Castle Quest (BBC Micro) - The most challenging game for the BBC Micro? - Saturday Afternoon Gaming
62A remarkably advanced puzzle solving game from the BBC Micro
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I'm Gaming Jay: Youtube gamer, let's player, fan of retro games, and determined optimist... Normally I'm working my way through the book 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE in my Let's Play 1001 Games series. This is a great book with a ton of classic retro games but it doesn't have everything and it's even missing some of my favorite video games. Hence, in Saturday Afternoon Gaming, screw it, I'm just going to play whatever I want!
In this series I will be playing some of the best retro games that don't appear in the 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE book. So pull up a chair, slap on your headphones, and join me as babble aimlessly through some of my most favourite classic games! And hey, if you have ideas or suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments below. I'm always looking for more games to try! Today we play...
Castle Quest / Castle Raider
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Quest_(1985_video_game)
Castle Quest is action-adventure game for the BBC Micro noted at the time of release as being the best game on the platform in its genre for its problem solving, colourful graphics and smooth scrolling.
The game is set in a wizard's castle, the player's task being to find the treasure. It employs "very smooth"[1] side-scrolling (termed 'Scrollerama')[2] and imperfect vertical scrolling.[1] Play includes climbing ladders, which are sufficiently wide to simplify this aspect of gameplay.[1] Various objects can be found and used to solve problems. These include everyday items, furniture, specialist equipment and valuables.[1][2] Other characters include guards,[1] animals,[1][2] a witch[1] and the wizard.[2]
Control is via the keyboard, with 13 keys[2] having various uses, for example accessing the inventory of objects carried in the backpack, viewing off-screen to left/right.[1] Play requires both dexterity and lateral thinking.[3] A saved game facility is not provided.[2]
Scores are awarded based on progression through the game. Upon completion, additional rewards are given for remaining lives and a bonus is awarded according to elapsed time.[3] An expert player may complete the game in "around seven minutes".
The game was reported as being programmer Tony Sothcott's first machine code game.[3] Its colours are achieved using Mode 2,[2] requiring more than half of total available RAM.[3] The map is made up from screens comprising 8 Γ 7 blocks, there being 13 different types of such block.[3] Two adjacent blocks are stored as a single byte within the map data, which occupies 2 kB in total.[3] This technique was noted for its ingenuity.
The game was marketed as "Probably the most challenging game ever devised for the BBC Micro." The publishers offered small cash prizes to those completing the game within three months of purchase. They also announced a future competition between the four highest scorers, with a prize of computer equipment worth Β£500.[2] The game's retail price (cassette Β£12.95, disk Β£14.95)[3] was noted as being "not cheap" but nevertheless worthy.[2]
Self-styled "marketing expert" Chris Payne (at that time a recent graduate employed by Micro Power as a marketing assistant) recalls his memory of Sothcott's game being "terrific".[4] Micro Power did not commission the marketing from any of their usual agents, instead appointing new agency Kidd's of Leeds. This agency devised a "nicely done logo" on a simple black background.
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