MSXdev'10 - #3 Ratbox | MSX Resource Center

Italian programmer Andrea Gasparinni is an MSXdev regular. One may say that an MSXdev year without at least one AG Software entry would be incomplete. So, with Andrea's entry, MSXdev'10 is already complete, in a way.. Ratbox is the name of the game, where you control a rat collecting all sorts of items. It's a typical AG game: highly retro, presented as a 16KB ROM complete with manual and source code (MSX-BASIC!). You can never have enough fun with rats, no? Go get Ratbox!

Relevant link: MSXdev

Comments (18)

By ro

Prophet (3591)

17-09-2010, 09:34

Great to see MSXdev alive
(hey, I've seen that mouse/rat sprite before... oh, well)

keep'm coming!

By Google

By MäSäXi

Paragon (1616)

17-09-2010, 09:56

Well done BASIC game. Thank you!

I will show this to my child.

By Huey

Prophet (2132)

17-09-2010, 10:21

Hope this year will be great MSXdev edition.

Keep those entries coming guys!

By Huey

Prophet (2132)

17-09-2010, 13:44

@Andrea: There is a small bug in the title screen. After game over the player and enemy sprites are still on their place masking some of the title sprites. Be sure to reset all sprite coordinates.

By hap

Paragon (1714)

17-09-2010, 15:04

I played Konami's Pippols this afteroon, and all the bananas and coins were gone! Hmm hmm hmm, I wonder who ~~stole~~ borrowed them.

By wolf_

Ambassador (9124)

17-09-2010, 15:40

Hath no fear, I think I have a backup of Pippols somewhere.

By ARTRAG

Prophet (3876)

17-09-2010, 22:47

hummm... an assured 3rd place (ATM ;-)

By mesiasmsx

Guardian (1324)

18-09-2010, 08:57

These skeletons from Castle tomb are ripped from Casio game "Yami no Ryu ou Hades not monshou (Crest of the Dragon King of Darkness Hades)

Without wishing to offend. Meeting every game the same AG. No improvement, no sound, no fun, very boring.

By ARTRAG

Prophet (3876)

18-09-2010, 09:17

well, the sound is "interesting"...
For the rest it is hard to tell what is worst, maybe AI in enemies(if any), or control response of the rat or the lame gameplay...

Anyway i played it exactly 4 minutes and 50 secs before resetting (cannot resist more)
this is my personal record with AGsoft games so maybe this game is better than other productions

By Manuel

Enlighted (7237)

18-09-2010, 14:23

At least the guy made an entry!

No one should complain before proving he can do better!

By hap

Paragon (1714)

18-09-2010, 15:02

Good point. I love that AG is an active MSX developer.

The ripped graphics are just a minor detail, but it does certainly annoy me, especially the (C) AG thing without giving Konami and such any credit.

By LeandroCorreia

Paladin (803)

18-09-2010, 15:58

No one should complain before proving he can do better!

To create a good game for MSX for sure someone needs knowledge in game design, MSX architeture and Assembly (or at least C). I'm sure that I lack at least the last two, so I won't ever enter MSXDev.

But if I had to compare AG with someone, I'd say that AG is to MSX games what Ed Wood is to movies. He probably loves them, wants desperately to do something like the best ones, but sadly lacks the bare minimum of skills to do something good.

This is not intended either as irony or as an offense. AG is someone that spends his time doing something for the community, and this of course deserves respect. Problem is that, although with good intentions, his games are too primitive to be fun. AG is spending his time creating MSX games for a competition. As an artist, I believe that he wants to show people around the world a message, and as a competitor, I believe that he wants to get a good ranking. Sadly, with his lack of artistic skills (IMHO ripped graphics are worst than badly drawn graphics, please find someone to help with graphics if you can't draw) and technical knowledge, he has two options: Quit the scene or make more efforts in learning better technical solutions (C or Assembly) and also game design.

I sincerely hope that AG accepts this as constructive criticism and uses his more than known determination to choose the second option. Don't give up!

By hap

Paragon (1714)

18-09-2010, 17:37

Quit the scene because your games are below the expected quality?
No, always continue as long as you are enjoying it.

Analogy: a person that loves to sing shouldn't stop if he/she can't hit the high notes.
And don't tell me that they would stop singing at the opera, because our small scene is more like a karaoke bar, and AG can sing there as much as he wants, with Quibus dancing to it.

By ARTRAG

Prophet (3876)

18-09-2010, 17:57

Maybe the point is exaclty this:

some of us still look at the msxdev as it were the opera theater, some others as it were a karaoke bar

By FiXato

Scribe (878)

18-09-2010, 19:42

Why would you *NEED* to know assembly? What's wrong with making your own game in BASIC?
Don't let people talk you down AG, and do what you want to do

Though I would suggest next time at least attributing your graphical sources... Taking credit for someone else's work is a Bad Thing imho..

By ARTRAG

Prophet (3876)

19-09-2010, 00:09

this is no the point
good and original games in msx basic exist

I find these games not original (all the same and with ripped elements) nor really good (boring and sometimes buggy)

By mesiasmsx

Guardian (1324)

19-09-2010, 13:47

I think the same Artrag.

Good games exist in MSX basic, but this one isn´t a good game . I hope Andrea make better games in the future, but i think he needs to improve before send new entries. He is free, sure . But for me and others the MSX Dev not mean entries entries entries entries.

I think that what we say is not an offense. But we also have the right to say what we think.

By Lord_Zett

Master (178)