It's actually a C, not a G.
We are the Knights who saaaaay...Ni!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jacob Kruger" <jac...@mailzone.co.za>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 4:07 PM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Mysteries of the Ancients Levels
Is turrigan T2002 accessible as such?
http://www.pekaro.de/content/t2002/t2002.html
Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
'...fate had broken his body, but not his spirit...'
----- Original Message -----
From: "dark" <d...@xgam.org>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 11:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Mysteries of the Ancients Levels
Hi Tom.
This actually ties into something I was thinking about the other day.
I realized, that despite having games as complex as smugglers, shades of
doom, entombed, time of conflict and lone wolf installed on my pc, what
is the game I play most often? What is the game I frequently just think
"hay, I've got half an hour, ---- lets play something" and stick on?
Easy, ------ The freeware, graphical remake of Turrican, T2002 (with it's
various level packs that people have created of course).
this is not, by any stretch of the imagination a particularly complex
game.
There is no in game story let alone cut scenes. you have three main
weapons, ---- which you can't even choose betwene you just pick up at
random, a multiple shot that covers a wide area, a laser that covers a
small area but is very powerful, and a bounce weapon that rebounds off
walls.
You have a close range, 360 degree energy whip, and a limited number of
grenades that blow up everything on the screen.
That is it! 3 primary weapons, one secondary weapon, and a limited use
special power, ---- Mota already has more to offer.
Neither is the game complex. Run along, shoot huge swarms of baddies, and
try to find the exit of each level.
There are no doors, ---- not even destroyable ones as in the metroid
games, let alone keys, nor are there torches, ---- not even medkits to
carry.
Yet, why is it I play turrican probably more than any other game. Partly
it's the very amazing soundtrack, ---- but we'll leave that aside for
now, mostly it's the exploration!
the levels are, ---- quite honestly, ridiculously huge! each is 30 or so
screens square, and unlike in prince of persia where each screen held
only 3 of your characters' high vertically, Turrican you can jump roughly
as high as Mario can, so each screen can hold five times your high
vertically, also obviiously the screen scrolls, and scrolls in any
direction.
More than that though, each level is a massive maze. There is no
guarantee that you start on the left and the exit was on the right side
as in most side scrollers, indeed sometimes it was on the left and in in
some levels you jumped up into the exit or fell down into it.
then, exploration is actually rewarded, sinse the more you explore, the
more likely you are to find hidden extra lives or power ups, which are
often very well hidden indeed.
The pc remake also instituted a feature which is common to modern games
but was litle known in the early 90's when Turrican was originally
made, ---- that of saving! Sinse the game now saves each time you get to
a new level, level designers have been able to create Turrican levels
that even make the original game look small!
I'm not sure on the exact size, but where as exploring the original
levels of the Amigar games would take me around 20 minutes to half an
hour per stage, some of the newly made levels have taken me literally
hours! to play through.
Add to this another fact about turrican which I've yet to see emulated in
an audio game, instead of a single jump distance, you jump relative to
how long you hold down the jump button. This means you can have ledges
and complex terane to jump through, which requires you to calculate
distances, ---- indeed often such a simple task as jumping from one
ledge to another can be made a good deal more complex by this, especially
sinse obviously your targit ledgte can be above or below you.
Trap wise, the game included comparatively few, but with the physics of
the jumps taken into account they could make things rather difficult.
False walls, or walls and ledges you could blast through with your
weapon, moving platforms (horrizontal or vertical), turning cog wheels
that will chuck you off when you stand on them, and conveyer belts that
push you along (often into hazards like crushers or flames which will
damage you).
But why am I mentioning all this (especially about a game which most
people on this list will not be able to play), because it's this! that I
would love to see in an audio side scroller.
Freedom of movement, exploration, a system of jumping physics which
actually requires you to get used to and practice with, and traps which
similarly need some work from the player to avoid.
There's a tendency I've noticed in audio side scrollers to essentially
make everything feel quite automatic. You get close to enemy, enemy
attacks unless you hit first, on harder difficulty enemy damages you
more. you get to edge of ledge, hit single jump button.
Compare this to the fluidity and sense of freedom in a game like
Turrican, Metroid, ---- or even something like original mega man, and the
difference is astronomical.
I'm absolutely certain it's possible to have this sort of experience in
audio, ---- but nobody has done it in 2D yet, though I will admit that
Shades of doom and sarah have indeed managed it in 3D (one reason why I
became interested in audio games in the first place, sinse Shades seemed
to have so many of the charactoristics that I enjoy in computer games
generally.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
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