The year is 1982 and the hottest game in the arcades is Fix It Felix Jr. But what about kids on campouts? On road trips? Or those without quarters? Luckily, TobiKomi and Coleco teamed up to create another one of their wonderful handheld arcade games and I got my hands on one!
…Or at least, that’s probably what would have happened if it was a real thing. Since it’s not, I guess I’ll just have to make my own. Long story short, I recently finished my full-sized cab and need a new project. I’ll be creating new artwork, recreating that famous Coleco shell, and writing my own game! That last one is a big deal because I have no experience in that area. Let’s get started.
Before I get to far – I have to thank vwalbridge for doing his Donkey Kong Build. I’m going to be taking many of his ideas. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,145663.0.html
Handheld Cabinet
I want this thing to mostly look original. But I don’t own an original. And actually, I’d feel a little guilty tearing it apart. So, I had a shell 3d printed! Not too expensive actually. I plan to paint it Fix It Felix blue. I’m still deciding how to do the control panel so may have to get that reprinted. This is also my first foray into 3d printing and I’m pleasantly surprised with how the pieces turned out and the feel/strength of the thing.
Computer Hardware
I haven’t decided on this for sure yet, but I’m leaning towards using an Intel NUC (or similar computer) with the Ultimarc mini-pac. I want this thing to run MAME to play some other VFD games – but my game will only run on Windows.Mac/Ubuntu. So, I need a full computer of some sort. I’m planning for a 5″ screen, some tiny speakers. It probably won’t run off batteries.
Artwork
Couldn’t find anyone else who had done this exact same project so I’m on my own. I have some experience with graphic design – plus all the hard work for full-sized cabinets. I’ll just need to resize pieces here and there. I’ve got the two side decals finished and will tackle the CPO, marquee, and topper next. I think they should all fit onto one sheet – I’m considering using StickerMule to print them up when done. I’ve been impressed with their vinyl cuts before.
The Game and Software
Here we go. I want this thing to actually be playable. I was fascinated to see in the vwalbridge thread that MAME had many of these games already. I like to learn new things, so this seemed like a good excuse to pick up some game creation skills. Especially since gameplay on these bad-boys was so simple. So, I’m attempting to make a game as-if Coleco had made a VFD version of Fix It Felix back in the day (with maybe a slightly higher budget than usual, when it comes to number of colors and such).
I’m making the game in GameMaker Studio 2, mostly using their DnD (drag and drop) tools. The resolution is 480×640.
These handheld games are unique really because their “sprites” can never overlap. Two colors can never touch either. So, I created a sprite sheet essentially for the entire board. That way I’d know the exact placement everything would be able to go in-game.
I tried to limit myself to the number of colors (currently 6, many orignal handhelds only had 4) but it sure is tough. I’m also, admittedly, not a great artist. I’m decent with the entire Adobe Suite, but these VFD games definitely had a certain “look” to them I’m having difficulty emulating. I redrew everything myself with inspiration from the Felix arcade game sprite-sheet.
Other Game Features
- Fix broken windows for points
- “Best Score” lights up when you have the highest score; which is lost on power down just like the real games
- Bricks fall and kill you
- Ducks hit you in the head
- Receive a medal after each level from a nicelander
- 1-Bit sound made with beepbox.co
I’m planning for there to be 7 levels total, and then it start over at the beginning, with difficulty ramping up a bit in each level. Right now I have 3 levels complete. See some action in the video below.
https://youtu.be/Y2nPq66o3n4