| Oo-Topos | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developer(s) | Polarware Dynamix (MS-DOS) |
| Publisher(s) | Polarware |
| Writer(s) | Michael Berlyn, Muffy McClung Berlyn |
| Lead Artist(s) | Raimund Redlich, Brian Poff |
| Platform(s) | Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amiga |
| Release(s) | April 1986: Apple II May 1986: Commodore 64 August 1986: Atari ST, MS-DOS December 1986: Amiga |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Oo-Topos is a remake of the original title from 1981 by Sentient Software. The remake is an adventure game developed and published by Polarware (Penguin Software) in April 1986 for the Apple II. The game was then ported onto other machines throughout the year. The Commodore 64 version came out in May, the Atari ST and MS-DOS versions were released in August, and the Amiga version came out in December. Dynamix handled the MS-DOS port. The game offers graphics to illustrate the proceedings from the originals all text version. It also has reduced the number of rooms and altered the solution to the game, effectively giving the player a new adventure to solve.
Many years later, Penguin Software released Oo-Topos (with several other games) as freeware.[1] An enthusiast has since reconstructed a source code variant of the game's engine to port it to modern platforms.
Description
While transporting a load of important cargo to the home planet of Earth, hostile aliens cause the space vessel to crash land on the planet of Oo-Topos and take the pilot captive. Taking the role of the pilot, the goal is to bust out of prison, reclaim the ship's cargo, and perform the impromptu ships repairs necessary to get off the alien planet in order to ensure the survival of the human race.
Gameplay
The player must type commands on the keyboard in order to play. Commonly used in commands include verbs such as "Go, Get, Put, Shoot, Use", and nouns such as "laser, food, rod". To navigate the game's locations and chambers, the directions for "North, South, East, West" (abbreviations for "N, E, W, S" also works) are used. Whenever the player enters a new room, text provides full descriptions of the area and important details that may be helpful.
In the 1986 re-release, the graphics were drawn-in to overlay the text. Objects that appear on screen can be manipulated or moved if actions are allowed to be performed such as retrieved, inserted, and dropped. After commands are executed, some real-time actions are drawn-in such as a bright light flash from a laser gun or wearing goggles to "darken" a room.
Credits
- Story: Michael Berlyn, Muffy McClung Berlyn
- Illustration: Raimund Redlich, Brian Poff
- Project Management at Polarware/Penguin Software: Ron Schmitt, Mark Pelczarski
- COMPREHEND Writing: Mark Pelczarski, Jeffrey Allan Jay
- The Graphics Magician Writing: Mark Pelczarski
- Conversions of COMPREHEND and The Graphics Magician: Robert Hardy, Peter Schmitt, Eagle Berns
- MS-DOS Port: Dynamix
External Links
- Moby Games, Oo-Topos - Moby Games entree on Oo-Topos.
- Museum of Computer Adventure Game History, Oo-Topos (Apple II)
- The Log Book, Oo-Topos (Apple II)
- Github, Recomprehend - Open source implementation of the Comprehend adventure game engine used by the games Transylvania, The Crimson Crown, and Oo-Topos.