Home computer Heaven
The Wide-dot Pixel Game Jam was built around the idea of visually emulating classic computers and consoles, most specifically the machines with rectangular pixels like the Atari 8-bit or C64. Despite a lot of interest being shown throughout the competition, only three entries were officially submitted. Although it’s probably best considered a ‘playable preview’, we’ll start with One Shall
Rise: JAM, a cute action platformer with some thought required since there are blocks to push around, platforms which can be destroyed and doors to unlock.
There was more platform-oriented action with another work-in-progress entry, Dino Dark sends the player into a dingy and perilous environment which can be illuminated with torches. These burn down quickly and nasty things lurk in the shadows, so there isn’t time to hang around. Finally, the entry we found to be the most enjoyable was Raptor Knight which is a simple hack-and-slash battle where vicious dinosaurs need to be taken down by a sword-wielding nobleman. After each successful battle our armoured hero can choose to upgrade one of his core stats, for example making his attacks faster or restoring lost health.
It’s a shame there weren’t more completed entries submitted, but what was released can be downloaded from this game jam’s website at Kikstart.eu/wide-dot-2017 and, hopefully, there’ll be future iterations.
Another event with new games was the Spanish Capacitor Party 2017, which offered up a collection of graphics and sound productions, along with nine games for the Amiga – so they’re a higher resolution than the Wide-dot games – and the title which grabbed most of our attention has Golden Wing, an Asteroids-inspired single-screen blaster with some nice graphics and simple, no-nonsense shooting action; a second entry called Space Combat is similar but incomplete and doesn’t feel as solid to play.
Laberinto is an interesting title as well, since it simulates those puzzles where a metal ball has to be rolled through a wooden maze to the goal while avoiding holes. It’s a simple game but strangely relaxing, especially with the sampled ball bearing noises during play. The primitive-looking Raining Eggs is another uncomplicated game which sees the player’s bucket patrolling beneath a flock of chickens to catch eggs as they’re dropped, hopefully without letting any splatter the ground. All of the games and other competition entries can be found behind Kikstart.eu/capacator-2017 – watch out, there are a few adult images in there.