.gif)
Pipeline (game)
Encyclopedia
Pipeline is a computer game for the BBC Micro
and Acorn Electron
, originally published by Superior Software
in 1989.
with a look similar to previous Superior hits Repton and Ravenskull, but with a higher frame rate
. It is set on a mining platform above Io
, the sulfur-rich moon of Jupiter
.
Pipeline was bundled with graphics and level design programs, allowing players to design their own game scenarios incorporating keys and doors, patrolling guards, explosions, throwable objects, moving walls, transport puzzle
s in the style of Sokoban
, pipes, teleports
and other simple kinds of puzzle logic.
The game was written by Ian Holmes and William Reeve of Cambridge, England and published by the leading BBC Micro game company of the time, Superior Software
of Leeds
.
The original game concept, strongly influenced by the earlier game Ravenskull, was of an action RPG
. By collecting treasure and completing quests, the player would progress through medieval guilds in a fantasy
setting: the working title was GuildMaster.
A change in direction was suggested by Richard Hanson (managing director and co-founder of Superior Software). Instead of a medieval city, the game took place on a contemporary oil platform
with a red-headed protagonist nicknamed Red O'Hare collecting oil drums and putting out fires (a reference to Red Adair
). This plotline was, however, quickly transplanted to a science-fictional
setting, following the Piper Alpha
disaster in 1988.
The name Pipeline arose from the gameplay element of fast transport to distant parts of the map through topologically interwoven pipes (novel to the BBC Micro at the time, but see Super Mario Bros.
or Sonic the Hedgehog for well-known examples).
/Blue Ribbon
budget range. Although the inlay made no mention of the game editing programs, they were included on the cassette.
A new expanded version for Microsoft Windows
titled Pipeline Plus is available from Superior Interactive
.
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
and Acorn Electron
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
, originally published by Superior Software
Superior Software
Superior Software is a video game publisher. It was established in 1982 by Richard Hanson and John Dyson, two graduates of the University of Leeds, England...
in 1989.
Storyline
The game is a fast four-way scrolling arcade adventureAction-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
with a look similar to previous Superior hits Repton and Ravenskull, but with a higher frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
. It is set on a mining platform above Io
Io (moon)
Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
, the sulfur-rich moon of Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
.
Pipeline was bundled with graphics and level design programs, allowing players to design their own game scenarios incorporating keys and doors, patrolling guards, explosions, throwable objects, moving walls, transport puzzle
Transport puzzle
Transport puzzles are logistical puzzles, which often represent real-life transport problems.-Description:In transport puzzles you move persons and/or objects through a given landscape. As in rearrangement puzzles, no piece is ever lost or added to the board...
s in the style of Sokoban
Sokoban
is a type of transport puzzle, in which the player pushes boxes or crates around in a warehouse, trying to get them to storage locations. The puzzle is usually implemented as a video game....
, pipes, teleports
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
and other simple kinds of puzzle logic.
Game development
Superior Software
Superior Software is a video game publisher. It was established in 1982 by Richard Hanson and John Dyson, two graduates of the University of Leeds, England...
of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
.
The original game concept, strongly influenced by the earlier game Ravenskull, was of an action RPG
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
. By collecting treasure and completing quests, the player would progress through medieval guilds in a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
setting: the working title was GuildMaster.
A change in direction was suggested by Richard Hanson (managing director and co-founder of Superior Software). Instead of a medieval city, the game took place on a contemporary oil platform
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
with a red-headed protagonist nicknamed Red O'Hare collecting oil drums and putting out fires (a reference to Red Adair
Red Adair
Paul Neal "Red" Adair was an American oil well firefighter. He became world notable as an innovator in the highly specialized and extremely hazardous profession of extinguishing and capping blazing, erupting oil well blowouts, both land-based and offshore.-Life and career:Adair was born in...
). This plotline was, however, quickly transplanted to a science-fictional
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
setting, following the Piper Alpha
Piper Alpha
Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum Ltd. The platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. An explosion and resulting fire destroyed it on 6 July 1988, killing 167 men, with only 61...
disaster in 1988.
The name Pipeline arose from the gameplay element of fast transport to distant parts of the map through topologically interwoven pipes (novel to the BBC Micro at the time, but see Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
or Sonic the Hedgehog for well-known examples).
Re-releases
The game re-appeared in volume 11 of the Play It Again Sam compilation series. It was also re-released in 1991 as part of the SuperiorSuperior Software
Superior Software is a video game publisher. It was established in 1982 by Richard Hanson and John Dyson, two graduates of the University of Leeds, England...
/Blue Ribbon
Blue Ribbon (software house)
Blue Ribbon was the budget computer software publishing label of CDS Micro Systems.The label launched in 1985 mostly made up of games from the MRM Software back catalogue. MRM had been a label producing games for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. Blue Ribbon reissued these and also converted them...
budget range. Although the inlay made no mention of the game editing programs, they were included on the cassette.
A new expanded version for Microsoft 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...
titled Pipeline Plus is available from Superior Interactive
Superior Software
Superior Software is a video game publisher. It was established in 1982 by Richard Hanson and John Dyson, two graduates of the University of Leeds, England...
.
External links
- A complete play-through of the game on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- A review of the game from BeebGames.com