Dropzone (computer game)

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Drop zone
Studio Arena Graphics
Publisher European UnionEuropean Union US Gold Mindscape
United StatesUnited States
Senior Developer Archer MacLean
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 1984
platform Atari 400/800 / XL / XE
Commodore 64
Nintendo Entertainment System
Game Boy
Game Gear
Game Boy Color
genre Shoot 'em up
Game mode Single player
control Keyboard , joystick
medium Floppy disk , cassette , cartridge
language English

Dropzone is a computer game by the British software manufacturer Arena Graphics from 1984. Shoot 'em up is a sideways and bidirectional scrolling shooter in the style of Defender . The game was developed and programmed by Archer MacLean and was his first commercial video game.

It was released in 1984 for the Atari 8-bit home computers and in 1985 for the Commodore 64 . In 1994 the game was ported for the Game Boy and in 1999 for the Nintendo Entertainment System , later for the handheld consoles Sega Game Gear and Game Boy Color . The English-language sales name Dropzone [ ˈdrɒpzəʊn ] describes a landing zone for parachutists .

initial situation

In the year 2085, a robot war destroyed almost all of humanity and their livelihoods on planet earth. In a final act of collective will to survive, the rest of the people unite to build a spaceship and populate a new star system. The propulsion of the spaceship requires crystals as fuel, which hurl three volcanoes of Jupiter's moon Io onto its surface. The exploration of these crystals is carried out by scientists from a centrally located moon base.

conflict

Aliens from the planet Jupiter want to prevent the overexploitation of their raw materials on the neighboring moon by the human intruders and attack the moon base with the military goal of killing all scientists and the astronauts who defend them. The battlefield is the planetary surface interspersed with volcanic craters and the atmosphere above it.

interface

user interface

The graphical user interface (GUI) is divided into two areas: The lower fifth of the screen shows a centrally arranged, highly compressed overview map of the playing area, framed by status displays of the living scientists, astronauts and the available Strata Bombs and Cloak time. The lower area of ​​the sideways scrolling , two-dimensional play area is taken up by the topography of the planet's surface, on which the moon base with its settling zone, moon craters and the three active volcanoes are located. The playing field extends over the top two thirds of the display. The surface of the moon has a width of six screen lengths horizontally, before it reaches the station again on both sides.

control

In addition to a two-axis joystick , buttons are also available for vertical and horizontal thrust, fire button , strata bomb and cloak. The character is accelerated by a Jetpak and influenced by gravity and inertia in movement.

Gameplay

The game mechanics are largely borrowed from the arcade game Defender and have elements from Stargate (1981), Scramble (1981), Robotron: 2084 (1982) and Galaxian (1979). From Defender also were brief and similar alien sprites and layout of the title screen adopted.

Active agent

The toy figure are as offensive weapons, a pulsed energy weapon with unlimited power and three smart bombs (Strata bombs) are available. A protective screen , which is limited to 15 seconds and makes you invulnerable, serves as a defense .

Using a tactic comparable to the kamikaze , the aliens detonate the rocket backpack pilot through a collision. Planters, Nemesites, Antimatter and Nmies also fire projectiles at the player. Planters drop androids on the lunar surface, which the scientists attack and infiltrate the lunar base.

Course of the game

The player directs the protagonist over a playing field that scrolls horizontally to the side. He must avoid the various enemy missiles and destroy them, collect the scientists from the planet's surface and drop them over the station's landing zone. The player has the task of rescuing at least one of eight scientists from the planet's surface and returning to the moon base for every five waves of attack.

The player starts with three lives, three strata bombs and 15 seconds of protective screen time. Every 10,000 points he receives an additional life and another Strata Bomb as well as 7 seconds of additional protective shield time. There are a total of 99 levels , each with increasing difficulty. After level 99 the game jumps back to level 95. Since the game does not define any victory conditions and the opponent has unlimited reserves , the game cannot be won.

Awards

At the end of the game, one of the following eleven awards is given, depending on the number of points achieved:

  1. Not listed - practice recommended
  2. Dextral Dodger
  3. Trekie
  4. Moon Cadet
  5. Planetsman
  6. Ace
  7. Planet Marshal
  8. Planet lord
  9. Star warrior
  10. Solar Prodigy
  11. Megastar - mission completed

development

In 1981, MacLean bought an Atari 800 immediately after the home computer was officially available in the UK and began programming what would later become Dropzone. From 1984 the game was distributed by the publisher US Gold for the Atari. MacLean then converted the game for the C64. MacLean commented on the C64 version as follows:

“The [Commodore] 64 Dropzone is about 46k [kilobytes] long and consists of 15,000 lines of sparsely commented code with around 350 subroutines and around 3000 labels. Those who can reach Megastar status on the 64 should have had enough practice to attempt an Atari supervised Dropzone mission. The Atari, being the Porsche of home computers, is capable of running Dropzone 2.5 times faster than the 64 and can handle any amount of blobs on screen, even when you release a Strata Bomb. It is visually, sonically etc., identical and about 12K shorter. However, the 64 is still a respectable BMW316. "

“The C64 version of Dropzone is around 46  kB long and consists of 15,000 lines of sparsely commented program code with around 350 subroutines and around 3000 labels . All those who have reached the status of Megastar on the C64 should have enough practice to try a dropzone mission on the Atari. The Atari is the Porsche of home computers and is able to run Dropzone two and a half times faster than the C64 and display any number of blobs, even if a Strata bomb is triggered. It is visually and aurally identical and about 12 kB shorter. Despite everything, the C64 is a respectable BMW 316. "

publication

For distribution on the European market, MacLean entered into a contract with the British publisher US Gold . After 18 months, the company stopped paying the royalty on the grounds that the computer game was no longer selling and was therefore no longer being manufactured. On his extensive travels through Europe and Australia, however, MacLean found that his game was still in retail and on sale. He also spotted an ad in the United States promoting the porting of Dropzone for NTSC systems. After MacLean had documented this fact through test purchases and sought legal advice, legal disputes with the publisher that lasted four years followed, until an out-of-court settlement was finally reached regarding the copyright infringement . With the proceeds of this agreement, MacLean bought a Ferrari 288 GTO .

reception

The version for the C64 received the gold medal from the British magazine Zzap! 64 with a rating of 95%.

“A shooting game with a wonderful, old-fashioned, simple plot but powerful effects that are not exactly easy. Lovers of elegant soft scrolling get their money's worth as well as friends of lively graphics. Those who like it action-packed have landed on the right planet with the super-fast »Drop Zone«. "

- Heinrich Lenhardt : Happy Computer

successor

The successor Super Dropzone added new weapons and bosses at the end of the level to the game. The game was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (with the sales name Super Dropzone on the box, but with Dropzone on the home screen), Game Boy Advance and the PlayStation . Only the version for the Game Boy Advance was released in North America, the other versions only in Europe.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The making of… Dropzone. In: Edge . December 1, 2006, archived from the original on February 21, 2007 ; accessed on January 30, 2015 (English).
  2. ↑ a b Archer MacLean interview. In: Halcyon Days. Retrieved February 1, 2015 .
  3. ↑ a b c Dropzone. In: MobyGames . Retrieved February 1, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Tips Dropzone: An Explanation and Survival Tactics . In: Zzap! 64 . No.  05 , 1985, ISSN  0954-867X , p. 78-79 ( co.uk ).
  5. ↑ Dropzone Review . In: Zzap! 64 . No.  07 , 1985, ISSN  0954-867X , p. 18-19 ( co.uk ).
  6. ^ Heinrich Lenhardt : Action hui - action ugh! In: Happy Computer . Edition 9/1985. Kultboy, September 1, 1985, accessed July 28, 2020 .