Overview
In the past, I was playing a simple game written in Atari BASIC named PLUS. The game was written in 1987 by Jan Pilný and Jiří Pilný (PISOFT)
The gameplay is straightforward. You control the PLUS symbol with the joystick and your goal is to collect all the symbols (marks) on the screen, within a time limit. Despite its simplicity, the game has a certain depth. It has three main difficulties (they determine how many barriers on the game screen complicate your life). In each difficulty, you need to go through 8 screens. On each screen, a different symbol is collected. At the same time, if JS is at rest, the PLUS is „pulled“ in a different direction on each screen. In the main menu, you can set the game parameters (how many symbols to collect and what the time limit is).
In 2026, I returned to the game and decided to refurbish it. That is, to rewrite it in the FastBasic programming language and add a few minor enhancements. I’ve also ported the game to the Atari 5200 game console. The original game seemed a bit unfinished to me, especially in terms of the ending. Also the texts in the game lacked polish and consistency. Of course, after 39 years, it is easy to criticize the game.
Fixes and Enhancements
Gameplay Changes
Completely new logic for placing barriers. All screens are guaranteed to be completable.
Completely new logic for determining the time limit, as it now depends on: 1. User’s selection, 2. The number of marks to collect, 3. TV system (PAL/NTSC). This new logic ensures a fair game.
Logical errors fixed
The randomly placed marks can no longer appear in the perimeter walls.
The wild „GAME OVER“ screen which didn’t erase the game area is now neat. A message announcing that you have almost collected all marks (which was never seen because of logic error) is now displayed when. The game now handles PAL/NTSC differences.
Cosmetic Issues
The texts are translated into English (let us go global!), simplified and refined. The message after successfully completing a screen is now simple and clear. The „GAME OVER“ and „Congratulations“ screens are refined and have extra sound effects.
Miscellaneous
There are five difficulty levels instead of three. Announcing a new difficulty level does not take as long as before. You can abort the game screen by pressing ESC, pause it and resume it by pressing P. Newly, instructions can be displayed in the main menu.
Specifics of the 5200 Port
The game has a different status bar and controls tailored to the console. You can press START to begin the game, RESET to abort the game, and PAUSE to pause and resume the game. You can select the size of the joystick dead zone. The cartridge is a 32 KB regular cartridge.
Downloads
- For 8-bit Atari computers: plus_r2026.xex (version 1.3)
- For the Atari 5200 console: plus_r2026_5200.bin (version 1.0)
- Source code: plus_r2026_source.zip
Gallery
