B.C.'s Quest For Tires
Encyclopedia
B.C.'s Quest for Tires is a 1983
video game developed
by Sydney Development Corp. and published
by Sierra On-Line. It was released for the Commodore 64
, Atari 8-bit, ColecoVision
, ZX Spectrum
, MSX
, and Apple II
, based on the comic strip
B.C. by Johnny Hart
. The name of the game is a play on the title of the contemporaneous film
, Quest for Fire
.
Thor, who has to rescue his girlfriend, the Cute Chick, who has been kidnapped by a dinosaur
. To do this, he must travel on his stone
unicycle
through several levels. Each level involves Thor moving from the left to the right, avoiding various dangers.
taking place on several consecutive levels. The levels start out simple, with Thor having to jump over pothole
s or duck under tree
branches. Later levels become more complex, for example Thor having to jump over turtle
s in a lake or be carried over a lava pit by a Dooky Bird. Other B.C. characters, such as the Fat Broad, also appear on some levels.
, was released in 1984
.
1983 in video gaming
-Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong...
video game developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Sydney Development Corp. and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Sierra On-Line. It was released for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Atari 8-bit, ColecoVision
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
, and Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, based on the comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
B.C. by Johnny Hart
Johnny Hart
Johnny Hart was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strip B.C. and co-creator of the strip The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including the Swedish Adamson Award and five from the National Cartoonists Society...
. The name of the game is a play on the title of the contemporaneous film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Quest for Fire
Quest for Fire (film)
Quest for Fire is a 1981 film adaptation of the 1911 Belgian novel by J.-H. Rosny aîné . Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and adapted by Gérard Brach, the film stars Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nameer El-Kadi, and Rae Dawn Chong. It won the Academy Award for Makeup. Michael D...
.
Story
The player takes the role of the cavemanCaveman
A caveman or troglodyte is a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved...
Thor, who has to rescue his girlfriend, the Cute Chick, who has been kidnapped by a dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
. To do this, he must travel on his stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
unicycle
Unicycle
A unicycle is a human-powered, single-track vehicle with one wheel. Unicycles resemble bicycles, but are less complex.-History:One theory of the advent of the unicycle stems from the popularity of the penny-farthing during the late 19th century...
through several levels. Each level involves Thor moving from the left to the right, avoiding various dangers.
Gameplay
The game is an action gameAction game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
taking place on several consecutive levels. The levels start out simple, with Thor having to jump over pothole
Pothole
A pothole is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole.- Formation :...
s or duck under tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
branches. Later levels become more complex, for example Thor having to jump over turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s in a lake or be carried over a lava pit by a Dooky Bird. Other B.C. characters, such as the Fat Broad, also appear on some levels.
Awards
This game won numerous awards, including:- Critic's Choice Awards - Best Game For Youngsters (awarded by Family ComputingFamily ComputingFamily Computing was a 1980s U.S. computer magazine published by Scholastic, Inc.. It covered all the major home computer platforms of the day including the Apple II series, Commodore Vic 20 and 64, Atari 8-bit family as well as the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh. It printed a mixture of product...
). - Arkie Award - Most Humorous Video/Computer Game (awarded by Electronic GamesElectronic GamesElectronic Games was the first video game magazine published in the United States and ran from 1981 to 1994. It was co-founded by Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel, and is unrelated to the subsequent Electronic Gaming Monthly.-External links:* *...
). - Colecovision Game of the Year - (awarded by Video Game Update).
- Best use of Graphics and Sound in a Video Game - (awarded by Billboard Magazine).
Sequels
A sequel, Grog's RevengeB.C. II: Grog's Revenge
B.C. II: Grog's Revenge is a 1984 video game by Sierra On-Line for the Commodore 64, ColecoVision, and MSX. It is the sequel to B.C.'s Quest For Tires and is based on B.C., the newspaper comic strip by Johnny Hart.-Gameplay:...
, was released in 1984
1984 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3...
.