Vectrex Academy 2023 - final releases available

[Peer]

Mar 25, 2023 16:12:19 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

^ You're welcome, Peer.

Something that came to my mind: For new game concepts it might be a good idea to have a look at games on even simpler consoles like the Saba VideoPlay or Atari 2600. As written above, the Saba VideoPlay (=Fairchild Channel F) has very simple two player games. In a first increment, a simple two player game could be implemented and in further steps/increments a one player mode (with opponent with AI) or additional graphics, title screen, sound, and more could be added. Just an idea...

Another thank-you for this suggestion, Helmut, I will check out the Saba system and its games. I have to admit, we are rather "unorganized" in respect to the finding-of-ideas-and-game-concepts

I tell the students that they can come up with whatever idea they like, and I do not take any influence in their decision process (as long as it is not something inappropriate). I only provide some rough guidance whether or not I think that the concept can be realized on the Vectrex. The main criterion is that everyone choses a concept/game they enjoy working on and have fun converting it to C code. That also explains why usually there are clones and games which already exist for the Vectrex. I explicitly tell the students that it is perfectly fine if we have yet another version of game X. Very often, "I really like that game and I always wanted to code it myself" is the reason for such a decision (and also was the reason for some of my own projects in the past).

For me, the concept-finding phase is always really exciting, each year all over again, and I am always very curious about the directions where the current course will be heading. I constantly have to adapt to new scenarios, that is what I love about this class. Teaching it never gets boring

[hcmffm]

Thank you for your feedback, Peer. It's good that you let students decide on the game concept themselves while keeping an eye on complexity and feasability. Increments and agile software development with a MVP (minimal viable product) are means to reduce risks and avoid failures in software projects. Implementing a first increment/MVP and then adding things if time allows to do so might be a good approach even for the Vectrex Academy projects.

Mar 26, 2023 5:59:56 GMT -5 Peer said:

...

For me, the concept-finding phase is always really exciting, each year all over again, and I am always very curious about the directions where the current course will be heading. I constantly have to adapt to new scenarios, that is what I love about this class. Teaching it never gets boring

Yes, this is a very essential and exciting phase, I guess. I wonder which of all those excellent ideas and game concepts were the most exotic ones. I guess the Fencing simulator is amongst these.

Again, thank you for you (Peer) for your dedication and enthusiasm and good luck and fun to all students!

[Peer]

Mar 26, 2023 10:57:21 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

... I wonder which of all those excellent ideas and game concepts were the most exotic ones. I guess the Fencing simulator is amongst these.

That is a good question. I guess it depends a bit on everybody's personal opinion of what counts as exotic, but I agree, the Fencing Simulator is definitely among them.

[Peer]

Greetings everyone!

There is now quite some color on the project gallery page. All projects have title screens, and some of them already show screenshots. There is even a very early prototype video of one game. This is current change log (which can always be found at the bottom of the page):

Latest modifications

• Screenshot of project "Vec T-Rex Run" added on 04/02/2023 at 10:00
• Title screen of project "Freeride" added on 03/31/2023 at 11:30
• Screenshot of project "Get in Shape" added on 03/30/2023 at 13:45
• Title screen of project "Cliff Jump" added on 03/29/2023 at 18:00
• Title screen of project "Wetcat" added on 03/29/2023 at 12:20
• Title screen of project "1024" added on 03/29/2023 at 09:00
• Title screen of project "VecVenture" added on 03/29/2023 at 09:00
• Title screen of project "VecDrift" added on 03/29/2023 at 09:00
• Title screen of project "Fly High" added on 03/28/2023 at 11:20
• Title screen of project "Tee Time" added on 03/27/2023 at 15:00
• Early prototype video of project "Happy Bird" uploaded on 03/27/2023 at 10:00
• Title screen of project "Tank Master" added on 03/25/2023 at 11:15
• Concept art of project "Vec Pong" added on 03/22/2023 at 17:40

Many Cheers,

Peer

[Peer]

... and already the next update, with some sad and some great news:

Latest modifications

• New prototype video of project "Happy Bird" uploaded on 04/06/2023 at 16:30
• Project "Vec Pong" canceled on 04/06/2023 at 16:20

Many Cheers,

Peer

[hcmffm]

Thank you for these updates, Peer. Sure enough it is sad if a student cancels his/her project. Though hardware-oriented programming is tough and understandable that it's not everyone's dream. Good to see progress of all other projects and I much look forward to trying out first alpha versions. Good luck and fun to you and all students - keep up the good work! ☀

[Peer]

Apr 7, 2023 3:19:49 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

... Though hardware-oriented programming is tough and understandable that it's not everyone's dream...

In the present case the reasons for cancelling the project were not related to this specific class, or to its topics. Considerung the circumstances, it was a wise decision of the student to withdraw for now. The project will likely be resumed in one of the future courses.

[Peer]

... next update:

Latest modifications

• Screenshots and prototype video of project "Tank Master" added on 04/13/2023 at 19:15
• Prototype video of project "Get in Shape" uploaded on 04/12/2023 at 15:45
  

Link to project gallery

Many Cheers,
Peer

[Peer]

... and yet another nice demo video and more screenshots available

Latest modifications

• Screenshots of project "Cliff Jump" added on 04/15/2023 at 15:45
  
• Prototype video of project "Freeride" uploaded on 04/15/2023 at 10:00

Link to project gallery

Many Cheers,
Peer

[Peer]

... and here is your weekly update:

Latest modifications

• Prototype video of project "Vec T-Rex Run" added on 04/23/2023 at 09:00
• Demo video and screenshot of project "VecDrift" added on 04/22/2023 at 13:00
• New demo video and lots of screenshots of project "Wetcat" added on 04/22/2023 at 11:45
• New screenshot of project "VecVenture" added on 04/19/2023 at 16:55

Link to project gallery

Many Cheers,
Peer

[Chainsaw]

I often forget to check from time to time the project gallery / lists, but I already see games where I think: I want to play this now! :-)

[hcmffm]

Thank you for the updates, Peer, much appreciated. Good work - cool to see first animations in prototypes.

[Peer]

... and again the more-or-less-weekly update:

Latest modifications and change log:

• New demo video of project "Happy Bird" uploaded on 05/01/2023 at 10:00
• Overlay artwork of project "1024" updated on 05/01/2023 at 10:00
• Once more, a new demo video of project "Wetcat" uploaded on 05/01/2023 at 10:00, featuring more animations
• New screenshot of project "VecDrift" added on 05/01/2023 at 10:00
• Screenshot of project "Tee Time" added on 04/26/2023 at 14:20
• Once more, a new demo video of project "Get in Shape" uploaded on 04/26/2023 at 14:10
• Prototype video of project "Fly High" uploaded on 04/25/2023 at 10:15

Link to project gallery

Many Cheers,
Peer

[hcmffm]

Thank you for the latest update. I just had a look at the videos and was quite impressed.

WetCat
Animation in WetCat looks really cool - I much like the throwing-animation of mice.

Fly High
Game play of "Fly high" is a cool variation and something new to me. Another promising game.

I much like the variation - here are various ideas and thoughts:

• Graphic styles of walls (simple line) and space ship (several lines, details) don't fit: You might add a short line at one line end of the walls to make them look 3D and make their style fit to the space ship.
  
  
• Walls and space ships don't really fit in respect of the scenario. Perhaps the game scenario could be a person (or car or tank or ..) from above trying to escape from a building/labyrinth.
  
  
• Not quite sure how player's ship is controlled. With "Rotate left", "Rotate right", "Move forward", "Move backwards" More angles would be possible but this would increase difficulty dramatically. Might be good - might be bad.
  
  
• Distance of incoming walls might be larger while speed of the incoming walls could be higher. This might increase the feeling of flying forward. Plus spaceship might not turn but just fly left/right.
  
  
• Perhaps at a later stage, energy gates that open and close periodically could be added. You'll have to fly through a gate while it's open.
  

Good fun to all students and thank you for your effort!

[hcmffm]

For VecDrift I've fiddled around a bit with the design of the racing car. This is the result (new design on left, current design on the right):