Time Wizard for Atari 8-bit computers | Review
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Stop the robots from changing history. Recover the hourglasses to protect the future of humanity.
TIME WIZARD
Posted by: Krzysztof "Amarok" Piotrowski (Poland), 2023.Gender: Action, platforms.
Extra: 1 player, joystick.
THE STORY
Evil robots from the future are determined to change history in order to rule the planet. The only hope for humanity is the Time Wizard. Your task is to travel to the future world - ruled by automatons - and collect all the energy stored in hourglasses to prevent the robots from going back in time and causing a disaster.Fortunately, as the "Time Wizard," you possess the unique ability to manipulate time, whether stopping it, rewinding it, or restoring history. However, you must be cautious, as some objects are resistant to your temporal power and escape your control.
GAMEPLAY DYNAMICS
In Time Wizard, the gameplay revolves around manipulating time to overcome challenges and unlock levels. Your goal is to successfully complete each level to access the next. To do this, you must collect all the hourglasses and head to the time portal.Time is limited to beat each level, but you have the unique ability to rewind time if necessary. Unused time becomes your score for the level, and the higher its value, the better the result. The sum of all level scores is reflected as your total time on the main screen.
When you press the fire button, time stops. By holding the button down and moving the joystick to the left, you activate time reversal at x0.5, x1, x2, and x4 speeds. It is essential to keep the button pressed at all times during this process.
During time reversal, you can move the joystick to the right to slow down the game, going from x4 to x2, x2 to x1, and x1 to x0.5. If you rewind to x0.5 and move the joystick to the right, you initiate a pause. Moving the joystick to the right again moves forward through the stored history. You can successively adjust the speed to find the right moment.
Any time you release the fire button, the saved gameplay playback stops, and you can control the hero again. Everything you've done in the past is saved, and pressing the button again rewinds time. However, if you release the button, the future is overwritten with new actions and you can no longer retrieve it. Therefore, it's crucial to keep the button pressed for as long as you need to return to the future.
CONTROLS
START: to restart the level.SELECT: to go to the main menu.
Joystick: During gameplay, press the fire button to initiate time manipulation. While holding the button, move the stick to the left to rewind history; or to the right to restore saved history.
You can change the speed of the time displacement by moving the lever to the left or right.
Release the button to restore the normal passage of time.
If you die, press the fire button and move the stick to the left to rewind.
GAME MENU
On the main screen, it is possible to select one of 15 levels.At first, all levels except the first one are locked.
GAME SCREEN
1. Hourglasses to collect.
2. Time available.
3. The Wizard of Time.
4. Hourglass.
ASSESSMENT
"Time Wizard" impresses with its unique ability to manipulate time, providing an innovative and exciting gaming experience. It is magical that with the limited memory on the Atari hardware, it was possible to store and rewind the action during each game.The absence of power-ups or new abilities to earn early on adds a strategic focus, as players must find various ways to take advantage of rewind mechanics to overcome seemingly impossible challenges. Clarity in graphics and well-chosen music contribute to a captivating gameplay experience.
However, the main objection lies in the limited number of levels, just 15, which might leave players wanting more challenges. Beyond the challenges, this game demonstrates Amarok's creativity and skills in the world of video game programming. Without a doubt, "Time Wizard" represents a mind-blowing achievement on the Atari 8-bit platform, fusing unique elements and solid technical development.
ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME
Piotrowski's creation for the Atari 8-bit is a unique experience inspired by the 2008 Xbox Live Arcade video game "Braid." With a creation process spanning approximately five months, the game was implemented in MadPascal, occupying almost 54 kB on a 90 kB floppy disk under DOS 2.5."I'm just a software developer with no experience or skills in graphics creation tools (...) My idea was to create a new game with more arcade elements that fit the spirit of the Atari 8-bit computer," the author declared on the AtariAge forum.
The most challenging task for Amarok was developing a sound engine that would allow music and effects to be played at different speeds, even in reverse when rewinding game time. Its sound engine uses 3 channels for music and the fourth for sound effects.
The game also features start and end screens in Antic E bitmap mode, using DLI interrupts and player/missile graphics to achieve more than 4 colors. The hero, drawn with PMG on a 10x18 pixel sprite, has 36 frames of animation, bringing him to life in this unique world.
HOW TIME IS "REWIND"
Information about the state of the game at a given frame (1/50 of a second) is stored in extended memory, and includes details such as the horizontal and vertical position of the hero, his speed in both directions, his current condition (e.g. whether he touches the ground, jumps, falls, climbs, enters a portal, dies, etc.), a counter used for additional information about the timing of the hero's state, such as for a frame of animation or speed change. The states of elements such as buttons, force fields, disappearing platforms (but only those activated by buttons and not resistant to time manipulation), the type and duration of sound effects are also recorded.Each frame takes up 8 bytes, totaling 400 bytes per second, and with 48 kB of extended memory, approximately 2 minutes of gameplay can be recorded. The additional 16 kB of extended memory is used for some resources.
Objects activated by buttons but resistant to time manipulation do not require history, as rewinding time does not change their state. For moving platforms, force fields, disappearing platforms, lasers, and robots, states are calculated based on the frame number since the start of the game. Two frame counters are used: one that runs all the time since the start of the game in a given level, regardless of whether time manipulation is active or not; and one that specifies the number of frames associated with recorded history and affected by rewinding time. The first counter calculates the states of objects resistant to time manipulation, and the second calculates the states of other objects and playing music.
Additionally, information is stored on which frame each hourglass was collected, allowing calculations to be made as to when it should disappear or reappear in terms of time shift. This only applies to hourglasses that are not resistant to time manipulation.
GRADES
- An Atari 8-bit computer or emulator with at least 128 kB of RAM is required. The additional memory is used to store and restore gameplay during each playthrough.
- In the game, you will be able to listen to the following classical music pieces: "Kyrie Eleison" by W.A. Mozart; "Waltz of the Flowers" by P.I. Tchaikowsky; "Dance of the Little Swans" by P.I. Tchaikowsky; "Voices of Spring" by J. Strauss; and "Sonata No. 8 Op. 13" by L. Van Beethoven.
- The game took first place in the Atari Bit Byter User Club (ABBUC) 2023 with 617 points and won the main prize of €690.93.
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