Mutatis

Mutatis is a game you can play in an Atari 2600 emulator. The provided game file is a .bin.

This is the first video game I’ve made since high school. Mutatis is a work-in-progress. I welcome all bug comments below. Thank you for playing and take care...

peace,
-william

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Version 1.0.0 was created in the span of a week for the April 2025 Atari “I, Rebel” Game Jam. The Game Jam theme was A Perfect Beast. See this Devlog for more. 

Version 1.1.1 included my first foray programming in Assembly! See this Devlog for more. 

The current version is 1.2.1. This version focused primarily on tracking down why the game exceeded the stable scanline count for an Atari 2600 game, as revealed to me by James of ZeroPage Homebrew. See this Devlog for more.

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MUTATiS GAMEPLAY

You’ve broken into a top-secret genetic research facility on a distant planet to free the latest biological horror MUTATIS.

Ambushed inside the containment chamber, you must now defend this nascent creature from its captors! Take heart! For you do not fight alone! MUTATIS has shared its psionically-charged power eye with you to aid in its noble liberation!

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The Eye of Mutatis // Mutatis // A Shield

Watch your health! If it turns red, Mutatis is near obliteration! Collect four biota from the Biota Bug to advance to the next level.

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ENEMY TYPES

Shield Grabber retreats when encountering The Eye of Mutatis. Might steal your shield nodes!

Shield Grabber with Shield Node can be destroyed by The Eye of Mutatis to repair your Shields.

Genetic Neutralizer steals your biota and implodes. Destroy with The Eye of Mutatis.Speedster attacks Mutatis. Destroy with your Shields.

Destroy Biota Bug with The Eye of Mutatis to release and collect biota.

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CONTAiNMENT CHAMBER

Will this menagerie ever reveal its secrets? For now, block the cruel aliens’ merciless attacks. And beware the Repulsor Field!

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USiNG THE CONTROLLER

Catch The Eye of Mutatis with your shields to gain its power and position your shields vertically. Adjust your shields to defend MUTATIS. Launch The Eye of Mutatis from your shields to attack your enemies. Beware! Although the lateral direction of The Eye of Mutatis is too powerful to change mid-flight, you can pause The Eye of Mutatis once launched and thus gain strategic advantage! The Eye of Mutatis!

• Press the FIRE BUTTON to launch The Eye when it is in contact with a shield and hold to pause The Eye when it is in flight

• Push the joystick LEFT while pressing the FIRE BUTTON to launch The Eye to the LEFT

• Push the joystick RIGHT while pressing the FIRE BUTTON to launch The Eye to the RIGHT

• Push the joystick UP to move The Eye UP after launch OR push the joystick UP to move the currently possessed shield UP

• Push the joystick DOWN to move The Eye DOWN after launch OR push the joystick DOWN to move the currently possessed shield DOWN

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THE FUTURE

Likely Future Additions:

• Genome Rank?

• Bonus speed level

• Shield control, center Eye

• Game select options

• Difficulty select options

• More enemy types: eye catcher, poisoner, swarm

• Mutatis mutations

• Playfield variation per level

• Sound

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CREDiTS
Made by William J. Meyer //

TOOLS
bAtari BASIC //
Atari Dev Studio //
Stella Emulator //

THANK YOU
Peter for starting my bAtari BASIC journey // Chris for his tireless support of my programming adventures // Wayne for playing Atari with me sometime last century // James and Tanya for their feedback //

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