Felix in the Factory is 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...

 for home computers published by Micro Power

Micro Power

Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s, best known as a video game publisher but they also produced and sold many types of computer hardware and software through their Leeds...

 (a.k.a. Program Power). The game was first released in 1982

1982 in video gaming

-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....

 for the BBC Micro

BBC Micro

The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...

. It was ported to the Acorn Electron

Acorn Electron

The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....

 (1983), Commodore 64

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

 (1984) and Memotech MTX (1984). It is the first in a trilogy of Micro Power games featuring the factory worker Felix and was followed by Felix and the Fruit Monsters

Felix and the Fruit Monsters

Felix and the Fruit Monsters is a video game released by Micro Power for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1983. It is a sequel to the earlier game Felix in the Factory. The game is a sort of Pac-Man clone, in which the player moves around a maze collecting fruit and avoiding the fruit monsters....

(a Pac-Man

Pac-Man

is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...

 style overhead maze game) and another factory-based platformer, Felix meets the Evil Weevils.

Gameplay

The screen layout is clearly influenced by early platform game Space Panic

Space Panic

Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal, which Chris Crawford calls the first ever platform game, as it pre-dates Nintendo's Donkey Kong which is often cited as the original platform game. Space Panic lacks Donkey Kongs jump mechanic, disqualifying it as a platformer for some...

, set out as a series of platforms and ladders populated by enemy 'gremlin

Gremlin

A gremlin is an imaginary creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented, with a specific interest in aircraft. Gremlins' mischievous natures are similar to those of English folkloric imps, while their inclination to damage or dismantle machinery is more...

s' which also bear more than a passing resemblance to the Space Panic monsters. This is the factory

Factory

A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...

 of the title. The player takes the role of Felix, a factory worker, whose job is to ensure the generator

Electrical generator

In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...

, in the bottom right of the screen, does not run out of oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

. Felix begins at the generator and must cross the conveyor belt

Conveyor belt

A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...

, jumping over parcels (in gameplay similar to Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong (video game)

is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...

). If Felix fails to jump the parcel, he falls down and is carried along the belt for a short while. If he has time to stand up, he can continue on as normal but if he reaches the end of the belt, he loses a life.

After crossing the conveyor belt, Felix can climb into the rest of the factory which contains a number of randomly placed items which can be picked up and used as well as a number of enemies. The main enemies are the various gremlins that patrol the platforms. If they come into contact with Felix, they knock him off the platform and a life is lost. The other hazard is a giant rat

Rat

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

 which occasionally runs across the screen, again knocking Felix off the platform (although unlike the gremlins, it can be jumped). Felix can collect a pitchfork

Pitchfork

A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and long, thin, widely separated pointed tines used to lift and pitch loose material, such as hay, leaves, grapes, dung or other agricultural materials. Pitchforks typically have two or three tines...

 which lets him run at the gremlins and knock them from the platforms. This only lasts for a brief time (like the axe in Donkey Kong). There is also a bag of rat poison which can be collected and then laid down on a platform in the hope that the rat will run across that platform. Finally, Felix can collect an oil can

Oil can

An oil can is a can that holds oil for lubricating machines. An oil can can also be used to fill oil-based lanterns...

 which he must take back to the generator. If the can is dropped (by running into a wall or falling on the conveyor belt), it spills and he must return for another can. Only one item can be carried at a time.

The oil level is shown in a bar on screen and acts as a timer. As it runs down at a fast rate, the primary objective of the game is usually to collect the oil can and return it to the generator as quickly as possible. This is made especially important as if a life is lost, Felix is returned to the generator but the oil level remains as it was. If the player has spent too much time killing gremlins, this often makes it impossible for Felix to go back for the oil in time. There is a warning 'flicker' as the oil reaches a low level but unless Felix is already on the conveyor belt with a can of oil, it will be too late. If the generator runs out of oil, it is game over

Game over

Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...

. If Felix successfully tops up the generator with oil, the gremlins regenerate (and sometimes increase in number) and play begins again.

Critical reaction

Electron User

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....

generally praised the game (although at the time it did not award scores). "It's not easy but it is fun; a fast game calling for quick reflexes and a sense of humour as you try to keep production flowing. ...sound and graphics use the Electron's capabilities to the full."

External links

• Felix in the Factory at Lemon 64