FPGA Games: Crush Roller

In this maze-themed game, the player controls a paintbrush, used to paint the corridors of an aquarium, all while being pursued by two predatory fish (one blue, the other yellow). The player has to avoid these fish at all costs, as if they catch the paintbrush, it is destroyed. However, the player can turn the tables on these foes by using one of two rollers located at two points on the board and crush them for bonus points.

QuickLinks

• Crush Roller ROM Information
  
• Cruch Roller Wiki Page
  

Game Play

• Joysticks: The game features a 4-way joystick, the only control needed for gameplay. This used to guide the paintbrush around the maze.
  
• 1-2 Players: Used to begin a one- or two-player (alternating turn) game.
  

Characters, enemies and other items

The paintbrush: The hero of the game, his objective in life was simple: to paint the corridors of the maze surrounding the aquarium, where two predatory fish live.

The player begins the game with three lives (depending on the setting); an extra brush is awarded at 10,000 points. The game ends when all the lives are lost.

The fish: The primary adversaries of the paintbrush, these serve to pursue the paintbrush and stop it from painting the entire maze. Resembling goldfish, one of these are blue, the other yellow. The fish are considered very smart, and often team together in an attempt to corner the paintbrush. If either one (or both) catch the paintbrush, it is destroyed.

Other adversaries: Once per round, one of six "mischief makers" (animals, people or other objects) appear, with the sole purpose of messing up the paintbrush's work. Depending on the stage.

Hardware Specifications

• Platform — NAMCO 8-bit PCB
  
• CPU — Z80A at 3.072 MHz
  
• ROM — 16K in four, 4K chips
  
• RAM — ~2K
  
• Display — Raster
  
  • Orientation — Vertical
    
  • Resolution — 224x288
    
  • Colors — 16
    
  • Attributes — Eight 16x16 hardware sprites
    
  • Refresh rate — 60.61 Hz
    

  [*]Sound — Monophonic 3-voice waveform sound generator chip

  [*]Controls — One 4-way leaf joystick, 1P/2P buttons

  [*]Models — Upright, and Cocktail

Source Code: Github