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''E-Motion'' (also known as ''Sphericule'' or ''The Game of Harmony'') is a 1990
puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. ...
developed by The Assembly Line. It was available for
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, 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 sign ...
,
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 S ...
, Atari ST, Commodore 64,
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 oper ...
,
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 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 the ''ZX81 Colou ...
, and
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same te ...
. The Spectrum and Game Boy versions were developed by
The Code Monkeys The Code Monkeys Limited was a British video game developer based in Dewsbury, England and founded in February 1988 by Colin Hogg, Mark Kirkby and Elliot Gay. It was known for porting video games to various platforms. In February 2011, share ...
.The Game of Harmony for Game Boy – MobyGames
/ref>


Gameplay

The player controls a round
spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to spaceflight, fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth ...
, and must work to clear all globes from the screen within a time limit. The playing field wraps around at the edges, so a globe or the ship traveling off the left edge (for example) will re-appear on the right. Globes come in three different colors, and those of the same
color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...
will disappear when they collide, whereas differing-colored globes will produce small pods, of the third color. Pods can be collected for more energy, but if they are not picked up quickly, they will turn into globes. There are 50 levels of increasing difficulty. On some levels,
elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, elastic used in garments or stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alternative name * Rubber band, ring-shaped band of rubber used to hold objects togethe ...
bands connect certain globes, or even attach the player's ship to one or more globes. Destroying a globe will remove any elastic band attached to it. In other areas, barriers block the movement of the player and the globes. On difficulty settings above "easy", the globes are somewhat volatile. If they are not cleared within a certain time of their appearance, they will explode and damage the player's ship. If the ship loses enough energy, it is destroyed. There are two kinds of bonus levels, both containing only pods, not full-sized spheres. One bonus level has yellow and blue pods, both of which can be collected, but only blue pods earn points. Collecting a blue pod causes a yellow pod to turn blue. Another bonus level has blue and red pods. Collecting a blue pod earns points, while collecting a red pod ends the bonus level immediately. There are also hidden bonuses available during the game; for example, completing a level by not rotating right earns extra bonus points. The player's spaceship is operated by polar control, as in ''
Spacewar! ''Spacewar!'' is a space combat video game developed in 1962 by Steve Russell in collaboration with Martin Graetz, Wayne Wiitanen, Bob Saunders, Steve Piner, and others. It was written for the newly installed DEC PDP-1 minicomputer at the Mas ...
'' or ''
Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
'': moving the
joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...
left or right rotates the ship, and pressing the Fire button makes it thrust in whatever direction it is facing. The game's distinguishing feature is its realistic model of
kinetics Kinetics ( grc, κίνησις, , kinesis, ''movement'' or ''to move'') may refer to: Science and medicine * Kinetics (physics), the study of motion and its causes ** Rigid body kinetics, the study of the motion of rigid bodies * Chemical k ...
. Objects colliding with each other change their speed and direction in a realistic manner, and the elastic bands affect movement in a realistic fashion as well. The "E" in ''E-Motion'' stands for
Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
, and he appears in cover art and advertisements. There is a sequel, '' Vaxine'', a more complex 3D
shooting game Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...
which featured a similar ray traced graphical style to ''E-Motion''. The game was ranked the 30th best game of all time by '' Amiga Power'' in 1991.Amiga Power magazine issue 0,
Future Publishing Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...
, May 1991


Screenshots

Image:Game of Harmony screenshot.png , MS-DOS version Image:E-Motion title screen.gif , ZX Spectrum title screen Image:E-Motion screenshot.gif , Use of shapes instead of colours on the ZX Spectrum avoid color clash


References


External links

*
''E-Motion''
at Amiga Hall of Light

at Atari Mania * {{lemon64 game, id=827, name=E-Motion 1990 video games Accolade (company) games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Game Boy games DOS games ZX Spectrum games Puzzle video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom