MAZE CRAZE - Volume II
More and more games get sequels and thus more and more of my previous mazes get sequels. Plus, I finally got that Zaxxon maze made!
Book Number 5 - Republished Feb. 17, 2021
Come back with me to the year 1986! Already, sequels are everywhere!
The video games of the day weren't only getting sequels, they were getting more graphically beautiful and complex. Therefore the mazes I was making were slowly transforming into both an opportunity and an excuse to spend my free time drawing. I'd like to think the improvement of the look of these mazes over the years shows my modest progression as a chilhood artist.
I don't usually include answer images in my little preview images, but sometimes my mazes have some unfair traps that only trial-and-error would reveal... much like many video games! Consider this blue preview image a hot tip for one of the mazes!
MAZES:
- Time Pilot 2 A maze sequel dedicated to the video game sequel, equally as faithful to the inspiration as the original maze was, hopefully. One thing I clearly got wrong though is the title: the game was called Time Pilot '84, and for some reason I promoted it to a full numbered sequel.
- Pinball I suppose this maze is inspired by pinball overall, but on some level it had to also be inspired by may favorite childhood pinball game, which was the one I had: Atari 2600 Pinball!
- Transformers Mixed Maze, Multi-Maze... Whatever you call it, this is another of the mazes I've done which switches between various styles of mazes like traditional, line maze, etc. Appropriate for the inspiration!
- Jaws For its underwater setting, this maze inspired by Spielberg's classic is a line maze to take proper advantage of the free-flowing motion of the ocean!
- Pitfall 2: Lost Caverns Pitfall 2: Lost Caverns was one of my favorite games for Atari 2600, very likely because it was a fairly long adventure with a definite end and completion state.
- Treasure Hunt This was actually an older, orphaned maze in the sidescrolling style I had used in Dungeons and Dragons and others. At an early age I was already leveraging republished content to hit deadlines!
- Save the Humans Looking back, this maze puzzles me as to where I came up with the idea for its theme. It's got a bit of Defender in ther, but there's also a bit of Major Havoc, as well. Save The Humans seems like it might make a great classic-style game.
- Zaxxon I had been starting and abandoning Zaxxon themed mazes for a little while, as I found combining a maze with the isomtric art style very vexxing. Eventually I stuck with it and got a rsult, even though it took a fair amount of Photoshop to clean up all the still-visible erased pencil ines fro the original!
Back to More Game Themes Than Other Media
Interactive media like games would compete with traditional linear media like books, movies, and television for my favor throughout my life. Traditional media can't compete with the immersion of games: the experience of directing every decision and exploring a setting, plot, and theme. On the other hand, interactive media is still so often blunt and shallow in terms of story, character, and tone. I like to continue to envision a future that melds the best of both worlds.
Text Link to PDF Version
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