''Camelot'' is a computer game written by Tony Oakden and published in the UK in 1989/90 for the

BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...

and

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers, to provide many of the features of that more expensive mach ...

. The game was first published by

Superior Software Superior Interactive (formerly known as Superior Software Ltd) is a video game publisher. It was one of the main publishers for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in the 1980s and early 1990s, and occasionally published software to the C ...

and

Acornsoft Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and util ...

as part of the ''Play it Again Sam 9'' compilation in 1989 and was subsequently re-published as a standalone title in 1990 by

and

Blue Ribbon Blue ribbons are typically a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Order of the Holy Spirit#Cordon Bleu, Cord ...

Description

The game is very similar to Oakden's previous game ''Quest'' which itself has some elements in common with an earlier BBC/Electron title, ''

Citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

''. ''Camelot'' is also a platform adventure game set in a large

flip-screen Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

castle and the player also has a set amount of energy which runs down when in contact with enemy sprites or hazards. The backstory given in the cassette inlay indicates that the player (as the King) has been deposed from the throne for mismanaging the kingdom. To convince the people that the king deserves another chance to return to throne again, the player must fight their way through the castle and surrounding terrain, facing various enemies such as witches, warlocks and soldiers. To complete the quest, 3000 points are needed, which can be obtained by finding six bags of gold, scattered around the game. Each bag is worth 450 points, although the player can gain extra points by killing the enemy sprites. The player has four-way directional controls, left, right, up and down (for climbing ladders) and there are also separate keys for jump, firing a fireball, picking up objects and using a spell book. Energy can be replenished by finding hearts hidden in caskets, although some caskets contain daemons instead, which drain the player's energy. The game does have a time limit, but extra time is gained by opening doors and solving puzzles, so the player must work out a logical sequence of puzzle-solving such that the clock does not run down to zero. The game is considered quite challenging, although a small program has been written by C.J. Richardson which enables

POKE Poke may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Poke (Ender's Game), Poke (''Ender's Game''), a fictional character * Poke (game), a two-player card game * Poke, a fictional bar owner in the television series ''Treme (season 2), Treme'' * The ...

s for various cheat modes such as infinite time and energy, big jumps and climb anywhere.

Reception

In the ''

Electron User ''Electron User'' was a magazine targeted at owners of the Acorn Electron microcomputer. It was published by Database Publications of Stockport, starting in October 1983 and ending after 82 issues in July 1990. Initially it was included as a 1 ...

'' review of the ''Play It Again Sam 9'' compilation, ''Camelot'' received a glowing review with main reviewer Jon Revis concluding "first rate graphics and difficult gameplay make ''Camelot'' a suitable challenge for even the most accomplished arcade adventurers" and in his second opinion, Roland Waddilove said "forget the other games - they can be considered freebies - the main attraction is ''Camelot''. I loved it"."Cool Hand Sam"
, Electron User, 6.11, August 1989 Crispin Boylan's review of ''Camelot'' praises the graphics as "good" and the colours as "nice and bright" but also states that the game's plot is "a bit thin on the ground" and the animation is not really up the standard of contemporary titles. He also notes that the game has some "beeps" but that there is no in-game music.

References

{{Superior Software 1989 video games Acornsoft games Action-adventure games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron-only games Blue Ribbon (software house) games Platformers Single-player video games Superior Software games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in castles