Once again another great game by Shiru and team!
Very interesting idea for a game. I assume it's original? Or is there really something out there this is based on?
I especially liked the coffee speed up, and the office dude running around "bla..." haha. Looking forward to see what future levels will bring once I manage to get past the second level.
Just looked over the characters in the manual and had a few laughs. Nice work!
Very interesting idea for a game. I assume it's original? Or is there really something out there this is based on?
I especially liked the coffee speed up, and the office dude running around "bla..." haha. Looking forward to see what future levels will bring once I manage to get past the second level.
Just looked over the characters in the manual and had a few laughs. Nice work!
This is adorable. I love the sprites, and the concept. It gets hectic! I got to Day 6 before I got fired. (AND REHIRED)
Beautiful artwork and a solid game concept. Good skills!
Game is very hard if you don't get the bonus.
Anyone beat this yet? How many days are there in total?
Damn shiru, how the hell you crank out so many games that also have a lot of polish too? 
Nice job man. Screw what people say, you keep on making NROM games as they're suhweet!
Nice job man. Screw what people say, you keep on making NROM games as they're suhweet!3gengames wrote:
Screw what people say, you keep on making NROM games as they're suhweet!
Yeah, at this rate, we'll be able to put together a sequel to Action 52 that doesn't suck.
tepples wrote:
3gengames wrote:
Screw what people say, you keep on making NROM games as they're suhweet!
Yeah, at this rate, we'll be able to put together a sequel to Action 52 that doesn't suck.
Hell yes! It'd probably be the most fun in one cart in the NES library with Shirus games he's cranking out. 
infiniteneslives, yes, it is original. Initial gameplay mechanics is inspired with Game&Watch games, and game style is inspired with Popeye.
Heavy Stylus, there are 7 days, but 8 levels.
3gengames, so far my NES games were rather simple, and in case of latest two C helped to speed up the development process.
Please don't forget that the latest two games were collabs. In Alter Ego there was existing design that I only had to recreate, reprogram, and make occasional improvements (no need to make tough design decisions), it had very simple graphics, and Kulor provided great music. In Zooming Secretary I was able to focus on gameplay and code, visuals were provided by PinWizz, and there was almost no music. I can't say that collabs are time savers, in fact they aren't (need to coordinate, explain, discuss, wait for each other, etc), but they increase quality for sure.
Heavy Stylus, there are 7 days, but 8 levels.
3gengames, so far my NES games were rather simple, and in case of latest two C helped to speed up the development process.
Please don't forget that the latest two games were collabs. In Alter Ego there was existing design that I only had to recreate, reprogram, and make occasional improvements (no need to make tough design decisions), it had very simple graphics, and Kulor provided great music. In Zooming Secretary I was able to focus on gameplay and code, visuals were provided by PinWizz, and there was almost no music. I can't say that collabs are time savers, in fact they aren't (need to coordinate, explain, discuss, wait for each other, etc), but they increase quality for sure.
Well! This is a lovely game that has a lot of heart! Totally fun, absolutely likeable, positively clever!
Thank you very much!
Thank you very much!
Fantastic NES homebrew! Keep up the good work!
I think I found a bug:
One of the phones is asking for the "A", when that cabinet doesn't exist in that level. This happened after beating the game.
It went on to do it 3 consecutive times, making the level Unwinnable.
One of the phones is asking for the "A", when that cabinet doesn't exist in that level. This happened after beating the game.
It went on to do it 3 consecutive times, making the level Unwinnable.
Thanks, Dwedit, I confirm the bug is there. Need some time to figure out the problem, because code seems to be correct so far.
Edit: Ok, fixed - it was introduced in a last minute change. The file is updated.
Edit: Ok, fixed - it was introduced in a last minute change. The file is updated.
Shiru, you did it again. The game don't look really interesting on screens but when playing I'm getting "one more level" symptom.
The idea for a game is original and gameplay is great.
Thanks
The idea for a game is original and gameplay is great.
Thanks
wonderful work as usual
It's a very sympathetic, messages have made me grace and animations are simple and graceful at the same time.
I could only reach the 3 level.
I loved the animation of the glasses.
I could only reach the 3 level.
I loved the animation of the glasses.
PROTIP: The playfield is a toroid. Take advantage of wrap-around.
Meant to post this ages ago, but the game was mentioned on indiegames.com
http://indiegames.com/2011/12/indie_game_links_7.html
http://indiegames.com/2011/12/indie_game_links_7.html
I found a bug. Look at this disassembly:
This looks like it was supposed to just clear the nametables. But it ends up clearing 49,152 bytes (192 in each inner loop, times 256 repetitions of the outer loop). This passes over the PPU's entire address space three times, including the pattern table areas. On a board with CHR RAM, this ends up clearing everything out of the pattern tables.
Changing the LDY #$40 to LDY #$F0 allows the game to work. I've added the following patch to the game's information in Action 53:
patches=803C:F0
Code:
ZS8031:
; X is 0 at this point
lda #$20
sta PPUADDR
lda #$00
sta PPUADDR
ZS803B:
ldy #$40
ZS803D:
sta PPUDATA
iny
bne ZS803D
inx
bne ZS803B
; X is 0 at this point
lda #$20
sta PPUADDR
lda #$00
sta PPUADDR
ZS803B:
ldy #$40
ZS803D:
sta PPUDATA
iny
bne ZS803D
inx
bne ZS803B
This looks like it was supposed to just clear the nametables. But it ends up clearing 49,152 bytes (192 in each inner loop, times 256 repetitions of the outer loop). This passes over the PPU's entire address space three times, including the pattern table areas. On a board with CHR RAM, this ends up clearing everything out of the pattern tables.
Changing the LDY #$40 to LDY #$F0 allows the game to work. I've added the following patch to the game's information in Action 53:
patches=803C:F0
Damn - I've recently paid to have the game built as a famicom cart!
How does this bug actually affect the game?
How does this bug actually affect the game?
This bug does not matter unless CHR RAM is used, as in Tepples's multigame cart, it just takes a bit longer to clear nametables. As this does not really matter, I leave the bug in the game. I fixed it in the library, though.
Phew
I having problems to download this file. It says cannot change to directory.
Untergrund's FTP is broken for a week or so. I moved all the files and changed links in the first message, try again.
For those who are interested, I used an optimized version of my Macifom emulator to put this game (which I adore!) on the iOS App Store. It's free, of course.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zooming-secretary/id526243966
If anyone else would like to get their homebrews up on the Store, please PM me.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zooming-secretary/id526243966
If anyone else would like to get their homebrews up on the Store, please PM me.
Thought to add that there is interview with PinWizz about the game, in case someone interested.
Macifom wrote:
For those who are interested, I used an optimized version of my Macifom emulator to put this game (which I adore!) on the iOS App Store. It's free, of course.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zooming-secretary/id526243966
If anyone else would like to get their homebrews up on the Store, please PM me.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zooming-secretary/id526243966
If anyone else would like to get their homebrews up on the Store, please PM me.
Tried it out, cool! Sound did seem a little bit choppy at times though (nothing too drastic, using iPhone 4).
thefox wrote:
Tried it out, cool! Sound did seem a little bit choppy at times though (nothing too drastic, using iPhone 4).
There's definitely room for improvement in the current iOS build of Macifom. For performance-related reasons I'm not using the sync-to-sound approach I do on the desktop, which is why you'll occasionally hear hiccups in the audio.
That, external controller and external video support are at the top of my to-do list for the next version. I'll push an update to the Zooming Secretary app when it's ready.
This is a very nice game, but I think it could use some more stages. Most NES games that are in a style like this will have more than 7 stages. Please take this into consideration if you ever decide to put this on a cart.
The factoids are a cool touch, but in the later stages, the action is just too frantic for me to actually stop and read them, and after a while, I actually forgot they were even there.
The gameplay is great, it only took a few moments for me to figure out how to successfully play! Just as a note though, I didn't know you could wrap around the screen until the suggestively-placed vertical ladders, and even then, it still took me a while to figure out you could wrap horizontally too.
Graphics are sparse, but they're very effective and they do a good job making the game look nice.
Music and sound worked... I don't know what else to say about it, it didn't sound out of place; even the ringing phones didn't get on my nerves, so that's a job well done there.
Overally, good job, but I really wish there were more stages. However, if you add more stages, you'll probably need to think of some more gimmicks to keep the game fresh. Given that the game takes place in an office environment, I think you'd have a goldmine of inspiration at your disposal.
The factoids are a cool touch, but in the later stages, the action is just too frantic for me to actually stop and read them, and after a while, I actually forgot they were even there.
The gameplay is great, it only took a few moments for me to figure out how to successfully play! Just as a note though, I didn't know you could wrap around the screen until the suggestively-placed vertical ladders, and even then, it still took me a while to figure out you could wrap horizontally too.
Graphics are sparse, but they're very effective and they do a good job making the game look nice.
Music and sound worked... I don't know what else to say about it, it didn't sound out of place; even the ringing phones didn't get on my nerves, so that's a job well done there.
Overally, good job, but I really wish there were more stages. However, if you add more stages, you'll probably need to think of some more gimmicks to keep the game fresh. Given that the game takes place in an office environment, I think you'd have a goldmine of inspiration at your disposal.
This game is 5 months old already, so no changes will be ever made. I'm not going to put it on carts, although it is available from places such as The NES Dump for a long time.
I somehow doubt that NES games of this style had more than 7 stages. Maybe you think of some other style, but we were thinking about Donkey Kong or Popeye, which had twice less stages.
I somehow doubt that NES games of this style had more than 7 stages. Maybe you think of some other style, but we were thinking about Donkey Kong or Popeye, which had twice less stages.
Well, I was thinking more in terms of games like Door Door and Wrecking Crew, but I see what you mean now that you bring those two specific games up.
Still though, even though DK and Popeye only have a handful of stages, they'll repeat after you get through them all, and with each iteration, the challenge increases. Once you get through the work week in this game, you're dumped back to the title screen.
If you'd like me to imagine this game along side DK and Popeye, I need to pretend that this is a faithful NES port of an arcade game. In that case, you've done a good job with the overall aesthetic and the gameplay itself, but I get hung up on the fact that the game just completely ends after 7 stages, instead of doing what those other games would have done, and repeated them with a shorter time limit or something.
Again, this is a good game, but I think it could've gone a bit farther. If you ever decide to revisit this concept, I'd be interested in seeing it.
Still though, even though DK and Popeye only have a handful of stages, they'll repeat after you get through them all, and with each iteration, the challenge increases. Once you get through the work week in this game, you're dumped back to the title screen.
If you'd like me to imagine this game along side DK and Popeye, I need to pretend that this is a faithful NES port of an arcade game. In that case, you've done a good job with the overall aesthetic and the gameplay itself, but I get hung up on the fact that the game just completely ends after 7 stages, instead of doing what those other games would have done, and repeated them with a shorter time limit or something.
Again, this is a good game, but I think it could've gone a bit farther.
If you ever decide to revisit this concept, I'd be interested in seeing it. Actually, there was an idea to make next loops with more difficult levels, by putting more characters on the existing levels - more different level layouts would be really difficult to design because of limited screen space. You can see it in the source code that there was support for few characters per level initially. I can't recall the exact reason why I decided to not do it. One of reasons was lack of free PRG memory, and CHR was filled up too, so no extra characters. NROM was set as an intentional limitation, you know, to have a point where the project should be finished - otherwise it could be extended indefinitely.
Drag wrote:
The factoids are a cool touch, but in the later stages, the action is just too frantic for me to actually stop and read them
I saw it as a way of compensating for no multiplayer mode. The non-player in the same room watching you play is probably reading them.
Macifom wrote:
thefox wrote:
Tried it out, cool! Sound did seem a little bit choppy at times though (nothing too drastic, using iPhone 4).
There's definitely room for improvement in the current iOS build of Macifom. For performance-related reasons I'm not using the sync-to-sound approach I do on the desktop, which is why you'll occasionally hear hiccups in the audio.
That, external controller and external video support are at the top of my to-do list for the next version. I'll push an update to the Zooming Secretary app when it's ready.
How about a landscape mode?
In case more people start to get interested in having their homebrews "ported" to iOS, there are couple of more possible features that could be useful with small changes to the games:
- Game Center support (achievements, etc)
- Audio could be played back using MP3/whatever using some special register writes to take care of some of the audio issues (and to get more flexibility)
It's too bad the controls are inevitably so crappy, though. I have tried playing the Mega Man 2 Lite from AppStore, and while I was able to complete the level (the lite version only has one level), it wasn't very enjoyable.
That and possibly support for other control methods more suited to a flat touch screen, such as Zapper support and tablet controller support. (Is the Oeka Kids tablet documented anywhere beyond here?)
thefox wrote:
How about a landscape mode?
In case more people start to get interested in having their homebrews "ported" to iOS, there are couple of more possible features that could be useful with small changes to the games:
- Game Center support (achievements, etc)
- Audio could be played back using MP3/whatever using some special register writes to take care of some of the audio issues (and to get more flexibility)
It's too bad the controls are inevitably so crappy, though. I have tried playing the Mega Man 2 Lite from AppStore, and while I was able to complete the level (the lite version only has one level), it wasn't very enjoyable.
In case more people start to get interested in having their homebrews "ported" to iOS, there are couple of more possible features that could be useful with small changes to the games:
- Game Center support (achievements, etc)
- Audio could be played back using MP3/whatever using some special register writes to take care of some of the audio issues (and to get more flexibility)
It's too bad the controls are inevitably so crappy, though. I have tried playing the Mega Man 2 Lite from AppStore, and while I was able to complete the level (the lite version only has one level), it wasn't very enjoyable.
Landscape is definitely in the works, though it won't be triggered by the accelerometer.
Game Center support is a suggestion I've heard as well. Both that and the potential MP3 playback support would need a register-level API for NES to emulation layer communication. Perhaps I should start a separate thread to propose that API? It would have to be something homebrew authors would actually consider supporting.
I agree that touch-based controls don't work well for games designed for physical buttons and rocker-type direction pads. The physical feedback and exactness just aren't there. With the addition of external display and Bluetooth controller support, I'm hoping that a more authentic experience will be possible when mobility isn't a factor.
tepples wrote:
That and possibly support for other control methods more suited to a flat touch screen, such as Zapper support and tablet controller support. (Is the Oeka Kids tablet documented anywhere beyond here?)
Zapper support would be cute, though in practice it might be frustrating as your hand would obscure the play area. Perhaps on iPad?
That's the first I'd ever heard of Oeka Kids and its tablet accessory. Sure beats Color a Dinosaur.
Macifom wrote:
Perhaps I should start a separate thread to propose that API? It would have to be something homebrew authors would actually consider supporting.
Yeah it's probably not worth the effort right now. I would wait for some homebrew author to pick up the idea first.
BTW why no acceloremeter support in the landscape switching?
thefox wrote:
Macifom wrote:
Perhaps I should start a separate thread to propose that API? It would have to be something homebrew authors would actually consider supporting.
Yeah it's probably not worth the effort right now. I would wait for some homebrew author to pick up the idea first.
BTW why no acceloremeter support in the landscape switching?
I had been worried that the accelerometer was fiddly and would cause unintended orientation changes during game play. In practice, it hasn't been an issue and, if it ever were, the orientation lock option in Settings will take care of it.
The latest Macifomlite codebase supports rotation between portrait and landscape on both iPhone and iPad, as well as new control methods. I'll be posting a new game with the updated codebase next week. After that I'll push the changes upstream and integrate the new features into Zooming Secretary.
Excellent game! I'd like to see if there will be changes on it.
This game is completely finished, so I don't plan to make any changes.
I asked hubs, who lurks in #nesdev, to test this and the other games in the Streemerz bundle. His reaction: "streemerz and lan master were my favs [but] zooming secretary was fkn brilliant as well"