Llamatron

Last updated

Llamatron
Llamatron - title screen.jpg
MS-DOS title screen
Publisher(s) Llamasoft
Designer(s) Jeff Minter
Platform(s) Atari ST, Amiga, MS-DOS
Release1991: Amiga, Atari ST
1992: MS-DOS
Genre(s) Multidirectional shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Llamatron (stylized Llamatron: 2112 on the title screen) is a multidirectional shooter video game programmed by Jeff Minter of Llamasoft and released in 1991 for the Atari ST and Amiga and in 1992 for MS-DOS. Based on Robotron: 2084 , players of Llamatron control the eponymous creature in an attempt to stop an alien invasion of Earth and rescue animals—referred to as "Beasties"—for points. Players advance by destroying all of the enemies on each level using a laser that fires automatically in the direction that the Llamatron is moving. Various power-ups exist to aid the player in defeating the wide variety of enemies and obstacles they face along the way.

Contents

Released in the later years of the Atari ST and Amiga, Llamatron was distributed as shareware, containing the full game and a request to register the program for £5 if the user enjoyed the game. As of March 1992, at least 800 people had registered the game, making it unusually successful for shareware distributed without locked features or other purchase incentives. Reviews of both the Atari ST and Amiga versions praised its addictive gameplay, sound effects, and value for the registration price. Minter released a commercial remake of the game for iOS, Minotron: 2112 , in 2011.

Gameplay

Llamatron is a multidirectional shooter where the objective is to stop an invasion of Earth that is being launched by alien mutants known as the Zyaxxians. [1] The player's character—the eponymous Llamatron—is placed in the center of a black screen, with enemies—labelled in-game as "Grunts"—scattered across the playing area. Once the level begins, the enemies move towards the player and, if any of the enemies come into contact with the llama, the player loses a life. The player's goal is to destroy every enemy on the screen with the llama's laser, which fires automatically in the direction that the llama is facing. [2] Players can also use a second joystick to control the direction of fire or hold the firing button down to lock the firing direction regardless of movement. The keyboard can also be used instead of a joystick. [3] The game includes modes that allow a second player, or an indestructible computer-controlled "droid", to assist the Llamatron. [2]

The player gains points by destroying enemies and collecting llamas, sheep, goats, and camels—known collectively as "Beasties"—that are placed on the screen at the start of the level. Upon destroying all of the enemies on a screen, the player advances to the next level. [2] Some levels, known as "Herd Waves", also require the player to collect all of the "Beasties". "Grunts" take a variety of forms, including Coca-Cola cans, kitchen utensils, cherries, Space Invaders, Eyes of Providence, televisions, fire hydrants, Zippy the Pinhead, marijuana plants, and Rizla rolling papers. Blue brains chase after the "Beasties" and transform them into "Zombeasts", who then attempt to rush and kill the player. [2] [4] [5] [6] Other enemies include indestructible devices that shoot screen-wide lasers, 16-ton weights that attempt to crush the player, hedgehogs that explode into spikes when destroyed, Mandelbrot sets that shoot projectiles and scream when hit, and a large toilet that throws rolls of toilet paper at the player. [1] [5] [6] The game contains 100 levels, [1] in addition to a tutorial and a high-score table. [6]

The player can collect power-ups to assist them in their task, such as smart bombs that damage all of the enemies, extra lives, invincibility, and hearts that attract the "Beasties" to the player. There are also items that allow shots to bounce off of walls, split into three, and become "hot bullets", which deal extra damage. "Warps" add 50,000 points and immediately move the player ahead five levels. The "Floyd bonus" grants extra points and is shaped like the artwork from Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon album. [1] In two-player mode, each player shares the score and the power-ups, but both players lose a life if one player dies. [2]

Development and release

Amiga gameplay Llamatron.png
Amiga gameplay

Llamatron was developed and programmed by Jeff Minter of Llamasoft software. It was intended to be an updated version of the Williams Electronics title Robotron: 2084 [4] with expanded and refined features. [6] Llamatron was released in 1991, first for the Atari ST, and then for Amiga computers. [7] A version for MS-DOS came out in 1992. [8] The Atari ST and Amiga releases contain numerous sound effects, but no background music. [1] [6] The program was distributed as shareware, with the full game being available for free to try, but requesting that players register the game for £5 if they enjoyed it. At the time of its release for Amiga computers, people who registered would receive another game from Llamasoft, a poster, and a newsletter. [2] Its release was described as an "experiment", in that it neither required the player to buy the full game at a cost of £25, as was common for most commercially-distributed titles, [4] nor was it crippleware that disabled certain features until the game was registered. [5]

Reception

Llamatron received positive reviews upon its initial Amiga release. Amiga Computing featured Llamatron as the cover disk for its October 1991 issue, summarizing their positive review by saying "All in all, the most apt comment one can make about Llamatron is that Mr Minter makes exceedingly good shoot-'em-ups." [2] Amiga Format reviewed the game in their September 1991 issue, giving it a score of 89% and highlighting its "simple gameplay [that] is fast and massively addictive." [1] The review did mention several sound and graphical glitches, as well as occasional problems with collision detection, but overall recommended it as having "superb value". [1] Amiga Power , reviewing the game in August 1991, gave it four stars out five, criticizing the graphics as having a "slightly cluttered and unclear look", but praising it overall as "[a]n excellent game that deserves to be supported by anyone who's ever paid out £25 for crap and been cheesed off about it." [7] Zero Magazine recommended it as "a no-nonsense megablast" in its January 1992 issue. [3]

Llamatron also received positive reviews for the Atari ST version. Writing for ST News, Richard Karsmakers called the game "brilliant" for its "sheer playability, playing fun and other things that really count. I mean functional graphics that are fun to see, I mean good sonix that fit the game, and I mean oodles and oodles of gameplay." [6] Out of 10, Karsmakers gave Llamatron 7 for graphics, 8.5 for sound, 9 for hookability and playability, and 10 for value, with a concluding remark of "Wonderful! Unbelievable! Playable!". [6] A retroactive review of the Amiga ST version by The Inquirer in March 2007 said that Llamatron "without any question [...] is, was, and will always be a great game." [5] The A–Z of Atari ST Games by Kieren Hawken gave Llamatron 10/10, claiming that "[t]he graphics in Llamatron are great but the biggest props have to go the amazing [sic] digitised sounds [...] [i]t's rare that you will hear sound effects this good in an Atari ST game." [9] In 1996, GamesMaster ranked Llamatron 93rd in their "Top 100 Games of All Time." [10]

By March 1992, Minter had collected 800 registrations, which had earned him £4000. With registrations "still arriving" and the Amiga release "just out", he estimated that he would make £10,000, "not as much as a conventional release, but more than a budget game would generate." [11] His success was seen as unusual in the shareware market and due in large part to the fact that Amiga Computing featured Llamatron as its cover disk. Additionally, Minter was already popular due to Llamasoft's previous games. One critic of the concept, however, noted that "if you compare the response of a few hundred to the tens of thousands of people who have probably played the game, then it works out that quite a low percentage of people have actually sent him money." [11]

Legacy

In 2011, Minter and Llamasoft released a remake of Llamatron for the iPhone and iPad iOS called Minotron: 2112 . The game is similar in execution and presentation to Llamatron, although this time the player controls a Minotaur. [12] Andrew Bailey of The Register wrote that Minotron: 2112 "delivers an authentic 8-bit trip down memory lane" and "may feel like a unpolished blast from the past, but it is also, happily, just a blast." [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Minter</span> British video game designer

Jeff Minter is an English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 1981 with games for the ZX80. Minter's games are shoot 'em ups which contain titular or in-game references demonstrating his fondness of ruminants. Many of his programs also feature something of a psychedelic element, as in some of the earliest "light synthesizer" programs including Trip-a-Tron.

<i>Bombuzal</i> 1988 video game

Bombuzal is a puzzle video game designed by Antony Crowther and David Bishop for Image Works. The game was released in 1988 for the Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64. It was also released in 1989 for MS-DOS and Dec, 21 1990 in Japan for the Super Famicom, with the North American version released on August, 1992 renamed as Ka-Blooey.

<i>Robotron: 2084</i> 1982 video game

Robotron: 2084 is a multidirectional shooter developed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar of Vid Kidz and released in arcades by Williams Electronics in 1982. The game is set in the year 2084 in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans in a cybernetic revolt. The aim is to defeat endless waves of robots, rescue surviving humans, and earn as many points as possible.

<i>Revenge of the Mutant Camels</i> 1984 video game

Revenge of the Mutant Camels is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Jeff Minter for the Commodore 64 and published by Llamasoft in 1984. Enhanced versions for the Atari ST, Amiga, and IBM PC were released in 1992 as shareware.

<i>Tempest 2000</i> 1994 video game

Tempest 2000 is a tube shooter video game originally developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in North America on 13 April 1994. It was released in Europe on 27 June and in Japan on 15 December of the same year, with the Japanese release being published by Mumin Corporation. Part of Atari Corp.'s 2000 series, it is a remake by Jeff Minter of Dave Theurer's 1981 arcade game Tempest, which used Atari's QuadraScan vector color display technology.

<i>Tempest 3000</i> 2000 video game

Tempest 3000 is a tube shooter video game developed by Llamasoft for the Nuon. It was published by Hasbro Interactive in North America on December 13, 2000, and Europe on March 2001. It is a follow-up to Tempest 2000, an updated remake of Dave Theurer's arcade game Tempest (1981). The player controls a claw-shaped blaster, shooting at enemies and obstacles, scoring points, and surviving multiple levels. The game modifies and builds upon the gameplay from Tempest 2000, introducing new enemies and mechanics.

<i>Xenon 2: Megablast</i> 1989 shoot em up video game

Xenon 2: Megablast is a 1989 shoot 'em up video game developed by The Bitmap Brothers and published by Image Works for the Amiga and Atari ST. It was later converted to the Master System, PC-98, X68000, Mega Drive, Commodore CDTV, Game Boy, Acorn Archimedes and Atari Jaguar platforms. The game is a sequel to Xenon and takes place a millennium after the previous title. The goal of the game is to destroy a series of bombs planted throughout history by the Xenites, the vengeful antagonists of the first game.

Trip-a-Tron is a light synthesizer written by Jeff Minter and published through his Llamasoft company in 1988. It was originally written for the Atari ST and later ported to the Amiga in 1990 by Andy Fowler.

<i>Defender 2000</i> 1996 video game

Defender 2000 is a 1996 scrolling shooter video game developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar. Part of Atari's 2000 series of arcade game revivals, it is an update of Eugene Jarvis' arcade game Defender (1981). The premise takes place in a future where the Alpha Promixian empire attack mining settlements on distant resource planets. Gameplay is divided into three modes, with the player acting as part of the System Defense Team commanding the Threshold ship to defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting humans.

<i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game</i> 1989 video game

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game was published in 1989 by Lucasfilm Games, based on the film of the same name. The game was released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, IBM PC, MSX, Master System, NES, Game Boy, Sega Genesis and Game Gear.

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

Bomberman, also known as Dyna Blaster in Europe, is an action-maze video game originally developed and published by Hudson Soft for the PC Engine in Japan on 7 December 1990 and later in North America for the TurboGrafx-16 by NEC in 1991. Belonging to the Bomberman franchise, it is a re-imagining of the first game in the series starring White Bomberman on a quest to rescue Lisa, the kidnapped daughter of his inventor Dr. Mitsumori, from the castle of Black Bomberman while defeating evil monsters and villains that work for him. The game was later ported to home computers, each one featuring changes compared to the original version. Conversions for other platforms were in development but never released. The title garnered positive reception from critics since its initial release on the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 and later on home computers.

<i>Gridrunner</i> 1982 video game

Gridrunner is a fixed shooter video game written by Jeff Minter and published by Llamasoft for the VIC-20 in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Commodore PET and Dragon 32. Many remakes and sequels have followed, including versions for the Atari ST, Amiga, Pocket PC, Microsoft Windows, and iOS.

<i>Space Gun</i> (video game) 1990 first-person shooter arcade game

Space Gun is a 1990 first-person shooter arcade game released by Taito. The game is set aboard a crippled space station that has been overrun by hostile alien creatures. The objective is to rescue human crew members while destroying the alien creatures. The game lets the player shoot limbs off the creatures, resulting in blood splatters.

<i>Minotron: 2112</i> 2011 video game

Minotron: 2112 is a multidirectional shooter for iOS written by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft. It is a mobile remake of Llamatron for the Atari ST and Amiga, which itself is an updated version of the 1982 arcade game Robotron: 2084. It is the Minotaur Project game representing the Mattel Intellivision.

<i>Minotaur Rescue</i> 2011 mobile video game

Solar Minotaur Rescue Frenzy, shortened to Minotaur Rescue for the iOS App Store, is a multidirectional shooter for iOS developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and released in January 2011. It was Llamasoft's first iOS game. On the iPhone, the game supports up to two players at the same time. On an iPad, it supports up to four.

<i>GoatUp</i> 2011 video game

GoatUp is a platform game for iOS developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and published via the App Store in 2011. It is the first platform game from Llamasoft. According to Minter, the three main influences were Canyon Climber and Miner 2049er for the Atari 8-bit computers and a homebrew Atari 2600 game called Man Goes Down. It is the Minotaur Project game representing the ZX Spectrum.

<i>Caverns of Minos</i> 2012 video game

Caverns of Minos is a vertically-scrolling shooter for iOS developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and published via the App Store. It was announced on the Llamasoft blog on January 12, 2012. Its biggest influence is Caverns of Mars from 1981, but includes elements of Lunar Lander and Oids. It is the Minotaur Project game representing the Atari 8-bit computers.

<i>TxK</i> 2014 video game

TxK is an action video game developed by Llamasoft and designed by Jeff Minter. The game was released on the PlayStation Vita on February 11, 2014. The game was planned for release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Android platforms until Atari made legal threats against Llamasoft, citing similarities between TxK and Tempest 2000.

<i>Austerlitz</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Austerlitz is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Personal Software Services and published by Mirrorsoft. It was released in the United Kingdom and Germany for the Amiga, Atari ST and MS-DOS home computers in 1989. It was also re-released in France for Amiga home computers by Mirror Image in 1991. The game is set during the Battle of Austerlitz of the Napoleonic Wars and revolves around Napoleon's forces defending the Austrian village of Austerlitz from the invading army of Alexander I of Russia.

<i>Tempest 4000</i> 2018 video game

Tempest 4000 is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari, SA. It is a modern reimagining of the classic arcade game Tempest, which was released in 1981. In Tempest 4000, players control a spaceship and navigate through a series of increasingly challenging levels while fighting off waves of enemies. Tempest 4000 was released for Atari VCS, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Evans, Maff (September 1991). "Llamatron 2112". Amiga Format (26). Future plc: 66.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Llamas with lazers". Amiga Computing (41). Europress: 32–34. October 1991.
  3. 1 2 "Llamatron". Zero (27). Dennis Publishing: 8. January 1992.
  4. 1 2 3 "Llamatron". The Guardian . 11 July 1991. p. 31. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  5. 1 2 3 4 Demerjian, Charlie (5 March 2007). "The Jeff Minter library has emerged". The Inquirer . Incisive Media. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Karsmakers, Richard (18 August 1991). "Software Review: Llamatron by Llamasoft". ST News. 6 (2). Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Llamatron". Amiga Power (4). Future plc. August 1991.
  8. ↑ Goninon, Mark (8 July 2015). "Where are they now? – Jeff Minter". Choicest Games. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  9. ↑ Hawken, Kieren (6 June 2017). The A–Z of Atari ST Games. Vol. 1. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN   978-1785387012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "Top 100 Games of All Time" (PDF). GamesMaster (44). Summit Media: 74. July 1996. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  11. 1 2 Gerrard, Mike (26 March 1992). "Caring about sharing ware". The Guardian . p. 33. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  12. ↑ Patterson, Blake (11 February 2011). "A Preview of Jeff Minter's 'Minotron: 2112' – Llamatron Redux". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  13. ↑ Bailey, Andrew (20 April 2011). "Minotron: 2112 on iOS 4 – Blast from the past". The Register. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.