The official Pixel Puding logo

made by Alex van Oostveen.

To improve is to change

The Glory of Battle City

The story isn’t exactly Shakespeare:  you have a tank, you need to protect an eagle statue, and the enemy is coming. You figure out the rest.

Whereas it is unclear whether you are a zealous American soldier, an SS Panzer pilot or some sort of hyperadvanced Roman warrior in a futuristic warmachine, Battle City, a classic top-down tank shooter on the Nintendo Entertainment System, was fun and addicting and quite innovative for its time, with a local co-op mode and an in-game level editor/creator.

Now it’s our turn to make it better.

The hasn’t aged remarkably well. The limited controls, very basic AI and—shall we say—less than impressive graphics, leave ample  room for improvement.

We aim to provide the classic feel of Battle City, while improving on the formula. We will try to round off the game with addition of improved graphics, full-ranged controls, online multiplayer and an actual, functioning AI.

Improved Gameplay

The controls of Battle City were stiff, at best. The gun of your tank could only fire straight ahead, and your movement was restricted to the four cardinal directions. We aim to include a 360° movement arc and independent gun aiming.

The original game included enemies and an AI behavioural pattern. This pattern was largely random, however, and the enemies did little but drive around aimlessly and try and shoot the player whenever he was in sight. We aim to create enemies that use strategy, actively seek out objectives or at least follow a certain behaviour.

Improved Multiplayer

The local multiplayer of the original game was almost revolutionary for its time, but nowadays, we expect more. In addition to the shared screen local co-op, online or LAN cooperative or competitive modes will add much to the classic game and will hopefully revitalise a timeless oldie.

Improved Graphics

Naturally, the graphics and sound effects of the 8-bit era bite the dust when compared to modern standards. The least we can do is update the poor NES’s visuals (not to mention remedy the obvious lack of pudding in the game). 

Puddi Puddi!!