Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers
Encyclopedia
Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and The Time Rippers was released on floppy disk
s on March 4, 1991, and released on CD-ROM
in December 1992 with full speech support and featuring Laugh-In announcer Gary Owens
as the voice of the narrator. It featured 256-color hand painted graphics and a fully mouse-driven interface. It was one of the first games to use motion capture
animation. The game cost over US$
1,000,000 to produce and sold more than its three predecessors combined. An Atari ST
version was announced via Sierra Online's magazine, Sierra News Magazine, but was later canceled.
of reborn Sludge Vohaul from Space Quest XII: Vohaul's Revenge II chases Roger through time in an attempt to finally kill him. Roger also visits Space Quest X: Latex Babes of Estros (whose title is a parody of Infocom
's game Leather Goddesses of Phobos
) and Space Quest I; in the latter, the graphics and music revert to the style of the original game and Roger is threatened by a group of monochromatic bikers who consider Roger's 256 colors pretentious. None of the gameplay takes place in Space Quest IV.
. Unfortunately, this time Roger is not wearing any thermal underwear
, so if he steps out of the capsule, he melts. Much like SQIs Ulence Flats, Ortega (what little of it is seen) appears in SQIV using the graphical style of the earlier game.
Another easter egg near the end plays on the desktop format of Macintosh computers, featuring a toilet in place of a waste basket. Certain icons must be "flushed" down the toilet; however, if the icon "SQIV" is deleted in this way, the game exits. An additional icon, referring to King's Quest
, brings up a message when "flushed" indicating that a massive amount of data has been deleted, referring obliquely to the large number of 3.5-inch disks early versions in that series required on some systems.
. It is a sequel of sorts to Astro Chicken, an arcade game that appeared in Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
.
In Space Quest IV, the lead character, Roger Wilco, travels extensively in time, visiting locations in past Space Quest games as well as hypothetical "future" games. While in the world of Space Quest X: Latex Babes of Estros, Roger visits a mall arcade that contains Ms. Astro Chicken.
Gameplay, as it was in the original Astro Chicken, is simple. The player uses the arrow keys
or mouse to maneuver a flying chicken. The chicken's enemies include flying squirrel
s, windpump
s, shotgun-wielding hunters and hunting dogs. Dropping eggs on enemies immobilizes them and increases the player's score. After some time of playing the game, the arcade cabinet explodes, though this has no effect on the player or his progress in SQIV.
The game's presence within the game is somewhat bizarre. In Space Quest III, Roger defeated the Pirates of Pestulon and rescued the Two Guys from Andromeda
, presumably ruining ScumSoft in the process. Additionally, the events of Space Quest X would have taken place decades after SQ III. Nevertheless, Ms. Astro Chicken bears the ScumSoft logo.
The game's name is a parody of the actual arcade game Ms. Pac Man. The Astro Chicken theme music is a variation on the Chicken Reel
, a traditional folk song best known for its use in animated cartoons.
#173 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. The Lessers reviewed the Macintosh
version of the game in 1992 in Dragon #179, also giving that version of the game 5 out of 5 stars.
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s on March 4, 1991, and released on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
in December 1992 with full speech support and featuring Laugh-In announcer Gary Owens
Gary Owens
Gary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...
as the voice of the narrator. It featured 256-color hand painted graphics and a fully mouse-driven interface. It was one of the first games to use motion capture
Motion capture
Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...
animation. The game cost over US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1,000,000 to produce and sold more than its three predecessors combined. An Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
version was announced via Sierra Online's magazine, Sierra News Magazine, but was later canceled.
Plot
In this installment, Roger embarks on a time-travel adventure through Space Quest games both past and future. An infomorphInfomorph
The term Infomorph refers to a consciousness uploaded or downloaded into a computer from a biological entity. A concept primarily used in science fiction, it has appeared in various guises:...
of reborn Sludge Vohaul from Space Quest XII: Vohaul's Revenge II chases Roger through time in an attempt to finally kill him. Roger also visits Space Quest X: Latex Babes of Estros (whose title is a parody of Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
's game Leather Goddesses of Phobos
Leather Goddesses of Phobos
Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1986. Like many other Infocom titles, it was released for the IBM PC , Atari 8-bit, Amiga, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, Atari ST and Commodore 64 computers...
) and Space Quest I; in the latter, the graphics and music revert to the style of the original game and Roger is threatened by a group of monochromatic bikers who consider Roger's 256 colors pretentious. None of the gameplay takes place in Space Quest IV.
Easter eggs
An easter egg in this game is accessed by entering the code in the time capsule as the top row of buttons in order from left to right. This transports Roger to the volcanic planet of Ortega from Space Quest IIISpace Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon, the third game in Sierra Entertainment's Space Quest series, was released on March 24, 1989, and was developed using an early version of Sierra's SCI engine.-Plot:...
. Unfortunately, this time Roger is not wearing any thermal underwear
Undergarment
Undergarments or underwear are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by bodily secretions and discharges, shape the body, and provide support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional...
, so if he steps out of the capsule, he melts. Much like SQIs Ulence Flats, Ortega (what little of it is seen) appears in SQIV using the graphical style of the earlier game.
Another easter egg near the end plays on the desktop format of Macintosh computers, featuring a toilet in place of a waste basket. Certain icons must be "flushed" down the toilet; however, if the icon "SQIV" is deleted in this way, the game exits. An additional icon, referring to King's Quest
King's Quest
King's Quest is an adventure game series created by the American software company Sierra Entertainment. It is widely considered a classic series from the golden era of adventure games. Following the success of its first installment, the series was primarily responsible for building the reputation...
, brings up a message when "flushed" indicating that a massive amount of data has been deleted, referring obliquely to the large number of 3.5-inch disks early versions in that series required on some systems.
Ms. Astro Chicken
Ms. Astro Chicken: Flight of the Pullet is a computer game embedded within Space Quest IV. Ms. Astro Chicken appears within the context of the game in the form of an arcade gameArcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
. It is a sequel of sorts to Astro Chicken, an arcade game that appeared in Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon, the third game in Sierra Entertainment's Space Quest series, was released on March 24, 1989, and was developed using an early version of Sierra's SCI engine.-Plot:...
.
In Space Quest IV, the lead character, Roger Wilco, travels extensively in time, visiting locations in past Space Quest games as well as hypothetical "future" games. While in the world of Space Quest X: Latex Babes of Estros, Roger visits a mall arcade that contains Ms. Astro Chicken.
Gameplay, as it was in the original Astro Chicken, is simple. The player uses the arrow keys
Arrow keys
Cursor movement keys or arrow keys are buttons on a computer keyboard that are either programmed or designated to move the cursor in a specified direction....
or mouse to maneuver a flying chicken. The chicken's enemies include flying squirrel
Flying squirrel
Flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .- Description :...
s, windpump
Windpump
A windpump is a windmill used for pumping water, either as a source of fresh water from wells, or for draining low-lying areas of land. Once a common fixture on farms in semi-arid areas, windpumps are still used today where electric power is not available or too expensive.-History:Windmills were...
s, shotgun-wielding hunters and hunting dogs. Dropping eggs on enemies immobilizes them and increases the player's score. After some time of playing the game, the arcade cabinet explodes, though this has no effect on the player or his progress in SQIV.
The game's presence within the game is somewhat bizarre. In Space Quest III, Roger defeated the Pirates of Pestulon and rescued the Two Guys from Andromeda
Two Guys from Andromeda
"Two Guys from Andromeda" is an alias for the designers of the Space Quest series, a popular series of adventure games published by Sierra On-Line...
, presumably ruining ScumSoft in the process. Additionally, the events of Space Quest X would have taken place decades after SQ III. Nevertheless, Ms. Astro Chicken bears the ScumSoft logo.
The game's name is a parody of the actual arcade game Ms. Pac Man. The Astro Chicken theme music is a variation on the Chicken Reel
Chicken Reel
"Chicken Reel" is a dance tune. It was composed by Joseph M. Daly in 1910. Joseph Mittenthal added lyrics in 1911.Along with "Turkey in the Straw," "Chicken Reel" is probably best known for its use in early animated cartoons as a catchy tune used to represent animal activity. Originally composed...
, a traditional folk song best known for its use in animated cartoons.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1991 in DragonDragon (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...
#173 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. The Lessers reviewed the 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...
version of the game in 1992 in Dragon #179, also giving that version of the game 5 out of 5 stars.