computer game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...
Paramount Interactive
Paramount Digital Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as ''Paramount Interactive'') was a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (ma ...
Jump Raven
''Jump Raven'' was the second game released by Cyberflix, in 1994. The game's technology is similar to that of Lunicus, released by Cyberflix one year prior, but this time employs a more detailed storyline and environment. In an opening sequence of ...
. It was rated as 1993 CD-ROM game of the year in the magazine MacWorld.
It was released for the
Mac
Mac or MAC most commonly refers to:
* Mac (computer), a family of personal computers made by Apple Inc.
* Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth
* A variant of the word macaroni, mostly used in the name of the dish mac and cheese
* Mac, ...
and
Windows 3.1
Windows 3.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows. It was released to manufacturing on April 6, 1992, as a successor to Windows 3.0.
Like its predecessors, the Windows 3.1 series ran as a shell on top of MS-DOS. Codenamed Janus, Window ...
, and was one of many adventure games released to capitalize on the adoption of CD-ROM drives.
Gameplay
Lunicus is primarily an adventure game; in between combat missions you may wander the
moon base
A moonbase is a facility on the surface of the Moon, enabling human activity on the Moon. As such, it is different from a lunar space station in orbit around the Moon, like the planned Lunar Gateway of the Artemis program. Moonbases can be for ...
you are stationed on and talk to the various
NPC
NPC may stand for:
Science and medicine Computing
* Network Parameter Control in computer networks
*Non-deterministic polynomial-time complete
*Non-printing character
*Non-player character
Electronics
*Neutral Point Clamped, an inverter topolog ...
s contained within, with full voice acting and some stilted animation which is characterized on the game packaging as "Talking Cyber Puppets".
During the combat missions, the player enters various parts of Earth and cleans out alien infestations either on foot or in a vehicle. The player's weapons are relatively static throughout the game, including
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...
s,
rocket launchers
A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an rocket (weapon), unguided, rocket-propelled projectile.
History
The earliest rocket launchers documented in History of China#Ancient China, imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the at ...
, and
grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...
attacks. While in the vehicle, the player can opt to duck inside one of the buildings to find additional ammunition and supplies. Nearly all buildings (except for quest-specific ones) are identical.
The game's latter missions involve defending the moon base itself from attack by the alien forces, and then attacking the alien mothership.
The player's activities are seen from a
first person perspective
In video games, first person is any graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player's character, or a viewpoint from the cockpit or front seat of a vehicle driven by the character. The most popular type of first-person video gam ...
, but they can only face one of four directions, turning left or right on a tile-based grid similar to games such as Scarab of Ra. Direct targeting is accomplished with the mouse, while movement is accomplished with either the mouse or the game's
heads up display
A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informat ...
.
The game included several
pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputting or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of footage that was previously rendered on different equipment (typi ...
full motion video
Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...
sequences, usually bookending the combat sequences. Several difficulty levels are available, which alter the strength and numbers of the enemy waves.
Nearly all graphics in the game are pre-rendered sprites, including walls and city components.
Plot
As the game begins, the player is stationed on the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
moon base, Lunicus, to defend against the threat of the alien attack, led by the Hive Queen.
The aliens are present as an archeological dig in 2023 unearths several alien artifacts, one of which is mistakenly activated and alerts the alien force.
Development
''Lunicus'' was the first game developed by CyberFlix, which was not officially
incorporated
Incorporated may refer to:
* Incorporated community
* ''Incorporated'' (Grip Inc. album), 2004, by Grip Inc.
* ''Incorporated'' (Legion of Doom album), 2006
* ''Incorporated'' (TV series), a science fiction thriller television series set in 2075 ...
until after the project's release. It was created with DreamFactory, a
development environment
In software deployment, an environment or tier is a computer system or set of systems in which a computer program or software component is deployed and executed. In simple cases, such as developing and immediately executing a program on the same m ...
programmed by CyberFlix founder William Appleton, who had previously designed the Macintosh software
SuperCard
In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to t ...
.
''Lunicus'' was released in April 1993.
Reception
In its initial
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...
release, ''Lunicus'' was a commercial success, with sales of 50,000 units by August 1994. Around August 28, another 50,000 units of the game were shipped for Microsoft Windows. CyberFlix's Erik Quist expected the game to sell 100,000 units overall "by Christmas", Barbara Kantrowitz of ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' reported at the time. By January 3, sales of ''Lunicus'' had reached close to the 100,000 mark.
''
Macworld
''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macin ...
'' presented ''Lunicus'' with its 1993 "Best CD-ROM Game" award. The magazine's
Steven Levy
Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American journalist and Editor at Large for '' Wired'' who has written extensively for publications on computers, technology, cryptography, the internet, cybersecurity, and privacy. He is the author of the 1984 boo ...
called the game "a mindblower", and praised its visuals and fast-paced action. Singling out the game's high
frame rate
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images ( frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also ...
as its best feature, he wrote, "Unlike other CD-ROM games, which have an annoying lag between the time you pull the trigger and the time something happens, ''Lunicus'' moves with sufficient speed to keep you in the action."
''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine 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 1993. It expanded greatly through t ...
'' in August 1993 criticized the varying quality of the graphics but concluded that ''Lunicus'' was "CD-full of fist-fighting action ... fancy footwork and a solid punch". In April 1994 the magazine said that the game had challenging fights but "graphic quality is mixed and begs more realistic detail".