Heartlight is a puzzle game originally developed by Janusz Pelc for 8-bit Atari. In 1994, an MS-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...

 port (Heartlight PC) was published by Epic Megagames

Epic Games

Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...

 along with two other games by Janusz Pelc in the Epic Puzzle Pack. The shareware

Shareware

The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...

 version contained 20, the full version (Heartlight Deluxe) 70 levels. In 2006, Maciej Miasik, co-author of the DOS version, recompiled it and released it under the Creative Commons

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...

 Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.

Gameplay

The game is set up on a 12x20-square grid. Some of the levels make full use of the space, others fill unused space with a moving background. The game is played as from the side (unlike some bird-eye-view puzzle games), with gravity playing an important part.

The object of the game is to help Percival, the elf character you guide with your keyboard, collect all the hearts on each level and get to the door. Different objects with unique characteristics aim to make reaching this goal more complex.

Unlike many computer games, Heartlight is neither timed nor limited to a certain number of lives. However, there is no Save feature, so under the original DOS environment you lose your place if you quit to do something else. You can restart the level by pressing Esc as many times as you wish, and in most levels you can sit and study them before beginning.

Objects in play

Basic objects you will see on almost every level include bombs, rocks, and hearts. While hearts are one of the goals, they can also fall on and kill Percival. Bombs blow up when squashed or dropped on a hard surface. Rocks squash Percival and can blow up bombs. There are several other objects that you come across while playing the game, and the only way to learn about them is to experiment. Several kinds of walls and empty space also have unique properties that must be tested.

Sound

Heartlight plays a looping track of music along with sound effects for interactions with objects. Hearts falling make a "tink" noise, rocks clunk when they fall on hard objects, and the door creaks when it opens, for example.

Similar games

Heartlight has been compared to other popular puzzle games such as Boulder Dash

Boulder Dash

Boulder Dash, originally released in 1984 for Atari 8-bit computers, is a series of computer games released for the Apple II, MSX, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and ColecoVision home computers, and later ported to the NES, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, PC, Amstrad CPC, Amiga and many other platforms...

 and Supaplex

Supaplex

Supaplex is a video game created by Philip Jespersen and Michael Stopp, two Swiss students, and published by Digital Integration in 1991. It is an extended clone of Boulder Dash.-History:...

.

Reception

The game was later released as part of the Epic Puzzle Pack (with Robbo

The Adventures of Robbo

The Adventures of Robbo is a puzzle video game developed by xLand Games and published in 1994 by Epic MegaGames. The game was re-released under Creative Commons in 2006.-Gameplay:...

and Electro

Electro Man

Electro Man is a VGA sidescrolling DOS computer game developed by xLand Games and published by Epic Megagames in . It was initially released in Poland without the involvement of Epic as "Electro Body" complete with some changed graphics and CGA, EGA and composite monitor display modes...

) which was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon

Dragon (magazine)

Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...

#206 by Sandy Petersen

Sandy Petersen

Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen is a game designer.Petersen was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended University of California, Berkeley, majoring in zoology....

 in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the compilation 3 out of 5 stars.

External links

• Heartlight on MobyGames
  MobyGames
  -Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
  
  
• Heartlight at GameSpot
  GameSpot
  GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...