.gif)
Spelunker (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Spelunker is a 1983 video game developed by Tim Martin
and MicroGraphicImage. It is a platform game
similar to Pitfall!
or Curse of Ra.
Originally released by MicroGraphicImage for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1983, the game was later ported to the Commodore 64
and re-released by Brøderbund
in 1984, with European publishing rights licensed to Ariolasoft
. An arcade
version followed in 1985, and the game was released for the NES
on December 6, 1985 in Japan
and September, 1987 in North America
, and for the MSX
in 1986. A sequel was also released in arcades and for the NES on September 18, 1987 called Spelunker II: Yūsha e no Chōsen by Irem, in Japan only. The game was re-released for Wii
Virtual Console
in North America on March 17, 2008 and in Europe on September 5, 2008. Spelunker HD PS3/PSN was released on November 23, 2010 by Tozai, Inc.
Spelunker is set in a colossal cave
, with the player starting at the cave's entrance at the top, and the objective is to get to the fabulous treasure at the bottom. To achieve this, the player must walk and jump through increasingly challenging parts of the cave, all the while working with a finite supply of fresh air, which could be replenished at various points.
Some of the hazards the player faces in the cave include water, uneven terrain, steam vents, small ledges, chasms, deadly pits, and large rocks that must be blown away. One of the few enemies are large bat
s, which drop deadly guano
on the player. Additionally, a ghost
haunts the cave, appearing randomly and attempting to take the player to the shadow world. By pressing the spacebar (B button for NES version), the player character sends a blast of air from his airtank (uses a flash gun in the NES version), expelling the ghost away. However, this renders him immobile for a couple of seconds, thus vulnerable to other dangers and further depleting his air supply.
Objects to collect include sticks of dynamite
, flare
s and key
s (which come in two different colours). By pressing the "D" key, a stick of dynamite is dropped and ignited. This can be used to blow away big rocks. (Care must be taken to stand far enough away as not to get caught in the blast.) Flares are launched with the "F" key and are used to scare bats away. After the flare is extinguished, the bats return.
.gif)
Spelunker is regarded by some as unfairly difficult. Much of the game's difficulty arises from the fact that the explorer cannot jump high or fall far, and therefore dies easily. There is also no projectile motion when running off the edge of a cliff so the character will fall straight down. As such, precise positioning and jumping play key factors in successfully completing the game. Additionally, certain versions of the game are very precise about jumping from ropes or ladders. The NES and MSX versions require the player to move sideways before pressing the jump button (risking walking off the ladder or rope). The Atari version and the Commodore version allowed the player to hold the button and tap the joystick instead to make a single jump from a ladder or rope from a standstill.
The splash screen of the game on the original Atari featured an excerpt of Modest Mussorgsky
's Pictures at an Exhibition
as background music. All other versions of the game, including the Atari re-release featured a different title theme. The NES and MSX versions had additional music during gameplay.
The cave in Spelunker is divided into six levels. Although the levels connect seamlessly to each other, forming one large map, the game clearly signals a level change at certain points by showing the name of the next level and giving the player a bonus, consisting of an extra life and a varying amount of points. Also, depending on memory, the next level or two were loaded from disk at that point. The levels are as follows:
The Elevator : An elevator
at the left side of the screen can be used for free vertical travel between various pathways.
The Ropes : A series of rope
s hangs from the ceiling, allowing the player to jump from one rope to another.
The Falls : There is a large waterfall
inside the cave, and the player actually gets to ride the falls in a barrel. However, unless the rope gun is collected before the player lands the barrel on the island, the player gets permanently trapped, and must start over.
The Shaft : An immensely large geyser
shoots within a vertical shaft. A small raft floats above the ensuing pillar of water, allowing the player to ride up or down as the geyser shoots and recedes. Managing your air supply is a challenge in this level, because sometimes a long wait is needed to get on the raft.
The Pyramid : There is a large pyramid
inside the cave. The player must find keys to open locked doors in the pyramid, to proceed from its base to its top.
The Treasure : A final series of small ledges lies between the player and the fabulous treasure.
In the NES version, upon completing the last section, a "second quest" is begun. The second quest is another instance of the same maps with some changes. The color scheme is different (green cave walls where they were a brownish color before) and all door keys are now invisible (but conveniently in the same locations they were before). During the third quest, the keys remain invisible and require the player to jump at the proper position to collect the keys. The fourth and fifth quests accelerate various enemies and hazards as well as requiring the player to fire a flare, instead of jumping, in order to collect the invisible keys. All quests after the fifth quest require the player to fire a flare and immediately jump to collect the keys, as well as maintaining the accelerated enemies and hazards.
, known in Japan as Minna de Spelunker, for the PlayStation 3 as a downloadable game through their PSN Store
. It received the PlayStation Store best sales award in 2009 from Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan. The game is a remake of the NES port of Irem's arcade version, with high definition graphics and 100 levels (10 levels in one large cave, and 10 large caves).
Tim Martin (programmer)
Timothy "Tim" Martin is a former programmer and founder of Internet America. Martin was famous for programming Spelunker while working for MicroGraphicImage, and was an employee of Games by Apollo.-Career:...
and MicroGraphicImage. It is a platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
similar to Pitfall!
Pitfall!
Pitfall! is a video game released by Activision for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It is the second best selling game made for the Atari 2600, with over 4 million copies sold.-Gameplay:...
or Curse of Ra.
Originally released by MicroGraphicImage for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1983, the game was later ported to the 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...
and re-released by Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
in 1984, with European publishing rights licensed to Ariolasoft
Ariolasoft
Ariolasoft GmbH, later known as United Software, was a German computer game developer, publisher and distributor. It started as the software subsidiary of Ariola Records...
. An arcade
Arcade 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...
version followed in 1985, and the game was released for the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
on December 6, 1985 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and September, 1987 in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and for the MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
in 1986. A sequel was also released in arcades and for the NES on September 18, 1987 called Spelunker II: Yūsha e no Chōsen by Irem, in Japan only. The game was re-released for Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in North America on March 17, 2008 and in Europe on September 5, 2008. Spelunker HD PS3/PSN was released on November 23, 2010 by Tozai, Inc.
Setting
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
, with the player starting at the cave's entrance at the top, and the objective is to get to the fabulous treasure at the bottom. To achieve this, the player must walk and jump through increasingly challenging parts of the cave, all the while working with a finite supply of fresh air, which could be replenished at various points.
Some of the hazards the player faces in the cave include water, uneven terrain, steam vents, small ledges, chasms, deadly pits, and large rocks that must be blown away. One of the few enemies are large bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s, which drop deadly guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
on the player. Additionally, a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
haunts the cave, appearing randomly and attempting to take the player to the shadow world. By pressing the spacebar (B button for NES version), the player character sends a blast of air from his airtank (uses a flash gun in the NES version), expelling the ghost away. However, this renders him immobile for a couple of seconds, thus vulnerable to other dangers and further depleting his air supply.
Objects to collect include sticks of dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
, flare
Flare (pyrotechnic)
A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...
s and key
Key (lock)
A key is an instrument that is used to operate a lock. A typical key consists of two parts: the blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. The blade is usually intended to...
s (which come in two different colours). By pressing the "D" key, a stick of dynamite is dropped and ignited. This can be used to blow away big rocks. (Care must be taken to stand far enough away as not to get caught in the blast.) Flares are launched with the "F" key and are used to scare bats away. After the flare is extinguished, the bats return.
Gameplay
The splash screen of the game on the original Atari featured an excerpt of Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
's Pictures at an Exhibition
Pictures at an Exhibition
Pictures at an Exhibition is a suite in ten movements composed for piano by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874.The suite is Mussorgsky's most famous piano composition, and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists...
as background music. All other versions of the game, including the Atari re-release featured a different title theme. The NES and MSX versions had additional music during gameplay.
The cave in Spelunker is divided into six levels. Although the levels connect seamlessly to each other, forming one large map, the game clearly signals a level change at certain points by showing the name of the next level and giving the player a bonus, consisting of an extra life and a varying amount of points. Also, depending on memory, the next level or two were loaded from disk at that point. The levels are as follows:
The Elevator : An elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
at the left side of the screen can be used for free vertical travel between various pathways.
The Ropes : A series of rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
s hangs from the ceiling, allowing the player to jump from one rope to another.
The Falls : There is a large waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
inside the cave, and the player actually gets to ride the falls in a barrel. However, unless the rope gun is collected before the player lands the barrel on the island, the player gets permanently trapped, and must start over.
The Shaft : An immensely large geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
shoots within a vertical shaft. A small raft floats above the ensuing pillar of water, allowing the player to ride up or down as the geyser shoots and recedes. Managing your air supply is a challenge in this level, because sometimes a long wait is needed to get on the raft.
The Pyramid : There is a large pyramid
Egyptian pyramids
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found...
inside the cave. The player must find keys to open locked doors in the pyramid, to proceed from its base to its top.
The Treasure : A final series of small ledges lies between the player and the fabulous treasure.
In the NES version, upon completing the last section, a "second quest" is begun. The second quest is another instance of the same maps with some changes. The color scheme is different (green cave walls where they were a brownish color before) and all door keys are now invisible (but conveniently in the same locations they were before). During the third quest, the keys remain invisible and require the player to jump at the proper position to collect the keys. The fourth and fifth quests accelerate various enemies and hazards as well as requiring the player to fire a flare, instead of jumping, in order to collect the invisible keys. All quests after the fifth quest require the player to fire a flare and immediately jump to collect the keys, as well as maintaining the accelerated enemies and hazards.
Remakes
Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan has released Spelunker HDSpelunker HD
Spelunker HD, known in Japan as , is a PlayStation 3 downloadable game developed and published by Irem Software Engineering. It is a remake of the 1985 NES port of Irem's arcade version of Tim Martin's Spelunker and it was available on the PlayStation Network's Store...
, known in Japan as Minna de Spelunker, for the PlayStation 3 as a downloadable game through their PSN Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
. It received the PlayStation Store best sales award in 2009 from Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan. The game is a remake of the NES port of Irem's arcade version, with high definition graphics and 100 levels (10 levels in one large cave, and 10 large caves).