####################################################################
# ATTENTION: This post is a reference to a website. The poster of #
# this Usenet article is not the author of the referenced website. #
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<URL:https://evoniuk.github.io/posts/pitfall.html>

The text below is a quotation from the URL above:
>
> Games for the Atari 2600 were quite constrained. When Warren Robinett
> first pitched the idea that would become Adventure, a game where you
> would explore a world with many rooms and pick up items to help you
> along the way, he was denied because it wasn't thought feasible. And it
> made sense to do so. This was the late 70s; there had never been a game
> with multiple screens before. This was in the days of Space Invaders and
> Pac Man, when everything in a game was in front of the player at all
> times, so the fact that Adventure was able to have 30 rooms when it was
> finally released in 1980 was quite impressive.
>
> The manual for adventure even had to explain the concept. It read
>
> Each area shown on your television screen will have one or more barriers
> or walls, through which you CANNOT pass. There are one or more openings.
> To move from one area to an adjacent area, move "off" the television
> screen through one of the openings, the adjacent area will be shown on
> your television screen.
>
> It was quite an innovation to have multiple rooms, and the fact that
> Adventure managed to have 30 was revolutionary. But Pitfall!, made by
> David Crane and released in 1983, had 255, all of which were much more
> elaborate (graphically speaking) than anything in Adventure. In this
> article we'll talk about how this was done.
>
> ...

On 2021-05-10 at 11:41:47 pm BST, "Rich" <rich@example.invalid> wrote:

> ####################################################################
> # ATTENTION: This post is a reference to a website. The poster of #
> # this Usenet article is not the author of the referenced website. #
> ####################################################################
>
> <URL:https://evoniuk.github.io/posts/pitfall.html>
>
> The text below is a quotation from the URL above:
>>
>> Games for the Atari 2600 were quite constrained. When Warren Robinett
>> first pitched the idea that would become Adventure, a game where you
>> would explore a world with many rooms and pick up items to help you
>> along the way, he was denied because it wasn't thought feasible. And it
>> made sense to do so. This was the late 70s; there had never been a game
>> with multiple screens before. This was in the days of Space Invaders and
>> Pac Man, when everything in a game was in front of the player at all
>> times, so the fact that Adventure was able to have 30 rooms when it was
>> finally released in 1980 was quite impressive.
>>
>> The manual for adventure even had to explain the concept. It read
>>
>> Each area shown on your television screen will have one or more barriers
>> or walls, through which you CANNOT pass. There are one or more openings.
>> To move from one area to an adjacent area, move "off" the television
>> screen through one of the openings, the adjacent area will be shown on
>> your television screen.
>>
>> It was quite an innovation to have multiple rooms, and the fact that
>> Adventure managed to have 30 was revolutionary. But Pitfall!, made by
>> David Crane and released in 1983, had 255, all of which were much more
>> elaborate (graphically speaking) than anything in Adventure. In this
>> article we'll talk about how this was done.
>>
>> ...

It's a crying shame that only a few 8-bit computer games have ever had their
source code released so people today can see how the developers of that time
were able to fit so much gameplay into such a tiny space.

In comp.misc, Alan Ralph <usenet@alanralph.co.uk> wrote:
(about <URL:https://evoniuk.github.io/posts/pitfall.html> )
> It's a crying shame that only a few 8-bit computer games have ever had
> their source code released so people today can see how the developers
> of that time were able to fit so much gameplay into such a tiny space.

Well, in this case the source code is disassembly from the released game
with modern commenting:

https://github.com/johnidm/asm-atari-2600/blob/master/pitfall.asm

Lots of 8-bit games have had the disassembly treatment, and more than
a few have had someone comment on the code.

But since you mention it, I recall a TI-99 4/A game (so 16-bit
processor, but 8-bit memory space) game that had source code released:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone_City:_21st_Century

I can't find it online now, but I remember seeing it, editing it, and
running it in the 1980s on a TI-99 4/A. The code was written in assembly
and may have came as demo project with the assembler.

I wonder where the code is now, because as a time machine to see the
original comments it should be quite interesting.

Elijah
------
never migrated any of his TI-99 stuff off of 5 1/4" floppies

Eli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com> wrote:
> In comp.misc, Alan Ralph <usenet@alanralph.co.uk> wrote:
> (about <URL:https://evoniuk.github.io/posts/pitfall.html> )
> > It's a crying shame that only a few 8-bit computer games have ever had
> > their source code released so people today can see how the developers
> > of that time were able to fit so much gameplay into such a tiny space.

> Well, in this case the source code is disassembly from the released game
> with modern commenting:

> https://github.com/johnidm/asm-atari-2600/blob/master/pitfall.asm

> Lots of 8-bit games have had the disassembly treatment, and more than
> a few have had someone comment on the code.

> But since you mention it, I recall a TI-99 4/A game (so 16-bit
> processor, but 8-bit memory space) game that had source code released:

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone_City:_21st_Century

Ooh, I remember this rad game back then.

> I can't find it online now, but I remember seeing it, editing it, and
> running it in the 1980s on a TI-99 4/A. The code was written in assembly
> and may have came as demo project with the assembler.

> I wonder where the code is now, because as a time machine to see the
> original comments it should be quite interesting.

I'd love to see that source code.
--
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In comp.misc, Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> Eli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com> wrote:
>> But since you mention it, I recall a TI-99 4/A game (so 16-bit
>> processor, but 8-bit memory space) game that had source code released:
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone_City:_21st_Century
>> I can't find it online now, but I remember seeing it, editing it, and
>> running it in the 1980s on a TI-99 4/A. The code was written in assembly
>> and may have came as demo project with the assembler.
> I'd love to see that source code.

I did some hunting. I've confirmed it was a sample with the "Editor /
Assembler" and I downloaded (from winworldpc.com) "Editor Assembler
TI-994a (5.25-SSSD).7z"

Inside I found a couple of disk images. I don't have anything to
properly read them, but disk B (EDITASMB.DSK) has the source.

$ strings ./Images/Raw/EDITASMB.DSK
E/A*PARTB
h DSK
SAVE
TOMB
TOMBA
TOMBB
93P9
TOMBC
4SP4
TOMBD
TOMBE
/ BYTE >06,>88,>16,>90,>A0,>1E,>B0,SPEED2
* MEASURE: 0010/ BYTE >06,>8C,>1A,>90,>A7,>35,>B0,SPEED2/ BYTE >06,>88,>16,>90,>AF,>2C,>B0,SPEED2/ BYTE >06,>88,>16,>90,>AB,>23,>B0,SPEED2
6,>90,>AB,>23,>B0,SPEED2
-------
COLOR
/ BYTE >06,>8C,>1A,>90,>A7,>35,>B0,SPEED2/ BYTE >06,>88,>16,>90,>AF,>2C,>B0,SPEED2/ BYTE >06,>88,>16,>90,>AB,>23,>B0,SPEED2
* MEASURE: 0011/ BYTE >06,>8D,>17,>90,>AA,>2F,>B0,SPEED2
6,>90,>AB,>23,>B0,SPEED2
-------
COLOR
/ BYTE >06,>88,>16,>90,>AF,>2C,>B0,SPEED2/ BYTE >06,>88,>16,>90,>AF,>2C,>B0,SPEED2/ BYTE >06,>80,>0F,>90,>AB,>23,>B0,SPEED2/ BYTE >06,>80,>0F,>90,>AB,>23,>B0,SPEED2/ BYTE >06,>80,>0F,>90,>A0,>1E,>B0,SPEED3
-------
COLOR
/ BYTE >06,>80,>0F,>90,>A0,>1E,>B0,SPEED3
[...]

There are some comments in there. Duckduckgo and Google searches on the
comments is not finding me well formated source.

Elijah
------
* THEME SONG "HELL IN TEXAS".