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The Amiga is the gift that keeps in giving. Why, I hear you ask? Indie Developers like Badgerpunch Games Studios, continue to churn out amazing games, and not just for the Amiga. No! The Commodore 64 is also supported with games like Rogue 64.
Badgerpunch Games caught my eye during some research I did for an Amiga Episode titled 6 Amiga Upcoming Games that will tickle your fancy. Perhaps I should change what I said here because it was shortly after I had edited this video that I learnt about an upcoming title called Roguecraft. What is Roguecraft? Rather than me sit here and whaffle; I decided to reach out to Ricki Sickenger (Lead Programmer) to find out more about what we can expect from this upcoming Amiga Game. 1/ So Rick, tell us a bit about your gaming history? I got a Commodore64 when I was 11 years old, with the 30-Games Collection from Argus Press. That was the start of a lovely relationship with the C64 and gaming. I started programming BASIC on the C64, and when I upgraded to an Amiga a few years later I made myself learn 68k assembly. I never made any games on the C64 or Amiga even though I was pretty active in the Amiga demo scene for a while. That was where I got to know Henning Ludvigsen, who makes the pixels in our games. I ended up getting a computer programming degree and in my mid-twenties starting my own gaming company with some friends. We wanted to make an MMO, and after 10 years of development we released Darkfall Online in 2009. After that I was pretty fed up with games development and started working as an IT consultant. It only took a couple of years before I started making games again, but in my spare time now. My friend Henning Ludvigsen and I started Badger Punch Games to make retro-inspired games. In 2019 I was missing the good old times I had with my Commodore 64, and decided to try to make a C64 game. Henning and I ended up making multiple games. The last game was a roguelike called Rogue64 that got quite a lot of attention, and excellent feedback from the players. It even got some mainstream gaming press attention, and it was nominated for multiple game-of-the-year 2022 awards. I never really had any consoles growing up. I used to play games on the C64 and Amiga, and then I got a PC and continued gaming there. I do have a Nintendo Switch though, and I love playing games on it. :-) 2/ What inspires you to create video games? Mostly the fact that creating video games is a way to express creativity that I do not have an outlet for in my day job. There is something about making something that needs to work, look ok, sound good, and on top of that has to be fun. My part of the job is programmer and game designer, and seeing all the parts come together to make a great game is magical! 3/ Badger Punch Games; Is this a game studio you created? Badger Punch Games is a studio Henning and I created to make retro-inspired games. We ended up making games on Retro systems (C64, Amiga and Mega65 so far), but we have also made games for modern platforms like Android and Windows. 4/ Roguecraft is your upcoming title for the Amiga (and other platforms). How would you describe Roguecraft? Roguecraft is a turn-based roguelike where the focus is simple and fun gameplay. A roguelike is often a dungeon crawler game where the aim is to get as far as you can in the dungeon. If you are lucky you might get to the end where a boss-monster and treasures await. You only get one life, but since the levels are randomly generated then every play of the game is a unique experience. There is an element of strategy to playing a roguelike, and as you learn the game mechanics you get further and further into the game. Roguecraft tries to balance keeping the mechanics interesting without making them too complicated, to maximize the joy of playing the game and the replayability of it. You should be able to complete the game in around 40 minutes if you have a perfect run. We are also making sure Roguecraft looks as good as possible for a non-AGA Amiga game. 5/ What kind of experience will players feel when they play Roguecraft? The players will hopefully feel joy, dread, a tiny bit of frustration, and lots of accomplishment playing Roguecraft.
Interview by Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24
So you liked Final Fight and Streets of Rage back in the 90's right? If the answer is "yes" then I think you're going to get a kick out of BitBeam Cannon's upcoming Beat 'em up. If the answer is "no", well you can keep reading because Daemon Claw just might be your cup of tea.
I reached out to Mike and Corey, BitBeam's masterminds, for exclusive access in to Metro Siege and Daemon Claw. What they gave me, far surpassed my expectations. They allowed me the following interview (which I hope you'll enjoy), a first access play of Metro Siege on my Amiga 500 Mini and exclusive commentary in to the games' development. Before we take a deep dive in to the interview here is an overview of what Metro Siege and Daemon Claw are about, from BitBeam's very own, Mike: "For Metro Siege, BitBeamCannon is teaming up with PixelGlass and Enable Software to deliver a 2 player co-op beat em up for classic Amigas and many modern platforms. The team's goal is not just to make the best beat em up game for classic Amiga, but to make a brawler that can stand its ground against all of the greats of the genre, whether they be in the arcade or on consoles. Beat Em Up's have always been the favorite of Metro Siege's lead designer, and this results in one of the most sophisticated combat mechanics in any beat em up, with the most fun elements collected from many of the games he's played over the the decades. Metro Siege provides a large assortment of basic attacks, aerial attacks, combo attacks, back-attacks, low attacks, dash-attacks, super-attacks, grabs and throws to let each player mix things up and play in the style they want to play in the moment. On top of this, Metro Siege ads even more combat options in the way of blocking and counter-attacks. Holding attack and back will block basic attacks. Blocking strong attacks like jump-kicks will reduce damage, but players will be knocked back a bit, requiring a second or two to recover. Once skilled enough to initiate your block a split second before the moment of impact, you'll automatically parry the enemy attack and perform a special counter-strike, dealing bonus damage to the enemy wile also earning back a bit of health and special attack power. On top of this already robust mix of fighting options Metro Siege let's you enjoy throwing enemies into each other and multiple ways to hit them while they're down. There's a risky knee or elbow drop to deal heavy damage to a fallen foe, but if they get up or roll out of the way, or you just miss your mark, you'll slam yourself into the pavement, taking damage yourself and leaving yourself temporarily vulnerable as you recover. The final playable character is not yet revealed, but Metro Siege will offer three distinct character to play as, each offering a different move set and playing style to further add to the variety and replay value. This demo includes the first 3 mostly complete levels and the first full boss fight scene, but behind the scenes many more levels are in varying degrees of partially implemented. Metro Siege has been in development for over 3 years, but don't worry, that doesn't mean it will take the team a year to make each new level. Now that the games engine and tool set are fully developed progress on filling in the unfinished content is drastically faster. That said, because each member of the team has their own day job to deal with and fluctuating available hours on any given day, they can't yet give an estimated delivery date for the full game. The best thing to do in this regard is to follow BitBeamCannon on social media for all the latest updates so you can easily track their progress".
The Amiga 500 Mini has taken 90’s gamers by storm! The A500 Mini:
“A compact reimagining of the Amiga 500 home computer, featuring perfect emulation of not only the original A500 but also the Advanced Graphics Architecture (AGA) of the A1200. Play one of the included 25 classic Amiga games, selected from a simple to use carousel, including all-time greats like Alien Breed, Another World, Chaos Engine, Simon the Sorcerer and Worms. Or play the games you own from USB stick. Plus save and resume your game at any time to help you finish those punishingly difficult classics!” (Retro Games Biz) What’s in the box?
What are the bundled 25 Amiga Games?
Guest Blog by Ken Ashton
Having formulated the idea to begin a gaming collection some time ago I spent a little time floundering in the wilderness looking for some sense of direction or inspiration of how to proceed. What becomes obvious very quickly is that there is no right or wrong way to proceed but having listened to ideas from much more experienced gamers/collectors here are some ideas which have worked for me and may prove of use to others.
By Gemma ~@Juicygamereviews
It's been a long problem for us gamers that causes a lot of upset when buying video game consoles. I'm talking about consoles yellowing. That filthy, mustard looking appearance of the shells of the Super Nintendo, Amiga and many more. The horrendous colour change is caused by too much exposure to UV light which conflicts with the chemical, Bromine (makes the plastic fire retardant) thus causing the yellowing.
There are numerous ways to reverse or lessen the chemical reaction, therefore, restoring the plastic cases back towards their original colour. I recently did this with my Amiga 500+. I purchased it and got a pretty good deal but the downside was the plastic case, keys, mouse and power box were a solid eight out of ten on the severity scale for yellowing. I'm going to tell you my procedure which worked wonders for me... |
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