Supaplex
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| Supaplex | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Dream Factory |
| Designer(s) | Michael Stopp and Philip Jespersen |
| Release date(s) | 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling tile-based puzzle game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS |
| Media | Floppy disk (1) |
| Input | Keyboard, Joystick |
Supaplex is a video game created by Michael Stopp and Philip Jespersen of Dream Factory. It is an extended clone of Boulder Dash. Though originally designed as a version of Boulder Dash that could fit onto a floppy disk, the designers abandoned this approach in order to create better graphics. The game comes with 111 levels though many unofficial level sets have been released that greatly increase the available number of levels. The game was released for Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS.
Contents |
[edit] The Game
The levels must be played in order, however, the game allows up to three levels to be skipped. If such a level is solved at a later time, a new level may be skipped instead. The game is very hard, but unlike many Boulder Dash-related games the difficulty comes from the puzzle design rather than from semi-responsive controls.
Most objects are identical in behaviour to those in the original Boulder Dash. [1] Murphy substitutes Rockford, instead of diamonds he collects Infotrons, reminiscent of schematical representations of atoms. Instead of dirt, the levels are filled with printed circuit board simply called base by the game's manual, and not lined with brick walls, but with computer chips and other hardware, and filled with Zonks instead of rocks. The enemies are living scissors, called Snik Snaks, and electrons which resemble sparkling stars.
Supaplex however introduces a number of new elements, including bugs, pieces of base which randomly cause a life threatening electrostatic discharge, Ports, which limit Murphy's movement to specific directions, and terminals, which set off yellow Utility Disks. Utility Disks are explosive floppy disks, which come in three different colours: Orange Disks work like Zonks, but explode when hit or when falling. Yellow Disks do not fall, can be pushed in any direction, and explode when the Terminal is used. Red Disks can be carried and dropped when convenient, exploding seconds after.
Supaplex is the first Boulder Dash-like game that is not fully grid-based: while the playing field is an obvious grid, the objects do not "snap" from one grid position to another, but can be halfway or "in between" grid positions. This behavior has led to a number of well-known bugs that can be turned to the player's advantage, many of which need to be exploited to complete fan-made levels. For instance, by turning around quickly, the player can cause an enemy or rock to "bounce" off of him.
[edit] Michael W. Stopp's story
The developer of Supaplex, Michael W. Stopp, commented on the development of Supaplex (read it at his homepage as well):
| In the age of the Commodore 64 there was a game called Boulder Dash. Me and my schoolfriend Philip Jespersen adored it. We also adored the capabilities of Commodore's Amiga. But unfortunately we couldn't play Boulder Dash anymore. In summer 1988 we stopped the mourning and decided to make our own Amiga-version, at that time called "Think!". We added a number of new elements and gravitation. And we decided that there should be a lot of levels: 111 (but it still had to fit on a floppy disk!). Since Philip did the programming somebody had to construct the levels...guess who! The first 50 levels or so weren't too difficult, but there was still a long way to go; so this kept me on my toe for the next months.
But what was even worse, was the fact that you had to play all those levels, to see if they were possible. Every little change of code meant that you had to play them all over again. And there were constant changes... With 100 or more levels this meant playing to the point where it became difficult to distinguish between game and reality (you'd always feel as if there was a pair of scissors chasing you...). Eventually the game was finished and we had the silly idea that we might try to earn money with it. Surprisingly, the guys of Digital Integration thought the same and so they bought it from us. Due to a trademark conflict, it had to be renamed. That's how it became Supaplex. And now, many years later and thanks to the internet, we found out that there was still a dedicated community of Supaplexers around. If you want to know more about Supaplex check out "Elmer Maarten's Supaplex-Homepage". He provides the most comprehensive and complete information about the game on the Internet. Find solutions to levels as well as new levels and additional software on his page. |
[edit] Supaplex clones
[edit] Megaplex
Megaplex is a clone of the original Supaplex which runs under Windows. As well as the original 111 levels, the player is able to create and share his own levels with a level editor.
[edit] Other clones
Other Supaplex-like games include such titles as WinPlex, SubTerra, Diamond Dash, and Rocks'n'Diamonds. There is also a version for Macintosh, called Infotron.
