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The Trap Door (game)
''The Trap Door'' is a video game published for the ZX Spectrum in 1986 by Piranha Software and ported to the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 by Five Ways Software. It was written by Don Priestley and based on the United Kingdom, British children's The Trap Door, television show of the same name. Gameplay image:ZX trapdoor1.png, left, 240px, Gameplay In ''Trap Door'', the player takes control of Berk, who must perform tasks for "The Thing Upstairs", a never-seen entity who lives in the upper floors of the castle where Berk works. In order to help him complete his task, Berk must make use of the many objects lying around his part of the castle as well as the creatures that emerge from the trap door. Berk is assisted by Boni, a talking skull, who provides hints when picked up. He is also somewhat hindered by Drutt, Berk's pet who loves eating worms, as well as The Thing's impatience which manifests in form of a time limit for each task. Gameplay is largely based around puzzle-solving ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Priestley
Don Priestley (born 1940) is a teacher and former video game programmer who wrote over 20 commercial games for the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum home computers between 1982 and 1989. Despite successful releases for DK'Tronics, such as '' 3D Tanx'' and ''Maziacs'', Priestley returned to teaching in the late 1980s, claiming changes in the video game industry did not suit his style of work. Game development Until 1979, Don Priestley was a teacher. In 1981 both he and his son enrolled in a Pascal course at night school. Although his son dropped out, he carried on. One of his early programs was an adaptation of Conway's Game of Life which was converted to a newly purchased Sinclair ZX81. His first commercial game was ''The Damsel and the Beast'', inspired by a program called ''Mugwump'' and published by Bug-Byte. Further ZX81 games written freelance were ''Dictator'' (a successful strategy game later ported to the Spectrum) and ''Mazogs'' (which was later rewritten for the Spectrum as ''Maziacs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basement
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system are located; so also are amenities such as the electrical system and cable television distribution point. In cities with high property prices, such as London, basements are often fitted out to a high standard and used as living space. In British English, the word ''basement'' is usually used for underground floors of, for example, department stores. The word is usually used with houses when the space below the ground floor is habitable, with windows and (usually) its own access. The word ''cellar'' applies to the whole underground level or to any large underground room. A ''subcellar'' is a cellar that lies further underneath. Purpose, geography, and history A basement can be used in almost exactly th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flunky (video Game)
''Flunky'' (sometimes known as ''Mad Flunky'') is an adventure game by Don Priestley for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. It was published in 1987 by Piranha Software. The player takes control of a flunky in the service of the British Royal Family. The flunky is given orders by various members of the family which he must carry out. When he is successful in completing a task, he can obtain an autograph from the satisfied individual. Once he has successfully completed tasks for several persons he can go on to perform the final task for The Queen herself. Gameplay Screenshot The player controls the flunky as he moves around Buckingham Palace, carrying out orders that members of the Royal Family will give him. The flunky can only be given one task to do at a time. The solutions needed to complete the tasks range from the correct use of items in the correct places to tasks requiring skillful playing more reminiscent of action games. The game includes members of the Roy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platform Game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels that consist of uneven terrain and suspended platforms of varying height that require jumping and climbing to traverse. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay, such as swinging from vines or grappling hooks, jumping off walls, air dashing, gliding through the air, being shot from cannons, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines. Games where jumping is automated completely, such as 3D games in ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, fall outside of the genre. The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game, '' Space Panic'', which includes ladders, but not jumping. '' Donkey Kong'', released in 1981, established a template for what were initially called "climbing games." ''Donkey Kong'' inspired many clon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Joystick Award
The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted online via ''GamesRadar+''. , the ceremony was in its 39th year. It is the longest-running video game award ceremony, launched in 1983, and the second-oldest video game award ceremony after the Arcade Awards, launched in 1981. The awards were initially focused on PC games, but were later extended to include console games as well, owing to the success of video game consoles such as the Sega Master System and the Sega Mega Drive in the United Kingdom. The ceremony is not directly related to the golden joystick prize given away to successful contestants on ''GamesMaster'', a British television show, but both properties belong to Future plc. In 2021, the Golden Joystick Awards celebrated 50 Years Of Games by asking the public to vote for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Your Sinclair
''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was launched in January 1984 as ''Your Spectrum'' by Sportscene Specialist Press. (Sportscene would later be renamed to Dennis Publishing in April 1987.) Initially, it was published bimonthly, changing to monthly in June 1984. With the January 1986 issue, the title was relaunched as ''Your Sinclair'', with the intention of expanding coverage of the QL into the main magazine (previously, ''QL User'' had been a pull-out section within the magazine), and any future computers produced by Sinclair. However, the magazine remained focused almost entirely on the ZX Spectrum games scene. In 1990, the magazine was sold to Bath-based Future plc, and the April 1990 issue was the first to be published by the new company. That issue's news ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinclair User
''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was published in the UK between 1982 and 1993, and was the longest running Sinclair-based magazine. The magazine contained news, game reviews, previews, tips, help guides, columns, readers' letters, and cover-mounted game demos. History In earlier years, the magazine built up personality cults around some of its "hilariously" monikered staff, including Bill "Incorruptible" Scolding, John "Disgusting" Gilbert, Chris "Lunchbreaks" Bourne, Claire "Ligger" Edgely, Richard Price (writer of the "Gordo Greatbelly" adventure tips section), and columnist Andrew Hewson (founder of Hewson Consultants software). Under David Kelly's editorial tenure, the magazine began to focus more on the gaming scene, and featured more colour graphics under designer Garet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer & Video Games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website was launched in 1999 and closed in February 2015. ''CVG'' was the longest-running video game media brand in the world. History ''Computer and Video Games'' was established in 1981, being the first British games magazine. Initially published monthly between November 1981 and October 2004 and solely web-based from 2004 onwards, the magazine was one of the first publications to capitalise on the growing home computing market, although it also covered arcade games. At the time of launch it was the world's first dedicated video games magazine. The first issue featured articles on ''Space Invaders'', Chess, Othello and advice on how to learn programming. The magazine had a typical ABC of 106,000. Website Launched in August 1999, CVG was one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argus Specialist Publications
Argus Press was a British publishing company. It was acquired by British Electric Traction (BET) in 1966, and became the publishing arm of that company. It was the subject of one of the most hotly contested management buyouts of the 1980s when a management team led by Kimble Earl, George Fowkes, and Scott Smith secured financing of £207m from forty national and international banks to acquire the UK and US businesses from BET. The acquisition was of particular note as the publisher Robert Maxwell was among the rival bidders, and widely considered as capable of out-witting the management team. Only an eleventh-hour intervention by Earl – exposing members of Maxwell's secret consortium as rival newspaper publishers which meant Maxwell would fall foul of the Monopolies Commission – brought success for the management team. The new company traded under the name of Team Argus. Its portfolio of businesses included the largest group of paid-for and free weekly newspapers in the UK, an e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer Gamer
''Computer Gamer'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Argus Specialist Publications, covering home gaming from April 1985 to June 1987. It was a colourful relaunch of the failing magazine '' Games Computing'', a more conservative magazine published throughout in monochrome. Like many similar magazines, it contained sections of news, game reviews, previews, tips, help guides, columnists, reader's letters, and occasionally cover-mounted game demos A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such .... When the magazine was relaunched, it was directly competing with Computer and Video Games but with only a fifth of the 100,000 monthly sales. It battled on for two years but, adding only 6,000 sales, it was eventually closed in 1987. Although lost in the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
