The Balrog has struggled through thick and thin this month to bring you the latest, most up to date, adventure info around! So glue in those eyes and start reading...
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Contacting the Balg
To get in contact with the Balg, write to him at Amstrad Action, Future Publishing Ltd, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, AVON BA1 2AP.
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The Balrog Adventure Competition Results
Woah! The Balg was literally snowed under with entries for the GAC compo - to say "There were many entries" is a little like saying "There were a lot of dwarves in 'The Hobbit'". Or that Gandalf knew a trick or two. Suffice to say that judging this competition has not been an easy task even for a mighty Balrog. But it has been enjoyable. The majority of entries were of a surprisingly high standard, which leads the Balg to think that software companies should be doing more to seek out untapped talent amongst our readership.
It was interesting to discover that the range of themes and ideas was quite wide, and not all dungeon-dabbling, despite the obvious Balrog connotations. There were "Balrog in Space", "Balrog's Manchester Adventure" (some rather dodgy ideas in that one - the appropriate authorities have been informed...) and even "Carry On Balrog" (well, perhaps there wasn't that one, but it might have been interesting if there had been!)
I was also pleasantly surprised to see the number of ways in which people managed to squeeze the most intricate and unusual types of problem out of the GAC environment. It proves once and for all that programs are constrained only by the ingenuity of the people writing them, not the system they're using.
An early favourite was "Balrog's Folly" by Alex Prentice from Midlothian. This was based loosely around the AA office, with increasingly bizarre locations as you move deeper into the game. The accompanying literature was of a very high standard, and the value of this side of game production cannot be over-stressed, even in a non-commercial environment such as a magazine competition. Infocom realised the potential of heavy packaging emphasis from their early days, and went on to become the most purchased game producers in the adventure market. Another aspect of this game which I enjoyed was the sense of humour. It was very refreshing, if not always quite hitting the mark! I especially liked the dictionary pun, but you'll have to wait and see if it makes it to PD to know quite what that was! The main drawback was the lack of a 'drop' system. Whether this was not implemented due to memory restrictions or for other reasons it did add annoyance to the game especially as you couldn't complete the game with the solution given as you couldn't carry all the objects needed!
The Balg was also very impressed by 11-year old Mark Zarky(?) (2004 UPDATE - Mark Zachary!) from Pinner in Middlesex. Though his descriptions suffered from poor grammar and spelling, they had a richness and sense of atmosphere which a great number of entries lacked. Keep at it Mark, a career in adventure writing may well be waiting for you!
And so on to announcing the winner (although it's a little obvious if you looked at the cover tape before reading this bit!) The competition entry which, after beating all-comers in a fight to the death over several months, was to gain the supreme honour of "Amstrad Action cover tape" is... Who's Afraid of the Balrog?. The author is the mighty GAC wizard Marlon, whose cunning and cleverness left most other games standing. The game uses more locations that most of the entries, yet its only concession to memory versus completeness is the message "This is GAC remember. Do you realise how much memory that uses?" in response to the request "GET ALL". Not only can you examine everything in the adventure, but you can examine things to a level of detail usually only found in far more advanced adventures. Try examining your pyjama trousers to see what you can find in them for a start.
The game is quite difficult and should keep even the most adventurous adventurer on their toes, but all the puzzles are logical, if you keep your eyes and brain in gear. I must say I will be interested to see how many people find the shopping bag on their first wander round the Balrog's domain - answer in next month's issue. The gnome on the lard is perhaps the oddest thing, but on the whole reality is kept in the forefront. Like a good detective novel, the adventure reveals all its clues to the casual observer, but if you're too casual you'll miss them!
How this game fits into the available space I don't know, but then you don't need to - just get loaded in and prepare yourself for a long bout of heavy thinking.
Oh yes, as you'll realise if you ever reach the 'end', there IS a sequel planned, so if there are any interested software companies out there, drop me a line.
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Novices start here
'But I've never played an adventure before!' I hear you cry. Ummm... Difficult... You see whole tomes have been written on playing adventures, massive manuals included with larger games on learning the basics and the poor Balrog has only two hundred odd words! So I'll be brief:-
What is an adventure?
Think of it as an interactive story with you as the central character - what you type affects how the story turns out - whether the hero dies at the hands of a princess or saves the beautiful dragon! Unfortunately the little CPC cannot understand everything you type so adventures have keywords which are used in most games for commonly used actions - these are outlined below.
Moving around
All the compass directions will usually move you between locations (a location being a separately described place such as a forest or prison cell) so east, west, north and south are acceptable. Sometimes games also use north-east, north-west etc. (abbreviated to NE, NW etc.) as well as up and down. LOOK will re-describe the location you are in.
Manipulating objects
You may see a lamp in the dungeon but what do you do with it?! Well, you can GET LAMP, EXAMINE LAMP, LIGHT LAMP, DROP LAMP etc. Experimentation is the key to the game - get to know a games limitations. INVENTORY (or I) will list objects you are carrying whilst WEAR and REMOVE will wear and remove clothing, hats and so on.
Other useful words for adventuring.
ATTACK, CAST, CLIMB, CLOSE, CUT, DRINK, EAT, FILL, GIVE, HIDE, JUMP, KNOCK, LISTEN, LOCK, MOVE, OPEN, POUR, PULL, PUSH, PUT, READ, SEARCH, SHAKE, SIT, SLEEP, SMELL, STAND, STAY, THROW, TURN & many more!
Most of all the major point of adventuring is to enjoy yourself!
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Clue sniffing with the Balrog
Ahhh! The Balg is running dangerously low on clues so please do the big hairy one a favour and send in your hints and tips on any adventures you've played. This months impressive selection of tips is thanks to Robert Smith (Gwynedd), Richard Jamieson (Aberlour) and Graham Booth (Tadcaster) - thanks guys!
Deadenders
Use kebab bought at Smelli's to free Arfur.
Give flowers to Loo for information.
Clean uniform in laundrette.
Buy pizza in Smelli's.
Throw steak at Roly to get passed him.
Open curtains.
Move barrels in cellar of Old Queen.
Put photo in wardrobe.
Gerbil Riot of '67
To get past Ratty Ralph, get picture of cat, show picture to Ralph.
To go downstairs and passed Count Crackers, go to kitchen, open fridge, get garlic, S, Wx4, N, get bucket, Sx2, D, throw bucket at fire, D, E and eat garlic.
To get past Coneman the Barbarian, get bulb horn (from Psychiatrists room) and blow horn.
Helvera Mistress of the Park
To escape from the cell, press film, hide, press play, escape.
On landing, drop ladder, climb ladder to get gas mask.
Dig in garden with spade.
Get clay, mould clay (with potters wheel), bake clay in oven.
In library, jump on carpet to kill scorpion.
Quest for the Golden Egg-cup
Give beans to guard.
Search straw to find card.
Give bottle to Wongo.
Put all useless items in burrow.
Wave wand to cross crevasse.
Release caged bird to get rid of Guardian.
Smashed
Pin is under seat of jeep.
Rub fries on locket to get chocolate.
Call Rancid on Tandy.
Chocolate will make Rancid tell you the password.
Yarkon Blues II - Part 1
Examine seat, get tool box, D, Sx2, U, N, put tool box in forcefield, get hacksaw, S, D, Wx2, cut bar, cut bar, exam supplies, get plaster, Ex2, exam junk, exam pipe, put plaster over gash, get remote control.
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Lords & Ladies of Adventure
Adventure Quest, Angelique a Grief Encounter, Arnold Blackwood Trilogy, Big Sleaze, Black Fountain, Bugsy, Case of the Mixed-Up Shymer, Castle Blackstar, Castle of the Skull Lord, Crystal Theft, Cursed Be the City, Cutthroats, Dracula, Dungeon Adventure, DAA, Enchanter, Escape from Koshima, Espionage Island, Fantasia Diamond, Fish, Football Frenzy, Frankenstein, Gnome Ranger, Gremlins, Guild of Thieves, Haunted House, Hermitage, Hitchhiker's Guide, Hollow Graphic, Hollow Text, Hollywood Hijinx, Hunchback, Imagination, Inca Curse, Infidel, Ingrid's Back, Jack the Ripper, Jinxter, Kingdom of Hamil, Kobyashi Naru, Lancelot, Leather Goddesses, Lifeterm, Lords of Time, Lurking Horror, Mansion, Mindshadow, Monsters of Murdac, Mordon's Quest, Mountains of Ket, Mystery of Indus Valley, Myth, Necris Dome, Never Ending Story, Nova, Nythyhel, Pawn, Planet of Death, Planetfall, Questprobe, Rebel Planet, Rigel's Revenge, Robin of Sherwood, Robocide, Seabase Delta, Shard of Inovar, Sharpe's Deeds, Ship of Doom, Smashed, Sorceror, Souls of Darkon, Spellbreaker, Spytrek, Star Wreck, Subsunk, Theseus, Top Secret, Venom, Very Big Cave Adventure, Winter Wonderland, Wishbringer, Wolfman and Zork I, II & III and all Interceptor games!
Graham Wheeler, 2 Burford Close, Southdown, Bath, Avon BA2 1JF. Tel between 10am and midnight (0225) 426919.
Colour of Magic, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Nightmare, Quest for the Golden Egg-cup, Shadows of Mordor, Times of Lore, Werewolf Simulator & Wizard Warz.
Douglas Thompson, 14 Cosgrove Close, Peterborough PE3 7JN.
Heroes of Karn, Knight Tyme, Kobyashi Naru, Souls of Darkon, Spytrek & Subsunk
Robert Squires, 52 Broke Walk, Regents Estate, Hackney, London E8 4SJ.
Adventureland, Apache Gold, Boggit, Classic Adventure, Collosal Cave Adventure, Dodgy Geezers, Doomdark's Revenge, Heroes of Karn, Hobbit, Island, Knight Tyme, Kobyashi Naru, Lost Phirious (pts 1 & 3), Message from Andromeda, Never Ending Story, Orb Quest, Questprobe, Scary Tales, Ship of Doom, Spytrek, Subsunk, Terrormolinos, Warlord & Wizbiz.
Paul & Timothy Stitt, 7 Beaufort Avenue, Beechill Road, Newtownbreda, Belfast BT8 4TY Northern Ireland.
Adventure Quest, Bards Tale, Dungeon Adventure, Snowball & Worm in Paradise.
James Taylor, 9 Crossland Crescent, Aldersley, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV6 9LG.
Adult II, Atalan, Bewbews, Boredom, Cacodemon, Can I Cheat Death?, Case of the Mixed-Up Shymer, Castle Blackstar, DAA, DAAW, Doomlords, Dungeon, Escape from the Planet of Doom, Experience, Firestone, Grue-Knapped, Hoot, Jason & the Argonauts, Key to Paradox, Labyrinth, Magician's Apprentice, Message from Andromeda, Mystery Mansion, Prison Blues, Quadx, Quest for the Golden Egg-cup, Rouge Midget, Scary Tales, Seabase Delta, Spaced-Out, Spy Trek, Stryptische I & II, Subsunk, Tizpan, TRD & Use your loaf.
Dave Adams, 49 Myers Gardens, St. Helens, Merseyside WA9 3YX.