THE SEUCK VAULT
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PLANET OF THE BALLS by Andrew Fisher
A previously unseen SEUCK game I created back in the 1990s.
History:
This was one of the few projects I managed to complete in SEUCK in the past. It was inspired by a sprite from the game Super Seymour Saves the Planet by Codemasters - a shiny glass ball. In the screenshot below you can see the sprite in the SEUCK sprite editor. I also created the bas-relief backgrounds in homage to Parallax and Uridium. You can take a closer look at the game by using SEUCK to load the data file contained on the D64.
There were several ideas I wanted to include in the game. The first was a "bouncing bullet", although it can be difficult to see in the actual game. Then there was two different craft for the players, called Flipper and Flapper (see below). Each level also ends in a bonus section - with good and bad question marks. There is also a short "end game" sequence, which I am quite proud of (using sound effects and redrawing the level to achieve a "special effect").
Story:
IN A VERY DISTANT GALAXY QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO THERE WAS A SMALL PLANET KNOWN AS BASRELIEF. THE RELIEFIAS FROLICKED HAPPILY ON THEIR BEAUTIFUL SUNLIT PLANET. UNTIL THE EVIL MARBELLIANS TURNED IT INTO THE PLANET OF THE BALLS! THE INVADING MARBELLIANS QUICKLY LAID DOWN THE MANY TRACKS AND TILES THEY NEEDED TO LIVE ON. THE RELIEFIA RESISTANCE SAYS THE MAIN INVADING FORCE WAS LED BY TERMINATOR AND SHAPECHANGER MARBLES, QUICKLY FOLLOWED BY THE ELITE LITTLE ONES. OUR ONLY HOPE IS TWO PILOTS IN FLIMSY SPACESHIPS WHO MIGHT JUST MAKE A ONE IN A MILLION CHANGE AND DESTROY THE VITAL ENERGY LINES DEEP IN SUPER CENTRAL DISTRICT, BUT TO GET THERE THEY WILL HAVE TO FIGHT THROUGH EASY STREET, SKY-HIGH AND TRAIN TRACKS DISTRICTS AND DEFEAT THE EVER MORE DEADLY MARBELLIANS... CAN YOU FACE THE CHALLENGE? ONLY TIME WILL TELL....
This text is taken from an intro that was added to the first version of the game, created with a utility from Commodore Disk User. There were two separate scrolltexts, one with the story, the other with some credits/details:
THIS INTRODUCTION WAS FULLY CODED BY JOHN HARPER WITH GRAPHICS AND TEXT BY MERMAN OF NSD. THE MAIN GAME FEATURES GRAPHICS, SOUND EFFECTS AND GAME DESIGN BY MERMAN OF NSD, WHILE THE CODE IS USED UNDER LICENCE FROM SENSIBLE SOFTWARE. CREATED USING THE SHOOT EM UP CONSTRUCTION KIT, THIS DEMO VERSION ALLOWS YOU TO SELECT A NORMAL GAME BY PRESSING F1 OR A CHEAT MODE BY PRESSING F3. PRESS SPACE TO PLAY THE GAME. COPYRIGHT NEPTUNE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTS 1992. THIS DEMO VERSION FOR WISHFUL THINKING COPYRIGHT 1992.
As you can see, I was creating demos and games under the name "Neptune Software Developments" at the time, and I actually included this complete game on a demo disk I sent to new software house Wishful Thinking. The version that can be downloaded from the site, however, is a later version with a different title screen - which shows that I was thinking of sending it to ZZAP! for inclusion on the cover tape. However, that never happened... due to the ZZAP! closure and my own freelance job writing for Commodore Force.
Download PLANET OF THE BALLS here!
