[Coco] Need to make a game

[Roger Taylor]

I know I'll get some flack over this one :) but I was browsing around 
to see where the links on my site lead to and yet again came across 
the games listing site that shows some of my early CoCo games.  I 
remember being dedicated to those little projects and how long it 
took.  Those were my night owl days.

http://nitros9.lcurtisboyle.com/pelieti.html
http://nitros9.lcurtisboyle.com/spiderhype.html
http://nitros9.lcurtisboyle.com/spiderhyper.html

My first OS-9 program I think was called QuikSort which took the old 
BBS QWK message packets and fixed them for use with the most popular 
mail reader for OS-9.  I remember on some sites the QWK packets were 
not uniform with those from other sites, and the author of that 
reader program didn't support the different variations.  But, if you 
sorted the message file and got rid of nil forum areas, etc. (I'm 
kinda foggy on the details), you could download and read offline 
messages from any BBS that provided QWK feeds.  You could reply 
offline then upload your replies at once, saving lots of dial-up 
time.  None of my OS-9 game attempts made it, but I almost finished a 
Shoot-Out clone like the Atari block graphics version where two 
cowboys shot through moving cactuses and barrells.  The 6309 was used 
to scroll the background smoothly and with almost no noticeable 
overhead.  Another game I was working on scrolled the background in 
layers to give it a 3-D effect for mountains going by, but the 6309 
patch for OS-9 at the time was buggy and the W register would become 
corrupt after system interrupts.

My last game for the CoCo is in limbo at this time, code-named "Agent 
C".  The graphics are promising, in 16 colors but giving the appeal 
that the Interbank Incident game did, only this is for Disk 
BASIC.  All the characters are created, but not nearly the number of 
rooms desired for the game.  Only a few objects were created since 
the plot was not fully decided on.  Even though I've dived into this 
project on many occasions, life situations seem to keep getting in 
the way, as well as my many other ongoing ordeals on the web.  If 
anyone wants to work with me on this project, or take charge of it 
and then let me help out where needed when I can, I feel like it can 
become a reality sooner.  I already have a code-base to use from a 
former unrelease audio sampler/editor program called Digi, that uses 
a mouse-driven point-and-click GUI for Disk BASIC.  Agent C, the 
character, would represent every CoCo user sitting at the 
computer.  He goes into the Microsloth headquarters and reclaims a 
stolen floppy disk from the 80's, that describes the secret 256-color 
CoCo graphics mode.  In the game, Bill Gates someone obtained the 
disk which is why we have no CoCo 4 (in the the game 
world).  :)  That's what plot was pretty much voted on as I gathered feedback.


-- 
Roger Taylor