I made an arcade game -Trace Vector

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I'll try to keep this as short as possible... if I can.

Backstory
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Back in 2008 I bought a broken Asteroids machine off Craigslist and fulfilled my desire to own an arcade machine. Some the awesome people here helped me get it working again and bam, I became downright fascinated with the arcade scene that I was born just a little bit too late to really experience. A couple road trips to some of the scarce real arcades and two more machines (including a Punch-Out I restored) and the deal was sealed. I wanted to make something like those games, but I wanted to make something new as well. KLOV's help in fixing up my machines was very influential.

Making Trace Vector
======================
The vector screens in particular really struck me when I saw them. The incredible intensity the shots in Asteroids was really unlike anything I had seen before. I sought out all sorts of vector games to see and play and eventually we came up with a design for a a unique arcade style vector game which we now call Trace Vector.

So over the last five years or so I started really pushing myself to improve my programming skills. I partnered with a friend, started up Vexel Games, and we developed a game engine that will run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. In the last two years I've been dedicated to working purely on Trace Vector. We even commissioned twelve music tracks that are designed to flow with the gameplay. The game is in the final stages of completion.

Yesterday we put up a page on Steam Greenlight page for people to vote on for release. If you're interested in seeing what the game is like, that's a good spot to do so! Also, if you're a Steam user any voting and comments would be great as well : D

There's a testing phase that needs to be done that we'd like to use Steam as a platform for gathering results if it gets that far. I'd be happy to have some genuine arcade game lovers from KLOV help out with that and provide some feedback if there's interest.

Running the game on a vector monitor
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Last year I actually bought one of Zektor's vector generator boards with the intent of getting this game working on a genuine color vector monitor. I have not gotten very far into that side of things since, honestly, there's a lot of other things I need to worry about. The game's graphics are completely made up of XY line draws with RGB color information. It should be quite possible Trace Vector to generate commands the generator board can use. Unfortunately, I have had a lot of trouble locating a color vector monitor for obvious reasons. The black and white of Asteroids just wouldn't be the same. I've played Trace Vector on my MAME machine and it's by far the best way to play it. It just feels completely awesome and right. I would love to make a genuine dedicated cabinet for it. Would there be interest in such an ability among vector enthusiasts here at KLOV?

Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated! What do you think of the game and the potential for a version that will actually work with the vector generator board? Thanks!
 
You have a Green Light vote from me, brother. Good luck!
 
Updating my Steam client now so I can check this out. VERY cool sounding project. May I ask what engine/framework you used to make it? I'm considering writing a golden age style game myself and I'm currently looking over the options (which are MANY!).
 
Nice game

Reminds me of a (Far more advanced) C64 game I typed in hex from a magazine

I would love to see your creation on a Vector screen. :cool:
 
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Greenlighted.

With the ZVG, you're currently limited to DOS drivers and the legacy hardware headaches that go along with it. The author, Zonn Moore, made the code available so it should be possible to port. A linux port is on my to-do list but I've been procrastinating. Let me know if you're interested, I'd help.

Clay Cowgill teased a new board with an arm processor and a vector monitor interface. I haven't heard anything about it in a while. You can read the thread here: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=245586

Your preview looks polished, congratulations and good luck!
 
Upvoted it. Cool looking game. I'd be happy to help playtest it for you, I'm a game developer as well. I would definitely love to play it on an actual arcade cabinet, even if it's not a vector monitor (those things are horrid to get working even on the games they were created for).
 
Thanks for the support and encouraging comments!

In regards to what engine we used to code the game, we built our own stuff. We're using open source libraries such as OpenGL for graphics and such. But the game engine itself and a lot of the back end pieces that make it work are all original.

When it comes time I'd be totally down with any help in getting the Zektor working on Linux. Even if it turns out not to work for the game it'd still be fun to play with. I'll look into how that new board is coming along as well. For now though, the focus is going to be getting the plain ol' non-vector version done and out there. If it all turns out to be a giant headache and doesn't work very well I can confirm the game looks nice on regular CRT arcade monitor.

Thanks again.
 
Wow.. that looks really cool. Maybe its something you could build for the
Clays upcoming color multivector board. Would definitly be a challenge
minimizing the code. I think clay has experience writing vector games.

Very exciting!
 
Very cool indeed. I think it's great to see a new arcade game introduced in an age where they don't make new ones. Next step, lets get some side art, cpo, bezel & marquee art developed and we can turn it into a real arcade game.
 
Very cool indeed. I think it's great to see a new arcade game introduced in an age where they don't make new ones. Next step, lets get some side art, cpo, bezel & marquee art developed and we can turn it into a real arcade game.

When it gets to that point I'll be sure to be back to post about it, perhaps gets some help. I decided a long time ago that when this is done that I want a cabinet for it at least for myself just because it would be cool.

I was thinking a cabinet something along the lines of the Atari style with the nice 45 degree angles and such. Someday, someday.
 
Very cool!

I suspect you are drawing way too many vectors to run this on a real vector monitor. I could be wrong though.
 
Very cool!

I suspect you are drawing way too many vectors to run this on a real vector monitor. I could be wrong though.

That could very well be the case. Certainly with the particle effects it's too much, but it's very easy to limit those. Also the circles are easy enough to reduce, they'd also eat up a lot of draws.
 
Maybe it's time to design a new vector monitor that can draw all these vectors. I've always thought it would be cool if someone made a new vector arcade game with newer technology.

It won't be me though, because I don't know jack about any of this stuff.
 
When it gets to that point I'll be sure to be back to post about it, perhaps gets some help. I decided a long time ago that when this is done that I want a cabinet for it at least for myself just because it would be cool.

I was thinking a cabinet something along the lines of the Atari style with the nice 45 degree angles and such. Someday, someday.

This would be cool if you just want to make one or two of them and have something that is 100% original just for showing off, but I think the better way to go would be to design the game as a conversion kit. That way, when we see Mames out in the wild, it would give operators an easy way to convert it back into a legal coinop game that can go into service. If you partnered with a printer, you could sell a license for the game along with the artwork and use Atari cabs as the default for the sticker sizes. I'm not sure how much demand there would be for something like this, but if you can keep the whole package under $150, I'd be willing to buy one.
 
This would be cool if you just want to make one or two of them and have something that is 100% original just for showing off, but I think the better way to go would be to design the game as a conversion kit. That way, when we see Mames out in the wild, it would give operators an easy way to convert it back into a legal coinop game that can go into service. If you partnered with a printer, you could sell a license for the game along with the artwork and use Atari cabs as the default for the sticker sizes. I'm not sure how much demand there would be for something like this, but if you can keep the whole package under $150, I'd be willing to buy one.

$150? Conversion kits cost $1000+. Of course that includes a PCB, but artwork can be expensive in small quantities. It has to be worth it for the guy to do it.
 
You can't earn $1,000 on a machine anymore, so I doubt very much that they sell many $1000 conversion kits these days.

You can however print laminated side art for about $12 a poster (x2) assuming it's a modest sized piece of art vs. entire side of cabinet + Marquee for $3 in materials + Bezel for another $10 + CPO for $8. With shipping, you're looking at $60 for him to print his own art. Since it runs on the operator's own equipment (no pcb) The remaining $90 could go straight into the developer's pocket. It probably wouldn't be a meaningful amount of revenue, but how many games sell for more than $90 anymore and just like when a song gets player on the radio, there are also benefits from being seeing an arcade game in public. If someone plays it at an arcade, how much more likely is it that they'll seek it out.

$150? Conversion kits cost $1000+. Of course that includes a PCB, but artwork can be expensive in small quantities. It has to be worth it for the guy to do it.
 
You can't earn $1,000 on a machine anymore, so I doubt very much that they sell many $1000 conversion kits these days.

You can however print laminated side art for about $12 a poster (x2) assuming it's a modest sized piece of art vs. entire side of cabinet + Marquee for $3 in materials + Bezel for another $10 + CPO for $8. With shipping, you're looking at $60 for him to print his own art. Since it runs on the operator's own equipment (no pcb) The remaining $90 could go straight into the developer's pocket. It probably wouldn't be a meaningful amount of revenue, but how many games sell for more than $90 anymore and just like when a song gets player on the radio, there are also benefits from being seeing an arcade game in public. If someone plays it at an arcade, how much more likely is it that they'll seek it out.

Where are you getting a CPO made for $8 and a marquee printed on backlit material for $3? That is insanely low if true.

Friction, a light gun conversion kit, sold for $1000 and was pretty successful from what I understand (according to AtariShag from arcadeheroes.com anyway). Just saying that if people take coin-op seriously there's still money to be made, just look at all the barcades. It's not a fad, people want to go out and get entertained, that will never change. They want to share a social experience with their friends. Facebook can't duplicate what arcades do for that.
 
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