idea of LotL adventure game

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Cafeman1
Posts: 56
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

idea of LotL adventure game

Postby Cafeman1 » November 5th, 2007, 6:42 pm

Rather than pollute the other thread about "Adventure", here is a new thread. What are your thoughts about a Land of the Lost game that plays flip-screen like Adventure, Pitfall, and the homebrew 5200 Adventure II play?

Since I already have the tools from making Adventure II, I was thinking of porting the AdvII engine and making a retro LotL game with new 'characters', new graphics and screens. Of course, a much more impressive and fun game could be made on newer hardware, but just for fun here's my idea.

What I came up with so far - you would probably play as Marshall, the dad. I was thinking of having Episodes. Each one would have a different problem to deal with. When you solved the problem, you'd get a little ending with an 8-bit version of the ending LotL song! "When I look ... all around ... I can't believe the things I've found .. etc". The music would have to be there in some form or it wouldn't feel like Land of the Lost.

The main thrust of the gameplay: explore screens, looks for stuff/your family, solve Pylon Matrix problems, avoid dinos and run from sleestacks. The main areas could be: the jungles, the Lost City, the spooky mist marsh where the Zarn lives, the river, and the underground Sleestack caverns.

Exploring screens, you may find holes/pits in the ground -- Sleestack tunnels -- in which you could sneak through as shortcuts if necessary. There would be Pylons scattered around, and each would have a function. One would be the weather pylon, one would control the sun/moons cycles, one might change the game map a bit, etc. Just like in the show. Each would have a matrix table and you'd have to play a little puzzle game to solve the colored-crystals matrix table problem. 

Enemies: Sleestack of course! The dinosaurs present a bit of a problem on old Atari hardware; I guess they'd be done with bg graphics and not sprites. But running from Grumpy, Alice and Spike would definitely come into play. Maybe I'd have to resort to SEGA Genesis Jurassic Park "tricks" -- only showing Grumpy's head, for example.

Here are some ideas for episodes. Perhaps it'd be cool to name them directly after certain real LotL eps.

Episode 1: Will and Holly are lost. Simply find them and return home before dark. They'd be in different places each time you play. Just like in Adventure II, finding the keys.
Episode 2: Those rotten Sleestack! They've changed the matrix table in a pylon and the sun is not rising! Find the correct color of crystal on the game map and return it to the correct pylon, and fix the matrix table to correct the weather.
Episode 3: The Zarn has lured Holly to his invisible ship! Find the mist swamp and the Zarn's invisible ship to rescue Holly. 
Episode 4: journey thru the twisting Sleestack tunnels to find the lair of their god to (once again!) rescue Holly.

Other ideas -- the sun would rise and fall on a cycle. It would get dark , the Sleestack would come out. You could use light-emitting crystals if you had found them, or else you might have to take refuge in a Pylon.  You would have to find stuff - not keys, but certain colors of crystals, also the keys to certain pylons to open them.  Perhaps Ta (the pakuni father) could serve a small role as the game's thief? It would be great to lure Ta towards grumpy and ....

Well, that encapsulates the main ideas. Not sure how everything could be accomplished within 32K (always a challenge) if I did do it on 5200/8bit anyway, and it'd definitely need some more work to figure out how to repreent the full-sized dinos somehow. But something would work. 

Alienblue

idea of LotL adventure game

Postby Alienblue » November 6th, 2007, 4:17 am

First, remember the rules about Acronyms-you need to spell out LAND OF THE LOST; I don't think most people here were in multiceluar form when the original came out!

I would love a game like that since I loved the show. I remember watching the cartoon VALLEY OF THE DINOSAURS too, anyone recall that one? I wonder how big an audiance an early 70's show would have though, the 2600 came out late 70's and most of us consider the 80's as the golden era of gaming. I'm all for it though, who else? If this works, start working on a GREATEST AMERICAN HERO game!

Cafeman1
Posts: 56
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

idea of LotL adventure game

Postby Cafeman1 » November 6th, 2007, 6:42 am

Alienblue, you are hittin' all my favorite childhood shows! Loved Land of the Lost, fondly remember Valley of the Dinosaurs, and love Greatest American Hero too! In fact, I got all 3 seasons on DVD of LotL and GAH and I recommend you to look around for 'em too. I don't think Valley of the Dinosaurs will ever be released.

But check out this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K3tONNkz48

How exactly would you envision a Greatest American Hero game?

zenzerotron

idea of LotL adventure game

Postby zenzerotron » November 6th, 2007, 11:38 am

Zen's sarcastic joke.......

Great American Hero game........hack of Superman


Alienblue

idea of LotL adventure game

Postby Alienblue » November 6th, 2007, 12:46 pm

It's good to talk to another person who recalls when TV was really GOOD! The Kroft shows besides LOTL were campy but good, recall H.R. Puffnstuff, The Bugaboos, Sigmond & the sea monsters and my 2nd fave, THE LOST SAUCER starring Jim Neigbors and Ruth Buzzie..."Future time, they came to see how the world used to be..And they can't get off of this crazy ride, please please someone help us! Oh where are we going in the LOST SAUCER!" The first scratchbuilt model I made was of the Saucer!

A Greatest American Hero game, I envision an overhead scenario like the NES Superman; Hinkley has a time limit to grab crooks and evidence-control will be wacky since he can't fly well remember!-and he must make it back in time for his first class.
Crooks in planes and cars shoot at him, and he can call his FBI freind for help once each level-do skewered overhead graphics like on NES Supes. This would be a perfect game for the 5200, well suited to the analog controls!

Zenzerotron

idea of LotL adventure game

Postby Zenzerotron » November 6th, 2007, 2:09 pm

My memories of "Great American Hero" are very foggy, but for game design, here's what comes to mind.......

I sort of picture an opening game screen, almost like Spy Hunter, where you must race in your jeep to get the supersuit from the UFO.

Unlike the tv show, where the aliens gave it to him freely(i think, awfull foggy on it), there would be a video game-liberty where you have to race and/or fight to get the supersuit from the UFO.

I also picture a final screen, where you have to  land from flying normally without falling on your butt and crashing. As I recall on the tv show, it was a running gag that although he could fly, when he'd go to land, he'd always end up crashing and making a fool of himself.



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