Repton (computer game)
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- For the Defender-inspired computer game written by Dan Thomson and Andy Kaluzniacki and published by Sirius Software in 1983, see Repton.
| The Repton Series<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;">Image:Repton (Superior Software) cover.jpg</td></tr> | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Tim Tyler (Repton 1 & 2), Matthew Atkinson (Repton 3), David Lawrence and David Acton (Repton Infinity)
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>Superior Software</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Designer(s)</th><td>Tim Tyler</td></tr> |
| Release date(s) | 1984 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | BBC Micro ZX Spectrum Acorn Electron Commodore 64 Acorn Archimedes Microsoft Windows Nokia Series 60 Linux / KDE MS-DOS Game Boy Advance Sony PSP <tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Input</th><td>Keyboard</td></tr> |
The sequel to the game, Repton 2 (1985), was much bigger. It introduced new elements: spirits (that flew along walls and into cages, turning them into diamonds) and skulls, both of which were fatal to Repton on collision. There were also jigsaw puzzle pieces to collect - the completed jigsaw spelt out "Repton 2 is complete". Transporters moved Repton between screens - the entire game was in effect one very large level without passwords, and so had to be completed in one go. Repton's requirements in Repton 2 were onerous: not only collecting all diamonds, but also collecting all earth, killing all monsters, collecting all puzzle pieces and using all transporters. These additional elements set Repton 2 apart from all the other Repton games; they also made it by far the hardest Repton game to successfully complete. Original versions of Repton 2 contained a bug - there were insufficient diamonds available - meaning that successful completion of these versions was, in fact, impossible.
Repton 2 and Repton were subsequently ported to a number of other 8bit computers including the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. Modern versions for Microsoft Windows and Nokia Series 60 mobile phones are available from Superior Interactive and Masabi respectively.
Repton 3 (1985) was developed by Matthew Atkinson at Superior's invitation since Tim Tyler wasn't interested in programming it—although he did design some of the levels for the new game—and it reverted to the form of a series of password-protected levels. A few new elements were introduced, including fungus—a substance that spreads wherever it finds space and kills Repton if it spreads over him—and a time-bomb which must be defused to complete each level. Repton 3 included a map editor along with the game, so that it became possible to create data files with alternate maps and new graphics for the levels. Three themed sets of such files were released as expansions for Repton 3, with the titles Around the World in 40 Screens (1985), The Life of Repton (1987) and Repton Thru Time (1987).
Repton Infinity was released in 1988, by which time the BBC Micro's popularity as a games platform was beginning to wane. It supplemented the map editor and graphics editor with a powerful game logic editor which made it possible to alter the way all game objects behaved using a purpose-designed language called Reptol. Four different example games were included to demonstrate its flexibility:
- Repton 3–Take 2, with a couple of small technical differences in gameplay from Repton 3;
- Repton 4, with imaginative new objects including photocopiers and moving jewels;
- Robbo, “a crazy robot in a strange topsy-turvy world”, according to the game inlay; and
- Trakka, a chaotic game in which a bulldozer-driving protagonist must destroy various monsters by pushing fruit at them, and all scores are multiples of 17.
The music for Repton was Black and White Rag, by George Botsford, which had been well known in Britain at least since its 1969 popularization as the theme tune to the long-running TV snooker programme Pot Black. The Scott Joplin ragtime intermezzo The Chrysanthemum was used as the music for Repton 2. The music for Repton 3 was composed especially for the game by Paul Hughes and Peter Clarke.
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[edit] Repton ports and clones
Superior Software released ports of Repton games for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, though these never achieved the sales of the BBC original, and later for the Acorn Archimedes. Under the name "Superior Interactive" (as of 2005) they have re-released versions of Repton 1, Repton 2 and Repton 3 (including all of the expansion games) for modern PCs.
Other individuals and companies are also developing their own versions: such as the version for wireless devices (from Masabi), and 3D enhanced multimedia version such as Repton Returns. Repton 3 seems to be seen as the definitive Repton game and to have attracted the most interest, including a free version for Linux.
A deliberate clone called Ripton, extremely faithful apart from different level design and several humorous digs at the original game, was written by Kenton Price and submitted to A&B Computing but the magazine never dared to publish it. It is, however, now available at BBC software Internet sites.
[edit] Games that are not Repton clones
Although Repton did not invent the rocks-and-diamonds genre (the author was inspired by a description of the recently-released Boulder Dash, but had never seen the game [1]) it is far from being, as is sometimes erroneously assumed, a clone of Boulder Dash. (The perception that it was may have hurt sales when Superior, buoyed by a huge success in the BBC/Electron market, released the C64 and Spectrum conversions.) Repton was a much more calm and organized playing experience with the emphasis on puzzle-solving, as opposed to arcade-style improvisation prevalent in other games; this remained true as more types of object were added in the sequels.
Likewise, because of Repton's ubiquity on the platform it became impossible not to compare any later commercial scrolling-map game for the BBC/Electron (the notable ones being Bonecruncher, Ravenskull, Pipeline, Clogger) to the Repton series, though only Bonecruncher and Clogger had comparable puzzle-based gameplay.
A game marketed as Ego: Repton 4, released for the Acorn Archimedes, bore little relation to the Repton series, particularly in that contrary to the spirit of the original it relied on "secret" traps and passages which could only be discovered by walking onto them. (The objects and objectives in all the previous Repton games were visible and there were no hidden secrets to be discovered, although in some advanced episodes - notably "OAP" in Life of Repton, "Oceans" in Around the World and "Future" in Repton Thru Time - some objects and enemies were invisible or appeared identical to desirable or innocuous objects. The difference could only be discovered by walking onto them, sometimes with fatal results.)
Repton's original author has written a freeware Java rocks-and-diamonds game, Rockz, which owes approximately equal amounts to Repton 2 and to Boulder Dash.
[edit] Gallery
[edit] Repton 1
Welcome screen (Electron) |
In game (Electron) |
Loading screen (Spectrum) |
In game (Spectrum) |
[edit] Repton 2
In game (Electron) |
Loading screen (Spectrum) |
In game (Spectrum) |
[edit] Repton 3
Title screen (Electron) |
In game (Electron) |
Title screen (Archimedes) |
In game Baby level (Archimedes) |
Character editor Arctic Repton (Archimedes) |
[edit] Repton Infinity
Loading screen (Electron) |
In game (Electron) |
[edit] External links
- Superior Interactive
- Repton Returns :: (enhanced 3D version) :: Ex-D Software Development
- Repton author's personal website, including his free Java rocks-and-diamonds style game Rockz
- Repton Appreciation Society
- Flash Version of Repton 3
