''Space Rogue'' is a
space flight simulation video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Origin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert Garriott, Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres ...
and published by Origin Systems, Wave Brain, and
Night Dive Studios
Night Dive Studios, Inc. (doing business as Nightdive Studios) is an American video game developer based in Vancouver, Washington. The company was founded in November 2012 by Stephen and Alix Kick, former video game artists for Sony Online Ente ...
. The game was released in 1989 for
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
and
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 ...
; the series was later
ported
In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to
DOS
DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems.
DOS may also refer to:
Computing
* Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel
* Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...
,
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
,
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
, and
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...
. The game was also released in the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
language for
PC-9801
The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...
,
X68000
The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan.
The initial model has a 10 Megahertz, MHz Motorola 68000 Central processing unit, CPU, 1 Megabytes, MB of Random Access Memory, RAM ...
, and
FM Towns
The is a Japanese personal computer, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with IBM PC compatibles. ...
. The FM Towns version had its intro remade with slight animations and new illustrations, along with scrolling Japanese text, and exclusive CD quality background music. Taking place within the Far Arm of the Milky Way galaxy, ''Space Rogue''s main story revolves around the
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
s efforts to pursue a career and undertake long-range goals beyond his immediate mission.
The game features elements of a
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
, like the much later ''
X Rebirth
''X Rebirth'' is a Single-player video game, single-player Space trading and combat simulation games, space trading and combat game developed by Egosoft, published by Deep Silver (Europe) and Tri Synergy (America). It is the sixth installment in ...
'' and ''
Elite Dangerous
''Elite Dangerous'' is a space flight simulation game developed and published by Frontier Developments. The player takes the role of a pilot (colloquially referred to as "Commander" or "CMDR") of a spaceship, and explores a realistic 1:1 scale, ...
''. It is notable for being the first game designed for Origin by
Paul Neurath Paul Neurath is a video game designer and creative director. He founded both Blue Sky Productions (later renamed Looking Glass Studios) and Floodgate Entertainment. He was the creative director of Zynga Boston. In 2014 he founded OtherSide Entertain ...
, who went on to found Blue Sky Productions (later renamed
Looking Glass Studios
Looking Glass Studios, Inc. (formerly Blue Sky Productions and LookingGlass Technologies, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded by Paul Neurath with Ned Lerner as Blue Sky Product ...
).
''Space Rogue'' can be considered as the spiritual predecessor to Origin's
''Wing Commander'' series. The press release for ''Space Rogue'' stated that it is "the first of its kind in science-fiction/3D space flight simulation. An ORIGIN Cinematic Experience", implying that ''Space Rogue'' was originally meant to be a series of its own ('Ultima in Space'), before later on Origin turned to the ''Wing Commander'' series instead. In 2016,
Night Dive Studios
Night Dive Studios, Inc. (doing business as Nightdive Studios) is an American video game developer based in Vancouver, Washington. The company was founded in November 2012 by Stephen and Alix Kick, former video game artists for Sony Online Ente ...
reacquired the rights and re-released it.
Plot
The player takes on the role of a crew member aboard the Princess Blue, who was sent by his captain to investigate a small derelict spacecraft, the Sunracer class
Jolly Roger
Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy).
The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly ...
. While he is on board the Jolly Roger, a group of aliens called the Manchis attack the Princess Blue using their Vulture class ships, destroying it.
Left only with the Jolly Roger, little money, and no ties to anyone, the player can decide his fate from there. He could engage in piracy,
hunt bounties, become an interstellar merchant, or become embroiled in the interplanetary politics.
Gameplay
The game is played switching back and forth between a traditional
top-down
Top-down may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* " Top Down", a 2007 song by Swizz Beatz
* "Top Down", a song by Lil Yachty from ''Lil Boat 3''
* "Top Down", a song by Fifth Harmony from ''Reflection'' Science
* Top-down reading, is a part of ...
style
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
(e.g.
''Ultima'') and a 3D space combat simulator (e.g.
''Elite''). Visiting starships, space stations, outposts, planets, and so on. The player is able to travel from one solar system to another using the ancient Malir Gates' wormhole, a form of 'Star Gate'. A
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 ...
of travelling through rings must be successfully completed before the player can reach his intended system; a failed minigame will cause an aborted interstellar travel.
During the 3D space flight part of the game, the game offers 3 points of view:
first person,
third-person, and cinematic.
There is also an arcade game called "Hive!" in the bars, that can be played by the player. The gameplay is a 2D top-down
shooter
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, Bow and arrow, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or Blowgun, blowpipe). Even the acts of launching Flamethrower, flame, artillery, Dart (missile), darts, ha ...
, with the player moving on foot, attacking the incoming Manchis. The ship in the arcade game resembled the Sunracer class ship featured in the manual that came with ''Space Rogue''. After completing five levels, the player can win money which can then be spent in the rest of ''Space Rogue''.
Reception
''
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 ...
'' called ''Space Rogue'' "an interesting blend of arcade action, role-playing interaction and economic strategy."
In the January 1990 edition of ''
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'', Patricia Hartley and Kirk Lesser called it "a refreshing science-fiction game with crisp graphics that give you the feeling of flying in space." They concluded by giving it a rating of 3.5 out of 5, saying that it was "an enjoyable adventure that offers a lot of action for a minimal investment."
''
Compute!
''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET c ...
'' stated that, "the best of flight simulation and role-playing come together in ''Space Rogue'' ... believably and with style."
''
Zzap64
''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact.
The magazine ...
'', Issue #58, 1990: "I thought ''
Elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
'' could never be beaten as the greatest ever space game, but after playing ''Space Rogue'' for hours on end I've changed my mind. This totally outclasses ''Elite'' and is the best Space Game for any machine!"
In the June 1990 edition of ''
Games International
''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 19 ...
'', Mike Siggins was very disappointed in this game, calling it "an almost exact lift of ''Elite''." He concluded by giving it a very poor rating of 2 out of 10, saying "Save your money and stick with the original."
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
''Space Rogue''at Hall of Light
at Atari Mania
''Space Rogue''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 ...
*
{{Origin Systems
1989 video games
Adventure games set in space
Amiga games
Apple II games
Atari ST games
Commodore 64 games
DOS games
FM Towns games
NEC PC-9801 games
Sharp X68000 games
Origin Systems games
Role-playing video games
Science fiction video games
Space trading and combat simulators
Video games developed in the United States