''Inca'' 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 ...

developed by

Coktel Vision Coktel Vision (also known as Coktel and Coktel Studio) was a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris. It was best known for its educational and adventure games. History Coktel Vision was founded in 1984 by Roland Oskian, ...

and published by

Sierra On-Line Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genr ...

in 1992. The game describes the conflict between

Incas The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

and

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both i ...

s in a

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

, space opera setting. A sequel, '' Inca II: Wiracocha'', was released in 1994.

Gameplay

''Inca'' combines several genres including

space combat simulator A space flight simulation is a genre of flight simulator video games that lets players experience space flight to varying degrees of realism. Common mechanics include space exploration, space trade and space combat. Overview Some games in th ...

and adventure game. Some levels are purely shooting, some have maze exploration, or include inventory-based puzzles or riddles. Game progress is marked with numerical passcodes that are given after specific points of the game (12 in the disk version, 16 in the CD), allowing the player to resume playing from that chapter.

Plot

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (with many alternative transliterations; 1464/1468–1524) was the third Sapan Inka of the Inca Empire, born in Tumipampa sixth of the Hanan dynasty, and eleventh of the Inca civilization. Subjects commonly approached Sapa Inkas add ...

, the last grand Inca, after 500 years of his death, prepares a warrior called El Dorado to gather three gems of

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

and

Matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic part ...

, and fight Aguirre, the Spanish leader. The action begins in an asteroid space station called

Paititi Paititi is a legendary Inca lost city or utopian rich land. It allegedly lies east of the Andes, hidden somewhere within the remote rainforests of southeast Peru, northern Bolivia or northwest Brazil. The Paititi legend in Peru revolves around the s ...

(its surface is marked with lines similar to the

Nazca lines The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BCE and 500 CE by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and l ...

) from which El Dorado hurls to space flying a

Tumi Tumi ( ''Quechua'' for 'Knife', ''variants'': 'Tome', 'Tume'), is a generic term encompassing the many kinds of sharp tools utilized in pre- and post-colonial eras of the Central Andes region, Tumis were employed for a diverse set of purposes s ...

-shaped spaceship. The quest brings him dodging asteroids, dogfighting with Spanish spaceships, fighting his way through mazes and performing puzzles (rituals) to summon the

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...

of Pachacutec the Renovator for hints. The directions lead him to the statues of the "Founders of

Huaca In the Quechuan languages of South America, a huaca or wak'a is an object that represents something revered, typically a monument of some kind. The term ''huaca'' can refer to natural locations, such as immense rocks. Some huacas have been ass ...

Mama Ocllo In Inca mythology, Mama Ocllo, or more precisely Mama Uqllu, was deified as a mother and fertility goddess. In one legend she was a daughter of Inti and Mama Killa, and in another the daughter of Viracocha (Wiraqucha) and Mama Qucha. In all of ...

and

Manco Cápac Manco Cápac ( Quechua: ''Manqu Qhapaq'', "the royal founder"), also known as Manco Inca and Ayar Manco was, according to some historians, the first governor and founder of the Inca civilization in Cusco, possibly in the early 13th century.Presc ...

, who give him the Jewel of Time. On his way back, he is captured on board the Spanish

mothership A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...

(actually a

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...

flying in space) trying to escape. Afterwards he rids Paracas (a moon marked by a shape similar to the

Paracas Candelabra The Paracas Candelabra, also called the Candelabra of the Andes, is a well-known prehistoric geoglyph found on the northern face of the Paracas Peninsula at Pisco Bay in Peru. Pottery found nearby has been radio carbon dated to 200 BCE, the ...

) from Spanish ships and he meets the Aclla who acknowledges him as the new Sapa Inca and gives him the Jewel of Matter. The Jewel of Energy is guarded by

Mayans The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical reg ...

on a planet. After wandering in a maze and passing through puzzles, El Dorado reaches the " Intihuatana of Machu Picchu", where he claims the final jewel. Afterwards he uses them in combination to solve the final puzzle and is awarded the sacred tumi, sign of his anointment as son of the sun. In the final stage El Dorado finds himself again in Aguirre's galleon, where the two duel against each other.

Release

Originally released in diskettes, the game was also released as ''Inca Multimedia CD''. The remake provides some longer or additional

cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward th ...

s and an updated

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

(as well as full voiceover soundtrack) in

Audio CD Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the ''Red Book'', one of a series of Rainbow Books (named ...

format, read directly from the disc; the introduction features the song "Inca People" by J.M. Marrier composed for the game. The game in the CD version is divided in 16 chapters instead of 12, allowing the player to resume to more specific checkpoints. The Mayan level has an additional area with more puzzles.

Reception

'' Computer Gaming World'' stated in September 1993 that despite excellent audio and good graphics "the game failed to achieve its full potential", with abrupt arcade sequences interrupting the story; "As a result, ''Inca'' comes across as a loosely strung together series of action sequences, mazes and puzzles", which would "not strongly appeal to either action gamers or adventurers". The magazine advised purchasing another Sierra game and the ''Inca'' soundtrack on CD. In April 1994 the magazine said that the game had "puzzles of modest difficulty and joystick bustin' action sequences", "but the plot and, to a lesser degree, the interface left much to be desired". Reviewing the CD-i version, '' GamePro'' praised the "outstanding, imaginative story line that spans time and space" and the "cool, magical music punctuated by South American flute tunes", but commented that the poor controls and frequent load times slow the game to a crawl. '' Next Generation'' gave the CD-i version of the game one star out of five, criticizing the CD-ROM's loading times and voice acting.

Legacy

A sequel was released the next year, under the name '' Inca II: Wiracocha'', in which the player controls El Dorado and Aclla's son, Atahualpa.

References

External links

* {{Sierra Adventure Games, Other series 1992 video games CD-i games DOS games Sierra Entertainment games Coktel Vision games Video games developed in France Video games set in the 25th century Video games set in South America Space combat simulators Adventure games set in space Shooter games