Castle Quest (BBC Micro)
| Castle Quest | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Publisher(s) | Micro Power |
| Programmer(s) | Tony Sothcott |
| Platform(s) | BBC Micro |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | arcade adventure |
| Mode(s) | single player |
Castle Quest is a 1985 video game for the BBC Micro, of significant importance in the gaming history of the platform. It was noted at the time of release as being the best game on the platform in its genre for its problem solving, colourful graphics and smooth hardware scrolling. It has also been compared to Metroid.
The game is an arcade adventure set in a wizard's castle, the player's task being to find the treasure. It employs "very smooth"side-scrolling (termed 'Scrollerama') and imperfect vertical scrolling. Play includes climbing ladders, which are sufficiently wide to simplify this aspect of gameplay. Various objects can be found and used to solve problems. These include everyday items, furniture, specialist equipment and valuables. Other characters include guards, animals, a witch and the wizard.
Control is via the keyboard, with 13 keys having various uses, for example accessing the inventory of objects carried in the backpack, viewing off-screen to left/right. Play requires both dexterity and lateral thinking. A saved game facility is not provided.
Scores are awarded based on progression through the game. Upon completion, additional rewards are given for remaining lives and a bonus is awarded according to elapsed time. An expert player may complete the game in "around seven minutes".
The game was reported as being programmer Tony Sothcott's first machine code game. Its colours are achieved using Mode 2, requiring more than half of total available RAM. The map is made up from screens comprising 8 × 7 blocks, there being 13 different types of such block. Two adjacent blocks are stored as a single byte within the map data, which occupies 2 kB in total. This technique was noted for its ingenuity.
...
Wikipedia