Thing on a Spring
Encyclopedia
Thing On A Spring is a side-scrolling platform/puzzle game
produced in 1985
for the Commodore 64
by Gremlin Graphics. Gameplay involves controlling a character resembling Zebedee from The Magic Roundabout
through a toy factory while avoiding evil toys.
The game was written by Jason Perkins, Anthony Clarke
and the graphics were by Mark Rogers
, with musical score composed by Rob Hubbard
, his first composition for a game . In his Zzap!64
review, Julian Rignall
exclaimed, "The sound is unbelievable, I won't describe it but just wait until you hear it; words fail."
Along with Rockford from the game Boulder Dash
, the Thing On A Spring character became a regular graphic element printed in the margins of Zzap!64.
Thing Bounces Back was released as a sequel in 1987, also by Gremlin.
magazine, earning it a "Sizzler" rating.
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...
produced in 1985
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
for 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...
by Gremlin Graphics. Gameplay involves controlling a character resembling Zebedee from The Magic Roundabout
The Magic Roundabout
The Magic Roundabout was a children's television programme created in France in 1963 by Serge Danot...
through a toy factory while avoiding evil toys.
The game was written by Jason Perkins, Anthony Clarke
Anthony Clarke
Anthony Peter Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, PC is one of the first eleven Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and was the first Justice to be appointed directly to the court when it came into existence on 1 October 2009 without having sat as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary...
and the graphics were by Mark Rogers
Mark Rogers
Mark Rogers may refer to:*Mark E. Rogers, American author-illustrator*Mark Rogers , baseball player*Mark Rogers , former Canadian soccer player...
, with musical score composed by Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard is a music composer best known for his composition of computer game theme music, especially for microcomputers of the 1980s such as the Commodore 64...
, his first composition for a game . In his Zzap!64
Zzap!64
Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 . It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact....
review, Julian Rignall
Julian Rignall
Julian "Muppet" Rignall is a longterm publishing veteran with experience launching and managing numerous video game magazines and websites...
exclaimed, "The sound is unbelievable, I won't describe it but just wait until you hear it; words fail."
Along with Rockford from the game Boulder Dash
Boulder Dash
Boulder Dash, originally released in 1984 for Atari 8-bit computers, is a series of computer games released for the Apple II, MSX, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and ColecoVision home computers, and later ported to the NES, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, PC, Amstrad CPC, Amiga and many other platforms...
, the Thing On A Spring character became a regular graphic element printed in the margins of Zzap!64.
Thing Bounces Back was released as a sequel in 1987, also by Gremlin.
Critical acclaim
Thing on a Spring was given an overall rating of 93% in issue 4 of Zzap!64Zzap!64
Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 . It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact....
magazine, earning it a "Sizzler" rating.
External links
- Thing on a Spring at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
- Thing On A Spring, tribute page
- Dance remix of the original Thing On A Spring theme tune (MP3)
- Full longplay of the game as avi video (72 MB) from c64-longplays.de