Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!usc!ucsd!helios.ee.lbl.gov!hellgate.utah.edu!uplherc!esunix!blgardne From: blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: A Philosophy of Game Design, from the author of PocoMan Message-ID: <1998@esunix.UUCP> Date: 15 Jun 90 01:41:19 GMT References: <30670@cup.portal.com> Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation Lines: 107 X-Local-Date: 14 Jun 90 18:41:19 PDT From article <30670@cup.portal.com>, by Sullivan@cup.portal.com (sullivan - segall): >>>> 4) I've already said it, but of course you should exit! Give up the >>>> paranoia! Poco isn't copy protected, it multitasks, the game is >>> PocoMan is not copy protected. You can easily make archival backups >>> PocoMan is multi-tasking friendly. We have gone to great effort to > So what is it? Sounds kind of like Chip's Challenge, but I'm not really > sure. The distribution philosophy is great. If the game is any good (even > as just a distraction) I'll go out and buy a copy. [Not much .tech stuff in here, so I've dropped csat from the Newsgroups line. Is c.s.a.games a legitimite newsgroup, or a forgery?] Pocoman is a lot like Chip's Challenge (Lynx), or Emerald Mine (Amiga). Here's a review of the game I posted a couple of months back. This system got cut off from the net just after I posted it, so I'm not sure how far it got. I did see the tail end of a discussion that said it looked like the game's idea was inspired by an old oriental game called Soco-ban. I've never seen Soco-Ban, but the description of it sounds a lot like Pocoman. And compared to the game RollOn on Fish Disk 302, it's a lot slicker, and more polished, the levels are different, and the gameplay seems a bit better. If you like RollOn, you'll like PocoMan, and vice versa. =====================Repost below, you have been warned!================= I've found another great, system-friendly game to add to the few that were discussed a month or two ago. PocoMan is a puzzle game, the object is to move "treasures" around a maze and onto squares marked with an "X". Of course this is bit harder to do than it sounds! The moving is done only by pushing, so you have to consider what effect your moves will have on future moves. It's all too easy to push yourself into a corner. But PocoMan has an "undo the last push" feature, so one dumb move doesn't force you to start over from scratch. This undo has been a lifesaver for me! There is no penalty for the undo, so you can use it often (and I do). When a "treasure" is moved onto one of the "X"s, it changes color or shape to indicate that you've got it in the right place. There are between 10 and 20 treasures to deal with on each level. The game has good sound, and also uses the narrator, both can be turned off if you prefer. [Note, not only does PocoMan run fine under 2.0, beta 5, the new narrator makes it sound much better!] There are 50 levels in PocoMan according to the docs, and I've made it to level 28 after a week or two's work on the game. The game saves your status after each level you complete, and you can replay any level that you've already beaten. Pocoman can store games for several different players (10 I think), so several people can play without disturbing each other's games. You can use the mouse, joystick or keyboard, but after using the joystick for a while, I've found the mouse to work best. PocoMan has a title bar you can toggle on and off, and the title bar has all the usual drag and depth gadgets, so it works well with the system. Even better, it does not busy-wait! As near as I can tell with PerfMon, PocoMan uses zero CPU time unless you are actually moving the PocoMan around the maze. PocoMan is not copy protected, and the first thing the manual tells you (in great detail even!) is to make a backup copy for playing. It also installs on a hard drive by dragging two icons where ever you want them. Oh, you do have to assign POCO:, something not mentioned in the docs. PocoMan seems like a very clean program, it peacefully co-exists with everything I've run, and works fine on a stock system as well as a loaded A2500. The game play is very addictive, Shangahi was how I wasted most of my time, but PocoMan has almost completely taken over my spare time. Some levels are easy, others I've sworn are impossible, but I've eventually found a way to solve. (Though at the moment, level 28 looks unbeatable!) Pocoman is a perfect game for playing during long downloads, or as the package says "long print-outs or compiles". I haven't seen PocoMan advertized, and only found out about it from a friend, but Abel Supply does carry it for about $24. So as a summary, the system-friendly games that I recommend are PocoMan, Shanghai, Prospector in the Mazes of XOR, and Mind Walker (in the commercial realm). And PD/shareware games I recommend are Gravity Wars, Amoeba Invaders, Asteriods, and Sorry! (the board game). Live long, and multitask! =========================End reposted material============================ As an addendum, I have beaten all 50 levels of PocoMan, though it did take several weeks. I do NOT recommend you get this game if you have a heavy work and class load. :-) It's simply too addictive, and I spent a lot of time playing PocoMan, when I should have been studying. There are at least a handful of levels that I swore were simply impossible to solve, but they were all beatable once I found a different way of looking at the puzzle. My only complaints are that there is no way to go directly to a level you've beaten, you have to step through them one-by-one, and that's a bit slow. Also, more levels would be very welcome. A construction set might be a good idea, but the levels that come with the game are so well laid out (and devious too!), that it would be tough to come up with challenging levels that are still beatable. PocoMan has been worth every penny I spent on it. I just wish there were more games as professionally done. -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 580 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 blgardne@esunix.UUCP (worsel's feed has died, so don't send {decwrl, utah-cs}!esunix!blgardne anything to that old address!) DoD #0046