Parallax Without Scrolling?
I’m pretty much committed to not doing any scrolling in Jetpack 2. That creates a different type of game, and I haven’t done everything I’d like to with the single-screen style yet. But I want to give the whole screen life, so I’m investigating the possibility of scrolling just the background, while keeping the foreground still. This will create a slightly odd parallax effect. The background would move very slowly to the left as the player runs right.
I wasn’t sure quite how to do this, but it reminded me of Rastan, so I fired up MAME to see how they did it. It looks pretty good in Rastan, but of course that is a scrolling game. Will it look good in Jetpack? You be the judge.
Since I’m still waiting on SWF encryption to protect my source code, I can’t publish a working demo, but try to picture the background moving in this remix of level 1.
Will a graphical background work?
Note these are all programmer graphics, and will get much better once I find an artist!
April 9th, 2008 at 2:20 am
I would reccommend altering the viewing angle of the level as the player moves from left to right, for example see this simple demo I made showing the effect: http://abrahamjoffe.com.au/ben/cube/
April 9th, 2008 at 2:29 am
On the topic of the background however, I really like the effect used in donkey kong country. They used multiple backgrounds (with a 1 bit alpha layer). The lowest background layer moved the slowest and higher background layers move proportionately faster. Some levels also included a “foreground” layer that moved *faster* than the interactive level itself panned. The overall effect is extremely convincing, looking almost like a 3d background, though, as you mention, it may be odd if the level itself does not in fact pan.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:42 am
..Frankly, I think both the parallax and the graphical background would hinder the design of such a simplistic game as Jetpack. The panning sounds like a strange idea, it’d be out of place if the main body of the level stayed still. And compared to a full background image, a simple repeated pattern is usually more appealing and less distracting in a 2D game - especially when Jetpack’s milieux never actually change, and there’s no need to differentiate between themes.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
You’re thinking too much of the old Jetpack, Jetpack II will indeed have various themes. But I think too much of this WOULD be distracting, it would have to be limited to certain areas.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
yeah, i get what you mean. You could die just because of the background moving. But i think it would be cool. Once i saw the background stuff i though that scrolling actually might be a great idea.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Mm… not too sure about it. Made something really, but REALLY quick in some other program to simulate what it would look like. (note that BG picture is with 50% opacity on top of the hero, Too lazy to make it go below… you get the point xD)
But check for yourself, it makes things look really chaotic. You’d lose the overview of the gameplay itself. Especially in Jetpack you don’t want that.
Btw… I read in the first blogpart you were also looking for some people to make some ingame music. Well, I might not be a professional or educated in it, but I do have some experience in making music for certain games. If you’re still looking for people, I don’t mind helping out
Well, you got my mail I suppose, feel free to mail me.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Ugh… I do ask you to check it out, but I forgot to give you the dl link :p
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1CJ38T6Y
If it doesn’t work, tell mah xD
April 17th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Benjamin, that’s actually pretty cool, and wouldn’t require true 3d, but it might be too much for Flash to handle. I will look into it.
ThaSprout, I got the error “the file system2c cannot be opened”.
Yes I am looking for people to do music, do you have any samples?
April 17th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Adam: There’s alot of great game music creators at the OCRemix*. The community have created thousands of remixes of existing game tunes (for free), and many also create original tracks of their own. I would suggest posting in their forums.
* http://www.ocremix.org/
April 19th, 2008 at 11:18 am
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ENJYDUDV
midi ftw!
Just picked randomly a few I ever made, all were made for an rpg. So yeah ^^
April 20th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
zomg, don’t release anything until that encryptor comes out. scientists have been striving for decades to discover how to make simple jetpack game logic. don’t give it out, they’ll just steal it and get rich! there are thousands of unencrypted games out there, but nobody cares about them, it’s all about a flash jetpack clone!
April 20th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
errr…spam much?
adam, i would really think that a scrolling screen would be cool. not that there should be super huge levels, just maybe a top and bottom or left and right.
April 20th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
SWFCrypt: There are several cases of small flash games being decompiled, reskinned, and re-released, to steal market share from the originals.
ThaSprout: Wow megaupload really is obnoxious. I’ll check it out.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 am
If it’s not working out on megaupload, I’ll send them to your mail instead, let me know
April 24th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
what Benjamin said about the for-front blocks moving is a great idea. Now To have the screen scroll can still be possible for this type of game. if you just simply make it to where you walk from the left side to the right. When you get to the right side the screen will then start to scroll, and simply loop the starting point. Meaning you will see the starting point, its like going around in a circle. hope I explained this clear enough.
April 28th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
If you’re not going to make the level scroll (which honestly I think you should), then don’t make the background scroll either, unless you use Benjamin’s excellent suggestion to make it look like the viewer is moving around the player too (that would make the scrolling make sense).
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:04 am
Hi Adam, I’ve been a long time fan of Jetpack ever since I got the chance to play it on my old Pentium 1 machine. The news that you’ve started working on Jetpack 2 came as shock. I good shock.
Not too long ago I started working on a homebrew remake of Jetpack for the Nintendo DS. I’m wondering and hoping that you like this idea and would support the development.
http://sx.sytes.net/jetpackds.png
If you’re interested, please contact me via email! (I suppose you can get my email being the admin and all :P)
Cheers!
Icy~
May 6th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
WOW! Jetpack 2! I remember playing jetpack when I was a kid can’t wait for this game to come out.
May 9th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Are you the real jetpack people? I got your website address from a 15 year old program.
I first got your game when I was 10-12 years old. I am 24 now. I got a bit drunk tonight and decided to play it again. I actually got really far today. I think I got as far in the game I got back then.
You just suddenly are working on a new version now as I am plastered and happen to actually for the first time type in that link.
“Back to reality…
Look for Jetpack 2 in 2000 at http://www.adeptsoftware.com”
I can’t believe this actually worked.
In case you wondered, I bought your disc at k-mart on a 1.44 mb disc LONG ago.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Ignore the mistakes, math is disabled when alcohol takes over.
May 10th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Hey Adam,
I think your idea of a scrolling background is ok… but not for this game. From my experience, Jetpack tends to have alot going on at any given time, and I think a scrolling background would confuse/disorientate players due to this. I would recommend that you keep with the standard background you had in Jetpack (maybe remixed alittle?), as this was relatively simplistic and allowed players to keenly focus on where enemies/pickups are, without distraction.
Well, thats my two cents. The final decision, of course, rests with you, however if you do decide to scroll the background, I would suggest that you limit the detail in it so as to keep the focus on the actual game, rather then the background itself.
IcySon55:
Oh WOW! Man I’ve been hoping someone would port Jetpack to DS! I looked into it myself a little while ago, but never got really it started for a number of reasons. May I ask what coding-language you’re writing it in? If it’s one I have knowledge in, maybe I could help out somehow? I’d be happy to help out in any way I can, really, from coding to beta-testing (I have a CycloDS Evo, so I could run tests on it).
If I can do something for the project, don’t hesitate to contact me at: (remove underscores and asterisks) t_brisbane*@*g_mail.com . Sorry I have to do that to my email btw, but if I didn’t, I’m sure some bot would find it.
Anyways, good luck with the project, and I hope to hear from you at some point!
May 18th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I think I enjoy the old Jetpack a lot and would have to say that if you did create a 3d scrolling version, I wouldn’t like it as much. I played Jetpack in the first place because it was different than other games, therefore catching my attention. As a Jetpack fan since 1998 (give or take a year), I would really enjoy seeing a similar-to-the-old-Jetpack game style that has a new twist to it (more levels, characters, monsters, obstacles) instead of a game similar to the billions being created today. Thanks for making this game btw (I’m creating a similar one in Q-Basic for my Programming class [that's how big of a fan I am!]) Feel free to contact me if you feel like blabbing .. db_shortcake@hotmail.com
May 19th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Also, I may not be great at the whole programming concept of things yet (due to lack of education in that subject) I can help with anything from story lines to new ideas. Thanks again!
May 20th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I would prefer a “Super Mario 3″ type scrolling with multiple-screen-size levels over just the background moving. Back when I first played jetpack I think I was 12 years old(now 26) and spent that whole summer making levels, I loved it so much. One of the things I would have liked to do was make levels that were in essence, bigger than one screen in size, either width or height and since there was no true linking of levels I had to “link” them by similar start and end points. In my opinion, a scrolling feature with custom level sizes would add a much more “epic” sort of feel to some levels. I love the idea of water, and would suggest lava tiles as well. Consider adding light effects also with light sources such as torches and lamps that could make a dungeon seem more like a dungeon. Variable backgrounds could be very nice such as stone for the aforementioned dungeon setting or the picture above for snow themed levels. It all depends how involved you want to get because even as a non-programmer with all the ideas I can see this becoming huge. Loved the original game and I am definitely looking forward to the next
May 21st, 2008 at 7:36 am
Maybe an Xbox Live Arcade game as well… in the future I mean…
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 am
Yeah, what Ben says, I think that a Jetpack port on the 360 would be the best game pretty much every released for XBL Arcade. I swear, I would pay a hundred bucks to play that on my Xbox. I mean, Jetpack would kick say, Geometry Wars in the-well you get it. But for Jetpack 2, I think that it should not be 3D, because the nice colorful reds, greens and blues look great in DOS but going to flash from DOS, someone has to really outdo themeselves. I mean really. I like the 2D of Jetpack, and the DOS and the colors. I pretty much would love a Jetpack with the exact same physics engine, and graphics and everything, just more tiles, and timers and all that. It would be so awesome. But everyone has their own dreams for Jetpack 2, and I still will definitely play it.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 am
Also, I think that a port of Jetpack 1 should be released just exactly the same, but with all the sounds back, because they all got screwed with Windows XP. I just love the little ding! when you get a gem, and the electronic sfx when you teleport, plus the little ups and downs of the button doors.
(Hey, has anyone seen the dude DIE in the demo video at the start of the game? I have, just once. A stunner spawned in his path and then he hit an enemy later because it was out of sync. It was awesome.)
May 24th, 2008 at 12:49 am
The scrolling background idea is probably a bad one, like a bunch of people have said. Enough goes on in the foreground, and a scrolling background would be distracting, and just… look distorted to say the least.
Feel free to email me if you are looking for someone to create graphics, sound effects, music, a promotional Flash website for the game, etc. Anything you want basically I can, and will do for you. Email me and let me know if you are interested in my help and I’ll be glad to send you samples of what you are looking for!
P.S. I LOVED jetpack as a kid. This game really does need to be on the DS and 360. I tried to program my own little Jetpack clone in Flash a while back but I failed miserably with the collision detection…
May 24th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Just curious? … anyone able to get the first jetpack to work with vista?…
May 25th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Ryan, have you tried DOSBox?
http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Dosbox_and_Vista
It seems like it should work. Hope that helps!
May 27th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Hey guys, just leaving an update on Jetpack DS.
http://sx.sytes.net/jetpackds.png
Additions in 0.02:
- Overlays are now working properly for things like the Door, railings, moss cover, etc…
- Drawing tiles using the touch screen was added to test for the level editor later on.
- Level names are read and displayed.
- If the all the gems are covered with the Purple pass-through blocks, the door opens.
Hope you guys enjoy this news. Aerolite and I are working towards a playable Jetpack DS port!
Icy~
May 27th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Looks promising!
May 27th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
thats pretty awesome, Icy. Adam, has the new actionscript thing you need come out yet? There hasn’t been a new blog entry in a while…
May 28th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Yeah I’m working on getting something up soon.
June 1st, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Hey, I have a question. I was wondering if it’s possible to submit levels to be included in the game. Yes, I’ve played horrible levels that have no point and can be beaten in about 30 seconds. What I’m talking about is levels that took me five to six hours to make and perfect, and also are challenging, have puzzles, and are asthetically pleasing. I really love my levels and I wish other people could enjoy them because they have charisma and style and originality like the preloaded ones in Jetpack.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:54 am
Yes but wait until the editor comes out, then you can import them and tweak them with the new tiles & monsters. I’ll probably use a lot of user-submitted levels in the official release, and credit the authors. Some things to keep in mind when you’re designing: There will be no single levels, everything will be in the form of mission packs (I’m guessing 6-20 levels per pack), and the levels should flow together and have a similar theme. You will be able to return to previous levels, by tunnel, ladder, or teleporter. Also, collecting gems will be a less common goal. Other goals could be to get a single artifact, or a few parts of an artifact, corralling monsters, or rescuing people. I won’t decide on the goals until I get a feel for the gameplay and what will work the best.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
If you need some music, please contact me at ChrisMatlak3.14@gmail.com - Jetpack 1 is quite possibly the best DOS game, and I can’t wait for Jetpack2