Benefactor (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Benefactor is a computer game for the Amiga
computer series, developed by the Swedish
team Digital Illusions and published in 1994 by Psygnosis.
Benefactor is a mix between a puzzle game and a platform game
. It has a similar concept to Psygnosis's earlier, very successful Lemmings series of games, but also adds its own ideas.
In Benefactor, the player plays a character called Ben E. Factor, who has resigned from the military
to become an overall all-around good guy. Factor's mission is to save a group of "Merry Men", who have been kidnapped from their home planet and imprisoned over 60 levels. 60 levels are divided into seven themes:
The player controls Ben E. Factor directly, like a platform game character. Factor has to avoid all enemy creatures (hitting them would reduce health), and pull switch
es to extend the land, or many other things. Factor can find key
s on the level to open the locks
in the Merry Men's cells. When freed, a Merry Man automatically proceeds on a pre-set mission, with the aid of helping Factor to free the other Merry Men and complete the level. Once all Merry Men on a level have been freed, Factor has to go back to his starting point to complete the level. Although colliding with monsters reduces Factor's health, Merry Men are not harmed by monsters.
In later levels, some of the Merry Men are "evil". "Evil" Merry Men, distinguished by their monochrome
appearance, do not follow any preset pattern but instead walk blindly forwards, like the lemmings in the Lemmings games, without regard to dangers lying in their path. "Evil" Merry Men have to be turned into "good" Merry Men by dropping a bucket of paint
over them before they can be rescued.
One of the good features of the game is that there is no "lives" counter, the player can make unlimited attempts, which makes the game very addictive too.
Benefactor has support for data disk
s but no official data disks for it have ever been published. (One unofficial data disk with seven new levels is available for download on Aminet
.)
In keeping with Psygnosis's tradition of including references to earlier games, Benefactor includes a level called Lemmings? in which Ben E. Factor has to clear a path for twenty "evil" Merry Men marching blindly forwards across a series of pillars. This level is a reference to the game Lemmings and even the music comes from that game. This is the only level where "evil" Merry Men can use the exit without first becoming "good".
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...
computer series, developed by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
team Digital Illusions and published in 1994 by Psygnosis.
Benefactor is a mix between a puzzle game and a platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
. It has a similar concept to Psygnosis's earlier, very successful Lemmings series of games, but also adds its own ideas.
In Benefactor, the player plays a character called Ben E. Factor, who has resigned from the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
to become an overall all-around good guy. Factor's mission is to save a group of "Merry Men", who have been kidnapped from their home planet and imprisoned over 60 levels. 60 levels are divided into seven themes:
- Underworld (8 levels): under the ground
- Tombs of Egypt (8 levels): ancient EgyptAncient EgyptAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
- The treetop rescue (10 levels): a rainforestRainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
- Stones & bones (10 levels): a haunted castleHaunted houseA haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
- Merry winterland (10 levels): the ArcticArcticThe Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
- The techno treat (10 levels): a futuristic setting
- To hell with Minniat (2 levels): on the planet Minniat
The player controls Ben E. Factor directly, like a platform game character. Factor has to avoid all enemy creatures (hitting them would reduce health), and pull switch
Switch
In electronics, a switch is an electrical component that can break an electrical circuit, interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another....
es to extend the land, or many other things. Factor can find key
Key (lock)
A key is an instrument that is used to operate a lock. A typical key consists of two parts: the blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. The blade is usually intended to...
s on the level to open the locks
Lock (device)
A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object or secret information , or combination of more than one of these....
in the Merry Men's cells. When freed, a Merry Man automatically proceeds on a pre-set mission, with the aid of helping Factor to free the other Merry Men and complete the level. Once all Merry Men on a level have been freed, Factor has to go back to his starting point to complete the level. Although colliding with monsters reduces Factor's health, Merry Men are not harmed by monsters.
In later levels, some of the Merry Men are "evil". "Evil" Merry Men, distinguished by their monochrome
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
appearance, do not follow any preset pattern but instead walk blindly forwards, like the lemmings in the Lemmings games, without regard to dangers lying in their path. "Evil" Merry Men have to be turned into "good" Merry Men by dropping a bucket of paint
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
over them before they can be rescued.
One of the good features of the game is that there is no "lives" counter, the player can make unlimited attempts, which makes the game very addictive too.
Benefactor has support for data disk
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
s but no official data disks for it have ever been published. (One unofficial data disk with seven new levels is available for download on Aminet
Aminet
Aminet is the world's largest archive of Amiga-related software and files. Aminet was originally hosted by several universities' FTP sites, and is now available on CD-ROM and on the web.-History:...
.)
In keeping with Psygnosis's tradition of including references to earlier games, Benefactor includes a level called Lemmings? in which Ben E. Factor has to clear a path for twenty "evil" Merry Men marching blindly forwards across a series of pillars. This level is a reference to the game Lemmings and even the music comes from that game. This is the only level where "evil" Merry Men can use the exit without first becoming "good".