Daleks is a very simple but yet fun game. Similar games may also have names like Escape and Robots. You are hunted by the Daleks (sometimes considered robots, but that's not true in the dr. Who films) and the object is to survive as many levels as possible by fooling the Daleks to collide with each other.
2. OTHER DALEKS GAMES FOR THE MAC.
There are three other Daleks for the Mac that I know of:
* Daleks 0.3 by Johan Strandberg. 17k. Probably freeware.
It has almost everything I want from a Daleks game: it has animation, keyboard control, funny sounds. It doesn't save its high score list, and it doesn't support the apple menu.
* DAleks 1.0 (Mage's DAleks) by Steve Sheets. 22k. $20 shareware.
The point with this version is that it is a desc accessory (DA) rather than a stand-alone application. It has no sound, no animation, a single high score rather than a high score list and (almost) no keyboard control.
* Color Daleks by John Morgan Jr. 250k. Freeware ($5 donation.)
This game is a good shot at the task of making a better game than the ones above. Color graphics, sampled sounds, big play field with scroll bars. What bothers me is that it takes much disk space and doesn't have smooth animation.
All in all, I still felt that Daleks 0.3 was my favourite. Then, one day, I just had to fix the features lacking in it.
3. SO WHY MAKE ANOTHER?
What I wanted was a Daleks with smooth animation, high score list, keyboard control from the keypad, some sounds, but still small size.
To make it small, I avoided sampled sounds except for the "collission" sound. I tried to make the other sounds, as well as the overall feel of the game, similar to Daleks 0.3. That is also why it is named "Classic Daleks".
I also added some options, to make the game fit all tastes:
- Sound can be turned off.
- Animation can be disabled, since it can be very slow on a MacPlus at high levels.
- Smart last stand option. With this enabled, the game will stop *before* you get killed. However, it will give you less points.
- No mistakes option. With this enabled, the game will refuse to make any moves that will kill you. Again, it will give you less points.
- Four different game area sizes. I know I could just set the size to the size of your screen, but that is not the point. This way you can choose the one you like. Each one has its own high score list.
4. I, AUTHOR
The game is written by Ingemar Ragnemalm. It is one of the simplest game I've made, but I think it was worthwhile anyway. Though writing it was quick, the testing took some time, and I wouldn't have dared releasing it without the help from all the playtesters. Thanks!
Other games I've made include (listed in order of complexity):
Bachman, a Pacman-style game.
Slime Invaders, a shoot-em-up game.
Skiing Game, a winter sport game.
Bikaka, a hexagonal Tetris.
MacSokoban, the Sokoban game for the Mac.
Hexmines, a "mines" game on hexagonal grid.
and more.
Some of these are not yet released.
This game is freeware. Give it to all your friends. Bug reports and fan mail can be sent by Internet E-mail to ingemar@isy.liu.se.
