CHLUDENS: Squarez (Amiga - Experimental archeology)
Squarez is a demake of the Flash game SQUARES 2 (2010+). It is an action game and is played with the mouse. The game is very visually abstract. It is about rectangles. The player has to catch the gray rectangles and must not be eaten by the yellow rectangles. The game has different levels but is an endless runner at the end.
The game: Download the adf-File here >
The Dev-Project (Source-code etc): Download here >
The external Dev Tools (Processing): Download here >
// Of course you have to install Processing on your computer to compile it.
The game was created in connection with the CHLudens research project (Swiss video games from 1970-2000 - there are around 200 - 40 published on Amiga and co) and, as a research game, explores the question “Why weren't there more abstract games in the home computer era?” The first answer is of course: Why make an abstract game when you have so many colors and such a high resolution? Interestingly enough, the art of the 70s + was heading in the other direction. The entertainment medium of games, however, was taking giant steps in the direction of “hyperrealism”. A second answer is, of course, that it is easier to play a game with a setting that is comprehensible - to translate it for yourself - than a visually abstract game.
In motion:
More about the development and discussion here (in German sorry):
Warum ist es so schwierig ein abstraktes Spiel zu schaffen?
About the game:
Name: Squarez
Version: 1.1
Visuals, code and development: la1n.ch
Area: Switzerland
Other games: Atari ST > Mac > MacosX > Atari2600 > Vectrex > C64 & AvsST > Demoscene (Pico8&Co) > Amiga
Music: computermusiker
Idea: Squares (Flash)
Coding: Amiga Assembly, cryAEngine (project assembler gameengine)
Extern tools: Aesprite, own processing tools for tiles, sprites
License: Freeware
Producer: CHLudens.ch
The game also belongs to a research series in which the game (Experimental Archaeology) was programmed through the history of consoles/home computers.
Squares on different systems: Intellivsion, C64, VECTREX, Amiga, Unreal, Pico8 more here >
More about the researchhttps://research.swissdigitization.ch
cryAEngine
We develop also a simple engine for creating the game. It is in assembler. Here we used version 0.5. It has tiles, tileanimation, sprites, animation, collision. And an external Editor for blocks, levels and sprites. The following versions of the engine have also bobs and a bobeditor.
Here some pictures from the tileeditor and the sprite-editor.
The sources and the editor-source you find in the link at the beginning of this blog-post.
