I'm writing an action oriented animated game for the Atari 8-bit,
and part of my strategy to make a more satisfying game is to utilize the 
space available on the entire floppy disk for graphics screens and also
different program modules.  There's only so much you can do in 48K!
 
What I'm wondering is why there were so few games produced that adopted
the modular concept in order to provide a longer-playing game with
several different elements?  I realize there were many games that used
the disk to store graphics and multiple "levels", like Load Runner.
What I'm referring to now is the type of game where there are several
totally different modules loaded from disk as the game progresses.  In
other words, several games within a game, if that makes sense.
 
Take for example a modern PC game like Rebel Assault, where the
programmers utilize the CD-ROM's storage for what seems like several
programs, not just one: The "movie" animations and intros, the graphics, 
and the digitized audio are there of course, but you'll also notice that 
each "round" of the game is not the same.  You start out by playing a
1st person 3D perspective flight simulation.  This is followed by an
"overhead view" game where you're shooting.
 
There are a few examples of this type of "game within a game" on the
Atari, such as Beach Head II, and Raid Over Moscow - but these games
seem to be in the small minority.  How many games do you have that fill
up only the first 1/6th of the disk?  Lots.
 
I feel that the Atari has sort of been cheated of its potential - there
is so much you can do in terms of animation if you have enough disk
storage available.  Yet so few Atari programmers have taken the time to
produce true "virtual adventures".
 
I find a lot of software to be tiring after a while - the games are just 
too repetitive - the same thing over and over again.  Take for example
the superb Rescue On Fractalus by Lucasfilm games.  It's fabulous, the
flight simulation is beatiful.  But after landing and taking off for the 
3000th time, it gets rather old.  How regrettable it is that the game
stopped with the flight/battle/rescue portion of the game.  It would
have been the perfect backdrop for an adventure.  Imagine for example if 
after rescuing enough pilots, another module would load... this time
you'd lead a squadron of ships to another section of the planet - or
even a different planet?  Or how about a part of the game that involved
strategy rather than skill?  How about a module that would take you to a 
water world, where you would actually go under water?  This could have
been easily coded with a few color register changes, altered sound
effects, and different "rescue" animation sequences.  A bit of variety
would have helped a lot.
 
So I ask, why did so many programmers give up their efforts when they
were only half-completed?  Why were so many beautiful games allowed to
stagnate as mindless shoot-em-ups when they could have been taken so
much farther?  The invention of the floppy drive is almost wasted on
most 8-bit games.
 
If you're writing a game for the Atari right now, I ask you to
reconsider what you're doing: expand it - use the disk space that is
available to you - feel free to go beyond a single disk (I promise I
will sit patiently while things load) - and by all means, don't be
afraid to write several totally different small games and then figure
out some way to tie them together with a single overall theme!
Aren't you tired of monotonous, tedious games?  So is everyone else.
 
Where are the full-disk games?
 
--- RiBBS v2.10        

[+/181 of 500/106 Mins] = * FIDO: ATARI =: Next...