I'm sharing my first Pico-8 game, called Picotage!
This is heavily inspired by the Apple II game "Sabotage" which I played on a school computer in the early 1980s.
I appreciate any comments. Thank you and enjoy!
This is a very simple action game where the goal is simply to survive as long as you can. Shoot the helis before they drop soldiers, or shoot the soldiers chutes after they drop, or shoot the soldiers. But don't let the soldiers land and damage your base!
Use the arrow keys to change the angle of your gun. Left, Right, Up, and Down can be used.
Fire with the "Z" key. You can hold it down or fire in bursts.
You earn a Powerup every 5 levels. Use the "X" key to activate the powerups.
Some minor nuances if you are trying to maximize your score:
- if you point straight up, most easily done by holding the "up" arrow, the bullets will eventually come down and hit your base, causing them to bounce and scatter. This can kill soldiers that land near your base, even when they are otherwise impossible to hit. This can save you a powerup once in awhile.
- if you tap the down arrow the cannon will nudge down a bit, which is useful for making small adjustments to hit soldiers on the ground.
- elite units are red. The elite soldiers have a shield which blocks your shots. Prioritize killing the elite units before they land.
Have fun!
Nice ! I like this version unlike the Apple ][ where you would lose 10-points for every shot that missed. Here you can just fire and forget. Gold star for ease of firing.
It's up to you but you could add a sadistic scoring. That is you get big points, more than shooting anything else, for a soldier hitting the ground minus a parachute.
Thanks for the feedback. Do you think it is obvious enough that the player is earning powerups every 5 levels and that they can be activated with the "X" key?
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