Moonlight Madness (video game)

Last updated
Moonlight Madness
MoonlightMadnessSpectrumCover.jpg
Developer(s) John F. Cain
Publisher(s) Bubble Bus Software
Platform(s) ZX Spectrum
Release1986
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Moonlight Madness is a platform game for the ZX Spectrum home computer, published in 1986 by Bubble Bus Software. The player controls a boy scout attempting to unlock a safe within a mansion to obtain pills for the mansion's owner, a mad scientist, who has collapsed. This requires the player to traverse the mansion's rooms while avoiding hazards such as dangerous house servants and fatal falls.

Contents

The game was developed by John F. Cain, who had previously created Booty , a popular budget game. Moonlight Madness was criticized for its price on release, £7.95 in the UK, as well its technical issues. The game's graphics, gameplay and sound were negatively rated by critics, though some reviewers were more positive over these different aspects of the game.

Gameplay

Players must guide a boy scout through a 23-room mansion in order to obtain 16 keys and a 4 digit combination before running out of lives. The keys unlock the ACME safe containing the pills needed to save the mansion owner's life. It is necessary to jump onto platforms and evade enemies in order to progress. [1] At the start of the game the player has four lives; a life is lost should the boy scout fall too far or come into contact with one of the mansion's servants or traps. Rooms contain doors that can be entered to move around the mansion, as well as push buttons and hazards. Pressing buttons can result in lifts being activated, platforms appearing or an enemy appearing. [2] [3] One of the mansion's rooms is a corridor of eight doors with a large pair of eyes above them; this room acts as a maze. [4] A tune is played continuously during play, [3] but can be toggled on or off by pressing the 'M' key on the keyboard. [4]

Plot

The player character, a boy scout, has approached a mansion looking for work during Bob a Job week [ broken anchor ]. The door is answered by an old man wearing horn-rimmed glasses—the owner of the mansion. The man, a mad scientist, expresses surprise that the boy has managed to get past the guards and booby traps in the mansion's grounds. [4] As the boy scout explains the reason for his visit, the scientist collapses, asking for his pills. At this point the game begins. The player must gather the 16 keys needed to unlock the ACME safe and retrieve the scientist's pills before he passes away. During play the boy scout must negotiate the mansion's rooms, avoiding hazards and the mansion's staff, who have been told to protect the inventions within the mansion, using lethal force if necessary. The staff are unaware of the boy scout's purpose and will attack him should they come into contact. [3]

Development and release

The game was created by John F. Cain, who had previously developed the successful budget game Booty for Firebird Software. [5] By this point Cain had also developed several titles for Rabbit Software, such as Potty Painter . [6] Moonlight Madness was published by Bubble Bus in the United Kingdom and Spain in 1986; [7] the original price was £7.95 in the United Kingdom. [4] Moonlight Madness was re-released on budget software labels; Blue Ribbon Software in the United Kingdom, Zafi Chip and Z Cobra in Spain. Blue Ribbon Software was a label belonging to CDS Microsystems, both of the Spanish budget labels belonged to Zafiro Software Division. The game was published on the covertape of the February 1991 issue of Your Sinclair magazine. The covertape also featured Marsport , Ninja Hamster and Wizard's Lair . [8]

Reception

Moonlight Madness received negative and mediocre ratings from reviewers, who either criticized the game overall or different aspects of it. Direct comparisons with Booty feature in many reviews. The game's price was in particular a common complaint among reviewers, who stated that it should have been a budget-priced title. [3] One reviewer stated that it would have been better received as a budget title, [5] another stated "Like Booty, Moonlight Madness would be all right at budget price". [4] Your Sinclair's reviewer began their piece by stating "Hmmm, don't like the title Moonlight Madness much, howzabout Daylight Robbery. Catchy, ain't it?" [9] Computer Gamer 's reviewer stated "Had it been released on a budget label, Moonlight Madness would have been fair value for money. As it is, it is grossly overpriced." [2]

The boy scout (bottom left) makes his way through the maze corridor Moonlight Madness video game screenshot, corridor of eyes.jpg
The boy scout (bottom left) makes his way through the maze corridor

Reviewers highlighted technical issues in the game. The eight door maze room was thought to be a bug, a software error, by two people at ZX Computing magazine. Because the game contains no reset feature they reloaded the game from cassette in order to continue playing. [4] The player character's movements were criticised for being jerky and prone to stopping at infrequent intervals. [9] One of Crash magazine's staff stated that the boy scout's movement to the left was quick; "as if there's a force ten gale blowing to the left." They added "When any attempt is made to move right, all the moving characters on the screen slow right down." [3] In-game objects are removed from view when either the player character or one of the mansion staff move in front of them. [9] When the player redefines the game's keyboard controls, allowing them to choose which keys move the boy scout during play, the pause key and music toggle key are not included. As a result it is possible to double-up movement controls with these two functions, effectively causing the game to pause and unpause or for the music to toggle constantly as the player moves in that direction. [4]

Reviewers' opinions on the graphics and gameplay were largely negative, while opinions on the title's music varied. The background music was described as "...the only thing that is remotely interesting about this appallingly tedious game..." by Popular Computing Weekly 's reviewer. [1] He followed this by stating "At first it sounds all right, if a little monotonous, then it begins to grate the nerves. After a while it begins to take on all the appeal of the Chinese water torture." [1] Crash magazine's three reviewers were more positive about the music, stating "The sound is fairly well done...", [3] "The title screen plays a nice tune..." and "...the game's drawing point is the sound..." [3] The game's graphics were described as "fairly crude", [5] "unattractive" and "...none too exciting, consisting of colourful but flickery characters." [3] One reviewer stated "The graphics are large and colourful but there is a lot of character clash..." [3] Overall impressions of Moonlight Madness were negative. Crash magazine's reviewers compared the game unfavourably to Booty. One expressed disappointment because of Bubble Bus' history of releasing "great arcade/adventures". [3] Your Sinclair's reviewer stated "Maybe Bubble Bus had a touch of Moonlight Madness when it picked this one for its new release." [9] The reviewer from ZX Computing stated "Keeping to the boy scout theme, be prepared before you buy this one." [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jet Set Willy</i> 1984 platform video game

Jet Set Willy is a platform video game originally written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time.

<i>Sabre Wulf</i> 1984 video game

Sabre Wulf is an action-adventure game released by British video game developer Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum home computer in 1984. The player navigates the pith-helmeted Sabreman through a 2D jungle maze while collecting amulet pieces to bypass the guardian at its exit. The player does not receive explicit guidance on how to play and is left to decipher the game's objectives through trial and error. Sabreman moves between the maze's 256 connected screens by touching the border where one screen ends and another begins. Each screen is filled with colourful flora, enemies that spawn at random, and occasional collectibles.

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

Cauldron is a video game developed and published by British developer Palace Software in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC home computers. It contains both platform game and horizontally scrolling shooter sections. Players control a witch who aims to become the "Witch Queen" by defeating an enemy called the "Pumpking".

<i>Dun Darach</i> 1985 arcade adventure game

Dun Darach is an arcade adventure developed and published in 1985 by Gargoyle Games for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC computers. It is a prequel to the 1984 game Tir Na Nog. The plot has Celtic hero Cuchulainn on a search to find his companion Lóeg in the mysterious city of Dun Darach. Inspiration for the game came from the works of Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock.

<i>Spindizzy</i> 1986 video game

Spindizzy is an isometric video game released for several 8-bit home computer formats in 1986 by Electric Dreams Software. It combines action and puzzle game elements. Players must navigate a series of screens to explore a landscape suspended in a three-dimensional space. Development was headed by Paul Shirley, who drew inspiration from Ultimate Play the Game games that feature an isometric projection.

<i>Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back</i> 1986 video game

Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back is a video game developed and published by British developer Palace Software as a sequel to their 1985 game Cauldron. The 2D platform game was released in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC home computers. Players control a bouncing pumpkin that is on a quest of vengeance against the "Witch Queen". The roles of the two were reversed from the first game, in which the witch defeated a monstrous pumpkin.

<i>Brataccas</i> 1985 video game

Brataccas is a science fiction action-adventure game released in 1985 for the Amiga, Atari ST, and Macintosh. It was the first game published by Psygnosis. Brataccas is built on the remains of the much-hyped vaporware project Bandersnatch, which was partially developed by Imagine Software. The storied tale of the game's development led to close press attention in the UK computer market. When Brataccas finally shipped, this attention resulted in considerable coverage in the computer press. It was generally reviewed poorly due to significant control problems, although the graphics were widely praised.

<i>Deactivators</i> 1986 action-puzzle video game

Deactivators is a 1986 puzzle video game designed by David Bishop and Chris Palmer, developed by Tigress Marketing and System Software, and published by Ariolasoft's action game imprint Reaktor. The player controls bomb disposal robots known as deactivators and must use them to deactivate bombs planted by terrorists in five research complexes. The concept for the game came from a brainstorming session between Bishop and Palmer; its design and development took five to six months to complete. It was released for the Amstrad CPC 464, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms in October 1986.

<i>Dark Sceptre</i> 1987 video game

Dark Sceptre is a strategy adventure video game by Mike Singleton's design team Maelstrom Games, for Beyond Software. It was published by Firebird Software for the ZX Spectrum in 1987 and for the Amstrad CPC in 1988.

<i>Gauntlet: The Deeper Dungeons</i> 1987 video game expansion pack

Gauntlet: The Deeper Dungeons is an expansion pack for Gauntlet.

<i>Cobra</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Cobra is a 1986 platform game based on the film of the same name. It was developed and published by Ocean Software, and was released in Europe for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum. By 1990, it received a budget re-release.

<i>Highlander</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Highlander is a video game tie-in to the Highlander franchise released in 1986, the same year as the film, published by Ocean Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC home computers. Highlander was panned by reviewers.

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

Hercules is a platform video game written by Steve Bak for the Commodore 64 and published by Interdisc in 1984. It was reissued in 1986 by Alpha Omega and ported to the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, Plus/4, and ZX Spectrum. Alpha Omega changed its name to The Power House shortly after publishing the game.

<i>Swords and Sorcery</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Swords and Sorcery is a fantasy role playing video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was released exclusively in the United Kingdom for the ZX Spectrum in 1985 and the Amstrad CPC in 1986. The game contains elements of dungeon crawling and revolves around a customisable player-character navigating through catacombs in order to secure a large wealth of treasure, whilst simultaneously collecting seven pieces of sacred armour.

<i>Throne of Fire</i> 1987 video game

Throne of Fire is an action strategy video game. It was designed by Mike Singleton, developed by Consult Computer Systems, and published by Melbourne House. The game was released for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum in 1987. Throne of Fire is set in the Burning Citadel, located around the rim of a volcano.

<i>Top Gun</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Top Gun is a 1986 combat flight simulation game based on the film of the same name. It was developed and published by British company Ocean Software, and was released for several computer platforms. In the United Kingdom, it was released for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum in December 1986. The following year, it was released for Atari ST. In the United States, it was published by Thunder Mountain. In 1989, it was published by The Hit Squad as a budget re-release for ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Judge Dredd is a platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Beam Software and published by Melbourne House. It was released in Europe in 1986, for Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Pink Panther</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Pink Panther is a 1988 video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by German company Magic Bytes and published by Gremlin Graphics. It was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Pink Panther was criticized for its control and difficulty, although the Amiga and Atari ST versions received praise for their graphics.

<i>Knight Rider</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game released in Europe for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum

Knight Rider is a 1986 video game based on the series of the same name. It was developed and published by Ocean Software, and was released in Europe for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

Toy Bizarre is a platform game written by Mark Turmell for the Commodore 64 and published by Activision in 1984. A port to the ZX Spectrum was released in 1985.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Evans, Duncan (11–17 September 1986). "Games: Reviews – Moonlight Madness for insomniacs". Popular Computing Weekly . 5 (37). Sunshine Publications: 17.
  2. 1 2 3 "Reviews – Moonlight Madness". Computer Gamer (20). Argus Specialist Publications: 38. November 1986.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Reviews – Moonlight Madness". Crash (33). Newsfield Publications Ltd: 37, 38. October 1986.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Spectrum Game Reviews – Moonlight Madness". ZX Computing . Argus Specialist Publications: 38. November 1986.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Boughton, Paul (November 1986). "Software Reviews – Moonlight Madness". Computer and Video Games (61). EMAP: 44.
  6. ↑ "Readers Page". Home Computing Weekly (113). Argus Specialist Publications: 46. 21 May 1985.
  7. ↑ "Nuevo – Moonlight Madness – Tras Las Pildoras". MicroHobby (97). Hobby Press: 14, 15. October 1986.
  8. ↑ "Your Sinclair Four Pack No. 4". Your Sinclair (62). Dennis Publishing: 6–8. February 1991.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Screen Shots – Moonlight Madness". Your Sinclair (11). Sportscene Specialist Press: 78. November 1986.

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.