Flight of the Amazon Queen
Encyclopedia
Flight of the Amazon Queen (FOTAQ) is a graphical point-and-click
adventure game
by Interactive Binary Illusions originally released in 1995 for Amiga
and DOS
and re-released as free software
in 2004 for use with ScummVM
. It is very similar in style in many ways to LucasArts
' many popular point-and-click adventures of the 1990s, and was inspired by Monkey Island and Indiana Jones
.
of adventure serials
and pulp magazines of the time.
The player assumes the role of Joe King, pilot
for hire and owner of the Amazon Queen airplane
of the title, who crash-lands in the Amazon jungle and subsequently has to save not only his passenger, the famous movie star
Faye Russel, but also an entire tribe
of Amazon women
and even the world
from a mad scientist
and his lederhosen
company, who have concocted a vile scheme to turn Amazons into Dinosaur warriors using his DinoRay invention.
The game includes multiple allusions to the Indiana Jones games, for example images of their main character and his fear of snakes.
's Amiga Power
magazine, to be reviewed by Jonathan Nash in issue 51. Whilst playing he found an error which prevented progression through the game (at the start, the bellhop
would not relinquish the door key). He informed the publisher which resulted in the game release being delayed for several months as, at the time, the game had been sent to the disk duplication factory ready for reproduction. As it was also too late to change the magazine content and layout, the issue went to press with an apology that they had unintentionally reviewed an "unfinished" game, which was against one of their policies. The screenshots for the issue came from the PC version, also against their policy. The front cover of this issue featured an artist's impression of the 'escape from Rio' car chase scene.
The Amiga version had no voices, whereas the DOS
CD version was a talkie featuring full voice-acting. The voice of the Temple Guardian was provided by British actress Penelope Keith
. Actor William Hootkins
, who played Red Six (Jek Porkins) in Star Wars
, also voiced a number of characters.
The DOS
CD version contained a Mini-Game of sorts. The file Queen.1 (1.82MB, CRC: D72DCD56) is found in the INTERVIE folder in the CD-ROM's Root. The Mini-Game is a fully playable adventure game, where the main character tries to get an interview from the game's development team. The game features MIDI music and full text, but no talkie version was ever released. The Mini-Game features familiar locations, characters, and game spoilers. The Mini-Game usually goes unnoticed as it is not bootable or playable from within the main game. The Mini-Game is fully supported by the recent ScummVM
release.
In March 2004, the game was released as free software and support for it was added to ScummVM
, allowing it to be played on Linux
, Mac OS X
, Windows
, and many other operating systems and consoles. The datafiles for both the floppy disk
and CD-ROM
version are available from the ScummVM website. The Fedora
RPM
software repository has an installer for the game alongside ScummVM. This game is directly included in the Debian software repository.
In 2009, iPhSoft took ScummVM's FOTAQ iPhone
/ iPod Touch
free port and modified it. This modification is being commercially sold on iTunes
.
. Starting from Rio de Janeiro
, Joe flies over the Amazon rainforest and he crash lands due to an electrical storm
. He goes to the Pinnacle to get a view of his surrounding area. The Pinnacle also acts as the game map, similar to the postcard in Simon the Sorcerer
. In the Jungle, he finds the Christian Mission and the Amazon Fortress which is the home of the Amazon Women tribe. In need of supplies, he travels to a Pygmy
village where Trader Bob has his supply store. He then explores the Flöda Factory, a front for the evil scientist's secret base which manufactures lederhosen
. The next region is the Ancient Temple which is full of ancient technologies, reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
. The final section of the game happens in the Valley of the Mists.
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
by Interactive Binary Illusions originally released in 1995 for Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
and re-released as free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
in 2004 for use with ScummVM
ScummVM
ScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
. It is very similar in style in many ways to LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
' many popular point-and-click adventures of the 1990s, and was inspired by Monkey Island and Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1989 , published by Lucasfilm Games . It was the third game to use the SCUMM engine.-Plot:The plot closely follows, and expands upon, the film of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
.
Story
Taking place in 1949, the game is a pastichePastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of adventure serials
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
and pulp magazines of the time.
The player assumes the role of Joe King, pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
for hire and owner of the Amazon Queen airplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
of the title, who crash-lands in the Amazon jungle and subsequently has to save not only his passenger, the famous movie star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
Faye Russel, but also an entire tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
of Amazon women
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
and even the world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
from a mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
and his lederhosen
Lederhosen
Lederhosen are breeches made of leather; they may be either short or knee-length. The longer ones are generally called Bundhosen....
company, who have concocted a vile scheme to turn Amazons into Dinosaur warriors using his DinoRay invention.
The game includes multiple allusions to the Indiana Jones games, for example images of their main character and his fear of snakes.
Releases
Prior to release, the game was sent by the publisher to Future PublishingFuture Publishing
Future plc is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography. Future is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers...
's Amiga Power
Amiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
magazine, to be reviewed by Jonathan Nash in issue 51. Whilst playing he found an error which prevented progression through the game (at the start, the bellhop
Bellhop
A bellhop, also bellboy or bellman, is a hotel porter, who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform , like certain other page boys or doormen...
would not relinquish the door key). He informed the publisher which resulted in the game release being delayed for several months as, at the time, the game had been sent to the disk duplication factory ready for reproduction. As it was also too late to change the magazine content and layout, the issue went to press with an apology that they had unintentionally reviewed an "unfinished" game, which was against one of their policies. The screenshots for the issue came from the PC version, also against their policy. The front cover of this issue featured an artist's impression of the 'escape from Rio' car chase scene.
The Amiga version had no voices, whereas the DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
CD version was a talkie featuring full voice-acting. The voice of the Temple Guardian was provided by British actress Penelope Keith
Penelope Keith
Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life...
. Actor William Hootkins
William Hootkins
William Michael Hootkins was an American character actor, most famous for supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars, Batman and Raiders of the Lost Ark.-Early life:...
, who played Red Six (Jek Porkins) in Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, also voiced a number of characters.
The DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
CD version contained a Mini-Game of sorts. The file Queen.1 (1.82MB, CRC: D72DCD56) is found in the INTERVIE folder in the CD-ROM's Root. The Mini-Game is a fully playable adventure game, where the main character tries to get an interview from the game's development team. The game features MIDI music and full text, but no talkie version was ever released. The Mini-Game features familiar locations, characters, and game spoilers. The Mini-Game usually goes unnoticed as it is not bootable or playable from within the main game. The Mini-Game is fully supported by the recent ScummVM
ScummVM
ScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
release.
In March 2004, the game was released as free software and support for it was added to ScummVM
ScummVM
ScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
, allowing it to be played on Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, and many other operating systems and consoles. The datafiles for both the floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
and CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
version are available from the ScummVM website. The Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...
software repository has an installer for the game alongside ScummVM. This game is directly included in the Debian software repository.
In 2009, iPhSoft took ScummVM's FOTAQ iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
/ iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
free port and modified it. This modification is being commercially sold on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Game locations
The game is set primarily in the Amazon BasinAmazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
. Starting from Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Joe flies over the Amazon rainforest and he crash lands due to an electrical storm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
. He goes to the Pinnacle to get a view of his surrounding area. The Pinnacle also acts as the game map, similar to the postcard in Simon the Sorcerer
Simon the Sorcerer
Simon the Sorcerer is an adventure game that was released by Adventure Soft on 2 January 1993 for Amiga and MS-DOS formats. The story begins with the protagonist, Simon, as an ordinary teenager. His dog, "Chippy", discovers a chest in the loft of his house containing a spellbook titled "Ye Olde...
. In the Jungle, he finds the Christian Mission and the Amazon Fortress which is the home of the Amazon Women tribe. In need of supplies, he travels to a Pygmy
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
village where Trader Bob has his supply store. He then explores the Flöda Factory, a front for the evil scientist's secret base which manufactures lederhosen
Lederhosen
Lederhosen are breeches made of leather; they may be either short or knee-length. The longer ones are generally called Bundhosen....
. The next region is the Ancient Temple which is full of ancient technologies, reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a point-and-click adventure game by LucasArts originally released in 1992. Almost a year later, it was reissued on CD-ROM as an enhanced "talkie" edition with full voice acting and digitized sound effects...
. The final section of the game happens in the Valley of the Mists.
External links
- ScummVM - Interpreter + datafiles
- Download Flight of the Amazon Queen - ScummVM.org (freeware)
- Websites of FOTAQ creators Steve Stamatiadis and John Passfield
- Interview with Steve Stamatiadis