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Robot City (game)
Encyclopedia
Robot City is a graphic adventure game
developed by Brooklyn Multimedia
and published by Byron Preiss Multimedia. It was released on December 31, 1995 for Macintosh
and Windows 95
. It is a point-and-click mystery
game in which the player controls Derec, the main character in Isaac Asimov's
Robot City
.
and other graphic adventure games from the time, Robot City features a first-person perspective
. The player must click to move around Robot City and interact with the 3-D environment. Unlike Myst, however, character interaction is an integral part of the game. A conversation system allows the reader to pick between a number of topics to talk about, and the player's choices can have significant in-game consequences. The game has multiple endings which also depend on the player's actions. The puzzles in the game are fairly straightforward, such as connecting the right wires and data chips to rebuild a robot. The real puzzles lie in choosing the right things to say in order to persuade other characters. This is where Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics
really come into play. For example, a robot might block access to a certain area because it has been ordered to do so (it is following the second law). However, if you tell the robot that the real murderer is chasing you then the robot will let you enter; failure to do so would constitute allowing harm to come to a human through inaction, and the first law takes priority over the second in the game.
, a series of novels inspired by Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics
.
Graphic adventure game
A graphic adventure game is a form of adventure game. They are distinct from text adventures. Whereas a player must actively observe using commands such as "look" in a text-based adventure, graphic adventures revolutionized gameplay by making use of natural human perception...
developed by Brooklyn Multimedia
Brooklyn Multimedia
Brooklyn Multimedia is a video game developer that released a number of games for PC of which all games were published by Byron Preiss Multimedia.- Game list :* Forbes Corporate Warrior * Westworld 2000...
and published by Byron Preiss Multimedia. It was released on December 31, 1995 for Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
and Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
. It is a point-and-click mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
game in which the player controls Derec, the main character in Isaac Asimov's
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
Robot City
Isaac Asimov's Robot City
Isaac Asimov's Robot City is a series of novels written by various authors and loosely connected to Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It takes place between The Robots of Dawn and Robots and Empire...
.
Gameplay
In the vein of MystMyst
Myst is a graphic adventure video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan , a Spokane, Washington––based studio, and published and distributed by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in and released it for the Mac OS computer on September...
and other graphic adventure games from the time, Robot City features a first-person perspective
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
. The player must click to move around Robot City and interact with the 3-D environment. Unlike Myst, however, character interaction is an integral part of the game. A conversation system allows the reader to pick between a number of topics to talk about, and the player's choices can have significant in-game consequences. The game has multiple endings which also depend on the player's actions. The puzzles in the game are fairly straightforward, such as connecting the right wires and data chips to rebuild a robot. The real puzzles lie in choosing the right things to say in order to persuade other characters. This is where Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories...
really come into play. For example, a robot might block access to a certain area because it has been ordered to do so (it is following the second law). However, if you tell the robot that the real murderer is chasing you then the robot will let you enter; failure to do so would constitute allowing harm to come to a human through inaction, and the first law takes priority over the second in the game.
Story
The story of the game closely follows Robot CityIsaac Asimov's Robot City
Isaac Asimov's Robot City is a series of novels written by various authors and loosely connected to Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It takes place between The Robots of Dawn and Robots and Empire...
, a series of novels inspired by Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories...
.