Pik n Mix C64 (by Shallan50K)

Background

In July 2019, Simon Jameson aka Shallan50K, developer of Doc Cosmos among others, began streaming the development of a competitive single-screen platformer on Twitch, taking inspiration from titles such as Bubble Bobble, with episodes later uploaded for posterity on Youtube.  Community members contributed ideas, graphics, level designs, music and SFX as well as pointing out mistakes made under the considerable influence of a variety of alcoholic drinks.

All 70 episodes over the next 21 months are available to watch here, and are an invaluable (and entertaining) resource for anyone wanting to start making games for the C64.

As other projects took priority the game has remained unreleased since. As the Youtube series was the catalyst for me beginning to make C64 games and I was between projects, I offered my services to add the finishing touches and get the game out for everyone to play. I focused mainly on improving the single player mode as the 2P co-op/competitive mode had been the main focus during the streams, as well as touching up some graphics and fixing the remaining bugs.

In summary the game is 99.9% the work of Shallan and his Twitch/Discord community, and Arlasoft is a quasi-publisher tying whole thing together. The game contains 33 challenging levels with a variety of enemies with very different behaviours to keep you on your toes. 

Digital & Physical releases

Any issues reported in this version will be patched ready for a planned physical release in 2023, with proceeds going to charity. Please bear in mind much of the code was written after an amount of alcohol that would send us mere mortals off to bed with a glass of water and a bowl, so there are bound to be some gremlins still lurking....

This digital download of the game is free, however any donations received will be forwarded to Great Ormond Street in memory of Aurora Richmond, daughter of Mike Richmond, creator of the C64/Amiga/Speccy game Vegetables and who contributed various excellent tunes to this game.

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The aim of the game is to stun enemies with paint balls and then eat them. When you have gained enough weight, all players must step on the switch to open the door to the next level. The player who wins the race to the door first wins the level and gets a bonus. 

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Controls

Throw Paint Ball	Tap Fire
Eat Stunned Enemy	Hold Fire
Jump	Up
Left or Right	Walk

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Powerups

Tagging

'Tag' the level with your paint balls to gain a bonus, fighting with the other player or enemies to keep the platforms painted in your colour. 

The Crown

The player wearing the crown is immune to hits on the head, and also gets a 10,000 bonus if they are wearing it when they leave the level. Watch out though, the crown will fall off when you eat or get hit by an enemy!

Single Player

In 1P mode there is an additional bonus for completing the level as quickly as possible, for between 1,000 and 9,000 points. You get five lives at the start of the game and extra lives are earned for every 200,000 points scored, so accruing crown, tagging and time bonuses will help you get further into the game.

Tips

Different enemies and layouts require varying tactics. The trajectory of your paint balls means you can stun enemies up close or lob them over the edge of a platform, or even throw while jumping to hit an enemy on a higher one.

Keep an eye on the pipes for enemies that are about to spawn, the pipes will bulge as the enemy makes its way to the outside world!

The map wraps in all directions, so falling out of the bottom of the screen will make you fall from the top, a crucial strategy in avoiding enemies, traversing the level and reaching the door first in 2P mode.

Enemies can be eaten from a considerable range and in mid-air, so use that to your advantage in order to getting too close to non-stunned enemies. This will also prove necessary in one particularly 'unique' level!

Credits

Testing: Eric Akeson, Stepz