Tetris (Atari 8-Bit) by Eric Carr

Tetris - BASIC 10Liner Contest 2024

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Author:   Eric Carr

Language: FastBasic 4.6

Platform: Atari 8-bit

Category: EXTREM-256

Video:

Requirements:

System: Atari 8-bit (800 48K or XE/XL) w/ Joystick

Emulator: Atari800MacX (on Mac) or Altirra (Windows)

Game Background

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January of this year was the first time some played the NES Tetris game until it crashed, finally beating it. 

To celebrate this feat, I present this NES Tetris inspired game for the Atari. It uses no player missile graphics or DLI. Just a custom character set. I enhanced my music code to play patterns, to allow for a longer song before it repeats.

How to Play

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Adjust pieces as they fall so they form complete rows at the bottom. A complete row will be cleared and score points. Complete multiple rows at once to score higher!

1. Use the joystick LEFT/RIGHT to move your falling pieces

2. Hold the joystick DOWN to drop the piece into place and score additional points

2. Press the BUTTON to rotate

3. Press any KEYBOARD KEY to pause the game. Press again to resume play.

Gameplay Tips

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1. Try to save up to clear all four rows at once. This is a known as a Tetris and scores you the most points!

2. Each level increases your score when clearing rows. For a challenge and higher scoring, start at level 9!

Tools Used

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- FastBasic 4.6 Cross Compiler - Compile BASIC to XEX

  https://github.com/dmsc/fastbasic/releases/tag/v4.6

- Visual Studio Code - Editing the file

  https://code.visualstudio.com/download

- Atari FontMaker - Defining chars as block sprites

  http://matosimi.websupport.sk/atari/atari-fontmaker/

- FastBasic Debugger for VSCode Extension (I wrote it to help debug FastBasic)

  https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=EricCarr.fastbasic-debugger

- Atari800MacX and Altirra - Emulators