XOR (computer game)
Encyclopedia
XOR is a computer puzzle game created by Astral Software and published by Logotron in 1987 for a range of platforms including the Acorn Electron
, Amiga
, Amstrad CPC
, Atari ST
, BBC Micro
, Commodore 64
, and ZX Spectrum
. It has since been unofficially remade for platforms including Windows
, Apple Macintosh, Linux
, RISC OS
and Game Boy Advance
.
XOR is a pure puzzle game with no random or arcade elements, as summed up by the blurb on Logotron's original extensive advertising campaign:
s, Magus and Questor, which can be moved horizontally and vertically though the maze
, in order to collect mask
s. The object of each level is to collect all the masks, then reach the exit. In all levels, use of both shields are required for completion, and in some, one shield must be sacrificed (walled in or destroyed) in order to complete the level.
and chicken
objects are introduced. Fish fall downwards whenever possible, while chickens run to the left if not blocked. Both can destroy the player's shields if they hit it from more than one square away (like rocks in Boulder Dash
). Fish and chickens can move through force fields if entering from the appropriate direction. It is also possible to push fish left or right, and chickens up and down.
s in XOR: V-bombs ("vertical") and H-bombs ("horizontal"). V-bombs (shaped like jars of nitroglycerin) move left in the same manner as chickens, while H-bombs (shaped like old-fashioned spherical bombs with a burning fuse) fall downwards like fish. Like fish and chickens, H-bombs can be pushed left and right, and V-bombs can be pushed up or down, by the player's shield.
A bomb explodes when it is hit from more than one square away by a fish, a chicken, or another bomb. The object hitting the bomb is destroyed, along with anything directly above or below a V-bomb, or to the left or to the right of an H-bomb. If one bomb hits another, only the bomb that is hit (the lower or left-hand one) actually detonates.
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, 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,...
, 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...
, BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
, 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 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...
. It has since been unofficially remade for platforms including Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Apple Macintosh, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, RISC OS
RISC OS
RISC OS is a computer operating system originally developed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England for their range of desktop computers, based on their own ARM architecture. First released in 1987, under the name Arthur, the subsequent iteration was renamed as in 1988...
and Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
.
XOR is a pure puzzle game with no random or arcade elements, as summed up by the blurb on Logotron's original extensive advertising campaign:
- There are no random events in XOR's labyrinthine palace, and there is no premium on hand–eye coordination. You have all the time in the world to work out the precise nature of the hazards you encounter. Logical thinking, strategy and tactical problem solving are part of the XOR experience. And XOR is not simply about finding solutions. If you can solve the entire puzzle (15 levels plus an encrypted anagram), you qualify to be a member of the Order of XOR.
Objective
The player controls two shieldShield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
s, Magus and Questor, which can be moved horizontally and vertically though the maze
Maze
A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
, in order to collect mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
s. The object of each level is to collect all the masks, then reach the exit. In all levels, use of both shields are required for completion, and in some, one shield must be sacrificed (walled in or destroyed) in order to complete the level.
Force fields
In the first level, the only obstacles except for the maze walls themselves, are two types of force field: one of which can only be entered from above or below, and a second which can only be entered from left or right. In both cases entering the force field destroys it.Fish and chickens
In subsequent levels, fishFish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
objects are introduced. Fish fall downwards whenever possible, while chickens run to the left if not blocked. Both can destroy the player's shields if they hit it from more than one square away (like rocks in 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...
). Fish and chickens can move through force fields if entering from the appropriate direction. It is also possible to push fish left or right, and chickens up and down.
Bombs
There are two types of bombBomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s in XOR: V-bombs ("vertical") and H-bombs ("horizontal"). V-bombs (shaped like jars of nitroglycerin) move left in the same manner as chickens, while H-bombs (shaped like old-fashioned spherical bombs with a burning fuse) fall downwards like fish. Like fish and chickens, H-bombs can be pushed left and right, and V-bombs can be pushed up or down, by the player's shield.
A bomb explodes when it is hit from more than one square away by a fish, a chicken, or another bomb. The object hitting the bomb is destroyed, along with anything directly above or below a V-bomb, or to the left or to the right of an H-bomb. If one bomb hits another, only the bomb that is hit (the lower or left-hand one) actually detonates.
Dolls
Unlike fish and chickens, dolls cannot move on their own, although the player's shields can push them around the maze. Once a doll is moving it keeps going until it hits an obstacle. Dolls cannot detonate bombs or pass through force fields.Other objects
- Map sections: these reveal the layout of part the maze to the player. Masks are highlighted on the map.
- Frowning masks: these are switches – collecting (or blowing up) one turns off the lighting, causing the maze walls to become invisible, while collecting another turns the lights back on again.
- Teleportation portals (Called BMUS – "Beam Me Up ScottyStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
"s, on some versions): this moves the player's shield to the other teleportation portal within the maze.
Related releases
XOR Designer allowed players to design their own levels. XOR for Schools included six new mazes and a paper planning sheet, intended to be photocopied by teachers.External links
- Windows XOR remake by Ovine by Design
- JavaScript XOR version by Rob Veldhuyzen van Zanten
- Game Boy Advance XOR remake by Mick Waites
- Riso OS XOR information site] including RISC OS version for download.
- XorCurses Linux Linux Curses remake by jwm-art.net
- XorGramana A XOR-like game for Linux using SDL, by jwm-art.net, also implementing XOR.
- Chroma, an accurate conversion of XOR for both Windows and Linux