Friday, September 1, 2023

Mr. Robot, Level 'G'

Oh boy!  NOW we're getting into the fun stuff.  This slightly reminds me of that old 3 light bulbs and 3 light switches logic puzzle which I first learned about many moons ago in a Windows (TM)(C)(R) Network Administration 101 class... actually, Mr. Robot's level 'G' is probably a little less sophisticated.  No new features this time, so now it's time for some ingenuity in level design.  So what parts to do first?  And what parts to do last?  Well, you should be able to figure out what part to do last.  I mean, you can't just fall onto the trampoline from there, and you most assuredly can't jump, so.... wait, actually there is a new feature!  See those white lines on the left that go from the teeny platform to the longer platforms?  ...well, I've probably spoiled the surprise enough as it is.  Also, this level is mean because it features no fireball-subduing power pills.  Incidentally, isn't the vertical rainbow of color that permeates each level just the best?  It's pretty high-tech if you don't know how to program it.  For the sophisticated Atari programmer, it meant tinkering with something called "display list interrupts."  Activision (TM)(C)(R) was probably the unparalleled champion of such gimmicks.  They would do it with player/missiles mostly.  Pastfinder of course had way way too many, pushing that poor overworked 6502 to its absolute limits... I think that's about it.  Have I not talked about Level 'G' enough yet?  No one was ever able to make a decent arcade game out of those 16-color Atari modes; the pixels were too wide, alas.  No attempts at a topographical maze or anything! :(

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