| 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 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.
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Head Over Heels is an action-adventure video game released by Ocean Software in 1987 for several 8-bit home computers. It uses an isometric engine that is similar to the Filmation technique first developed by Ultimate Play the Game.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
