Like discovering a previously unheard Floyd song - Yak

Well here’s me thinking I knew my Atari history pretty well and I completely missed something and only found out about it this morning while trawling through an old Atari prototypes site whilst having my morning cup of tea.

It also involves one of my favourite game designer/coders, a chap by the name of Eugene Jarvis who I could name as being the guy whose style of design most influenced and inspired me in my early career. EBJ is a top chap I had the privilege of meeting and hanging out with some years ago, and the man responsible for some of the most awesome and stylistically distinctive coin-op arcade games of the eighties, games that anyone into videogames back then would have known and respected - Defender, Stargate and Robotron, to name but three.

There’s another game he made, a sequel of sorts to Robotron, which never achieved such a wide release, and indeed which I only discovered when it became available under emulation towards the end of the 90s; a game called “Blaster”.

Having found this Jarvis gem I’d not seen before I of course played the hell out of it and really enjoyed it, to the extent where eventually I could play right through all the game’s 20 levels. It may look a bit crude by modern standards with all those huge square blocks flying around, but remember it was made in the days way before polygonal 3D was doable in realtime on accessible systems. Layering and scaling these simple shapes enabled the game to give a good impression of 3D motion, and the way in which shot enemies flew apart into their component blocks was a harmonious echo of the way the sprite enemies disintegrated in Defender, Stargate and Robotron (an aspect of EBJ’s distinctive design style I’d always loved).

A few years ago an earlier, unreleased prototype of Blaster was found which contained 30 levels as opposed to the 20 levels of the released game, and I was pleased to discover that and get a bit more pleasure from revisiting this unreleased variation of a favourite game. I wouldn’t've thought there could be any more revelations regarding Blaster to come - until this morning with my cup of tea.

I was browsing a site that lists details of Atari game prototypes - it’s interesting to see details of games which for whatever reason never got released back in the day; in many cases you can download and play them to see what they were like. I was drinking my tea and looking at the Atari 8-bit list and I saw an entry for Blaster.

Now I’ve never seen Blaster ported to any of the old machines. It’s been available in emulations in various forms since the late 90s, but always emulations of the original coin-op, I had no idea it was even attempted on any other hardware, never mind the good old 8-bit Atari. So, intrigued, I clicked the link to see the info on the game.

http://www.atariprotos.com/8bit/software/blaster/blaster.htm

The first thing that struck me was the programming credits: Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar. Those are the guys who programmed the coin-op, and usually ports to the home machines are made by completely different people. I had no idea EBJ had even put hands on an 8-bit Atari, much less converted his own coin-op to one.

Reading on though I was blown away to discover that Blaster was *created originally* for the 8-bit Atari. The coin-op was a conversion of the Atari original. Due to the vagaries of the video game business at the time, the coin-op version was released but the original Atari version was shelved and never heard of until 2004, when the prototype was rediscovered.

Having been an Atari fan for many years (and having worked for them for a while) I felt pretty comfortable in the knowledge that I surely knew about all the really great 8-bit Atari games out there, and yet here I found out over my morning cuppa that one of my personal deities wrote the original version of one of my favourite games on that old Atari, and I’d never even seen it.

I had to see for myself, and luckily the ROM is available for download at Atari Age, so I nipped over there to grab it.

http://www.atariage.com/software_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=2684

So what’s it like?

It’s astonishingly good, especially when you consider that it was running on hardware that came out in 1979. If this game had been released as intended in 1983 then I am certain it would have been up there as one of Atari’s stone cold classics alongside the likes of Star Raiders, and would quite possibly have ensured better penetration of the coin-op. As it is the coin-op never did as well as it deserved to, and what should have been one of the greatest 8-bit Atari games, personally programmed by one of the great masters, never saw the light of day. I think I would have peed myself if I’d seen this running on the Atari in 1983.

I’d love to do an updated version of it one day, in a modern-yet-retro style that retains the spirit of the original. I wonder if EBJ would be interested in a collaboration? };-)

I can’t believe I missed out on this rediscovery in 2004, I really should keep a better eye on the retro sites. Still, now I have a new favourite 8-bit game to crack out the Atari emulator for }:-). Thank goodness for the net and one’s morning cup of tea, eh?

Space Giraffe now available on Steam and Direct2Drive - Yak

SPACE GIRAFFE now available on major PC gaming portals!

We are happy to announce that the very excellent PC game “Space Giraffe” is now available through the STEAM and DIRECT2DRIVE gaming portals.

You can find the game on Direct2Drive here:

http://www.direct2drive.com/481/7555/product/Buy-Space-Giraffe-Download

You can find it on Steam here:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/27800/

And of course you can find it on the Llamasoft website right here.

We are delighted to have our game distributed by these excellent portal sites and look forward to rolling around naked in great big piles of money as the sales come flooding in.

ABOUT SPACE GIRAFFE:

It’s been abused, suppressed, slandered and maligned - but in truth it’s one of the most distinctive, beautiful and original games of the 21st century.

“92%, ***** Must Buy” - PC Gamer

It presents itself as a shooter, but if you look beyond the surface there is a wealth of depth and strategy to be uncovered.

“It balances the risk, the reward and the signals so perfectly that it’s either sheer luck or complete genius” - PC Gamer

Trust me, it’s not just luck.

“I am bubbling with enthusiasm for it, such that I could only give it a 10/10.” - Jonathan Blow (developer of “Braid”)

Space Giraffe blends strategy, shooting and synaesthesia into a unique experience that will take you on a trance journey like no other.

“Space Giraffe offers enemies and experiences that are actually, honestly new.” - PC Gamer

The extended PC release of Space Giraffe features 100 new levels and many enhancements over the original Xbox 360 release.

“If you want to show the world that great, innovative games are what you want, download this today. 90/100″ - X360 Magazine UK

Space Giraffe is unique, challenging but fair, and the reward for mastering it is nothing less than full-on spiritual enlightenment and a full purge of all your thetans.

“Space Giraffe is simple-looking game with a surprisingly steep learning curve, but the payoff for mastery is one of the most fun and challenging arcade shooters in years. 5/5″ - GotNext

Take the Space Giraffe Challenge! Download Space Giraffe and play through from level 1 to level 100. If by the time you reach the end your aura isn’t beautiful and your third eye isn’t wide open, I will personally make you a cup of tea.

Space Giraffe. It’s awesome. Buy it.

Nice “Rock, Paper, Shotgun” piece about GR+++ - Yak

Excellent PC gamer blog “Rock, Paper, Shotgun” have just published a nice little interview they asked me to do in which I talked a bit about our upcoming game Gridrunner+++ and its design and features. Take a look at it here, and have a look round their site while you are there }:-).

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/01/22/unknown-pleasures-2009-gridrunner/

Space Giraffe PC gets awesome 92% review - Yak

Britain’s top PC gaming magazine PC Gamer has reviewed Space Giraffe PC in its February 2009 edition and given the game an overall rating of 92% and the accolade “***** MUST BUY”, making Space Giraffe one of the most highly rated games of the month. They say:

“It balances the risk, the reward and the signals so perfectly that it’s either sheer luck or complete genius”… “Space Giraffe offers experiences and enemies that are actually, honestly new”…”if you give Space Giraffe a few hours and some patience you will find an immersive world unlike any other, an unforgettable one”.

The February edition of PCG is in shops now, we can only recommend that you pick up a copy and read this splendid 2-page review of Space Giraffe PC for yourself.

This excellent press reception of the PC version of Space Giraffe is a testament to the effort we have put into refining and improving the game since its initial Xbox 360 release. We listened to criticism from those who found the original experience a bit too intense for comfort, and created an entirely new set of 100 more chilled-out levels which make the game more approachable for beginners - whilst retaining the original level set for those who enjoy the full-on hardcore psychedelia of the initial release. Reaction to the updated version has been universally favourable and attests to the underlying excellence of the original game design.

In developing the new levels we have also developed a much-improved shader library making possible effects which are more intricate and beautiful than before yet without being overwhelming. This shader library - and the underlying Neon engine which drives it - has already been deployed to create the beautiful background visualisations in the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game “Space Invaders Extreme”.

This library will be extended further and deployed to maximum effect in our upcoming release “Gridrunner+++” (working title; the final title will likely involve less plusses). This game has already been mentioned in EDGE Magazine’s “Most Wanted” section, and is a fast-paced extrapolation of the oldschool single-screen shooter, brought brilliantly into the 21st century with beautiful abstract visuals and intense, challenging but fair gameplay accessible on a variety of levels from novice to twitch-shooter expert.

Gridrunner+++ will be released at the end of April.

Space Giraffe PC is available here and now from the Llamasoft website:

http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/downloads/SpaceGiraffe.exe

- and will soon be available from a selection of the better PC gaming portal sites.

Space Giraffe - Fighting Boffins in NUXX way - rhoshino

Hi, fuwafuwa here.

I hope you’ve been enjoying Space Giraffe PC If you have not tried it yet, you can download the demo from here.

It’s more than the XBLA version, also featuring extra NUXX mix of Space Giraffe. The backgrounds in the NUXX mix are much nicer-looking and less intense, so you can get into the game more easily. (Of course the PC version includes full-on psychedelia of the original as Acid-mix. So PC version has 100 + 100 = 200 levels.)

OK, the video walkthrough time! This time I talk about dealing with Boffins…I’m sure they’ve been killing lots of new SG players right now. I have Level 22 video below. They look different from XBLA version, because they are from the new NUXX  mix Clearer to see, so more suitable for video walkthrough

<br /><a href=”http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=6d367097-c280-43db-844b-9e092626c3e2″ target=”_new” title=”Space Giraffe - level 22(NUXX remix)”>Video: Space Giraffe - level 22(NUXX remix)</a>

Continue reading Space Giraffe - Fighting Boffins in NUXX way…

Space Giraffe PC Out In The Wild - Gaz

Space Giraffe for the PC is finally complete. And no, it’s not a port! There’s everything from the XBLA version plus a complete 100 level graphic remix. You can find details here on the Llamasoft front page as to how to buy the game or try before you buy with the demo. I’m sure Jeff will be along soon with some more details

Space Giraffe - Level 20, the Power Zone recap! - rhoshino

Hi, fuwafuwa here.

It’s Space Giraffe video walkthrough time again, but today I introduce the new Xbox LIVE Marketplace page first

Now, from your browser, you can tell your Xbox 360 to download Space Giraffe Xbox 360 demo. You can buy the game on that page, too Here are the direct links:

• Download “Space Giraffe” Trial to your Xbox 360
• Purchase “Space Giraffe” Full Game on Xbox.com

So please download the demo if you are with Xbox 360 but haven’t tried Space Giraffe …and enjoy it fully with our Space Giraffe walkthrough

Today’s video is Level 20 of Space Giraffe. The main focus is revisiting SG’s core mechanics the Power Zone…

Continue reading Space Giraffe - Level 20, the Power Zone recap!…

The light is coming soon. - Giles

The light is coming …

So where are we ?

Probably the question that many people are asking themselves.

Easy answer “yet translations” and final retouches plus “a couple of twists”.

Let me say this “technically the game is fully completed”, there’s been only a couple of very minor issues that we were a bit discussing on but fundamentally “it’s there, it all works, it’s ready”.

Now I am finalising stuff, we were still missing a few translations and we needed a bit of extra time needed to sort them out ( you would not believe how much time you spend to check strings really fit in place and/or modifying size of this and that to make them fit ).

Then while sorting out this kind of stuff I decided that “that thing does not look so good better to just make a little more effort and make it nicer” so I re-done the SG Installer to make it more user friendly and more nicer looking, it did not take really long but you know all takes a bit of time there and there.

Note I call it “beta” just because it’s not “the final version yet”, it’s just an ‘internal name’

Now about the twist, before you say “oh my .. yet more time to wait ” well not really it’s already done, just finishing to test it well it already works and is in place but we need to be sure it really works well ( never enough testing ).

The decision been made a bit to replace a certain thing with another but also to give you something that really is going to add some value, for now and for the future to Space Giraffe PC.

It’s actually been a bit of a “tough decision” that you would maybe not do in such a moment BUT we really decided “no that’s is we are going to do it !”.

So we introduced the fact that SG is capable to identify the presence of some “expansion packages” and present you a choice about what “flavour” of SG you wish to play.

A different package means a completely different set of levels with different graphics and gameplay, initially this was an idea we decided to leave “for the future” but it turns out that if we really wanted to do it we had to try it now so we’ve done it.

At this point we pushed a little bit further and we said “why not to also add the new GR+++ advanced shaders in ? That would allow us to make stuff look really much different”.

And so we tested and done it as well, it works, we are just “tightening up the graphics”

Jokes apart that is how is going to be, what you are going to get is Space Giraffe exactly as you seen it on the 360 PLUS an “expansion pack” with 100 NEW levels that “no one else has seen before”, some of them could be a bit more “vanilla” for those that found the SG original graphics maybe a bit “too blasting for their own taste” we wish this time to really manage to pleasure more and less psychedelic users

This also allows us to create more content in the future.

So that’s it really, it’s been not such an easy decision to make we do know the expectations and eagerness of people to put hands on SG PC and trust me we really do not want to make you wait more than necessary.

But all this time deserves something extra and you are going to get it

Space Giraffe - Survive Level 63! - rhoshino

Hi fuwafuwa here again.

If you are wondering how SG PC is progressing, I can say this. I’ve translated installer related phrases. You can see the localization process is nearing the end

Now, walkthrough time We’ve covered Level 1-9, then Level 13 and 16. In this post, I’ll talk about a later level, Level 63! Continue reading if you dare…

Continue reading Space Giraffe - Survive Level 63!…

Space Giraffe: Level 16 Walkthrough - rhoshino

Hi, fuwafuwa here Time for another Space Giraffe video walkthrough - supplemental guide to the main walkthrough and gameplay/enemies articles.

This time…Level 16: BABYLON AND TING!
<a href=”http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=12415664-07c3-4cd7-9874-b91e14ef4953″ target=”_new” title=”Space Giraffe - Level 16″>Video: Space Giraffe - Level 16</a>

Have you ever wondered why some of Space Giraffe’s achievements include this phrase - “for 16 levels“?  This is because Space Giraffe consists of 16 level long chunks. Each of them starts with a plain environment introducing a new enemy,  then gets harder and harder, and ends with a *boss level*. So Level 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, and 100 are boss levels. You need to use things you’ve learned in previous levels. They might look challenging, but once you beat them you’ll have an easy journey again…at least for a while

Continue reading Space Giraffe: Level 16 Walkthrough…