Introduction
At the time I wrote this, I was still in High School and Pheonix was one of the most popular games for TI-Calculator handhelds.
It was on more models than just the TI-89, but the 89 version was best.
I needed a vessel to learn C++. Of course I could write a bunch of DOS-Console programs, but that's not very fun. I didn't want to learn some dated DOS graphics libraries either. But the TI world was booming, and there was a C++ IDE for TI-89, that would allow me to learn C++, and have a huge demographic of people to play my games! Further, the community was full of helping hands. I could not have picked a more fertile place to grow at.
The Concept
Since the Overhead Space Shooter was a popular genre, I decided to clone it. I was too young' a programmer to learn grayscale graphics, so I decided to keep my first large project B&W. (Which is unusual for me, since I tend to be over ambitious with my work.)
The Project
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In the end it came out alright! Every enemy had different fly patterns and ammunition. At the end of each level was a unique boss, as opposed to reusing the same boss / enemies over. Each level had a story and you could access the shop at any time.
You can see and download my official release here:
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/323/32327.html
I was very proud to make the front page news!
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/10/101/101028.html