Chile: Culmins game project for Atari resumed

August 30, 2018 • Updated: Mar 08, 2025 - 01:32 AM

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After more than 15 years, Guillermo "Willysoft" Fuenzalida (Chile) has resumed the development of Culmins, a puzzle game for Atari computers.

Speaking to Atariteca, Fuenzalida said that the project was inspired by Tiny Skweeks, published in 1991 by Titus France for Amiga and compatible computers.

The challenge is seemingly simple: get the Culmins back to their homes; however, the floor is covered by a thick layer of ice that makes them slip. However, the main enemy is the limited time in each level; fortunately, you can find clocks that will give you precious extra seconds to complete your mission. "There are levels where, for example, you only have 15 seconds to solve them," warns the author.

"Willysoft" recalls that he began programming the game in Mac/65 assembler under Spartados, around 1994. "I had to clear the cobwebs out of my mind. The code is very poorly documented, which makes it harder to understand again."

The game is based on a 13x10 board that handles an X position, a Y position, and an absolute position (13*y+x); where all the logic is based on handling said board based on those positions.

"What I felt most was that I needed to improve the animation of the characters, who were constantly moving, always following the same sequence of steps. Now they move more independently."

In recent weeks, Fuenzalida has been focusing on making adjustments to the game's timing so that it can run at the same speed in both PAL and NTSC video modes.

"Taking advantage of the simpler palette of the Atari 8-bit, I focused on developing levels that seek greater interaction between the characters," said Fuenzalida, who indicates that although the program has 29 stages, it aims to complete 100 levels.

"There were two other people involved at that time; one made the music and the other supported me with the graphics. Now I'm taking it up on my own from (the emulator) Altirra," he added.

Culmins already has an introduction screen created by Rodrigo "Kiwi Soft" Cabrera (graphics) and Nestor "Diamante Omega Netol" Mercado (music), who together with Fuenzalida make up El Grupo Heimdall. Finally, the programmer is evaluating the possibility of incorporating codes so that players can resume each game from more advanced levels.