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   Heart Stealer 2
   
   2021 Timmy
   
   version 20210828 - First Version

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[ Intro ]
=========

	Heart Stealer 2 is a remake of a game that 
  was originally released in 2013 by Timmy, on 
  the ZX Spectrum. 
	
	This game is a remake (or demake, depends 
  on how you look at it) of a game called VVVV, 
  which was written for the Java4k 2010 compo 
  (website no longer exists). By a guy called 
  Markus 'Notch' Persson (you might have heard 
  of him). 
  
	According to that compo page, "VVVV is a 
  4K tribute to Terry Cavanagh's brilliant 
  game VVVVVV."
  
  
[ Goal ]
========

	Our hero is back again to collect hearts.

	This time, our hero only needs 6 hearts to 
  finish the game, but this time they are located 
  all over the world.

	Beware of the spikes! These pointy things are 
  the only dangerous things in the game.

	To make it easier, you also have infinite 
  lives, with checkpoints all over.

	The challenge is not only to complete the 
  game, but also try to finish the game quickly.

  
[ Controls ]
============

	This game can be controlled with a joystick
  (or use the cursor keys and the space bar.)

	Move your character with the joystick (or 
  cursor keys). 
  
	Use the fire button (or space key) to "flip".
  Note: You can't flip while in the air.

    During the game, you can HOLD the Escape key 
  to reveal a map.
  
  
[ Timmy's Additional Notes ]
============================

	This version is a bit larger than the 
  original 4K version. The screens in this 
  version are larger than the original 19x11.
  
	That means that all the screens in this 
  game are completely redesigned, even if I 
  tried to retain the original look.  
  
					 -----
  
	The map is compressed in a very strange way
  and it was a way for me to try to use as few 
  bytes as possible. A row of (28) wall tiles 
  takes 28 bits and a 4-bit identifier, i.e.
  4 bytes in total.
  
	I've lifted this map directly from the 
  Spectrum version because I'm not redoing this
  again xD. So you might find references to SP1,
  which is a Spectrum only sprite library.
	
					 -----
  
	The game is written in C and assembly language
  using the z88dk compiler, like my other MSXdev 
  entries (including the ones in previous years). 
  The Spectrum version of HS2 also used z88dk, but 
  I still had to rewrite almost everything. :P
	
					 -----
  
	If the game seems familiar, you might have 
  seen a demo of this in Nijmegen back in 2020. :D


  
[ Links ]
=========

    The original VVVV game page (web archive version):
	
  https://web.archive.org/web/20120112053832/http://www.java4k.com/index.php?action=games&method=view&gid=288


	The z88dk compiler:
	
  https://z88dk.org/
	
  
[ END ]
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