SCRUMPER QL by Jim Waterman

 

Scrumper for Sinclair QL

   This is the first entry (see previous game) for this competition and what I have to highlight immediately is the impressive documentation provided by the author. A comprehensive guide to QL emulation, an in-depth analysis of programming the game for this machine, code, instructions and even a devlog. Remarkably, it was developed in only three days, which is much less than I need to decide which game to make. Even the code is perfectly laid out for easy reading. An example to follow he is. Max Affable Hot Chocolate Sauce points here.

   Great instructions:

You are scrumping in a local orchard (like a mischievous teenager of the 1950s would do). Apples will drop from the canopy above from random positions, and your job is to catch them. Move left and right with O and P, and to grab those hard-to-reach apples that are far away from where you're standing, use the SHIFT key to boost your speed, at the cost of the energy bar on the left of the screen. If it runs down to zero, you're stuck at normal speed, so use it sparingly.

One point is scored per apple; collect 18, and you'll get a 10 point bonus plus 2 points for every bar of energy remaining. After clearing two orchards, you'll be rewarded with an extra life, to a maximum of three - you'll need it. Drop three fruit, and the farmer will be alerted - he's not known for his tolerance of scrumpers, and he's a former Olympic shooting champion.

   So the game is about a little apple thief who apparently manages to make apples fall from trees by his mere presence, probably by warping the fabric of space-time thanks to a small black hole in his pocket. Yep!

   The use of colour in this game is superb, as is the layout of the screen, which gives you a clear view of the information at all times and I love the use of filled circles to simulate the dense foliage of the apple trees:

   After a brief loading screen showing the stage and reminding us that this is a version of another game released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983, the stage is redrawn and our intrepid thief appears. The scrumper is animated as he moves from side to side. Game & Watch-style sounds accompany the game. For those of us of a certain age, it takes us back to our childhood. And that is nice.

    Jim warns in the text that accompanies the game that it is slow. But it's so slow that it goes from being an action game to a strategy game, to be generous. I am talking about strategy because desperation will lead us to use and abuse energy in order to move faster, to use it up early and to go back to a snail's pace. So, use energy with caution.

   If you're going to try it on an emulator, I suggest you close all the other applications on your PC, otherwise you'll be reading other things while the apple-hungry boy slowly moves around, or while the apple defies gravity in an invisible parachute descent. Broccoli-flavoured yoghurt arrives.

   You'll be tempted to let him lose the game just to see the humorous ending.

   Time to try the original ZX Spectrum version:

   It looks terrible in comparison. There are no smooth movements, but it is the simple action game it wants to be.

   Returning to our colourful game, it does require some user interaction at the end of the game. But frankly, there is little incentive to replay if it is not for the colourful and humorous gameplay.

   To sum up: I love the game looks. I am amazed by the documentation provided by the author. Mix of ASM and SuperBASIC is brilliant. Terrible gameplay and it doesn't make you want to play it again.

Scrambled Smile: 6/10

Broccoli and Squid Yoghourt: 7/10

Deep Fried Ice Cream: 7/10

Strawberry Monosodium Glutamate: 1/10

Affable Hot Chocolate Sauce: 10/10