Hmm...I think matrice based maps are easier to deal with...but then again, that's me

err...what kind of style?  Futuristic, modern, greco-roman, gothic barbarian, abstraction of emotion, ect.

What kind of characters?  A beatnick, a zomby, a chibi mage...is it gray scale or b/w (as this is asm, correct?)

errr...what sprites are you going to need?

Any one use this little goody yet?  sum of all probailities value*chance presents the expected value...great for betting and investing.  So, say some one says "will you play me my dice roll to your coin flip 2 fold (a value of 1 or 2 depending on side tossed) as payouts?" well, is this a good idea?

0.)understanding the bet is important...here it is a value based on the roll will dictate the pay outs, I get a 6 then I get 6 dollars, you get a heads you get 4 dollars, you get tails then 2 dollar ect.

1.) well, just take your values and multiply them by your prob
2(1*.5)+2(2*.5)=3

2.) and your chalanger
(1*.16)+(2*.16)+(3*.16)+(4*.16)+(5*.16)+(6*.16)=3.5 [I used a calc instead of .16 which is rounded]

Bad bet indeed...half a dollar lost on every wager in the long haul
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Note: this could also be applied to bonds and stocks (chance of inflation/rate of gain) (chance of inflation/risk/rate of gain) ect.

Will it be like with special walls and levels and such...or will there be an over world where you go "into battle" with a screen full of enemies and you have to defete them by hitting them with the ball...and you get larger balls and bigger longer paddles overtime...maybe get to start a battle with mutliple balls...get healthier balls...fight ball sucking boss monsters...man, this will be great.  (note, this was semi-serious)

isn't a sign bit for negative/positive?

indeed, it wouldn't be ture scaling as the current asm libs doen't alow it