Shamus (video game)

Shamus
Publisher(s)	Synapse Software
Programmer(s)	William Mataga
Platform(s)	Atari 8-bit (original) VIC-20, C64, IBM PC, TI-99/4A, TRS-80 Color Computer, Game Boy Color
Release date(s)	1982
Genre(s)	action
Mode(s)	single player

Shamus is a flip screen action adventure game written by William Mataga (now Cathryn Mataga) and published by Synapse Software. Originally released for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1982, it was ported to the VIC-20, Commodore 64, TRS-80 Color Computer, TI-99/4A, and IBM PC. Several of these ports were made by Atarisoft. Ihor Wolosenko, co-founder of Synapse, noted that it was Shamus that really put the company on the map by giving it a reputation for quality. It was followed by a sequel, Shamus: Case II, with the same characters but different gameplay.

Mataga's original version was 16K in size and released on disk and tape for the Atari 8-bit family, and later sold by Atari on cartridge following the launch of the Atari XEGS in 1987. The VIC-20 port was 8K and contained only 32 levels (unlike the 128 in every other version). In 1999, Mataga developed a remake for the Game Boy Color, and later, both Shamus and Shamus: Case II for iOS.

Funeral March of a Marionette, the theme song from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, plays on the title screen.

Inspired by the arcade game Berzerk, the objective of the game is to navigate the eponymous robotic detective through a 4-skill level, 128-room maze of electrified walls. The ultimate goal at the end of this journey is "The Shadow's Lair". Shamus differs from Berzerk in that there's a persistent world instead of rooms that are randomly generated each time they are entered. There are also items to collect: bottles containing extra lives, mystery question marks, and keys which open exits.

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