Starcross (video game)

Starcross is a computer game of the U.S. company Infocom in 1982. It belongs to the genre of text adventures ( interactive fiction ).

Action

The sci-fi action takes place in 2186 in the solar system. The player studied as Black Hole Miner with his spaceship MCS Starcross in the solar asteroid belt after black holes whose energy he taps and stores in order to sell them later at a profit. He meets an extraterrestrial spaceship. The player must explore the ship's interior, solve numerous puzzles and make contact with extraterrestrial beings in spacecraft.

Gameplay

The management of Starcross on the keyboard. English words and phrases are entered via a text parser. The package insert of the Adventures contains a letter from a fictional Bureau of extra - solar intelligence with information for dealing with extraterrestrial life forms as well as a space - navigation map and further, useful for game solution items.

Development and production details

Starcross has no graphics and no sound. Developed the adventure based on the Z -machine; the reaction was carried out for the C 64, Plus / 4, DOS, Atari 8- bit, Atari ST, Amiga, TRS -80 and Apple II developer was Dave Lebling.

Reception

The early 1980s, paid tribute to an American game reviewer Starcross as addictive text adventure ( "one of the most engrossing and engaging adventures I have experienced in a long time. ").

Starcross was treated in studies on computer game history and theory with. Nelson (2001) and Montfort (2003) emphasized the inspiration of the game action by the science fiction novel Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. Maher ( 2006) found that Starcross is a hand crafted a solid, good playable adventure; on the other hand it but I had no outstanding importance for the further development of Interactive Fiction.