 | This article needs attention from an expert in Czech Republic. The specific problem is: Czech sources requires translator.(August 2019) |
| Světák Bob | |
|---|---|
 Světák Bob title screen | |
| Release | 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
Světák Bob is a 1993 Czech adventure game developed by Bohewia and published by Petr Vochozka for the Amiga system.
The game was programmed for the Amiga by a pre-18 Petr Vochozka. [1] After buying his own Atari 800 XL he began programming his own games that ended up in his desk drawer. [2] A year after the Velvet Revolution, Vochozka replaced his Atari with the Amiga, and created his first game intended for public release, Svetak Bob. [2] As he was younger than 18, distribution of the game was illegal as he did not have a trade license. [2]
Petr Vochozka marketed Světák Bob as the first ever Czech commercial adventure for the Amiga. [3] It was priced at 129 crowns and sold around 100 [4] to 200 [5] copies. This compares with Vochozka's follow-up Tajemství Oslího ostrova which sold 2,000 copies. [4] [5]
Světák Bob was the first officially distributed Czech computer game for the Amiga, and arguably on any platform. [4] [6] [7]
According to the reviewer Tomáš Smolík in Excalubur, the game was programmed in the Amos Professional Kit. [8]
Prague Post notes that this achievement was a part of a wave of post-Soviet Union advances that saw the Czech video gaming industry quickly became more professional. [7]
In the 21st century the game gained a considerable cult following. [6]
Bonusweb notes that in 1994 it was still possible for a developer to review their own game, noting that Vochozka did this for Svetak Bob in the magazine Excalibur. [9] [10] In an interview with Vochozka, Bonusweb wrote: ""No, I definitely didn't write it myself, but I worked a little bit on it," he says with a smile. "Moreover, there was a different time at that time, it wasn't a big deal if the Světák sold eighty pieces instead of forty ...". [10]
The main hero, Bob, collapses after a fierce storm and finds himself on a desert island. He has to get off the island and continue his adventure.
A hybrid between the text and classic point & click adventure, [8] the game offers similar gameplay to text-based games, but includes graphics and music. The game is mouse-controlled.
According to Bonusweb.cz, the game's graphics were just a little better than horrible. [6] BRNO Region asserts that the game was not a true global success. [11] Vochozka later said the game wasn't "worldly". [12] Amiga Review unfavourably compared it to Testament. [13] At the time Exaclibur didn't give Czech games a rating to avoid discouraging local developers. [8] Som Hráč argues the game was "quite a good success". [14] Mafia felt the game was a "great success " that opened the door for other Czech games. [15]
SME notes that this post-Iron Curtain era of gaming is marked by a national technological backwardness that had a flow-on effect to "scant technological and artistic abilities of potential game developers", adding that while good ideas were a dime a dozen, it was difficult to find top wuality graphics in local games. [16]
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