ROTW #3 - Boulder Dash
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This week its Gordon Kings choice of game for Remake Of The Week - so, over to Gordon for the gen on why he believes this is the Boulder Dash remake you are looking for. Not a droid in sight either…
In the official rule book of Boulderdash remaking, 2 main rules stand out above the rest.
1. If you intend to change the graphics, keep them looking the same and just update them.
2. Don’t invent your own levels, keep them the same as the original version – you are a remaker not a level designer. It is official, UDL’s (User Designed Levels) are crap.Using this as a filtration rule to decide upon which Boulderdash remake should be nominated for ROTW results in filtering about 99.9% of the remakes out there. This leaves us with Boulderdash by Marcell Baranyai. This is a perfect example of “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”.
Obviously remaking it from the C64 version (the best game on the C64 in my opinion), this version of Boulderdash really shines. Not that it really differed from the original Atari 800 version, apart from having more shades of brown. I have yet to see a version that offers graphics that remain comparable but modern with respect to the 8-bit predecessor. I’m happier with them remaining the way they were until a decent contender comes along. As per rule 2, the game doesn’t stray from the original level designs. I’m really glad of that as I have yet to find a user level I have enjoyed.
The whole feel and vibe of this remake rocks just as hard as the original did back in the halcyon days. Even the scrolling is perfect. I’ve tried remakes where the scrolling is super smooth and ones where the main character remains central to the scrolling screen. Neither of these methods work for Boulderdash. I thing the jerky scrolling keeps works better for playing the game and gives you more of a feeling that you are the one in control of Rockford.
Do try other versions of Boulderdash, if only to make you realise that this is the only one you need to keep on your hard drive. This is the one for you.
So…is Gordon right? Feel free to let us know…
Speak your brains
15 Responses to “ROTW #3 - Boulder Dash”
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Clicking the link takes me to a white page with the word “leech0er” on it…
Gah. I guess our hotlinking protection is a bit overzealous. Sorry ’bout that.
Link changed.
Hmm.. the scrolling on the atari version is smooth, although all the characters move in blocks. It works well..
I don’t agree with the idea that a BD remake should contain just the original maps. Then it would be a GPX update, not a remake. Original maps + new ones should be the “standard” I think…
I’ve never really got Boulderdash anyway, so makes no odds to me.
Its one of those games the attraction has always completely eluded me.
Level M of the C64 Boulderdash III kept me occupied for many days - so many attempts to try and balance growing the ameoba by excavating space (speeding it’s growth); blocking it by leading the butterflies around it - all within the strict time-limit.
Definitely, my favourite level - lots of strategies with the spice of random chance.
I have to agree with level M. It is a very tricky but very addictive and well designed level. I have probably spent countless hours trying to perfect this level.
I’m with King G on this one, user levels are ass. The originals are so perfectly balanced, whereas user ones seem to tend towards insanely anal perfection or displays of pyrotechnics (woo, look at all the cascades!).
If someone can cull together a collection of decent user boards, I’d like to play them. But they’ve not crossed my harddrive yet.
Boulder Dash, along with PacMan, Tetris and Arkanoid, must surely rank as one of the most imitated concepts in computer game history.
Such games are usually programmed as a practice exercise, since they are not too complicated, and Boulder Dash is a good example on scrolling a large playfield in all directions.
However, I disagree that this version of BD has anything to offer to the gamer. Usually remakes have updated sounds and graphics, or add new features, such as multiplayer.
I just ran the original Boulder Dash in the VICE emulator, and thanks to the Eagle filter, it still looks better than this pixelated effort. The original also had the advantage of joystick support.
For me, this worth the download, but if you find emulators intimidating (they can be) this is certainly easier, being a click ‘N run executable.
Boulder Dash, along with PacMan, Tetris and Arkanoid, must surely rank as one of the most imitated concepts in computer game history.
Such games are usually programmed as a practice exercise, since they are not too complicated, and Boulder Dash is a good example on scrolling a large playfield in all directions.
However, I disagree that this version of BD has anything to offer to the gamer. Usually remakes have updated sounds and graphics, or add new features, such as multiplayer.
I just ran the original Boulder Dash in the VICE emulator, and thanks to the Eagle filter, it still looks better than this pixelated effort. The original also had the advantage of joystick support.
For me, this is not worth the download, but if you find emulators intimidating (they can be) this is certainly easier, being a click ‘N run executable.
As for the debate about user levels, calm down, this is Boulder Dash, not the Koran. Most BD remakes include the original levels, anyway. The best one I remember is rocksndiamonds for Linux.
Marco, as you can read from my view, I have yet to find a remake that has improved graphics that look good. Most of the remakes I’ve played have some contain some crap character other than Rockford. If you know me, I normally moan about “clones”, as I am an emulator fan too. Sadly, I have yet to see one that overall impresses me. Either the graphics are good and the gameplay is crap or vice versa.
Unzipped the remake, launched it… found it to be fullscreen. A 320×240 game on a 1280×1024 LCD is not pretty. Tried to access a menu, no go. Tried to ALT-F4 out of the game, no go. Killed the process via the task manager.
Not a good remake, imo. There was another exact Boulder Dash clone on this site a few years ago, for Windows 95. It ran in a standard window standard drop down menus for selecting levels and such, and was also a 100% exact remake.
I can’t find it now, but perhaps someone could link it?
(Or just try an Atari/C64 emulator… which is better, imo, because they’re cross platform.)
Will ya’ll be running the retro remakes comp again this year?
-Elmernite
LOL, well that was a conversation killer. :D
For me, the best boulder dash remake is “Boulder Rush” : just the same as the original (graphics+sounds+gameplay), can be played windowed, and with a level editor.