Felix and the Fruit Monsters

Last updated
Felix-fruit-electron.jpg
Publisher(s) Micro Power
Programmer(s) John Chaytor [1]
Platform(s) Acorn Electron, BBC Micro
Release 1983
Genre(s) Maze
Mode(s) Single-player

Felix and the Fruit Monsters is a video game written by John Chaytor and released by Micro Power for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1983. A sequel to platformer Felix in the Factory , it is a maze game resembling Pac-Man , but with different gameplay.

Contents

Gameplay

BBC Micro version. The monster in the top corner has gone through one mutation Felix-fruit-bbc.png
BBC Micro version. The monster in the top corner has gone through one mutation

While using the same character as Felix in the Factory, the gameplay bears no relation to that platform game, instead taking the form of a maze game. The game is set out like a typical Pac-Man clone but plays very differently. The maze design is very similar with the four monsters emerging from a central cave and four power cells in the corners but there are no dots in the maze. There are pieces of fruit that float freely around the maze (except for the first level on the BBC Micro version where the fruit is static). The object of the game is to stop the monsters eating all of the fruit until the timer (shown as a bar at the top of the screen) runs out.

As well as moving around the maze, the player can pick up and drop fruit (to move it away from the monsters), drop pools of ether that stop the monsters for a short time (only two pools are allowed on screen at a time) and trigger a magnetic pad that sends all of the monsters back to their cave (which can only be done 3 times per game). Dropping pools, monsters being held in the pools and triggering the pad reduce Felix's energy bar (shown under the monsters' cave). Energy can be replenished by eating one of the power cells.

If a monster runs into a piece of fruit, it pauses while it absorbs the fruit then mutates into a more dangerous monster. If Felix runs into a monster or his energy is fully depleted, a life is lost. If the last piece of fruit is eaten by a monster, it is game over. If there is still fruit left when the timer runs out, the level is complete and a new level begins with increased difficulty as there is more fruit to protect and some of the monsters are already mutated.

The score increases gradually as the time runs down and much more quickly if a monster is being held in a pool. Points are also awarded for picking up a power cell and, on completing a level, a bonus is awarded for the fruit remaining and the amount of energy remaining. An extra life is awarded at 10,000 points. [2]

Release

The game was released for the BBC Micro as a follow-up to the platform game Felix in the Factory in 1983. It was also ported to the Acorn Electron as one of Micro Power's launch titles for that machine (along with the first Felix game), also in 1983. Unlike the original game, it was not released on floppy disk for the BBC (as a stand-alone release) or converted to any other systems.

Reception

The game was not as well received as the first Felix game with complaints including the odd choice of keys, [3] such as using the down cursor key to move right (although this layout was also used in the first game), and the difficulty of actually keeping the fruit from the monsters, who move quickly around the maze. [4] [5] Dave E of the Electron User Group praised the sprites, as used in the first game, but claimed the game "lacks any 'oomph'". [3]

Legacy

The game was later included on the Micro Power Magic 2 compilation (BBC and Electron) and the PRES Games Disc 2 (Electron).

A third Felix game was released in 1984, Felix Meets the Evil Weevils, but this reverts to being a factory-set platform game, not continuing any themes from this game.

Related Research Articles

Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and utility packages – these included word processor VIEW and the spreadsheet ViewSheet supplied on ROM and cartridge for the BBC Micro/Acorn Electron and included as standard in the BBC Master and Acorn Business Computer.

<i>Exile</i> (1988 video game) Single-player action-adventure video game first published in 1988

Exile is a single-player action-adventure video game originally published for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988 by Superior Software and later ported to the Commodore 64, Amiga, CD32 and Atari ST, all published by Audiogenic. The game was designed and programmed by Peter Irvin and Jeremy Smith. It is often cited as one of the earliest examples of a Metroidvania game and featured "realistic gravity, inertia and object mass years before players understood the concept of a physics engine... an astounding level of AI, stealth-based gameplay, a logical ecosystem governing the world's creatures and a teleportation mechanic that feels startlingly like a predecessor to Portal".

<i>Repton</i> (video game) Video game series

Repton is a video game originally developed by 16-year-old Briton Tim Tyler for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron and released by Superior Software in 1985. The game spawned a series of follow up games which were released throughout the 1980s. The series sold around 125,000 copies between 1985 and 1990 with Repton 2 selling 35,000 itself. The games have since been remade for several modern systems, including iRepton for the iPhone / iPod Touch in 2010, and Android Repton 1, Android Repton 2 and Android Repton 3 from 2016 to 2018.

<i>Citadel</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Citadel is a computer game developed by Michael Jakobsen for the BBC Micro, and released by Superior Software in 1985. It was also ported to the Acorn Electron. Centred around a castle, this platform game with some puzzle-solving elements requires players to find five hidden crystals and return them to their rightful place. It also features some outside areas external to the castle.

<i>Frak!</i> 1984 video game

Frak! is a scrolling platform video game programmed by Nick Pelling for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron and published by his own Aardvark Software in 1984. It was ported to the Commodore 64 the following year by "The B Team". The BBC and Electron versions were included on the Superior Software compilation Play It Again Sam 4 in 1987 and re-issued in budget form by Alternative Software in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micro Power</span>

Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s by former accountant Bob Simpson. The company was best known as a video game publisher, originally under the name Program Power. It also sold many types of computer hardware and software through its Leeds 'showroom' or via mail order.

<i>Pengi</i> 1984 video game

Pengi is a game for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro, released by Visions Software in 1984. It is a direct clone of the 1982 Sega arcade game Pengo, even down to calling the enemies "snow bees," as in the original.

<i>Firetrack</i> 1987 video game

Firetrack is a vertically-scrolling shooter programmed by Nick Pelling and released for the BBC Micro and Commodore 64 platforms in 1987 by Electric Dreams Software. It was also ported to the Acorn Electron by Superior Software in 1989 as part of the Play It Again Sam 7 compilation. It resembles the 1984 arcade game Star Force in style and gameplay. The game was technically advanced and very well received by critics.

<i>Snapper</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Snapper is a clone of the Namco arcade game Pac-Man programmed by Jonathan Griffiths for the BBC Micro and released as one of the launch titles for Acornsoft in 1982. It was also one of Acornsoft's launch titles for the Acorn Electron in 1983.

<i>Felix in the Factory</i> 1982 video game

Felix in the Factory is a platform game written by John Chaytor for the BBC Micro and published by Micro Power in 1982. Versions were released for the Acorn Electron (1983), Commodore 64 (1984), and Memotech MTX (1984). It is the first in a trilogy of Micro Power games featuring the factory worker Felix and was followed by Felix and the Fruit Monsters and another factory-based platformer, Felix meets the Evil Weevils.

<i>Elixir</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Elixir is a video game for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro released in 1987 by Superior Software. It is a platform game in which the player takes the role of a shrunken scientist.

<i>Business Games</i> 1983 video game

Business Games is a collection of two business simulation games for the BBC Micro published in 1983 by Acornsoft. An Acorn Electron version followed in 1984. The included games are Stokmark and Telemark.

<i>Ghouls</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Ghouls is a platform game written by David Hoskins and published in the UK by Micro Power. It was released on the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1984.

<i>Stock Car</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Stock Car is an overhead-view racing video game written by A. W. Halse and published in the UK by Micro Power. It was released in 1984 for the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, and Commodore 64 computers. Although the cassette inlay gives the release date as 1984, some sources state the release date as 1983, and the game is also known as Stock Car Racer.

<i>Deathstar</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Deathstar is multidirectional shooter for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro developed by Peter Johnson and originally published in the UK by Superior Software in 1985. It is a clone of the arcade game Sinistar.

<i>Diamond Mine</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Diamond Mine is a maze video game first published by MRM Software for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro home computers in 1984. Diamond Mine was reissued by Blue Ribbon in 1985 and ported to other systems in 1985 and 1986. Blue Ribbon released a sequel, Diamond Mine II, at the same time. Both games are similar to the 1983 game Oil's Well, which itself is a re-themed version of the 1982 Anteater arcade video game.

<i>Jet-Boot Jack</i> 1983 video game

Jet-Boot Jack is a platform game written by Jon Williams for Atari 8-bit computers and published by English Software in 1983. It was ported to the Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, and Commodore 64. A C64-only sequel, Legend of the Knucker-Hole, was released in 1984.

<i>Perplexity</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Perplexity is a video game created by Ian Collinson for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro and published by Superior Software in 1990. It is a pseudo 3D maze game with Sokoban-style puzzles.

References

  1. Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. Original instructions reproduced at 8bs.com (retrieved 2011-11-09)
  3. 1 2 Micro Power Magic 2 Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine review, Dave E, EUG #58, Electron User Group
  4. PRES Games Disc 2 Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine review, Dave E, EUG #47, Electron User Group
  5. Micro Power at BBC Games Archive