Gunfright
Encyclopedia
Gunfright is a ZX Spectrum
video game developed by Ultimate Play The Game
for U.S. Gold
in 1986. The game makes use of the same scrolling
isometric projection
engine
used previously in Nightshade
. The player takes the role of sheriff
in the town of Black Rock. Some outlaw
s are headed into town and Sheriff Quickdraw needs to take them down. Gunfright was released on the ZX Spectrum at the same time as another wild west
-themed title, Outlaws
, for the Commodore 64
.
, in which vertically-scrolling bags of money can be shot at using crosshair
s. This supplies the player with an initial sum of cash to buy ammunition
.
After this stage, the action mostly takes place within a scrolling 3D environment, similar to that used in the earlier Ultimate release, Nightshade. Streets and buildings are rendered isometrically, with walls disappearing to outlines when the player enters a building or walks behind a wall (see images below).
In this stage, the sheriff must locate the wanted outlaws one by one. Once an outlaw has been found and shot (shooting the outlaw does not kill him, but only initiates a duel
), the action again shifts to the targeting sub-game. This time, the player must try to shoot the rapidly moving outlaw as quickly as possible. The player can either wait for the outlaw to draw first, which is advisable in the early stages, since he stops moving to do so and draws his gun slowly; or the player can take the initiative and shoot first, which makes the bandit draw as well. This latter strategy is necessary in the later stages, since each outlaw is faster than the last. If the player successfully shoots an outlaw, a bounty
is paid (increasing with every round), and a new outlaw enters the play environment.
During gameplay, players often encounter helpful townsfolk who will point the way to outlaws. They need to be protected, and the player has to pay a fine if any are shot by either bandits or the player themselves (the latter is sometimes necessary to avoid losing a life). Some outlaws are mounted on horse
back and the player may have to saddle
up to pursue them. In a characteristically humorous touch, players do this by using a pantomime horse
.
The levels are marked by each outlaw to be found, shot and defeated on a duel.
Some of them are named after real-life bandits.
Once reaching level 20, the game loops on the last four characters (Mexicans, Gun slingers, Bandits or Hill Billys).
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
video game developed by Ultimate Play The Game
Ultimate Play the Game
Ultimate Play The Game was a critically acclaimed video game developer of the early home computer era. "Ultimate Play The Game" was the trading name of Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd. , a software company founded in 1982 by two ex-arcade game developers Tim and Chris Stamper...
for U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold was a British video game publisher and developer from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, producing numerous titles on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.-History:...
in 1986. The game makes use of the same scrolling
Scrolling
In computer graphics, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display. "Scrolling", as such, does not change the layout of the text or pictures, or but incrementally moves the user's view across what is...
isometric projection
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
used previously in Nightshade
Nightshade (video game)
Nightshade is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1985. Building upon the earlier titles Knight Lore and Alien 8 using the flip-screen, isometric gameplay branded Filmation, Nightshade introduces a scrolling isometric environment branded Filmation II.-...
. The player takes the role of sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
in the town of Black Rock. Some outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
s are headed into town and Sheriff Quickdraw needs to take them down. Gunfright was released on the ZX Spectrum at the same time as another wild west
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
-themed title, Outlaws
Outlaws (C64 game)
Outlaws is a video game for the Commodore 64 developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1985. In a break from earlier arcade adventure titles such as The Staff of Karnath and Entombed, Outlaws is a straightforward shooter game and does not feature the aristocrat adventurer, Sir Arthur...
, 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...
.
Introduction
Typically for an Ultimate release, players are given a tantalising and humorous introduction :- "The Governor Of Black Rock
- How'de Pardners!
- NOW Y'ALL LISTEN UP.
- Seems we got ourselves a new Sheriff in town, reckons he gonna clear the town of the meanest and fastest Gun Totin' Bunch of Rootin' Tootin' Gun Slingers which ever did hit the Wild West, goes by the name of Sheriff Quickdraw.
- Yes Siree.
- - Meanwhile in the Sheriff's Office -
-
- ..............TELEGRAM........................
- .WHOLE LODA BADDIES A WHOOPIN' AND A WAILIN'..
- ..........HEADING STRAIGHT FER TOWN...........
- ......LOCK UP YER HOUSES......................
- ............BAR UP YER SHOPS..................
- ........AND WAIT FOR THE SHERIFF TO CLEAR.....
- ..................OUT THE MOBS.........END....
- Sheriff Quickdraw springs into action and, within the blink of an eye, is away on his trusty steed Panto.
- "Wha, eye jus' git on ma Horsey, rustle up thim that Bunch of no good trouble Roosters and raad thim straight out a' Town, No Messin'. Acomin' in here, a wailin', a hollerin', a yellin', a robbin' and a shooting' aller these here fine friendly Town Kinsfolk. Ah gotta git some er that nee-or-mality restored to this here lil' ole Town. An' ah bes' get ready beefer thim Gunslingers arrive, an ain't nobody gonna stand in ma way, Nooo Sir. Ahh just gonna git ma somma that amm-une-nee-shon an a'hm ready for thim baddies, as soon as they've hit town. Wha eye might even make ma sell rich with all thim bag fat rewards on offer."
- Dang-Nabbit, go git thim villans, Sheriff Quickdraw."
Gameplay
Taking on the role of Sheriff Quickdraw, players must track down and kill a band of outlaws who have arrived at, and are terrorising, the town of Black Rock. The game begins with a short targeting sub-gameMinigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
, in which vertically-scrolling bags of money can be shot at using crosshair
Crosshair
A reticle is a net of fine lines or fibers in the eyepiece of a sighting device, such as a telescope, a telescopic sight, a microscope, or the screen of an oscilloscope. The word reticle comes from the Latin "reticulum," meaning "net." Today, engraved lines or embedded fibers may be replaced by a...
s. This supplies the player with an initial sum of cash to buy ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
.
After this stage, the action mostly takes place within a scrolling 3D environment, similar to that used in the earlier Ultimate release, Nightshade. Streets and buildings are rendered isometrically, with walls disappearing to outlines when the player enters a building or walks behind a wall (see images below).
In this stage, the sheriff must locate the wanted outlaws one by one. Once an outlaw has been found and shot (shooting the outlaw does not kill him, but only initiates a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
), the action again shifts to the targeting sub-game. This time, the player must try to shoot the rapidly moving outlaw as quickly as possible. The player can either wait for the outlaw to draw first, which is advisable in the early stages, since he stops moving to do so and draws his gun slowly; or the player can take the initiative and shoot first, which makes the bandit draw as well. This latter strategy is necessary in the later stages, since each outlaw is faster than the last. If the player successfully shoots an outlaw, a bounty
Bounty (reward)
A bounty is a payment or reward often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. Bounties are most commonly issued for the capture or retrieval of a person or object. They are typically in the form of money...
is paid (increasing with every round), and a new outlaw enters the play environment.
During gameplay, players often encounter helpful townsfolk who will point the way to outlaws. They need to be protected, and the player has to pay a fine if any are shot by either bandits or the player themselves (the latter is sometimes necessary to avoid losing a life). Some outlaws are mounted on horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
back and the player may have to saddle
Western saddle
Western saddles are used for western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on trail rides at guest ranches...
up to pursue them. In a characteristically humorous touch, players do this by using a pantomime horse
Pantomime horse
A pantomime horse is atheatrical representation of a horse or other quadruped by two actors in a single costume who cooperate and synchronize their movements...
.
Levels
Some of them are named after real-life bandits.
- Buffalo BillBuffalo BillWilliam Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
- Billy the KidBilly the KidWilliam H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
- Sundance Kid
- Jesse JamesJesse JamesJesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
- Butch CassidyButch CassidyRobert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
- Ma BakerMa Baker"Ma Baker" is a 1977 disco hit single by German disco band Boney M. It was the first single of their second album Love for Sale and their third consecutive chart-topper in Germany and their best yet placing in the UK, peaking at #2 although only a minor single in the US .-The song:Frank Farian's...
- Wild BillWild Bill-People:* Wild Bill Hickok, or James Butler Hickok , gunfighter and legendary figure of the American West* "Wild Bill" Hickman, or William Adams Hickman , frontiersman, ex-Mormon, and purported murderer...
- Rumpo Kid (a reference to the movie Carry On CowboyCarry On CowboyCarry On Cowboy is the eleventh in the Carry On series of films. It was released in 1965 and was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw...
) - Clever Jake
- Milkie bar Kid (a reference to the Milkybar Kid)
- Klondike Pete
- Bronco Colorado
- Wayko Kid (a reference to The Waco Kid, Gene WilderGene WilderGene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
's gunslinger character in the movie Blazing SaddlesBlazing SaddlesBlazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
) - Lone Ranger
- TontoTontoTonto may mean:* Tonto, a band of Apache native Americans.* Tonto, the fictional sidekick to the Lone Ranger.* "Tonto", a song by the American math rock band Battles, from their album Mirrored.** "Tonto+", the EP centered around said song....
- QD McGrawQuick Draw McGrawThe Quick Draw McGraw Show is the third cartoon television production created by Hanna-Barbera starring an anthropomorphic cartoon horse named Quick Draw McGraw following their success with The Ruff & Reddy Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show. The show debuted in syndication in the fall of 1959,...
- Mexicans
- Gun slingers
- Bandits
- Hill BillysHillbillyHillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
Once reaching level 20, the game loops on the last four characters (Mexicans, Gun slingers, Bandits or Hill Billys).
External links
- Gunfright at Ultimate Wurlde
- Gunfright review at CRASH magazineCRASH (magazine)Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.-Development:...