Heart of Africa
Encyclopedia
Heart of Africa is an adventure game
for the Commodore 64
and unofficial sequel to The Seven Cities of Gold. Created by Ozark Softscape and published by Electronic Arts
in 1985, it casts the player as an adventurer searching for the Lost Tomb of Pharaoh Ankh
Ankh in Africa
during the late 19th century.
Ankh. A splash screen is shown and special music is played. The tomb is in a different (randomly generated) spot for each 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,...
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...
and unofficial sequel to The Seven Cities of Gold. Created by Ozark Softscape and published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
in 1985, it casts the player as an adventurer searching for the Lost Tomb of Pharaoh Ankh
Ankh
The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...
Ankh in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
during the late 19th century.
Gameplay
The game begins with the player having disembarked a steamer north of Cairo in January 1890. The player uses a joystick to move about and choose various game options.Screen
The game is played on a screen with a small map in the center and various icons and information surrounding it. Above the map is the current month and year, to the right is information displaying how much food and money the player has, as well as the number of gifts and what is currently in the player's hands. To the left are four icons that allow the player to interact with the game. By pressing the joystick fire button the player can select one of the icons.- The diary icon allows the player to page through the diary to review notes that are automatically written throughout the game, as well as notes of interaction with native chiefs.
- The map icon lets the player see how much of the current region has been explored so far. It also provides a map of any city or village the player is currently in - as long as he has bearings there.
- The options icon offers the player three choices. The player can check his location, health, or can drop items to create a cache. A cache is marked on the map with an X and the player can return later to retrieve the items.
- The hand icon lets the player select and use items from his inventory. Items in hand can affect (among other things) how natives act, how well the player can traverse the terrain and whether the player can find buried treasure.
Interaction with Natives
The player obtains items by trading with or buying from the natives. This is accomplished simply by standing next to a native in a hut to learn what he or she will sell or trade. The player then stands over the commodity and buys it. Each city has one merchant who will buy and sell valuable commodities. Native chiefs can tell the player where to find valuables, if they are brought what they want.Delirium
At various times throughout the game the player can become delirious. When this happens the joystick controls will respond in a random manner until the delirium has passed.Saving the Game
To save a game the player must go into a pub in a port city. Up to ten games can be saved on a formatted disk.Winning
The game is won when the player finds the Lost Tomb of Pharaoh AnkhAnkh
The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...
Ankh. A splash screen is shown and special music is played. The tomb is in a different (randomly generated) spot for each game.
Items & Uses
- Gifts - for trading with natives.
- Medicine - to cure wounds.
- Pistol - for defense or threatening natives.
- Machete - for defense or moving in jungle.
- Whip - for limited defense.
- Shovel - for digging up buried items.
- Canteen - for crossing desert (always filled with water)
- Rope - for climbing mountains.
- Map - for guidance of the continent or current village/city.
- Food - you need it to survive.
- Canoe - for traveling on rivers, but burdensome on land.
- Money - for buying supplies.
- Clues - if you give the right gift to a native chief, he may give you clues to the location of Ahnk Ahnk's tomb.
- Bearings - gifts can be traded for a "bearings" map, which causes important buildings to look different on the map.
Types of Buildings
- Store (pick and shovel icon) - for medicine, maps and gifts.
- Food hut (green peaked roof with checkerboard design) - for canoes and food.
- Tool hut (flat roof, checkerboard design) - for shovels, ropes and canteens.
- Weapons hut (black peaked roof, checkerboard design) - for pistols, machetes and whips.
- Chief's hut (slightly bigger, one semicircle on top) - for clues.
- Pub ("Pub" on front) - for saving game for later play.
- Travel Agent (lightning bolt) - to purchase passage from any one port to another.
- Bazaar (four pillars) - for buying and selling precious metals and jewels.