Repton (1983 video game)

Repton is a Defender-inspired game written by Dan Thompson and Andy Kaluzniacki for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software in 1983.[1] It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, and Commodore 64.

Repton
Developer(s)Sirius Software
Publisher(s)Sirius Software
Programmer(s)Dan Thompson
Andy Kaluzniacki [1]
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)single-player

Gameplay

The player controls a fighter ship sent to stop a fleet of invading aliens from building an attack base on the planet Repton. The ship is equipped with lasers and a limited number of nukes that can destroy all enemies on the screen. The player can use an invulnerable shield for defense, but cannot steer or fire while it is up. If the player puts the shield up while moving, the ship will coast to a stop. In addition, a radar screen indicates the location of enemies on the planet surface.

Each level of the game is played in two parts. During the surface attack, the player fights enemies in order to delay the construction of the base. "Warning" messages indicate that a fresh wave of enemies is arriving, while an "Alert" tells of an attempt to siphon energy from the planet. If the player can fly through the enemy's energy beam in time, then pass through a charging station, the energy will be returned to the planet; otherwise, it will go into building the base.

Once the base is completed, the planet's defenses trigger a bomb that destroys the entire surface and the action shifts to the caverns, where the radar does not function. Here, the player must dodge enemy attacks and eventually destroy the base's power core, after which the next level begins with increased difficulty.

Reception

Softline in 1983 called Repton "the latest in ultra-fast action arcade games", praising its "faultless animation".[2] Video reviewed the Apple II version of the game in its "Arcade Alley" column where it was described as "pure excitement from start to finish–an involving and satisfying battle game loaded with extra features to enhance gaming pleasure." Reviewers praised the game's "finely detailed graphics" and noted that "action is [its] hallmark".[3]:29 Ahoy! in 1984 gave Repton grades of B for graphics and C+ for gameplay. The magazine stated that the game "offered nothing new", and to only buy it if looking for "a definitive Defender-like shoot-em-up".[4] Jerry Pournelle wrote in BYTE that despite disliking the Apple version of Repton, "I find myself wasting more time than I should on the Atari version".[5] The Commodore 64 Home Companion stated that the game had "excellent visuals".[6] Repton received a Certificate of Merit in the "1984 Computer Game of the Year" category at the 5th annual Arkie Awards.[7]:28

Legacy

In 2011 Kaluzniacki released a version of Repton for the iPhone. It uses high-resolution visuals instead of pixel art, which Jeff Minter criticized for losing the flavor of the original.[8]

gollark: ... why is my malloc implementation not segfaulting?
gollark: * egmentation fault (ore umped)
gollark: Maybe I should replace the UI of my web application™ with an in-browser xterm terminal.
gollark: ⏲️ ⏲️ ⏲️ 🦀
gollark: maybe.

References
  1. Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. Shore, Howard A. (January 1983). "Repton". Softline. p. 42. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  3. Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (April 1983). "Arcade Alley: Zaxxon, Turbo, and Two for Apple II". Video. Reese Communications. 7 (1): 26, 28–29. ISSN 0147-8907.
  4. Meade, E. C. (January 1984). "Repton". Ahoy!. p. 58. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  5. Pournelle, Jerry (January 1984). "Too Many Leads, or What in *;?!#"*? Goes First?". BYTE. p. 61. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  6. Beekman, George (1984). "Sirius Software". The Commodore 64 Home Companion. p. 175–176. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  7. Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (February 1984). "Arcade Alley: The 1984 Arcade Awards, Part II". Video. Reese Communications. 7 (11): 28–29. ISSN 0147-8907.
  8. Minter, Jeff. "Is higher rez always better?". Llamasoft.
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