''Fat Worm Blows a Sparky'' is

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...

written by

Julian Todd Julian Todd is a British computer programmer and activist for freedom of information who works in Liverpool. He was inventor and co-founder of Public Whip with Francis Irving, and also the affiliated TheyWorkForYou website, a project that parse ...

for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

and published by

Durell Software Durell Software is a software developer based in Taunton, Somerset in the United Kingdom. The company is a provider of back office administration and accounting software to independent financial advisers, mortgage brokers, and general insurance b ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. Todd wrote the game in the five months before going to university. It was not ported to other systems, and it is the only published game he developed. The player controls a microscopic worm being chased across the circuit board of a Sinclair Spectrum. The game world is rendered with solid

vector graphics Vector graphics are a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector displ ...

Gameplay

Reception

'' CRASH'' awarded ''Fat Worm'' 95%. The reviewers were impressed with the solid 3D graphics and the quirky nature of controlling the protagonist, and called it "extremely silly, and wonderful fun". ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

'', similarly impressed, scored 9 out of 10 and a Megagame award. Julian later became critical of the gameplay, stating that kid programmers like himself had "insufficient understanding" and that at the time "it seemed logical that the players ought to suffer" as much as the developers, but that feedback from players in the form of pokes and cheats often enhanced published games to make them fun.

References

External links

* {{WoS game, id=0001736 1986 video games Action games Durell Software games Fictional worms Single-player video games Video games about worms Video games about microbes Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in computers ZX Spectrum games ZX Spectrum-only games