Frankie Goes To Hollywood (video Game)
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''Frankie Goes to Hollywood'' is a computer game that was developed by
Denton Designs Denton Designs was a British video game developer based in Liverpool. The company was founded in 1984 and initially specialised in developing software for the ZX Spectrum home computer. Amongst the founders were developers who had worked on the ...
and published by Ocean Software Ltd in 1985 for the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...
and
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...
home computers. The game is based on the music of UK band
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...
.


Objective

The game puts the player in Liverpool in search of the Pleasuredome. The player has to find and use various objects and play
minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...
s to reach the goal. The player starts the game as a simple character, to reach the Pleasuredome one has to become a full person. To become a full person, the four attributes (
sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...
,
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
,
love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
and
faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...
) must be filled to 99%. The attributes are boosted by completing tasks in the game. Additional pleasure points can be scored by playing the minigames. The four attributes are part of the symbols used on the covers of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's albums. During the game, a murder takes place. All the rooms the player can visit contain clues in order to find the murderer. The clues are in pairs, helping eliminate suspects. For example, the player may be told "The killer is an atheist" and "Mr Somebody is a regular church-goer" - so Mr Somebody would be innocent. In theory, the game cannot be completed without making the correct accusation (by returning to the room with the body) - there is a large bonus of Pleasure Points for naming the killer.


List of minigames

*Sea of Holes *The Terminal Room *Cybernetic Breakout *Cupid's Arrows *Raid Over Merseyside *Talking Heads *Shooting Gallery *War Room *Flower Power *ZTT Room


Development

The game was developed by Denton Designs and the game was based on the engine for
Gift from the Gods ''Gift from the Gods '' is a British video game published in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum. Written by Denton Designs, a group of programmers and artists who worked on the unfinished ''Bandersnatch'' for the ill-fated software company Imagine Software ...
.


Music

Certain versions of the game feature
chiptune Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The t ...
versions of the band's songs such as "
Relax Relax may refer to: Aviation * Roland Z-120 Relax, a German ultralight aircraft design for the 120 kg class Music Albums * ''Relax'' (Blank & Jones album), 2003 * ''Relax'' (Das Racist album), 2011 Songs * "Relax" (song), a 1983 song by Fran ...
" and "
Welcome to the Pleasuredome ''Welcome to the Pleasuredome'' is the debut studio album by English synth-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released on 29 October 1984 by ZTT Records. Originally issued as a vinyl double album, it was assured of a UK chart entry at n ...
". The ZX Spectrum version features an adaptation of "
Two Tribes "Two Tribes" is an anti-war song by British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records on 4 June 1984. The song was later included on the album ''Welcome to the Pleasuredome''. Presenting a nihilistic, gleeful lyric ex ...
" as the title music. The game package also included a live version of "Relax" on tape cassette.


Reception

Roy Wagner reviewed the game for ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'', and stated that "The graphics and game play are well done. I think you will find it an interesting game." In 1991, ''
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 ...
'' included the game at number 71 in their list of the Top 100 Best Spectrum Games of All Time. In 1993, ''
Commodore Force {{Infobox magazine, , based = Ludlow, Shropshire , editor = Steve Shields James Price , image_file = File:Commodore_Force_Issue_12_November_1993_Issue_Cover.jpg , image_caption = November 1993 cover , frequency = Mon ...
'' ranked the game at number one on its list of the top 100 Commodore 64 games.


Sex/Pleasure/Lust

The first icon, represented by two sperm in a
yin yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...
image, is variously described as either Sex, Lust or Pleasure. The game inlay refers to the icon as
Pleasure Pleasure refers to experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious anima ...
, the music press usually referred to it as
Sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...
, and some computer magazines occasionally used the term
Lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can ...
instead.Your Sinclair issue 19


References


External links

* * *
Images of Commodore 64 version of ''Frankie Goes To Hollywood'' box and manual
at C64Sets.com

at
GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...

''Frankie Goes to Hollywood'' retrospective
at
Rock, Paper, Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110114183532/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/134877-frankie-goes-to-hollywood-commodore-64-ocean-software-1985/ at
Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
{{Frankie Goes To Hollywood 1985 video games Action-adventure games Amstrad CPC games Band-centric video games Commodore 64 games Denton Designs games Minigame compilations Ocean Software games Single-player video games Video games based on musicians Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Fred Gray ZX Spectrum games