Net Yaroze part 4

Net Yaroze part 4

The Net Yaroze journey continues with the final list of games released onto demo disks.


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Invaders From Mars

Genre: Arcade
Programmer: Ben James
Released: 1998

Invaders From Mars is a 3D arcade style game with the objective of destroying all the buildings in the city.

The start screen has the 50's sci-fi font but has a background image of War of the Worlds, as opposed to its namesake movie. Hmm...

The play area is very small and doesn't try to disguise the limited area with walls or fog or destroyed buildings.

Floating in the sky are red mines that hurt if you hit them.
Destroying them can give a green item that heals some health when snagged.

Something keeps attacking you if you linger in the air. I can't see what's causing it.

The controls are pretty weird.
X accelerates , /\ reverses.
Up and Down on the D-pad move the space ship up and down.
[] fires a volley of spiked balls.
() fires a laser shot.
/\ does nothing.

The [] volley attack only lasts a second but you can keep spamming [] for an unlimited attack.

Here's a tip:
you can  descend yourself below the ground so that you can't be hit by defences.
Now you are free to shoot the buildings down at your leisure.

Destroying all the buildings presents a congratulations screen.
On this screen is an image of the famed Cydonia - the 'face of Mars'.

This sort of genre will be followed by Invasion from Beyond/B-Movie released later that year.

The gameplay is similar to Independence Day but isn't nearly as annoying because there's no sound effects.
Sometimes less is more.


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Snave

Genre: Shooter
Programmed: Lewis Evans
Released: 1997 (September 1997?)

Snave is an early Yaroze game that's basically a shmup version of Between the Eyes, which he also made.

The game is an endless hallway. The goal is to shoot shit at ships and get points.

Enemies range from ships that move back in forth in a pattern to ships that shoot at you.
Sometimes these ships share the same model. Is it a glitch? If intentional it is dumb.

You start off with six lives.
You get 12 health per life. This seems like an arbitrary number.
It's not enough; there is no mercy invincibility, so if you get caught in a blizzard of bullets then you are dead.

You can collect an anime chick as it flies towards you.
Collecting them either does nothing or it makes the camera go ape-shit.
It can be hard to touch her as she keeps spinning and the hit detection is iffy.

The music is good. Sounds like something out of Wipeout.
Much better than the music in Between the Eyes, which is good for around 8 seconds.


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Airbob

Genre: Arcade
Developed by: K. Okada, H. Endo, J. Suehiro, M. Taniguti
Released: 16/02/1998

Airbob is a bobsledding game where you must guide the sled through a course and get a good time.
It was produced for a school festival according the readme document.

There are six teams to choose from, each with their own stats.
team    | Power | Speed | Tec
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Japan         2           3        3
America    4           2        2
Sweden   3           3        3
Jamaica     3           4        1
Canada      2           2        4
Finland      3           4        3

As you can see Finland is the ideal team because
a) it has the most stat points at 10
b) the stats are rounded (basically Sweden +1 to speed).
lol @ Jamaica. Cool Runnings much?

At the start of the match you must mash [] to get the pace needed to launch.
Then you must turn with the walls. Because this is gravity powered you can't reduce speed.

It is bothersome getting pushed around by the walls. Unable to control yourself you tend to lose time.

At the end of the course your team will be launched off a ramp and jump out of the bobsled.
Then you must hit the onscreen face buttons to perform your air diving routine.
Succeed and your team will get full marks and parachute down safely.
Fail, and... a crater is made.

This is a pretty unique game. I can't think of any bobsledding games outside of those Winter sports games.


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Car2

Genre: Racing
Programmer: Stuart Ashley
Released: 1997

Car2 is a racing demo, the sequel to the first Car racing demo by William Docherty.

This game is as simple as it gets.
The game is a 2 player splitscreen racer that doesn't quite meet the definition of a racer.

Ways this game is simple:
* basic red-and-white walls
* cone trees
* all the cars are basic colour
* all the cars are reskins
* no collision for cars
* no starting line
* no laps
* no speed or time display
* HSYNC and MAX HSYNC is displayed

This is a good effort for a demo. Car3 HD for Steam, PSN, and XBL soon?

Where are they now?:
Stuart Ashley later went on to join Team Soho, where he was a programmer for The Getaway.
Recently he was a Technical Director of L.A. Noir.


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Hover Racing

Genre: Racing
Programmer: Tomokazu Sato
Released: 14/11/1997

Hover Racing, not to be confused with Hover Car Racing, is a racing game in the spirit of F-Zero.
And by spirit I mean a clone.

The goal of the game is to either beat the opponents or beat your best time, depending on mode selected.

You can choose between a variety of vehicles with different stats.
They all have one thing in common: they suck at turning.
Seriously. One ship can't turn at all and must be guided with airbrakes.

To make it around corners you need to use the airbrakes with L2 and R2.
Much like Wipeout, the airbrakes seem counter-intuitive but you get used to them.

The course is littered with F-Zero obstacles.
* speed pads in the shape of arrows that give a boost in speed
* coloured strips that harm your vehicle if you enter them

Yes, much like the F-Zero games you have a power meter.
Hitting walls and landing in those coloured strips drain your power.
Not hitting walls and coloured strips slowly restores your power.
No power = your ship explodes and the race restarts.

The music is quite good. That 90's Japanese charm.

That said, this is a good solid game.


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Revolution

Genre: Racing
Programmer: Robert Swan
Released: 1998

Revolution is a top down 3D racing game set in SPACE!

The goal is to fly your ship through a course made of pinball bumpers as fast as possible.
I don't know if the course has an ending as I'm not good enough nor am I motivated enough to really try.

The course is lined with what appear to be pinball bumpers.,
Hitting these bounce you off AND subtract time off you.
The sad part is that a bump can bump you into another bumper.
And then lots of stock SDK sound effects play.

Progressing through bumpers lights up the next pair to pass through.
Yep, you can't be cheeky and take shortcuts; you have to go between them all.

You can't access the Fly Mission until you pass Training School.
I can't pass it.
First you do a huge course that is very difficulty on account of very thin passages that will murder your time if you don't approach it pixel perfectly.
And what lies after that course? Another course!

Why couldn't Mr. Swan make take Fly Missions available from the start?
Maybe a cheat code? Maybe his sanity really is weakening.

Robert Swan also made Adventure Game.

Where are they now?:
Robert Swan later went on found the indie game studio Aah Games.
Currently he is working on a game: Diorama. Looks like Minecraft.
You can catch him at work here: https://www.twitch.tv/robtheswan


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Stone Gate

Genre: Fighter
Progammer: Javier Ventoso Reigosa
Developed in: 12 weeks
Released: 1998

Stone Gate is a 2 player fighting game as guys that are blockier than the fighters in Virtua Fighter.

This game is quite incomplete.
Selecting the info screen generates a scrolling message at the button:
"Sorry, this game isn't complete (no jumps, no options, no magics, no music, no 1P mode, sounds in the last day in  moment...). We couldn't finish because we haven't enough time (12 weeks)..."

You can't choose your character.
Player 1 is a a Hispanic in a sombrero with wooden legs and stylish blue shirt.
Player 2 looks like Paul Phoenix's younger brother, with very blue trousers and a camo green shirt.

When you are idle they both talk.
* Player 1: "Que pasa?" - he sounds like Strong Bad
* Player 2: "Come on!" - he sounds like Fez

[] is a fast kick
X is a slightly slower but slightly more powerful kick
/\ is a fast punch
() is a slightly slower but slightly more powerful punch
L1 and L2 adjust the camera

Portals exist at both sides of everything screen. Punching or kicking your opponent rhrough it takes you to the next screen... the exact same as before.

Powerups spawn on the ground one at a time.
Powerups range from:
* gaining health
* making the camera go wonky
* gaining a bigger head and heads
* making your character go all drunken fist mode
* more shielding
* hurting your opponent with a punch automatically
* making you explode (and your opponent if he is close enough)

This is a fighting game with promise. Magic? This could make it a cool Skull Fighters type game... or another Destrega.
Either way this would have been interesting to see a more developed, maybe even a final released, version.


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Wanisan Shooting Game

Genre: Shooter
Programmer: Wanisan
Released: 1997

Wanisan Shooting Game is a hellish shmup that rivals Silver Surfer in kicking your ass.

The game starts with no intro, no main menu, just wham bam get killed madam.

You start off with two shooter orbs - Options they might say in R-Type - which respawn with you.
These would be more helpful if they can aim but instead they seem to aim of their own accord.

You get 3 lives. You might get extra lives at certain point threshold but I've never gotten that far.

There is debug info at the top of the screen:
VSYNC
ENO
TNO

You can collect a powerup: a letter P.
This makes you temporarily invincibility.
I do mean temporary. 2 seconds? It's not worth going for!

As you progress you increase levels.
From what I've noticed there is no increase in difficulty; it is merely a measure of how far you've gotten.
Dying takes you back 2 levels.

This game is damn hard. I was tempted to make a TAS just to see how ludicrous it gets.
You will die. A lot.
The gods of Touhoe will wince at this. This is Hell.


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Columns

Genre: Puzzle
Programmer: PRG
Developed in: 2 days
Released: 15/01/1997

Columns is a Yaroze port of the Mega Drive/Genesis game. It's Columns, dude.

The idea is to match three of one colour.
You must guide down blocks of 3x1 down and match 'em.
Pretty simple.

The game isn't a complete port; it does its own thing.
Gone is the Egyptian motif. In with the classic arcade feel.
The music does sound like an arcade game, or Genesis music but with different sound chip.

There's no much else to this vintage simple fun.


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Car Tag

Genre: Racing
Programmer: Matthew Follett
Released: 1998

Car Tag is a two player racing game where you both must collect coloured objects off of headless pyramids.

Player 1 controls a satellite... helicopter... thing.
Player 2 controls a square. Thrilling.

This is a no thrills programming test between two objects with wide turning circles and their never ending quest to collect the objects, which look like Chaos Emeralds kinda.

Collecting the items does different effects.
Sometimes you both swap vehicles.
Sometimes the controls are reversed.
It is bizarre.

After 4 wins the camera zooms in on the player with the 4 wins.
After 5 wins the game is over.

Simple yet dimple.


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Inertia

Genre: Arcade
Programmer: John Reynolds
Released: 1998

Inertia is a very short 3D version of Marble Madness.

The goal is simple: guide the giant metal golf ball to the exit. Falling off costs time.

The game is a proof of concept and technology, as stated in the readme file.
As such:
* there is only one level
* letting the time run out doesn't end the game
* the ball texture doesn't spin in time with you
* the physics is screwed up
* the game doesn't return to the title screen, it flashes it for a split second, passing over it

When you fall off the map into the abyss the camera pans out dramatically.
The problem resides in that if even a pixel of your ball goes over then you 'fall off', even if you are hopping a jump you can certainly make.

The title is right: you can't make it up those ramps without inertia.
The difficult upward ramps come right after 90 degree turns you'll likely fall off.
With enough heave ho you'll eventually make it up.

Where are they now?:
John Reynolds has done some programming since this game.
Recently he was the Lead AI Programmer of Hydrophobia.


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Pune

Genre: Maze
Programmer: Graeme Evans
Released: 1998

Pune is a 2D multiplayer game where you all control snakes and  must last as long as possible.
It is a Yaroze port of the 1995 DOS game.

Each of you choose a snake of a different colour and then compete to see how who lasts the longest.
The snakes will grow as time progresses. It is only a matter of time...

During gameplay some guy will go "speeding up" and the worms will speed up.
He sounds like a Southerner type, like a cowboy.

The controls might throw you off at first.
[] turns your snake left
() turns your snake right
Not sure why they couldn't make it the D-pad.

The music is pretty cool. It has the 90's computer game feel to it.
It sort of reminds of the music in 3D Pinball Space Cadet.

This game is best played with other people.
It's sad playing alone. Then again, I'm always alone playing with my snake.


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Super Ramp Skater

Genre: Sports
Programmer: Doug Day
Released: 1998

Super Ramp Skater is as the name suggests a 3D ramp skating game.
The real name of this game is 'Super Ramp Skater Deluxe Turbo Alpha Plus 3D'.

This game is a demo test proof of concept and technology, all those buzzwords to sum up this game.

The goal is to flu up the ramps and do tricks for points.
Problem is: the controls are very retarded.

The readme file lists the controls but they are wrong.
"L1 - Build up spin speed for airs"
"R2 - Kick off (when standing still)"
"Circle - Another silly air!"
WRONG! R1 kicks off, R2 spins, () pauses the game.

As such I can't figure out how to get to the top of the ramp.
The demo that plays on the title screen makes it look easier.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is better than this.

Where are they now?:
Doug Day has done some programming for games in the early 2000's but hasn't been heard from since.


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Race

Genre: Racing
Programmer: Robert Swan
Released: 07/06/1998

Race is a 3D Wipeout clone racer.

The Wipeout inspiration can be observed thus:
* the way you turn is very Wipeout, with the camera sweeping as you turn
* you have airbrakes via L2 and R2
* the ship you're in looks like the AG Systems F5000 from Wipeout 2097

After a lap a ghost ship mirroring your best lap will appear.

Race has pretty good drawn distance for an indie racing game but that is for forwards... heading in reverse reveals the sacrifice.
The draw distance when heading up the track in reverse is bad. The track and objects will pop up just meters away. Kind of like driving in a rainy storm. There's your lesson, kids.

Pressing () changes the transparency of the trees on and off.

Robert Swan also worked on Adventure Game.
This Race game should have had some British humour to perk it up a tad, lad.


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Bom!

Genre: multiplayer arcade
Programmer: Peter Hardy
Released: 1998

Bom! is a 2 player game where you both play as bombs and are passing a fuse back and forth in a game of tag.

Both players control what appears to be a Bob-omb: a bomb with feet and eyes... and a face that speaks of drug use. Stoner bombs?

Player 1 controls the bomb with red shoes.
Player 2 controls the blue one.
There is a problem though...

This is a 2 player 3D game but share the same screen.
3D + same screen = trouble.
As such, player 1 controls the camera. That automatically gives him an advantage.
It's so bad that as a result of this mechanic you can't see Player One's bomb's face. Is it a stoner face too? We shall never know.

[] moves forward, X moves backward. Weird.

The game doesn't have a win/lose condition: the bombs don't explode!
You would think that passing a fuse back and forth suggested a timer, a countdown towards an inevitable explosion, but there is none.

What a bomb of a game.


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Jagot

Genre: Puzzle
Programmer: ???
Released: 1998

Jagot is an awkward Tetris clone.

This game has a Russian feel to it.
Apart from music being spelt 'muzak', the game feels like a cheap knockoff in the sense of it being quite inferior to other Tetris ports.

The 'JAGOT' text on the main screen looks a bit like the Atari Jaguar logo.

The music is unimpressive. All you get is four bars of percussion that sound like a techno beat.
My brain wants to extend this monotony with a melody but it can't! Dumb music.

There is also a fish mode.
In this mode you control a fish and have to push the blocks.
If you hit the blocks in any way that aren't dead centre then you flip them.
If you get trapped or crushed by the blocks then it is game over.
What a frustrating mode.

Other than that there's not much to the game.


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Car G1

Genre: Racing
Programmer: William Docherty
Released: 6/7/1997

Car G1 is a simple top down racing game meant to test the Net Yaroze.

The game plays similar to Hover Car Racing but is much simpler:
* no lap counter or timer
* no win/lose condition or even a starting line

You drive around in a pink convertible that looks like one of Barbie's cars.
Pressing /\ resets the race.

The camera is zoomed in too far. You can never see the walls before you commit to the turn, which is a naughty no-no.

When you crash you are stunned for a second. This quickly gets annoying.

Driving against a wall bounces you off it, but if you slowly driving into it you will pass through.

This is baby's first step to Micro Machines game.

Where are they now?:
William Docherty has worked on some games throughout the years.
He has recently founded Ground Up Games in 2010 which develops PC and phone applications, mainly games.


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Puzzle of Insects

Genre: Puzzle
Programmer: Yukio Lijima
Released: 8/12/1997

Puzzle of Insects a puzzle game made for the Dengeki king contest.

The aim of the game is to guide your ladybug to the red flag.

Preventing you from doing so are textureless scorpions, that relentless follow you.
You don't get hurt or die from touching them; they just get in your way.

The yellow grasshoppers launch you into the air, taking you with them to a specified part of the level.
This covers some ground but the scorpions will catch up.

The D-pad moves the ladybug.
The Start button resets the puzzle, which you'll be doing a lot.

There are 8 stages but I only just completed the first one:
* move the rock one pace to the right so it is in front of the grasshopper
* approach said grasshopper and be launched
* head left and up to make the scorpion to the left move up
* move right and then down to make the leftmost scorpion move two paces to the right, pass the patch of water, to catch up with you
* head down and then left and get to the flag

The music is quite neat. Sounds like something out of Crash Bandicoot. I just wish there was more than eight bars to it. It's doing my head in!


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Breakout 3D

Genre: Arcade
Programmer: Lewis Evans
Released: May 1997

Breakout 3D is a three dimensional port of the classic game Breakout.

This game shares many assets with Evan's other work Between the Eyes:
* same font
* some colour scheme
* same music

The gameplay is very disorientating.
The action takes place on the face of a cube, which rotates every 5 seconds or so.
The orientation of the field flips from horizontal to vertical and back.
This happens seamlessly while the ball is travelling.

The difficulty settings are quite idiosyncratic:
* easy: chicken
* medium: wallabe
* hard: cobra
* very hard: dragon
The higher the difficulty setting the more often and varied the orientation is.
On Dragon difficulty the cube is flipping and turning so fast it is impossible to see what you're doing. My high score on this mode is 400.

The background is full of chibi anime schoolgirls with weird hair.
What is it with Yaroze games and cute anime schoolgirls...

The ball natural comes straight down at you, so if you stay still it won't move in any other direction.
That's a design flaw that wasn't ironed out.

This isn't exactly the 3D version I envisioned.
I was expecting more first person or maybe even... a third dimension.


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One on One

Genre: Sports
Programmer: 'Oleone' Ramon de Abreu
Released: 1998

One on One is a two player basketball game created for the Edge magazine Yaroze contest.

The game starts up immediately into the action; the title screen flashes for a few seconds.

The goal is to get the basketball through the hoop. The guy without the ball must stop that from happening.
Player One starts off with the ball and then Player Two has a go.

The sounds effect of the ball constantly dribbling is very annoying.
There is very little else sounds and no music.

The charater look like carved wooden characters from a Lovecraftian story.

Select pauses the game and Start quits the game.
I hate it when games do this.

Ramon de Abreu has made a video of his game.

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Asobu Rakugaki

Genre: Platformer
Programmer: Hideki Kubo
Released: 26/12/1997

Asobu Rakugaki aka Let's Play is a game in which you play as a drawn character in a doodle world.

The game starts up with lots of Japanese text that I can't read and understand.
It appears to be quite story heavy. A shame I can't read this.

The graphics are nicely drawn. I love the crayon aesthetic.

You can't get past the jump without folding up the world.
Press R1 near the pit to make the fold fold up a bit. This creates an extension to the ledge that you're on. Now you can make the jump.

Getting to the end of the level produced more text that I can't appreciate.
It might be deep or insightful commentary, or it could be dumb childish banter.
Then the game resets.

This is an interesting game. Definitely the kind you can make nowadays.
Just get a crowd-funding campaign going, raise that dosh, and this could be a new Steam, PSN, and XBL addition to the indie game market.

Where are they now?:
Hideki Kubo has done some artwork to some games, as well as various parts here and there.


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Little Wing

Genre: Arcade
Programmer: Hiroaki Kawabata
Released: 15/12/1997

Little Wing is a paper plane flying game. Yes.

The game starts up at a crossroad. My inexperience with Nihongo means I don't understand shit.
Going left starts the story.
Going right starts practice.

After talking to the professor of paper planes, you are then tasked with throwing them.
Because this is where all the government funding goes. Cancer? Nope, we need to kickstart workshops on paper plane throwing and scholarships.

The idea is to time pressing () on the degrees and time () again on the power.
The idea is to get the best angle and power relative to the wind.
It's pretty complicated, especially since it's in Japanese.
My best throw is 8.2


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Nanatan

Genre: Arcade
Programmer: 'krd' Yousuke Kuroda
Released: 30/09/1997

NaNaTaN, usually spelt as Nanatan, is a oblique scrolling tank game made for a contest, probably the Dengeki king contest.

The goal of the game is to advance in your tank and shoot shit for a point each.
I don't know if there is an ending.

Your tank fires shells in the same manner as the enemy turrets and vehicles, except you have far fewer ranch. Booo.
Despite your tank's heavy defences you will die after being hit only once.
One hit, one life.

A Japanese female keeps talking and I don't interpret it at all.
Makes me wish I actually learnt Japanese in high school, just to play twenty year old Net Yaroze games with greater clarity.

The translation of the readme document for this game has the author stating:
"The point where the operation feeling of own tank is a little special is the point, what is it?"
Which is Engrish for 'be glad you're driving your own tank. You should feel special.'

This game is tricky to get far,
The turrets have such range and you move so slow, so good luck getting out of the way.

Everything explosion is a generic stock SDK sound effect. That about sums up the game.


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Nekopon

Genre: Arcade
Programmer: Ryunosuke Taki
Released: 29/02/1997

Nekopon is a 2D catcher game where you play as a cat and must guide fish into a container. Cat!

You guide the fish by bouncing them off your heading, hoping you can get to it and get it into the container, whether it be a bucket or clothes basket.
You can't just grab the fish or hold it or aim it.

You play as a yellow cat that is constantly grooming. Yay realism.

Multiple fish can appear, making you prioritise and juggle them.
No matter how good you are there are some fish that can't be saved.
A fish hitting the ground costs a life. You have five lives.

As far as I'm aware the game is endless. That cat is going to feast like royalty.

The music is annoying, and even more annoyingly it seems like it will continue with a melody but it doesn't.
The music on the title screen sounds familiar. I know I've heard something very similar to it before.

I could see this being an arcade game that Shinya Arino would play in Game Center CX.


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Manic X

Genre: Maze
Programmer: Tuna Technology (Mark Fitt and Alex Amsel did the programming)
Released: 1997

Manic X is a Pac-Man maze but with superpowers!

This game is very much a test product. As such there are telltale signs:
* no title screen
* FPS counter in the bottom right corner
* debug button functions still in effect
* the game quits itself after dying
* no sound effects or music

When you collect a power pellet your eyes turn red and evil. What a monstrous villain.

When you get ghosts catch you they eat you. It's more graphic than I'm used to.

Debug functions:
L1 = screen rumbles. Effect unknown.
R1 = power pellet mode
R2 = next level

Powerups include:
* big power pellet - longer invincibility
* red amuet - fires a bullet that can destroy a ghost
* blue potion - makes you transparent. Ghosts can't see and chase you
* watch - slows down the ghosts, some to a complete stop
* sushi? - double speed - effect lasts death or level complete
* megaphone - fires a bullet. Same as red amulet
* blue amulet - same as red amulet
all the food items give points - more did the Pac-Man fruit did!

Where are they now?:
Tuna Technology is still going, currently making games for Windows and phones.
Alex Amsel's twitter: https://twitter.com/alex_amsel
Mark Fitt's twitter: https://twitter.com/extremexs


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Phew, what a journey, but it isn't over yet. I still have more Yaroze games to document!

Next up I'll be looking at some tech demos.

Click here to return to the previous page; part 2 of demo disk Net Yaroze games.

Click here to return to part 1 of the demo disk Net Yaroze games.

Click here to return to the first page; Net Yaroze games I played as a kid.