Tass Times in Tonetown
| Tass Times in Tonetown | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Interplay Productions, Brainwave Creations |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Designer(s) | Michael Berlyn,Muffy McClung Berlyn, Rebecca Heineman |
| Platform(s) | Atari ST, Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh. |
| Release date(s) | 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Tass Times in Tonetown is a 1986 adventure-themed computer game by Activision for multiple computer platforms. It was written by veteran Infocom designer Michael Berlyn and his long-time collaborator Muffy McClung Berlyn, and programmed by Rebecca Heineman of Interplay Productions, in cooperation with Brainwave Creations.
Tass Times was released for the Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Macintosh and IBM PC.
The game has the distinction of being the first commercial game made available for the IIGS.
The plot of the game involves the player getting sucked into Tonetown, a surreal alternate world seemingly based on a distillation of 1980s culture, with overtones of punk and new wave culture (such as pink hair, etc.). The word "Tass" in the title refers to an adjective used within the parallel world of Tonetown. Its basic meaning is somewhat akin to "cool" or "hip". Game designer Michael Berlyn gives the following source for the word:
The game's narrative begins with the player character inside a cabin belonging to "Gramps", a relative and inventor who has gone missing. While searching the cabin, the player activates one of Gramps' latest inventions: a device that resembles an electronically powered hoop. Gramps' pet dog, Spot, jumps through the active hoop and disappears. The player follows him and is transported to the mysterious Tonetown world alongside Spot, discovering that "Spot", in this world, is not only sentient and capable of speech but is actually a celebrity resident named "Ennio the Legend". Ennio travels along with the player, providing commentary and advice as well alerting the player to danger.
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