Scooby-Doo (video game)
Encyclopedia
Scooby-Doo was a video game based on a television character of the same name
. The game was developed in 1986
by Gargoyle Games
for the Amstrad CPC
, Commodore 64
, ZX Spectrum
and the Commodore Plus/4
personal computers.
The game was to feature all the characters from the cartoon and was set in a Scottish castle owned by Shaggy's auntie. The castle is haunted and Scooby and the gang have 48 hours to solve the mystery. The game is said to "feature seven or eight action sequences which are separated by descriptive scenes in which characters in the game interact by meeting together and having a chat..."
"In the action sequences you will follow Scooby and Shaggy as they search the castle and need to help them solve (or avoid) problems as they arise and generally guide them on their way. You drive the action in the game, acting rather like a film director, taking decisions which affect the outcome of events. After each action sequence has been played through, the scene will fade to a descriptive section where you eavesdrop on conversations and can pick up clues, tips and hints which will help you solve the mystery."
The game was scrapped as the Spectrum was not capable of handling such an ambitious project. Issue 47 of Sinclair User reported: "while the graphics in the game ... are supposedly unbelievable the game is a shambles. Lack of memory has been blamed for the failure to release the game". Elite were, however, supposedly considering releasing the game for the 128K Spectrum.
'This is obviously not the game promised by ELITE some time last year, but it was definitely worth the wait as it is tremendously playable and ever so compelling. The graphics really are first-class: the many large and well defined characters move around the castle admirably and the castle itself is very pretty. Sound wise this game rates fairly highly as there are many excellent spot effects during the game - sadly there isn't a tune on the title screen but the front end is so good that a tune isn't really necessary. I strongly recommend this game as it is addictive and great fun to play too.'
'After the long wait for Scooby Doo it would take something fairly special to justify the time spent on it. This game manages to impress after the first couple of goes but it doesn't contain anything to keep the brain cells electrified for long. I found Scooby Doo looked very attractive to the eye and the idea of buffing and boffing all the characters - which didn't look too much like ghosts - proved quite exciting for a while, but this required no real skill. The animation of all the graphics is very smooth and accurate, and the screen scrolling is very silky (!?!). Scooby sound is not very startling and has very little tunewise. The game bases itself on the TV series superbly with all the folks from the team in it. Unfortunately I didn't find it extremely enthralling ... but it's certainly playable. Have a look before you buy.'
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
. The game was developed in 1986
1986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
by Gargoyle Games
Gargoyle Games
Gargoyle Games was a British software company founded in 1983 by Roy Carter and Greg Follis in order to publish their first game, Ad Astra. They generally specialized in games for the ZX Spectrum even though the company was originally named with the intention of publishing games for Dragon computers...
for the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, 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...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
and the Commodore Plus/4
Commodore Plus/4
The Commodore Plus/4 was a home computer released by Commodore International in 1984. The "Plus/4" name refers to the four-application ROM resident office suite ; it was billed as "the productivity computer with software built-in"...
personal computers.
Original Concept
A much-hyped game, Elite first started advertising this from around Autumn 1985. The advert billed the game as "the first ever computer cartoon" and featured some mouth watering screenshots. Issue 21 of Crash carried a full preview of the game.The game was to feature all the characters from the cartoon and was set in a Scottish castle owned by Shaggy's auntie. The castle is haunted and Scooby and the gang have 48 hours to solve the mystery. The game is said to "feature seven or eight action sequences which are separated by descriptive scenes in which characters in the game interact by meeting together and having a chat..."
"In the action sequences you will follow Scooby and Shaggy as they search the castle and need to help them solve (or avoid) problems as they arise and generally guide them on their way. You drive the action in the game, acting rather like a film director, taking decisions which affect the outcome of events. After each action sequence has been played through, the scene will fade to a descriptive section where you eavesdrop on conversations and can pick up clues, tips and hints which will help you solve the mystery."
The game was scrapped as the Spectrum was not capable of handling such an ambitious project. Issue 47 of Sinclair User reported: "while the graphics in the game ... are supposedly unbelievable the game is a shambles. Lack of memory has been blamed for the failure to release the game". Elite were, however, supposedly considering releasing the game for the 128K Spectrum.
Reception
'First time I saw this on the Amstrad, I thought that it was an extremely playable game. The Spectrum version is equally so, if not more. The scrolling isn't super smooth, and the lack of tune is a little disturbing, but the graphics are excellently animated, and the game plays superbly. Addiction is almost certainly to be found, and the game represents very good value for money. Even though it's been ages in the making, and the finished version is completely different from the screen shots seen all those long months ago, Scooby Doo is a really cool arcade game, well worth getting.''This is obviously not the game promised by ELITE some time last year, but it was definitely worth the wait as it is tremendously playable and ever so compelling. The graphics really are first-class: the many large and well defined characters move around the castle admirably and the castle itself is very pretty. Sound wise this game rates fairly highly as there are many excellent spot effects during the game - sadly there isn't a tune on the title screen but the front end is so good that a tune isn't really necessary. I strongly recommend this game as it is addictive and great fun to play too.'
'After the long wait for Scooby Doo it would take something fairly special to justify the time spent on it. This game manages to impress after the first couple of goes but it doesn't contain anything to keep the brain cells electrified for long. I found Scooby Doo looked very attractive to the eye and the idea of buffing and boffing all the characters - which didn't look too much like ghosts - proved quite exciting for a while, but this required no real skill. The animation of all the graphics is very smooth and accurate, and the screen scrolling is very silky (!?!). Scooby sound is not very startling and has very little tunewise. The game bases itself on the TV series superbly with all the folks from the team in it. Unfortunately I didn't find it extremely enthralling ... but it's certainly playable. Have a look before you buy.'