The Pit Jr.
A Pico-8 remake of the little known, seldom remembered 1982 coin-op game "The Pit". This simple game is often cited as the inspiration for Boulderdash and other digging games, and features a careful descent into a rock-strewn cavern, the daring acquisition of precious gems, and a heart-stopping escape through the terrifying pit, where lurks the ravenous monster... at least, that's how it must have seemed to early-80s kids.
You can see gameplay from the original here: YouTube
Controls: directions to move, x to fire laser.
I've tried to recreate the distinct features of the arcade original, warts and all, including the unique movement, the simple graphics and the enemy behaviour. It also includes a lot of janky luck-based gameplay that will have you tearing your hair out - just like the original!
Liberty has been taken with the level layout, given the reduced resolution, and I've opted for eight set levels, rather than an endless rotating two-layout format.
This is my first Pico-8 game, though not my first game. I released one other title - The Pit for the ZX Spectrum! Hey, what can I say? I just really like The Pit!
I managed to fit most of what I wanted in, though ran up against the token limit. Features I was glad to find space for:
- Demo attract mode
- Persistent high scores
Changelog
v1.0 - initial release
v1.1 - prevent digging through rocks
v1.2 - improve level 3
v1.3 - fix high score bug
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