've gotten the saphire coin and crown from the pirate dungeon, the tulip and sceptre from the castle, and talked to Cassandra the Seductress. I also played the Stones of Wisdom in the museum, which is a pretty cool mini-game.

It's just such an amazing storyline. Those twin brothers who designed it have a fantastic imagination. I'd say this is as close to perfect as I've ever seen in a C64 game.


...could be easily redone and updated with simply better graphics and sound so the box shots look good ... they are still a blast to play.

My new philosophy is if I ever try to develop a 2D game, it will only be developed for the C64. Screw the PC and Windows! It just doesn't seem right to develop 2D on any other platform. CC65 all the way!

BTW: Click here to see what Zelda could look like on the C64: (done with CC65)
http://www.mts.net/~kbagnall/commodore/zelda64.png

Shane R. Monroe
06-27-2004, 07:57 PM
Dammit .. you got me all wanting to play it again ...

I'd really love to make a PC "Legacy" engine and let people builld adventures with it. I could play those kinda games forever.

I am trying to find these guys to do an interview with them for the show.

You're quite a bit in there ... I really miss the 'graph paper games'.

Yeah, the story is great ain't it? The concept of the Galactic Museum is the bomb.

bbagnall
06-30-2004, 07:14 PM
I'd really love to make a PC "Legacy" engine and let people builld adventures with it. I could play those kinda games forever.
There's a guy named Crazy Jim who is working on a Legacy of the Ancients engine for Windows. He's got screenshots here:

http://pathofdreams.net/crazyj/ibh.html

Looks good, but he needs better tile artwork.

I am trying to find these guys to do an interview with them for the show.
Oh yeah! (Koolaid voice) That would be amazing. I think Chuck and John are in Lansing Michigan these days, according to the LotA website. If you talk to them, get them back into game design! :)

RaMDaY
07-01-2004, 10:37 AM
Long live Commodore and their MP3 players!!!


http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/10042