Which tools do you use to build the maps/How do you build the maps ?
I use an emulator, like MAME, to run the games. Most emulators feature a "save screenshot" option, so i just play the games, and pause regularly to save the screenshots. Afterwards, i use a graphic tool like Photoshop, the Gimp or PaintShopPro to re-assemble all the screenshots into one big image the size of the level.
Deleting "parasites" such as explosions, flying ennemies, players scores or players sprite is manually done by deleting corresponding parts on the screenshots. This supposes having another "clean" screenshot for the area, so i often play the levels more than once, hunting for the perfect screenshots where the pixels i want will appear!
Another difficult part is to deal with differential scolling backgrounds... As one background layer will be scrolling faster/slower than the other(s), there will be distortions in this layers' graphics, because i'm focusing on the main layer.
It is then a matter of choice whether to make a map for the game or not, and how to arrange the differential scrolling layer.
I want to contribute and submit maps. What kinds of games are you interested in? How can i contribute?
That's a 2 points answer :
First, i'm interested in 1980's and 1990's arcade games featuring a scrolling background. I'm not interested in one type of games in particular, although i do like "Shoot Them Ups" a lot.
This said, any game with side-scrolling, top-bottom scrolling or multidirectionnal scrolling action will fit the topic of the page!
If you wish to contribute, you can send me maps you've done yourself! I will add them to the collection and your name will appear in the credits if you wish. If you'd like to discuss the technical details about creating a map, please e-mail me (Warning, my e-mail address is altered, please remove the parts between parenthesis before sending your e-mail).
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