| The Trap Door | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Don Priestley |
| Publisher(s) | Piranha Software |
| Composer(s) | David Dunn (Commodore 64) |
| Platform(s) | Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Trap Door is a video game published for the ZX Spectrum in 1986 by Piranha Software and ported to the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 by Five Ways Software. [1] It was written by Don Priestley and based on the British children's television show of the same name.
In Trap Door, the player takes control of Berk, who must perform tasks for "The Thing Upstairs", a never-seen entity who lives in the upper floors of the castle where Berk works. In order to help him complete his task, Berk must make use of the many objects lying around his part of the castle as well as the creatures that emerge from the trap door. Berk is assisted by Boni, a talking skull, who provides hints when picked up. He is also somewhat hindered by Drutt, Berk's pet who loves eating worms, as well as The Thing's impatience which manifests in form of a time limit for each task.
Gameplay is largely based around puzzle-solving and the use and manipulation of the many objects littered around Berk's chambers. Berk will also need help from some of the strange creatures that lurk in the caverns under the trap door and these creatures can often be as much a hindrance as a help (as well as downright dangerous). Once Berk has finished taking advantage of a creature's "assistance" he also has to find a way of making sure it goes back down the trap door.
The game has two different skill levels: "Learner Berk" and "Super Berk". The difference is that "Super Berk" mode includes flying ghosts that appear a set time after each task is announced. The ghosts hinder the player's progress by attacking Berk, sending him spinning into another room if he does not manage to avoid them.
Over the course of the game, The Thing asks Berk four meals:
After each meal is done, Berk must deliver it upstairs using a dumbwaiter.
Once all four meals have been delivered on time, Berk must clean up the castle by shoving every monster - including Boni and Drutt - down the Trap Door; if the game is in "Super Berk" mode, The Thing will then send down a safe as a reward, which Berk must crack open to complete the game successfully.
To promote the release of The Trap Door, Piranha Software partnered with Computer Gamer magazine to run a contest wherein readers submitted recipes for the Thing Upstairs, and 25 winning entrants received a copy of the game. [2]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Crash | 88% (Spectrum) [3] |
| Computer and Video Games | 35/40 (Spectrum) [4] |
| Sinclair User |  (Spectrum) [5] |
| Your Sinclair | 9/10 (Spectrum) [6] |
| Computer Gamer | 19/20 (Spectrum) [7] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| ZX Computing | Monster Hit [8] |
| Sinclair User | SU Classic |
| C+VG | C+VG Hit |
The game was runner up for the 'Best Original Game' of the year award at the 1987 Golden Joystick Awards. [9]
The Trap Door was followed by a sequel in 1987 called Through The Trap Door, also written by Priestley and published by Piranha. This sequel is a multi-level platform game in which the player can switch between controlling Berk and Drutt. [11]
Rick Dangerous is a platform game developed by Core Design for the Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. The game was released in 1989 and published by MicroProse on the Firebird Software label in the UK, and on the MicroPlay label in America. It was also published in Spain by Erbe Software. Later, it was released with two other games, Stunt Car Racer and MicroProse Soccer, on the Commodore 64 Powerplay 64 cartridge. The game was followed by a sequel, Rick Dangerous 2, in 1990. Loosely based on the Indiana Jones film franchise, the game received mixed reviews from critics.
Out Run is an arcade driving and sports video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, and the hydraulic motion simulator deluxe arcade cabinet. The goal is to avoid traffic and reach one of five destinations.
Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is a 1987 video game developed and published by Palace Software for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game was ported to many other systems and was licensed to Epyx who published it as Death Sword in the United States.
Head Over Heels is an action-adventure game published by Ocean Software in 1987 for several home computers. It uses an isometric engine similar to the Filmation technique first developed by Ultimate Play the Game. Head Over Heels is the second isometric game by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond, after their earlier Batman computer game was released in 1986. The game received favourable reviews and was described by Zzap!64 as an "all time classic".
The Trap Door is a British animated television series, originally shown in the United Kingdom in 1986. The plot revolves around the daily lives and the misadventures of a group of monsters living in a castle. These include a blue creature called Berk, a spider-like creature called Drutt, and Boni, who was a skull of unknown origin. Although the emphasis was on humour and the show was marketed as a children's programme, it drew much from horror and dark fantasy.
Monty on the Run is a computer game created by the software house Gremlin Graphics and released in 1985 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 16, written by Peter Harrap for the ZX Spectrum with the iconic in-game music on the Commodore 64 provided by Rob Hubbard. It is the third game in the Monty Mole series.
Bug-Byte Software Ltd. was a video game company founded in 1980 in Liverpool, initially producing software for the Acorn Atom and ZX80. Bug-Byte's first hit was Don Priestley's Mazogs which was one of the most successful titles for the ZX81. In 1983, it published Manic Miner, considered to be one of the most influential platform games of all time. The company went into liquidation in 1985 but their name and logo were purchased by Argus Press PLC for use as a budget software label.
Ranarama is a top-down Gauntlet-like action game developed by Graftgold and published by Hewson Consultants in 1987. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum home computers. The title appears to be a pun on rana, a genus of frogs. The game concept is similar to a previous game by Steve Turner for the ZX Spectrum called Quazatron, which was itself inspired by Paradroid, created by Turner's Graftgold colleague Andrew Braybrook.
Kong Strikes Back! is a 1984 platform video game published by Ocean Software in 1984 for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. While its predecessor, Kong, is a Donkey Kong clone, Kong Strikes Back! is a clone of Mr. Do's Wild Ride with Donkey Kong-inspired graphics.
Don Priestley is a teacher and former video game programmer who wrote over 20 commercial games for the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum home computers between 1982 and 1989. Despite successful releases for DK'Tronics, such as 3D Tanx and Maziacs, Priestley returned to teaching in the late 1980s, claiming changes in the video game industry did not suit his style of work.
Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax is a video game first published in 1988 for various home computers. It was released as Axe of Rage in North America. The game is the sequel to Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, which was published in 1987. In Barbarian II, the player controls a princess or barbarian character, exploring the game world to locate and defeat an evil wizard. The game's plot is an extension of its predecessor, although the gameplay is different. While the first game offers two players the opportunity for virtual head-to-head combat, the second is a single-player beat 'em up with fewer fighting moves. It uses a flip-screen style instead of scrolling.
Firelord is an action-adventure game written by Stephen Crow and released in 1986 for ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 by Hewson Consultants. The game's opening theme was composed by Ben Daglish.
Piranha Software was a short-lived video game publishing label created by Macmillan Publishers in 1986 and closed eighteen months later. In that time it gained a reputation for its unusual output from well known developers such as Don Priestley, Design Design and Delta 4. The majority of their games featured licensed properties including the first video game based on the Discworld novels and two games based on the animated television series The Trap Door.
Thanatos is an action game developed and published by Durell Software in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC.
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.
Ace is a combat flight simulator video game published for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Amiga, and ZX Spectrum.
Friday the 13th: The Computer Game is the first game adaptation based on the films of the same name. It was released in 1986 by Domark for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game was released on floppy diskette and cassette tape. The player's goal is to find and kill Jason, while making sure their friends or they themselves are not killed by Jason.
Nosferatu the Vampyre is an action game based on the film of the same name and runs on the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum computers. It was developed by Design Design and published by Piranha Software in 1986.
Killed Until Dead is an adventure game developed by Artech and published by Accolade in 1986. It was released on Apple II, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Vinyl data is the use of vinyl discs to store sequenced/encoded data rather than for simple analog recordings. This alternate use of the storage medium enabled the code of full motion videos (FMVs) and even simple video games to be stored in an analog format along with the soundtrack and sound effects. These vinyl data discs took two forms: the FMV-only Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED), and the program sheet. Uncommon even in the early 1980s when the practice was at its height, program sheet game data required that users record from the disc onto an audio cassette tape which could then be used via the cassette port with microcomputers such as the BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Commodore PET, VIC-20, Dragon 32/64, ZX81, or ZX Spectrum. The use of CEDs to store video game FMV data was even less common, and required the game console to select a section of the grooved track to read with its stylus at just the right time for the video to be displayed. The numerous limitations of these techniques contributed to their failure to receive widespread acceptance and video game data stored in this manner remains some of the most difficult to archive and preserve.
