Bagman Comes Back
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
This game is a homage to Bagman, an arcade game released by Valadon Automation in 1982.
This version is made up of 8 completely new stages.
Gameplay
The objective of the game is to maneuver the bagman through various mine shafts, picking up money bags and placing them in a wheelbarrow at the surface of the mine. The player must avoid pursuing guards, moving ore carts, and descending elevators.
The player can temporarily stun the guards by striking them with a pickaxe or by dropping a money bag on them when they are below the player on the same ladder, or by sliding a bag on them when they are further down the same slope. The guards can also be stunned by placing the wheelbarrow at the top of the ladder or elevator while they are going up.
The pickaxes can also be used to break down walls that obstruct the passage. Keep in mind that the bagman can hold the same pickaxe for a few seconds, after which it disappears.
The bagman can jump into an ore cart after grabbing a ceiling handle as well as he can jump off the cart by moving the joystick left/right or by moving it up/down when the cart is on a ladder.
The action button is used to perform the following tasks:
- Pick up and drop money bags
- Pick up and drop pickaxes
- Grab and release a ceiling handle to avoid the ore carts or jump into them
- Placing a money bag in the wheelbarrow
- Pick up and drop the wheelbarrow
Points are scored for each horizontal step the player takes, for each money bag placed in the wheelbarrow, and for each guard stunned.
At 30000 points and then every 60000 points, the player earns an extra life, for a maximum of 6 lives.
Options
There are 4 difficulty levels to choose from: Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert.
You can choose whether to start a game with 3, 4 or 5 lives.
You can choose whether to play against 2 or 3 guards.
You can choose whether to use the font from the original arcade game or the font used in the sequel Super Bagman.
Controls
Arrow keys, controller lever or gamepad D-Pad = Move the bagman in the four directions.
Spacebar, Ctrl keys, or any controller button = Action button.
You can also use the WASD or IJKL keys as directional keys, and the Z or M keys as fire button.
While playing, press P to pause or Home to stop the game and go back to the title screen.
While the best scores are showing, press Shift+Del to reset the ranking.
History
Version 1.0
- First release.
Version 1.1
- You can now switch from fullscreen mode to windowed mode.
- The game could be jerky using certain video cards.
Version 1.2
- You can now use the WASD or IJKL keys as directional keys.
- You can now use the Z or M keys as fire button.
- You can now use the gamepad D-Pad.
Version 1.3
- There are now separate score rankings based on the game options you choose.
- You can now use the controller to enter a top score name.
Version 1.4
- More controllers are now recognized.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
Comments
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Extra step to get the macOS arm64 version working on M1/M2 Sonoma - the binary must be signed (use Terminal):
codesign -s - Bagman_osx-arm64/Bagman
Thank you very much for helping!
I just updated the instructions on each game's download page. I hope that now no one will have problems making them work on Mac.
Fantastic! Thank you for Linux support!
A big thank you for your work, and for the different versions (I personally play it on the C64 version with my wii on my crt tv), I am French and the original game is a forgotten part of our history, I myself did not know its existence until recently, I took the opportunity to make a small video for my compatriots.
Thanks for the video and for appreciating my work. In fact, when I was young, I used to play the French version of the game "LE BAGNARD" at the bar
I had never played it so thank you again for allowing me and allowing everyone to play it with all modern comforts without having to dl rom on obscure sites. I also want to say that I tried a lot of your games, I have a special mention for H.E.R.O 2 which is beautiful, as well as Mike Mech and Scout the Stray who have a very big potential in my opinion (Is it technically possible to add an accessory to the Dog Catcher? Otherwise I thought that Kojima was inspired by Pac Man to make metal gear, so why not make a metal gear like in view of above as pac man-like, with not purses full of money or bones but "data". Given what you do I am sure that you can easily do it, but this is only an idea I do not doubt that you already have a thousand others)
Sorry but Mike Mech and Scout the Stray are closed and definitive projects for me
Not sure if this is the right place to report bugs. Anyway, here they are:
Enhancement suggestion:
Overall, the game looks exactly like the original, but the gameplay feels quite different. If the AI can be smarter, this game will be perfect. I'm a software developer myself and I don't mean to criticize. I used to spend a lot of time on the original game in the arcade and I hope your game can be its true successor.
Regarding the fact that going down the ladders sometimes it happens that the bag falls by itself, I think it's a problem with your controller. It has never happened to me, neither using the keyboard nor using 2 different controllers. Just as it never happened to those who tested the game for me.
Regarding being able to move the controller diagonally to go up the ladders and then turn left, I don't know that the original arcade version has this. From some searches on the internet, I always read that the joystick has 4 directions, not 8. And anyway, emulating the game on MAME and trying to move the joystick diagonally, the character freezes completely. Perhaps you have found a version of the game that allows you to use the joystick diagonally? Or does MAME have an option that allows this?
Regarding the fact that when you drop a pickaxe the 4 seconds timer doesn't reset, it's actually not a bug in the game but a wrong transcription in the instructions. The 4 second reset timer is only for Bagman Strikes Back. In copying the instructions I forgot to delete that part.
Regarding the AI of the guards, I honestly never understood how the original version works. I tried it on MAME, but if I position the character on a ladder and move continuously up and down (making noise), even if the guards are nearby, it is not certain that they move towards me, on the contrary they often drift away. Anyway, I didn't want to create an identical port to the original, but to create a game based on it but with different features, such as more completely different levels. I also personally feel that the arcade version is too difficult for most people, so I wanted to make the game a little easier for as many players as possible to enjoy it. The fact that you are a super champion and can complete the level dozens of times does not mean that it is easy for everyone.
In any case, as far as I'm concerned the game is long over and what you see is the final result. I'm only willing to get involved in case of bug fixes.
I like the rotating languages for the title on the title screen. I don't think I ever saw the original Bagman and found Comes Back quite interesting! The various physics interactions (dropping bags on heads, falling guards can KO you, etc) give the gameplay a surprising amount of depth. Setting the number of guards to 3 gets immediately insane! : D Plus, there's Turkey in the Straw. ^_ ^
There are also other tricks like moving the wheelbarrow up the ladders or up the elevators to stun the guards as they go up. Or slide the bags down the slopes to overwhelm the guards.
And, again, thanks for the video.
I read about the wheelbarrow thing in the readme or somewhere and finally managed to do it in Strikes Back last night : D--thought at first it meant leaving the wheelbarrow over the ladder/elevator shaft but found you can't drop it there, so instead you just hold it there while they come up. : ) And yep after recording I watched your demo video all the way through and saw you slide a bag down a slope and was like ohhhh ^ _^
In fact, even the original arcade game doesn't allow you to leave the wheelbarrow on a ladder but only to carry it there while holding it. I guess otherwise it would be too big an advantage for the player.
Yeah, it would probably be too easy if you could permanently block off the elevator or something. ; D
I only know the Arcade-version of Bagman, which I really loved - but could only play once until they took away the machine ... Later I played it on MAME again. So this port is highly welcome! Great work again!
👍👍👍
Hi Luca! I'm your omonimus (but older than you 😪) I really appreciated your work on Bagman C64, one of my preferred games. Why you don't try to do the same with Skizophrenia? I loved really much that game and it deserves a nice restoration!
Hi. The games I have cloned/ported to Windows first and then to C64 are the ones that marked my childhood and that I am fond of. Making them gave me a lot of satisfaction. Honestly, I didn't even know about the existence of Skizophrenia and therefore it is not among those of my interest, sorry. Anyway, now I'm carrying out another project, again for C64.
bagman comes back bagman comes back
yes... yes
very good
Excellent!
Many thanx!
very good
I had written a remake in 2010. That one is soo great because of all the custom levels & scrolling. Also seems 1:1 in terms of gameplay. Very well done.
Thank so much!
Love it all! Great work!
Many thanx
Big Smiles, Love it
Glad you like it!
I feel like i was in 1979.
Thank you
I like programming these kinds of games because it allows me to take a pleasant dip in the past. Nice memories! Good times!