11th January 2026
First of all, a belated Happy New Year to all C64 and retro kind. At last, a new blog update and a new C64 project is in the making. Please read on to find out what is happening :)
Back in November 2018, I launched a public domain game called "Spider Maze" for the Commodore 64. It was a game I originally wrote in KickAssembler as part of a hobby based tutorial for Scene World. The game got finished off into a full game and got released on my T.N.D website. You can find it here.
Thinking about it, this game was launched just under 8 years ago, and I had so much enjoyment developing it. Now, partially during the winter of 2026, I am currently making a sequel. Once again, I am back in full swing coding with KickAssembler and CBMPRGStudio V4.7.0 once again. As usual, the graphics, and level design are being implemented using Charpad V2.7.6 and the game sprites are being created using Sprite Pad V2.0. The game will be crunched with Exomizer V2.0.11, especially the level data. Music aims to be made in either Goat Tracker Ultra V1.5.5 or Electronic Music System V7.03, but I have not decided which one to use yet.
Fredrick the Ball is returning on another adventure. This time not in a quest for greed, but on a rescue mission. His girlfriend Ruby has been kidnapped and is imprisoned inside the dungeon which is inside the lair of the spiders. In order to rescue her, Fredrik must pick up all the diamonds spread around 16 different zones. If he collects them all, Ruby will be free. Otherwise, if not then she will be sacrificed to the evil spiders.
The concept and old features
The game idea aims to similar to the original Spider Maze, but if you take a look at the snapshot below, you will notice that I made some improvements to the look and feel of the game. I also added a challenge to the game concept as well. There are the regular old features, where the player has to collect all the diamonds, whilst avoiding getting killed by the deadly spiders. The player can also pickup items to help or hinder. The bulb will charge the player up and make Fredrik invulnerable for a short period of time. However, he is not invulnerable against obstacles such as skulls. There is also the extra life heart, which can be collected on every 4th level. (Below you can see level 3's design)
New game features
There are also some new features blended into the game as well. The first are two collectibles. The first one represents the letter "B", which does nothing spectacular, it gives the player bonus points (Well 500 points to be honest). Also the second collectible implemented is a clock, which will either add or deduct time from the clock. This will remain a mystery to help or hinder Fredrik the Ball. Also if you take a look above, the score panel has a border around it. However the border will be animated and scroll around in order to make the panel more interesting. The panel has no flashing effects this time.
New deadly features for Poor Fredrick
There are some new deadly surprises implemented into the game as well. The first is that you have to race against the clock to complete each level. If the time runs out, the game ends. The second new surprise is that, not only will the player have to race against the clock and avoid the deadly skulls. The player also must make a safe path away from the deadly spikes (which starts on level 5) - even when invulnerable. This game is very cruel, but challenging, but the player will be starting with 5 lives.
If you take a look below, I have designed the first level (level 05 - not level 01), which features the deadly spikes. The spikes animate by rising and falling. The player can pass the spikes easily if a blank path is available.
My quick plan for Spider Maze 2
My plan for Spider Maze 2 is to feature 16 levels (I think the game perhaps could be hard enough with 16 levels). As you start each level, less time is available to complete it (by 200). The first 8 levels start with slow spiders, then levels 9-16 removes the drag rate of the spiders, forcing them to move the same speed as the player. The game aims to be more colourful and even more frantic compared to the previous Spider Maze.
Other plans include making music and mixing sound effects with the in game music. I have not decided which music composer I will be using to make this new game, but it is likely that I could be using either GT Ultra V1.5.5 with SFX support or Electronic Music System V7.03 and code my customise sound effects. It is likely to be the first option, depending on time.
Target release date of the game
The release date aims to be some time in February 2026. This is not going to be a long game project, since the code from the first Spider Maze (Tutorial test version) is being adapted to this new game. Although I cannot give you a full date release when the game will be launched. The game will feature on my itch.io showcase when it is ready for release. Like all T.N.D games, Spider Maze 2 will be free to download and also an online web player version will be featured on my itch.io page.
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