Well... pokemon has finally found its way into a calculator... now if only somebody would help it finds it way into trash cans and our past memories... *sigh* couldnt they have made a nice final fantasy game instead of this?

Oh well, good work anyways BASM, and keep it up!

I think that it's good work too, and has conquered my TI-83's low pixel res. with neat looking graphics!

Fine, go and say that what ever you like will find its way into a trash can too.

No offense in this message:

Jeez, I'm sick of everyone saying that Pokemon sucks! Don't buy the games if you hate it soooo much, is it so hard to follow that? You don't have to complain about it! Can you do any better on programmming? No, well stop complaining about it then! Everyone who hates Pokemon, repeat after me: I will get a life by stopping with the complaining!

<sarcasm>Thanks for the support</sarcasm>

Anyways, let me explain the reasoning behind this program/project.

First off, I personally don't find Pokemon very interesting either. However, having a 10 year old brother, our house is full of it. The only involvement I have with Pokemon is the TCG (trading card game). My brother is really into the TCG, but never has anyone to play with. So I spent of *few* dollars to get some so he would have someone to play with...thats it. Sorry to dissapoint you in that you thought we were some pokemon-obsessed children.

Secondly, programming a game like pokemon takes some...um, skill! And it isn't like this demo came together over night. Rather, it took almost two months to complete! Hard work is the essence of the meaning here!

Thirdly, the skill required to make this game sets basm (www.basm.org) as a quality programming group. This will be the first true game release for basm and will immediately set us somewhere...um, great(couldn't think of another word...?).

Fourthly, the skill required to make this challenges those without the great skill that people like Wingbermuehle, Heald, Movax, etc. For me personally, I have learned a ton from making this program!

Lastly, there is no way you will ever know how much time went into the program...and you nor I really care if you do! But the fact is that it isn't the mere name of the program that we (basm) hope to use to pull ourselves higher up in the online TI-Community, its the programming skill required.

For all those complainers, I am already starting work on a RPG that will use the same engine (as it IS basm's engine!), but new graphics, character, and story. So, don't fret...pokemon isn't the dominating name here! :)

Matt H.

P.S. That should all be read in a calmly manner :)

Err... I like didn't mean that your program was bad or nothing (I couldnt play it anyways, me being a ti-86 & 83+ owner), I'm just stating the fact that I am tired of the Pokémon craze.

Sorry =P,
~Jonathan Taylor

No need to apologize, you were simply ignorant to the heart of the matter.

Matt H.

P.S. Remember that ignorant doesn't mean stupid, just that you didn't know something! :)

uh does this demo allow you to do anything exce the arrow keys.. i figured those out :-P
good work, keep it coming... i have had to leave me ti-83+ on the shelf so i could *try* to play this on my 83.... wasnt all that bad of an experience either!

I know what you mean! My regular 83 is ROM version 1.08! It has the drop-back/inset screen that really stinks! I hate it...that's why the 83+ port is almost finished!

Matt H.

Regarding your comment above (which instructed me to read this one, which I already had but oh well), I can see your standpoint on pokemon. I myself find the game utterly boring and no fun at all, but I definately can see where you're coming from.
It's the challenge, the thrill of being able to program things that you've never done before, the feeling you get when it's all finished and you say, "Hey, I made that!!". I'm working on a puzzle game on my 89 right now (BASIC), which incorporates never before seen things in BASIC such as level set detection, automatically calculated level set information, and other stuff.
Your group completing this project remindes me of my Zelda Demo. I spent more than six months of learning experience putting together that game, and it's wonderful. It's not all that much fun for me to play, but to realize what I did, that I learned how to do all that on my own, it's just awesome.
Congratulations on all your hard work. I can see it's definately paid off! I encourage you guys not to "give up" this project simply because it's pokemon. I am really looking forward to seeing the greyscale implementation, and how the rest of the game will work out. Your guys' challenges can be overcome, just stick with it!!

-Fil, Good luck guys!!

Well, thank you. You said that brilliantly. Nothing more needs to be said of this, I'm have an appifiny (I know that spelt wrong, and I know what it means, but subtitute some more meaningful meaning in there, and wa-la!).

Matt H.

Oops. You were a little too late on some of those never before seen features. Check out litesout at www.geocities.com/intercode99. Automatic level detection (kinda slow, but its basic...) level editor, and randomly generated boards that are always solvable. Guess your puzzle game got beat to the punch...

Demos, something that has become normal on ticalc.org. Every week there is a new program that is released as a demo. Many times these demos are never finished. Just look at all the Zelda games. I sure hope that this game will be finished and not follow the same path as NBA Live.

You haven't heard the last of my Zelda project...

I'm still hard at work with the Zelda 89 (it's in BASIC, remember). If you've played that, you know it's a step or two up from anything else BASIC out there.
I'm sill planning a release of a second demo in the coming months, which will incorporate animated people, enemies, somewhat of the storyline from the actual GameBoy game, and tons more.
There's a lot more going on behind the scenes on a lot of these demos that most of the TI community doesn't know about, so just keep waiting. It'll be worth it.

-Fil

You ARE going to continue it??!!! COOL! If your demo was the one i was playing for ever abd ever then good job on it.... Isuppose when <pleading> you DO finish it, it will be ported to the 83+? And what about all the final fantasy games that i played for the longest time on my 83? what about those to 83+ </pleading> Well anyhow, good job

This will be finished! There is so much in the workings RIGHT NOW AS I TYPE that it will never die!

Pokemon, however, might die! Just not this project!
Matt H.

Why is no one releasing games that have originality? Must everything written for calcs be rewrites of existing games? I don't mean to offend anyone, but it shouldn't be too difficult to think up something that's creative. I once played a game on my computer called Pyro. The whole point of the game was to go through a building lighting fires and escaping before you burn up in it. I loved playing it and I've never seen anything like that ever since. Sure, it had crappy ASCII art and junk sound effects, but it had GAMEPLAY. You can't make a good game on greyscale and a poplular name alone. You need something original and creative so people will say "Hey, this game looks fun," rather than "Oh goody, another <Over-Ported> game." I don't have an 83, so I have no idea how this game plays, but it sounds like a duplication of the Gameboy version. If I want to play that, I'll pay the $30 and play a full-working, final, playable version on my Gameboy. Anyway again, it's not my intention to insult or anger anyone, I'm just trying to inspire confidence into everyone that they CAN make good, original games for their calcs and not have to use the ideas and programs of other people. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

- JuPIDeR

What about super mario quest for the ti 89. It was almost identical to super mario bros except it doesnt have poison mushrooms, vines, invisible blocks and moving platforms. It did however have external levels, with an on-calc editor. What about tetris, anyone who can that was a bad calc series should quickly ask themselves which is beter, any calc version of ztetris and 68ktetris especialy, as compared with the original tetris. Sometimes I think those $30.00 game makers at gameboy and allying software should take a hint from calc programers. Besides who was it that the new gameboy had about 40 different colors, gameboy. Who managed to get over 2000 colors on it, a calc programer! Super Mario Bros DX has about 40 different colors. Squarex for gameboy has over 500.

Yes... games need creativity... games do not need to have greyscale and asm to be great... look at adom(www.adom.com)... this game has taken up most of my game time ever since i downloaded it.... it has ascii graphics but excellent gameplay... in other words... games (even on a pc) do not need excellent graphics to be great.

You mean www.adom.de. ADOM is one of the best pc games EVER. In fact the roguelike game genre in general is awsome.

BTW, Moria would be sweet on the calc.

Well, as for the issue of no creative games, why make a game with a name nobody has ever heard of when you can take advantage of the awesome presence of commercial hype like Pokemon.

Programmers want people to download and play their games, and they have the following pieces of common sense in mind.

1. People who are obsessed with Pokemon will obviously download this game

2. People who hate this game will download it just so they can talk bad about it... but they still downloaded it.

3. People who have never heard about Pokemon will download it because of all the other people who have

Thus effectively getting every single person who sees the program to want to download it.

If you saw two games, one was called Street Fighter II, and the other was Fighting People, which would you download. Of course the commercial one first, and maybe if you are the type who likes downloading/trying every program then the other game, but there's nothing better for a program than using a famous name

-Trailblazer

I have to agree with you here...but originallity is difficult to come by. Ask yourself how many good, original games you could think up that have good gameplay. How many? Not many. But, thats okay...ports are always accepted, are they not? Yes, they are. But, I'm working on another RPG that is hopefully "original"!

Matt H.

Not exactly..most calc games are clones of other games, but there are some that are original (or clones of games no one has ever played.
I can name many:
TND, sqrxz, penguins, fall down, xc-1701, d-star, vertigo, most rpgs, etc.