Provocator
Encyclopedia
Provocator is an award winning shoot 'em up
computer game developed for the Acorn Archimedes
range of computers. It was the first game by Network 23 (Games Developer) and was published in the summer of 1991 by C.T.S. (Computer Tutorial Services) to critical acclaim.
The game requires the player to protect a massive convoy of space craft as they pass through 32 waves of alien occupied territory. It combines similar game mechanics to the Defender (arcade game) with a setting reminiscent of late 70's TV show Battlestar Galactica
.
Several ships in the convoy have forest domes that supply the fleet with food and oxygen. The player is tasked with protecting these domes from alien squadrons that launch increasingly frequent attacks on them. When a dome is under attack, a warning sound alerts the player to the threat and if it isn't met within 15 seconds, the dome is permanently destroyed. If all the forest domes are destroyed, the fate of the convoy is sealed and the game ends.
The game grants the player freedom to move around the convoy at will, but collision with any part of the fleet results in the loss of a life. Familiarity with the convoy layout is paramount to protecting it.
Upon completion of a level the player is instructed to carefully dock with the largest ship in the fleet to re-fuel. Once successfully docked, bonus points are awarded for every dome left intact.
A radar at the top of the screen shows the fleet in its entirety, allowing the player to track alien movement and help navigate.
The game's 32 levels are split into 3 acts (or 'phases') Once a phase has been completed, the player is rewarded with a still postcard style snapshot of a ship in the fleet.
The player's ship (which is highly reminiscent of a Colonial Viper
) features a turbo thrust and spits out two laser bolts with each press of the fire button, resulting in extremely rapid fire. The convoy ships are shielded against the player's lasers and dissolve them upon impact with an electric particle effect.
Certain alien types escort power-up orbs that when shot upgrade the player's weapon systems.
The convoy glides over a deep parallax star field. It is 32 screens in width, 2 in height and wrapped as the player passed from one end to another.
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
computer game developed for the Acorn Archimedes
Acorn Archimedes
The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd's first general purpose home computer to be based on their own ARM architecture.Using a RISC design with a 32-bit CPU, at its launch in June 1987, the Archimedes was stated as running at 4 MIPS, with a claim of 18 MIPS during tests.The name is commonly...
range of computers. It was the first game by Network 23 (Games Developer) and was published in the summer of 1991 by C.T.S. (Computer Tutorial Services) to critical acclaim.
The game requires the player to protect a massive convoy of space craft as they pass through 32 waves of alien occupied territory. It combines similar game mechanics to the Defender (arcade game) with a setting reminiscent of late 70's TV show Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
.
Gameplay
The game grants the player freedom to move around the convoy at will, but collision with any part of the fleet results in the loss of a life. Familiarity with the convoy layout is paramount to protecting it.
A radar at the top of the screen shows the fleet in its entirety, allowing the player to track alien movement and help navigate.
The game's 32 levels are split into 3 acts (or 'phases') Once a phase has been completed, the player is rewarded with a still postcard style snapshot of a ship in the fleet.
The player's ship (which is highly reminiscent of a Colonial Viper
Colonial Viper
The Colonial Viper is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in the Battlestar Galactica fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard...
) features a turbo thrust and spits out two laser bolts with each press of the fire button, resulting in extremely rapid fire. The convoy ships are shielded against the player's lasers and dissolve them upon impact with an electric particle effect.
Certain alien types escort power-up orbs that when shot upgrade the player's weapon systems.
Technical information
Provocator runs at a consistent 50 frames per second on all Archimedes platforms.The convoy glides over a deep parallax star field. It is 32 screens in width, 2 in height and wrapped as the player passed from one end to another.