"4k-basic-dash" is a Boulder Dash clone written in pure BASIC!
The game fits in 4 KByte and features 7 caves and many different levels.

Written by Simon Stelling (S.E.S./Crest) 05/Dec/2009
Submitted entry for "2nd 4k BASIC Compo" of Forum64.de:
http://www.forum64.de/wbb3/index.php?page=Thread&postID=373540#post373540

Instructions:
The game works on a plain C64 with a plain 1541 and a joystick, albeit
running very slow - but it works!
*** Hint: Play the game in a C64 emulator (like WinVICE) using
500% speed setting! ***

Contents:
You are Rockford, digging through dirt caves collecting diamonds.
As soon as you have collected enough diamonds, the cave exit opens.
Walk through to get to the next cave. Beware of falling boulder and
explosive butterflies!

You can try to push boulders to the left or to the right, but they are
quite heavy and there has to be free space behind them.

Holding down fire button on joystick when moving causes Rockford to move
one step (collecting diamonds, digging through dirt, pushing a boulder)
without actually moving. This can be handy when things get tricky.

There are butterflies in some cave. Beware: They explode when you touch
them. You could try to drop a boulder or a diamond onto them. If you
succeed, they explode without harming you as long as you keep some
distance. Your reward for this risky move are 9 diamonds!

There is no time limit. If you should get stuck, press Run/Stop to skip
forward to the next cave. This costs you a lot of points, though.

To compensate the rather difficult joystick handling, Rockford has got
a hydraulic protective shield with him. Thus boulders may fall onto
your head without you getting hurt.

Goal of the game:
To collect as many diamonds as possible
and reach the exit of each cave alive.


Some comments concerning the game speed:
Yes, I know the game is really slow on a plain C64. BASIC just isn't as
fast as assembler. My intention is to prove that you can code a game
like Boulder Dash in pure BASIC at all. As you see: It works!
The game is slow, but not too far away from acceptable speed:
Play it in a C64 emulator with 500% speed settings and it's quite nice!
The original Boulder Dash is written in assembler and uses 100% processor
time. This Boulder Dash in BASIC is only 5 times slower.
Have fun!
Simon Stelling (S.E.S./Crest), 05/Dec/2009
