Tucker's adventure
| Tucker's adventure | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio | Frank Basner |
| Publisher | Frank Basner |
| Senior Developer | Portraits: Ans de Bruin, boss: Adam Elliott Jones |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
August 1996 |
| platform | Windows |
| genre | Maze, skill |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | Keyboard Mouse |
| system advantages preconditions |
from version 2: Windows XP, HD 12 MB graphic VGA 800 × 600 |
| medium | Initially floppy disk, from 1998 installation file for download |
| language | Initially English, from version 1.2 German |
| Current version | 11/12/25b |
Tucker's Adventure is a puzzle and skill game that was first released on a game CD in 1996. It was developed by Frank Basner from Arnstadt ( Thuringia ) for the PC as freeware and can be downloaded from his website "Tuckerland". The attraction of the game lies in the logical procedure in the search for possible solutions. It contains twelve adventures of ten levels each and one boss each. The idea of the game is to free "Drogana", the ruler of the "Tuckerland" from the hands of disgusting "cryptos". Players from 30 countries are registered ("Table of Fame"). “Tucker's Adventure” is characterized by a number of special features: The game is non-violent and demanding. It is also enhanced by the portrait drawings by Ans de Bruin, the design of the bosses by Adam Elliott Jones and the dubbing voice of Joachim Kerzel , who speaks the magician Frakar. From the beginning until today, the game has been continuously developed and improved with the involvement of many committed players as beta testers. In addition to the normal sequence, there are two special game modes: " Time Run Mode and Card Run Mode ".
The game and its adventures
The game world: adversaries and bosses
The operation of the game is simple and is done with the arrow keys (direction of movement) and the space bar (actions). Special settings (options, menu, help) can also be made with the mouse. The play figure is "Tucker", an initially upright walking male, which was replaced in later versions by a figure seen from above. At the beginning Tucker is in a labyrinth , in which he has to find ten specific crystals per level and bring them to "Frakar, the magician". He is hindered by moving or fixed obstacles, traps or secret doors that can be found and overcome. If the first levels in the first adventure are still easy to solve, the degree of difficulty will soon increase significantly. The adventures seven to twelve represent a great challenge for logic, imagination, resourcefulness and also dexterity. Help can be found in the status line of the game, where the current status of life, resources and crystals is displayed. The special attraction of the game results from the need to find solutions, the curiosity about what is hidden behind and from the sometimes humorous comments that Frakar makes in the status line. Adversaries in the game are mostly "cryptos" of the most varied types. Magic circles, hidden doors and rooms and traps have to be found and overcome. Various types of crystals serve as an aid to overcome: life, throwing, key and magic crystals. Throwing crystals can be used to remove some obstacles. Once ten levels have been completed, a final boss follows in the respective adventure, who unites all opponents again before the next adventure begins.
Adventure and levels
| Adventure No. | title | Level no. | Boss | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TA 01 | Shield squires and shield maids | 001-010 | up to version 2 ATU witch, with version 4 the ATURINA spider, from version 5 ATURINA witch | Guardian cryptos, Friedlos cryptos, titanium cryptos, clouds of fire |
| TA 02 | Women and men of the bow | 011-020 | Snake OBA, from version 5 snake ORBAS | Glob cryptos, Natter cryptos, Amazon cryptos, Lakai cryptos |
| TA 03 | The bravest from the village | 021-030 | Zombie ULO, from version 5 Zombie ULOTAN | Exploding cryptos, blind cryptos |
| TA 04 | Knower of the 1st holy word | 031-040 | Mummy ANI, from version 5 Mummy ANISIS | Mummy cryptos |
| TA 05 | Conqueror of the swamps | 041-050 | Swamp monster IKO, from version 5 swamp monster IKOLUS | Sewer cryptos |
| TA 06 | Hero with all virtues | 051-060 | Scarab EZA, from version 5 Scarab EZAG | Scarab cryptos |
| TA 07 | Conqueror of the lava world | 061-070 | Dactylos YSO, from version 5 Dactylus YSARO | Lava cryptos |
| TA 08 | gunsmith | 071-080 | Fire breathers UXU, from version 5 fire breathers UXUTAR | Crazy cryptos, stone traps |
| TA 09 | Lord of Kryptanos | 081-090 | Kryptanos YTA, from version 5 CRYPTANOS SCORPIUS | Split cryptos, Zech cryptos, slime cryptos |
| TA 10 | Ghost hunters | 091-100 | Spirit AXI, from version 5 spirit of KAHLESS | Ghost cryptos, camouflage cryptos, projectors |
| TA 11 | A friend of the fairy Carla | 101-110 | Barbarian TEX, from version 5 TEX, the barbarian | Breeder cryptos, poisoner cryptos |
| TA 12 | Nor's nightmare | 111-120 | Tyrann NOR, from version 5 NORKIN by HEGEN | Crystal cryptos, ghost cryptos, floor traps, moving platforms |
Special game modes
The game can also be operated in 2 special modes: TIME-RUN mode (TRM) or CARD-RUN mode (CRM). In the TIME-RUN mode, a counter determines the time from Tucker's first movement to the level that has been solved. In the CARD-RUN mode, certain tasks to be identified by the player must be mastered, which can be independent of the solution of the respective level. The result is the appearance of a card that is important for the follow-up game " Frakars Tower ".
The world of "Tuckerland Adventures"
Frakar the magician and his followers
Every player who plays Tucker's Adventure has the option to register for free. Over the years, a community of players has come together that is very active and has a special share in the further development of the game. "Frakar, the magician" is the pseudonym for the game developer, Frank Basner. In addition to the game "Tucker's Adventure", he created a fictional world called "Tuckerland" to which every registered player can have access. The place where Frakar lives is called "Krähenburg". At his side is "Drogana" alias "Asi", an Amazon warrior and his companion. Other important people in "Tuckerland" are "Blinzus, the seer", "Manathas, the writer", "Lady Akiren, the keeper of the cards", the crow "Karrda" and "Lord SegaNino, the administrator". Behind these pseudonyms are real, active players who over the years have made a special contribution to the development of "Tucker's Adventure" or to life in Tuckerland, for example through critical and constructive advice on the game, participation in the time run Modus and / or Card-Run-Modus, articles in the Tuckerland newspaper or support and motivation for the game developer.
The table of fame, the Tuckerland newspaper and the forum for the game
The table of fame informs every registered player about his status, placement, statistics and experience points, if applicable. The Tuckerlandzeitung (TLZ) appeared monthly on the last Sunday of the month from July 1997 to May 2017 and was created from the opinions expressed by players about "Tucker's adventure" to Frakar. In the course of time it increased in size and contained, in the form of a feature section, contributions from players or friends of the game on a variety of topics, such as: reviews of the game, descriptions of other games, travelogues, local and regional features, puzzles and music , Concerts and performances. The TLZ was initially distributed on floppy disks, but - like the game itself - could soon be read and saved online. In December 2008, Thomas Trott, alias "Magnus", opened the Tuckerland forum with the sections information area, activities related to the Tucker adventures, description of the Tucker adventures and space for various topics and questions, and managed this forum administratively for 5 years. Here there was an opportunity for players who got stuck at a certain point to get advice and help.
Development and production
The version history can be divided into two sections. A section lasted from 1996, when the first parts of the game were published on magazine CDs, to 1999, when the game in its original version 1 was finished with twelve adventures. A second phase from 2000 to 2012 is characterized by the search for change and perfection. The second version with a new boss, which appeared in 2002, only had one adventure. The next version with the version number 4 appeared in 2004 and comprised only two adventures. Subsequently, various levels were published in the "Tuckerland newspaper" without reference to the previous game and tested by active players. However, these levels were not included in the game, which was completely redesigned between 2005 and 2012. During this time, all of the original levels were redesigned and given a uniform design , characters, bosses and accessories. The development programs originally used were Klik & Play , later The Games Factory and finally Multimedia Fusion . The entire development can be traced back to the "Tuckerland newspapers" over the years, since all levels were published there as beta tests . In 2010, a committed player summarized all the original levels from the early years on his website. In 2013, Frank Basner published the above-mentioned game fragments again in the so-called "TA-Outtakes".
| version | Windows version | completion | Level password |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 3.11 | 1996, TA 01-04 | Alphanumeric |
| 1.1 | 3.11 to 98 | 1999, TA 01-12 | Alphanumeric |
| 2 | 3.11 to XP | 2002 | Alphanumeric |
| 3 does not exist | - | - | - |
| 4th | XP | 2004 | Alphanumeric |
| 5 | XP | 2005 | Numerically |
| 6th | XP | 2007 | Numerically |
| 7th | XP, Vista | 2007 | Numerically |
| 8, 9 do not exist | - | - | - |
| 10, 11, 12 (from 2010 the version number is identical to the year and month number, game has been completely revised) |
XP, Vista, 7 | 2012 | Numerically |
outlook
Frank Basner stopped the further development of this computer game in 2012 with the completed revision of all the adventures of "Tucker's Adventure" after 16 years of work. A game called "Frakars Turm" has been in the making since 2014. It is intended as an independent game, but uses characters from "Tucker's Adventure". A porting of "Tucker's Adventure" or "Frakars Tower" on other operating systems and platforms such. B. Linux, Mac or Android is not intended.
reception
In May 2003, Tucker's Adventure came fourth in the “ GameStar ” magazine's programming readers' competition .
"[...] And it doesn't have to be a Power Pentium either. Nevertheless, the little Tucker, who has to fend off his level by level more voracious opponent, now enjoys something like cult status [...] "
“[...] a game by Frank Basner. Ten levels, lousy boss, some action, some skill, a little bit of strategy. A well-balanced mixture [...] "
“This game of logic and skill has already achieved cult status; it has been available as freeware for over ten years. What looks wild at first is basically quite harmless, the game is by no means brutal. Tucker's adventure follows the simple and successful game principle «Hero saves princess» .... "
Web links
- Official website
- The current version can be downloaded from computerbild.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Tuckerland Adventures - history, game & music. In: tuckerland.de. Retrieved March 1, 2014 .
- ↑ a b TdR Aktuell. (No longer available online.) In: tuckerland.de. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013 ; accessed on March 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (no longer available)
- ↑ http://www.facebook.com/adam.jones.10485546
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. TLZ. (No longer available online.) In: tuckerland.de. Formerly in the original ; accessed on March 1, 2014 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (no longer available)
- ↑ a b Tuckerland Forum Index. (No longer available online.) In: tuckerland.de. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016 ; accessed on March 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (no longer available)
- ↑ a b TLZ. (No longer available online.) In: tuckerland.de. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013 ; accessed on March 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (no longer available)
- ^ Tuckerland Archives. In: sega-oldies.de. Retrieved March 1, 2014 .
- ↑ GameStar 05/2003
- ↑ Tucker's Adventure. In: pctipp.ch. Retrieved March 1, 2014 .
