''Supaplex'' is a

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 ...

created by Philip Jespersen and Michael Stopp, two Swiss students, and published by Digital Integration in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. It is an extended clone of ''

Boulder Dash ''Boulder Dash'' is a 2D maze-puzzle video game released in 1984 by First Star Software for Atari 8-bit computers. It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who collects treasures while ...

''.

History

Aiming to develop a version of ''Boulder Dash'' that could fit onto a

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...

, the

designers A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

had a hard time developing better graphics under said constraint. The original

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 ...

Supaplex version had to fit on a standard 880 kB

and needed to run on a standard 512 kB Amiga like the original A500 or A2000. In fact, the Amiga version could not be copied onto the hard drive due to copy protection and its custom disk format. The game was released for

and

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

. (Two people from the London area started developing a full version for the

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 ...

, but it was never released, because of the limited graphical support.) Unofficial ports have been made to other platforms, such as the

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 ...

. Due to hardware-dependent programming, the PC version of Supaplex ran twice as fast as PCs became faster. Herman Perk disassembled the game, debugged it and re-assembled it again. The result became known as ''SpeedFix''. Extra features have also been added without changing the game itself. The developers of the game have declared the software to be

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...

. Level editors and a

Win32 The Windows API, informally WinAPI, is Microsoft's core set of application programming interfaces (APIs) available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. The name Windows API collectively refers to several different platform implementations th ...

clone called "Megaplex" were created.

Gameplay

The game comes with 111

levels Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

, though many unofficial level sets have been released that greatly increase that number. Although the levels must be played in order, the game allows up to three levels to be skipped at any given time. Also, it was very easy to skip additional levels by editing the file that contained the list of levels successfully completed. The game is very challenging, but unlike many ''Boulder Dash''-related games, the difficulty comes from solving the puzzles in each level rather than from semi-responsive controls. Furthermore, Supaplex does not use time limits for solving the puzzles, unlike ''Boulder Dash''. Most objects are identical in behaviour to those in the original ''Boulder Dash'', simply redrawn with a computer hardware theme. ''Murphy'' replaces Rockford, who collects objects called ''Infotrons'', which are reminiscent of schematic representations of atoms, instead of

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

. Instead of dirt, the levels are filled with

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in Electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a L ...

simply called ''base'' in the game's manual, and not lined with brick walls, but with

computer chips An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny M ...

and other hardware, and filled with ''Zonks'' instead of

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

. The enemies are moving

scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutti ...

, called ''Snik Snaks'', and ''electrons'', which resemble sparkling stars. ''Supaplex'' introduces a number of new elements that were not present in ''Boulder Dash'', including ''bugs'', pieces of ''base'' that randomly cause life-threatening

electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an short circuit, electrical short or dielectric breakdown. A buildup of static electricity can be caused ...

s, ''Ports'', which limit Murphy's movement to specific directions, and '' terminals'', which set off yellow ''Utility Disks''. ''Utility Disks'' are

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

floppy disks and come in three different colors: ''Orange Disks'' work like Zonks, but explode when hit or when falling. ''Yellow Disks'' do not fall, yet may be pushed in any direction, but not pulled (which allows creating

Sokoban is a puzzle video game in which the player pushes boxes around in a warehouse, trying to get them to storage locations. The game was designed in 1981 by Hiroyuki Imabayashi, and first published in December 1982. Gameplay The game is played on a ...

-like puzzles), and explode when the ''Terminal'' is used. ''Red Disks'' can be carried and dropped when convenient, exploding seconds after. ''Supaplex'' is the first ''Boulder Dash''-like game that is not fully grid-based: while the playing field is an obvious grid, the objects do not "snap" from one grid position to another, but can be halfway or "in between" grid positions while moving or falling. This behavior has led to a number of well-known bugs that can be turned to the player's advantage, many of which need to be exploited to complete fan-made levels. For instance, by turning around quickly, the player can cause an enemy or rock to "bounce" off Murphy. The game also applies "gravity" on some levels, which means that Murphy will fall down empty spaces and will be unable to go back up, unless he climbs up by using bases. Gravity is not indicated visually the player can only notice by trial and error.

Reception

''Supaplex'' received mostly favorable reviews. Comparing it to ''Boulder Dash'' and ''

Emerald Mine ''Emerald Mine'' is a 1987 puzzle video game developed and published for Amiga and Atari ST by Kingsoft. The series follows mines filled with various gems, such as emeralds. It is a ''Boulder Dash'' clone in which the player completes levels b ...

'', ''

CU Amiga ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

'' lauded the variety of the puzzles and the longevity of the gameplay, only lamenting the lack of a multiplayer mode and the need to restart difficult levels if the player makes a mistake. ''

Amiga Action ''Amiga Action'' was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Europress (later IDG Media) and ran for 89 full issues, from October 1989 to December 1996. After its closure, it was merged into sister pu ...

'' thought that it improved considerably on the game inspiring it, but expressed dissatisfaction with its graphics, and also felt that it was priced high since several

public-domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

''Boulder Dash'' clones already existed. ''

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation Positional notation (or place-value notation, or positional numeral system) usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system (or ...

'' praised the puzzle-oriented gameplay as addictive, with minor criticism directed at its stagnant graphics. ''

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future plc. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ''ACE'' to EMAP, Future split the dual-format t ...

'' also found the game to be addictive, but was more forgiving of the graphics, calling them "simplistic but effective". ''

Amiga Computing ''Amiga Computing'' was a monthly computer magazine of a serious nature, published by Europress and IDG in both the UK and USA. A total of 117 issues came out. The games section was called Gamer, although later ''Amiga Action'' was incorporated i ...

'' considered ''Supaplex'' to be an average game. It described its gameplay as dated with new features "to give it some welly", criticised its presentation for not providing context as to what the game is about, and felt that it should have been released as a budget title. In its negative review, ''

Amiga Power ''Amiga Power'' (''AP'') was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future plc, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996. Philosophy ''Amiga Power'' had several principles which com ...

'' criticised the length and difficulty of the levels and the game's overall presentation, writing that there are superior ''Boulder Dash'' clones released to the public domain.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite magazine, url=https://archive.org/details/amiga-action-1991-11/page/n103, title=Review: Supaplex, magazine=

, date=November 1991, access-date=2022-07-24, issue=26, pages=102–103 {{cite magazine, url=https://archive.org/details/AmigaComputingIssue043Dec91/page/n104, title=Review: Supaplex, last=Whitehead, first=Daniel, magazine=

, date=December 1991, access-date=2022-07-24, issue=43, pages=105 {{cite magazine, url=https://archive.org/details/AmigaFormatMagazine_201902/Amiga_Format_Issue_030_1992_01_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n113, title=Screenplay – Supaplex, last=Hutchinson, first=Andy, magazine=

, date=January 1992, access-date=2022-07-24, issue=30, page=114 {{cite magazine, url=http://amr.abime.net/review_390, title=Review: Supaplex, last=Campbell, first=Stuart, author-link=Stuart Campbell (game journalist), magazine=

, date=January 1992, access-date=2022-07-24, issue=9, page=92 {{cite magazine, url=https://archive.org/details/CUAmigaIssue021Nov91/page/n63, title=Screen Scene – Supaplex, last=Slingsby, first=Dan, magazine=

, date=November 1991, access-date=2022-07-24, issue=21, page=64 {{cite magazine, url=https://archive.org/details/Zero_Issue_25_1991-11_Dennis_Publishing_GB/page/n70, title=Review: Supaplex, last=Caudell, first=Ben, magazine=

, date=November 1991, access-date=2022-07-24, issue=25, page=71

External links

''Supaplex'' homepage

''The Children of Supaplex''
1991 video games Amiga games Digital Integration games DOS games Puzzle video games Rocks-and-diamonds games Single-player video games Tile-based video games Video games developed in Switzerland Video games scored by David Whittaker

History

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References

External links