Chibi Akumas Episode 2: Confrontation! [game for CPC then MSX2]

Resident (57)

22-09-2017, 09:03

Hi guys!
I believe you should have a look at Chibi Akumas Episode 2: Confrontation! which is a game which will be released soon on Amstrad CPC 6128.
The good news is: the author intends to port it to MSX2 next year.

First episode is a great bullet-shooter. (screenshot for Amstrad)

I was and am still amazed that just one guy has been able to design such a game: design, code, gfx, sound,... Respect!

2nd episode looks even better! (screen still for Amstrad)

No doubt that Keath deserves some cheers!
Maybe you could add some nice words and show you are (*) awaiting such a game on your platform?

(*: aren't you?)

By JohnHassink

Ambassador (5417)

22-09-2017, 09:05

nice words

By journey

Champion (371)

22-09-2017, 09:12

Great news!

The games remind me a little Cotton!

By Pippo

Champion (421)

22-09-2017, 11:21

This game is very beautiful!
It is a very, very great idea to port it for Msx-2.
I'm really happy to see so many developers interested in our Great and Beloved MSX.

By ren

Paragon (1273)

22-09-2017, 11:47

Hey, I recognized the protagonist image on the site.. So that's keith56 :)

Thanks for sharing Overflow. Have you seen 'our' XSpelunker already? :)

By keith56

Master (153)

22-09-2017, 11:58

Hello there! I'll just take this opportunity to Jump in! I'm the developer of the Chibi Akumas games!
Yes! I plan to port Chibi Akumas 1+2 to the MSX & ZX spectrum platforms next year! Come the release of Ep2 at Halloween it will be my main priority to bring these games to more people, as I think I can port both games to a new system faster than I could write a single new game for the CPC!

I'm pretty serious about this, I've bought 6(!) MSX2 machines for testing and learning about the msx, I've done a lot of research and bits of testing code, but up to now working on Chibi Akumas Episode 2 has been devouring all my time - so I've not been able to put any real work into it, but all that will change!

From the MSX side, my target platform is the MSX2 (64k ram, 128k vram) - you won't need a plus or memory upgrades - the game will be released on floppy disk image as this is the easiest for me to work with.

The game will be using 16 color 256x192 screen mode on the MSX - so there will be a bit of a color boost over the CPC version (which is essentially 4 color) - I've already written a 'sprite editor/converter' which will help me convert the CPC graphics and get the game out faster.

It's not surprising the game reminds you of Cotton - as that was the game I was most inspired by - Chibi Akumas is supposed to be a dark, crazy, silly shoot-em up!

If you want to see more of the CPC version - there's a video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtMgpII24ZA

And if you really want more, there's a full play through with my 'developers commentary' here (it's 30 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1cIBoufwsw

and feel free to take a look at the official website - there's an MSX section, but it's just a holding page for now - still busy on the CPC ver:
http://www.chibiakumas.com/

Thanks for watching!
Keith

By fernando.collazo.5682

Master (239)

22-09-2017, 12:36

Nice to see some development for MSX2

By pitpan

Prophet (3131)

22-09-2017, 13:08

It reminds me of Chuka Taisen / Cloud Master (images) that was released at least for MSX2 and Sega Master System.

By Manuel

Ascended (15799)

22-09-2017, 23:49

Ah, great, finally some more MSX2 development going on!

keith, which MSX2's did you buy? (Are you sure you need that many? I would expect only one is needed, unless you go really close to the edge, like some demos.... anyway, the rest of the variations (like memory configurations) can be easily tested on a good emulator.)

By Grauw

Ascended (8507)

23-09-2017, 01:21

A bullet hell game, nice! And six machines! Can’t want to see the MSX2 version development commence. And if you will post any, looking forward to in-progress developer talk videos. It’d be very nice to follow the development, and I enjoyed watching and listening to your commentary in this one. If you need any help with the coding and graphics for our system, feel free to always ask the people here for tips, advice, thinking along and rubber ducking!

By keith56

Master (153)

23-09-2017, 03:13

I'll be posting a few times a week on my twitter feed here, with screenshots and grumblings on how things are going:
https://twitter.com/keith009988
Twitter is my main one, but I post bits and bobs on other social networks too to try to promote the game (including on ameba in japanese!!), please see the ChibiAkumas website for links to the other ones (in the footer) I'll be posting the daily junk on Twitter, and probably more significant 'progress shots' on instagram etc.

If it's not too much of a bore, I would like to post on this forum once or twice a month with progress on how things are going as well as asking for advice if I'm getting stuck - maybe it will be interesting for newbie coders? as I'm literally starting from scratch on the MSX/ZX spectrum side - I've got a plan of action - and it includes things like 'learn how to read from the keyboard' and 'figure out the memory map!' - so anyone who wants to know how to get started with ASM on MSX may enjoy following the journey!

The final game will be open source on all platforms - and I'm happy to share anything I've got with other coders along the way too - so maybe some people will find it interesting and educational.