Additional features and bugfixes - DOS Games Jam










The DOS Games July 2024 Jam  is a great chance to add some new features and bugfixes to my Robo-8 fantasy console. I was planning this for quite a while now,  the Jam is a neat frame and motivation for finally getting my hands on this.

Here is the list of ideas I want to work on during the next weeks.


Hot-Switching Cartridges
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It would be nice to play the next game by switching the cartridge while a game is already running. Right now, this is bugged and does not work well. According to this Reddit post I could lean back and say: “Well, at least this is very realistic!” But for my fantasy console I want to make this work properly.


Mobile mode switch
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Next “would be nice” point on my list is playing games on touch screens. For this to work, some additional buttons for direction control and additional inputs are needed. I am thinking of a “Mobile” switch, which brings some dead controls to life. Like in these old documentations, where the flip of a switch is activating a whole series of additional control panel buttons.


Help/Tutorial Printout
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Last idea I have is adding a help text section to the Robo-8 game configuration file. Players can read this help text by requesting a printout (again, another “physical” control next to a kind of printer slot). When the button is pressed, an animated “printing” process is presenting the help text on a sheet of paper, underlined by this nasty dot matrix printing sound that is waking the dead.


Maybe a 3rd game?
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Yeah, a third game would be nice. If you know any simple classic (DOS) game, that doesn’t need too fancy logic to work, this could be a good candidate. Please share if you don’t mind.

Comments

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(+1)

Some examples from the early CGA era might be good candidates to DOS-ify the project a bit more. Bouncing Babies and Sopwith come to mind, with their simple mechanics. Although Spacewar is older than DOS, the DOS version is well regarded. I'm sure there are some obvious DOS exclusives I've forgotten.