Introduction
At the time I wrote this, I was still in High School and Pheonix was one of the most popular games for TI-Calculator handhelds. It was on more models than just the TI-89, but the 89 version was best.
I needed a vessel to learn C++. Of course I could write a bunch of DOS-Console programs, but that's not very fun. I didn't want to learn some dated DOS graphics libraries either. But the TI world was booming, and there was a C++ IDE for TI-89, that would allow me to learn C++, and have a huge demographic of people to play my games! Further, the community was full of helping hands. I could not have picked a more fertile place to grow at.
The Concept
Since the Overhead Space Shooter was a popular genre, I decided to clone it. I was too young' a programmer to learn grayscale graphics, so I decided to keep my first large project B&W. (Which is unusual for me, since I tend to be over ambitious with my work.)
The Project
In the end it came out alright! Every enemy had different fly patterns and ammunition. At the end of each level was a unique boss, as opposed to reusing the same boss / enemies over. Each level had a story and you could access the shop at any time. You can see and download my official release here: http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/323/32327.html
I was very proud to make the front page news! http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/10/101/101028.html