''Heartlight'' is a

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...

originally developed by Janusz Pelc for the

Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...

in 1990. In 1994, an

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

port (''Heartlight PC'') was published by

Epic MegaGames Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, Ma ...

along with two other games by Janusz Pelc in the ''Epic Puzzle Pack''. The

shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer. ...

version has 20 levels and the full version (''Heartlight Deluxe'') has 70 levels. In 2006, Maciej Miąsik, co-author of the MS-DOS version, released it under the

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CC BY-SA 2.5

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...

. The

source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...

became available too. In 2020, a web browser remake was released with updated graphics.

Gameplay

The game is set on a 12×20 square grid, with similar game mechanics to ''

Boulder Dash Boulder Dash may refer to: * ''Boulder Dash'' (video game), a 1984 video game * Boulder Dash (roller coaster), a wooden roller coaster See also * Balderdash (disambiguation) {{Disambig ...

'' and '' Supaplex''. The object of the game is to help the elf Percival collect all the hearts on each level and get to the exit door. Different objects with unique characteristics aim to make reaching this goal more complex. The game is neither timed nor limited to a certain number of lives, but there is no Save feature. Objects in the levels include bombs, rocks, and hearts. While hearts are one of the goals, they can also fall on and kill Percival. Bombs blow up when squashed or dropped on a hard surface. Rocks squash Percival and can blow up bombs.

Reception

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

''s Chuck Miller in June 1994 praised ''Heartlight'' as "a delightful logic-based game offering a good mix of arcade action and conundrums". "Game play is so addictive", he said, that the "just average" graphics and sound were not noticeable. Miller concluded that "this is one diversion that will keep you coming back for more". The game was later released as part of the ''Epic Puzzle Pack'' (with '' Robbo'' and '' Electro'') which was reviewed in 1994 in ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' #206 by

Sandy Petersen Carl Sanford Joslyn "Sandy" Petersen (born September 16, 1955) is an American game designer. He worked at Chaosium, contributing to the development of ''RuneQuest'' and creating the acclaimed and influential horror role-playing game Call of Cthul ...

in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the compilation 3 out of 5 stars.

Reviews

* ''PC Joker'' (October 1993)

References

External links

* 1990 video games 1994 video games Amiga games Android (operating system) games Atari 8-bit computer games Commercial video games with freely available source code Creative Commons-licensed video games DOS games Freeware games IOS games Puzzle video games Rocks-and-diamonds games Shareware games Single-player video games Video games developed in Poland {{puzzle-videogame-stub