Flimbo's Quest
Encyclopedia
Flimbo's Quest is a 2D
platform game
published by British
publishing house System 3
(later renamed to Studio 3 Interactive) for the Commodore 64
, Amiga
, Atari ST
and Amstrad CPC
. A ZX Spectrum
version was produced but never released. The game itself was developed by Laurens van der Donk in the Netherlands
who was involved in the Demoscene
being in both Boys Without Brains (BWB) and Hotline
.
The music was put together by developers Maniacs of Noise who are also mainly based in the Netherlands
.
Fransz Dandruff has created a machine that draws the life energy from its victim for him, thus extending his life infinitely. Dandruff kidnaps Pearly, beauty queen of Dewdropland, to provide this energy. Her boyfriend Flimbo sets out to save her.
The player controls Flimbo through seven distinct levels, collecting scroll
s for the wizard Dazz Bazian, to allow him to create a spell that will send Flimbo to the next level. The levels are free-roaming, and some exploration is necessary to find the scrolls from enemies dotted around the lair, as well as other secrets such as banks and various power-up
s: a super weapon, which extends the range and power of Flimbo's shooting enabling longshots to be fired across the screen, invulnerability which lasts for 30 seconds--this does not protect from water or holes--and in level 6, hourglasses which add 2 minutes to the time limit. All of these can be bought in Dazz's shops, along with individual letters or complete words of the code. Hearts can also be obtained in 5 colours to give the player an extra life, again these can be taken from enemies in the game.
Flimbo's Quest takes place over seven levels: a normal rural landscape, a fishing village, a mountain
landscape, a weird alien world, a forest
, a graveyard
and Fransz Dandruff's laboratory. There are two different background musics, which alternate between the levels.
Although there are essentially only a few different types of enemy in each level, there is a further and more frustrating distinction to be made by the player, in terms of location on the level. In level 5 for example, it may be required to kill an antelope, but it isn't possible to tell from the mugshot alone where in the level it is (an enemy carrying a scroll will flash). It has also been discovered that there is a maximum amount of money to get in any level, assuming that the player kills enough enemies on each part of the screen, though with the stringent time limit this is inadvisable.
Each level provides 2 or 3 secret power-ups, which can be activated by simultaneously firing and ducking in the right places; generally in less frequented positions, which can be used to quickly finish the level. Among the power-ups available are superscrolls, item upgrade (free heart/heart to scroll/scroll to superscroll), 2 minutes extra time, and a 'smart bomb' which will destroy all enemies on and just outside the boundaries of the screen.
At the end of level seven, the letters that Flimbo has collected are revealed to be assembly language
instructions, and are programmed into Dandruff's computer to free Pearly. When the game is completed, it restarts from the beginning with the time count, money, lives, hearts (if any) and score that the player had at the end of the game.
console
(also known as the C64GS).
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
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...
published by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
publishing house System 3
System 3 (software company)
System 3 Software Ltd is a British video game developer and publisher.Founded in 1983 by Mark Cale, the company has been responsible for many critically acclaimed videogame experiences, most notably The Last Ninja series, Myth: History in the Making, Impossible Mission, Constructor, Street Wars,...
(later renamed to Studio 3 Interactive) for the 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...
, Amiga
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...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
. A ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
version was produced but never released. The game itself was developed by Laurens van der Donk in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
who was involved in the Demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
being in both Boys Without Brains (BWB) and Hotline
Hotline
In telecommunication, a hotline is a point-to-point communications link in which a call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the user when the end instrument goes off-hook...
.
The music was put together by developers Maniacs of Noise who are also mainly based in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Overview
The mad scientistMad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
Fransz Dandruff has created a machine that draws the life energy from its victim for him, thus extending his life infinitely. Dandruff kidnaps Pearly, beauty queen of Dewdropland, to provide this energy. Her boyfriend Flimbo sets out to save her.
The player controls Flimbo through seven distinct levels, collecting scroll
Scroll
A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins...
s for the wizard Dazz Bazian, to allow him to create a spell that will send Flimbo to the next level. The levels are free-roaming, and some exploration is necessary to find the scrolls from enemies dotted around the lair, as well as other secrets such as banks and various power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s: a super weapon, which extends the range and power of Flimbo's shooting enabling longshots to be fired across the screen, invulnerability which lasts for 30 seconds--this does not protect from water or holes--and in level 6, hourglasses which add 2 minutes to the time limit. All of these can be bought in Dazz's shops, along with individual letters or complete words of the code. Hearts can also be obtained in 5 colours to give the player an extra life, again these can be taken from enemies in the game.
Flimbo's Quest takes place over seven levels: a normal rural landscape, a fishing village, a mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
landscape, a weird alien world, a forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
, a graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
and Fransz Dandruff's laboratory. There are two different background musics, which alternate between the levels.
Although there are essentially only a few different types of enemy in each level, there is a further and more frustrating distinction to be made by the player, in terms of location on the level. In level 5 for example, it may be required to kill an antelope, but it isn't possible to tell from the mugshot alone where in the level it is (an enemy carrying a scroll will flash). It has also been discovered that there is a maximum amount of money to get in any level, assuming that the player kills enough enemies on each part of the screen, though with the stringent time limit this is inadvisable.
Each level provides 2 or 3 secret power-ups, which can be activated by simultaneously firing and ducking in the right places; generally in less frequented positions, which can be used to quickly finish the level. Among the power-ups available are superscrolls, item upgrade (free heart/heart to scroll/scroll to superscroll), 2 minutes extra time, and a 'smart bomb' which will destroy all enemies on and just outside the boundaries of the screen.
At the end of level seven, the letters that Flimbo has collected are revealed to be assembly language
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
instructions, and are programmed into Dandruff's computer to free Pearly. When the game is completed, it restarts from the beginning with the time count, money, lives, hearts (if any) and score that the player had at the end of the game.
Reaction
The video gaming press gave Flimbo's Quest a lukewarm reception as standard and unoriginal platform fare. However, the C64 version achieved a high level of distribution thanks to the game being distributed on a cartridge with four games on it, distributed in the early 90s with the Commodore 64. The cartridge was also distributed with the ill-fated Commodore 64 Games SystemCommodore 64 Games System
The Commodore 64 Games System was the cartridge-based game console version of the popular Commodore 64 home computer. It was released by Commodore in December 1990 as a competitor in the booming console market...
console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
(also known as the C64GS).