Impossible Mission
Encyclopedia
Impossible Mission is a platform
computer game for several home computer
s. The original version for the Commodore 64
was programmed
by Dennis Caswell and published by Epyx
in 1984
.
, all the while avoiding his deadly robot
s. Once in possession of all the password pieces, the player must correctly assemble the password pieces together and use the completed password in the main control room door - where the evil professor is hiding. One finds password pieces by searching furniture in the rooms. When searching, one can also find "Lift Resets" and "Snoozes." They are used at computer terminals. The former will reset all moveable platforms, the latter will freeze all enemies in the room for a limited time. There are also two special rooms where additional lift resets and snoozes can be awarded for completing a musical puzzle
.
The location of puzzle pieces, arrangement of the rooms and elevators, and abilities of the robots are randomly distributed each game, providing replay value. Caswell cites Rogue
as his inspiration for the randomised room layouts.
The Commodore 64 version is notable for its early use of digitized speech. The digitized speech was provided by the company Electronic Speech Systems
, who drastically raised their prices after Impossible Mission became a successful test case. Epyx did not deal with ESS again as a result. The digitized speech included:
Impossible Mission had only two types of enemies. The first were the robots. These had a cylindrical main body, much like R2D2 or a Dalek
. Their defense was high voltage: their bodies were electrified, and some were able to use a short range death ray
. According to the instructions, the robots used linear induction motor
s to move around, and different robots had different features enabled. Some would be stationary; others move in patterns, and others would specifically hunt the player. Some would shoot and others would just try to ram the player. Some had to actually see the player, and others knew where the player was at all times. The robots' abilities were randomized, so that a room that was easy to explore in one game might be much more difficult in another.
The second enemy was an enormous hovering electrified ball. Much rarer, most of these would chase the player (with a couple of exceptions). They were inspired by the Rover
"security guard" from the Prisoner
TV series. While it would be affected by a "snooze," unlike the robots it still had a high voltage when disabled. The hovering ball would disappear if it came in contact with a robot. In certain rooms, it would be possible to stand on a movable platform with the hovering ball directly underneath, and push the ball off the bottom of the screen, only to have it re-appear at the top.
The most obvious winning strategy is to avoid dying as much as possible, while systematically searching every object in every room of the base. In many cases, it is much safer to leave a hard-to-search object behind, remembering where it is, and come back to it when a snooze pass is available to you. With six hours of game time, a patient player will spend a good deal of time winning snooze passes from the musical puzzle rooms, rather than risking death and wasting time. A successful player will also manage to memorize the layout of each of the rooms, the location of Atombender's door, as well as the orientation of the puzzle pieces.
Though originally developed for the Commodore 64, Impossible Mission was ported
to the Apple II, Atari 7800
, ZX Spectrum
, Acorn Electron
, BBC Micro
, Amstrad CPC
, NES
and Sega Master System
. Not all of the ports had the same features as the C64 edition, such as speech.
The NTSC
Atari 7800 version has a confirmed bug
that makes the game impossible to win; it places some of the code pieces underneath computer terminals, which the player cannot search (since attempting to do so will access the terminal). The bug was fixed in the PAL
version. Rumors of a bug fix for the NTSC version were put to rest when Atari formally announced the retirement of the Atari 7800 on January 1, 1992.
The NTSC
Atari 7800 version was converted from the Commodore 64 version by Computer Magic, Ltd. Contractors Brian Richter started the conversion, with Arthur Krewat finishing it. Arthur states that he was able to complete the game in the final version he gave to Atari, but somehow either Atari used a previous development version for the cartridge, or that they tried to shrink the memory footprint so that it would not require as much static RAM in the cartridge. Atari themselves tested the game and approved it, paying Computer Magic for the final product. Arthur is adamant in stating that the final version supplied to Atari was bug-free. Arthur is working on resurrecting his source code of Impossible Mission for the Atari 7800 as of December 2008, and has found that the code he supplied Atari is identical to the ROM image available on AtariAge.com. Work continues to determine how the bug came about.
The ZX Spectrum
version also had this bug, although it only sometimes made the game unwinnable; not always.
The sequel, Impossible Mission II
, followed in 1988. It further complicated the quest with new traps and items. Elvin's stronghold also grew in size, now divided into a number of towers which the player had to traverse, all the while picking up pieces of the password (an aural one this time around).
A 3D sequel was planned as a launch title for Epyx's "Handy" system which eventually became the Atari Lynx. The game was eventually renamed Electrocop
and the released version had no apparent connection to the original Impossible Mission, but appeared similar to earlier version of the game in which it still bore the name.
In 1994, Impossible Mission 2025
, the final game in the series (so far), was released for the Amiga
. It kept the same idea as the previous games, and mainly featured updated graphics and audio, as well as allowing the player to choose between three different characters. The game also contains the original Impossible Mission.
In 2004, Impossible Mission was one of the games featured on the C64 Direct-to-TV
.
Impossible Mission was to be remade for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance by Oceanic Studios under license from Ironstone Partners in 2004
. The development deal seems to have been put on hold.
Developers System 3
are revamping Impossible Mission for the Sony PSP
, Nintendo DS
and Wii
(it is often mistakenly believed to be the first WiiWare
game, but is a budget title released on the 31 August in the UK
). In the US, the Nintendo DS version was released exclusively at Gamestop stores by Codemasters
and the Wii version was released in March 2008.
There is also a Commodore 64 version on the Wii
Virtual Console
, that was released in Europe on April 11, 2008.
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...
computer game for several home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
s. The original version 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...
was programmed
Game programming
Game programming, a subset of game development, is the programming of computer, console or arcade games. Though often engaged in by professional game programmers, many novices may program games as a hobby...
by Dennis Caswell and published by Epyx
Epyx
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983...
in 1984
1984 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3...
.
Description
Impossible Mission has the user play a secret agent - attempting to stop an evil genius. Professor Elvin Atombender is believed to be tampering with national security computers. The player must penetrate Atombender's stronghold, racing against the clock to search the installation for pieces which form a passwordPassword
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
, all the while avoiding his deadly robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s. Once in possession of all the password pieces, the player must correctly assemble the password pieces together and use the completed password in the main control room door - where the evil professor is hiding. One finds password pieces by searching furniture in the rooms. When searching, one can also find "Lift Resets" and "Snoozes." They are used at computer terminals. The former will reset all moveable platforms, the latter will freeze all enemies in the room for a limited time. There are also two special rooms where additional lift resets and snoozes can be awarded for completing a musical puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
.
The location of puzzle pieces, arrangement of the rooms and elevators, and abilities of the robots are randomly distributed each game, providing replay value. Caswell cites Rogue
Rogue (computer game)
Rogue is a dungeon crawling video game first developed by Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman around 1980. It was a favorite on college Unix systems in the early to mid-1980s, in part due to the procedural generation of game content. Rogue popularized dungeon crawling as a video game trope, leading...
as his inspiration for the randomised room layouts.
The Commodore 64 version is notable for its early use of digitized speech. The digitized speech was provided by the company Electronic Speech Systems
Electronic Speech Systems
ESS Technology Incorporated ) is a listed manufacturer of computer multimedia products based in Fremont, California. It was founded by Fred Chan and Forrest Mozer in 1984. The firm employs more than 500 people worldwide. Robert L. Blair is the CEO and President of the company.Historically, ESS...
, who drastically raised their prices after Impossible Mission became a successful test case. Epyx did not deal with ESS again as a result. The digitized speech included:
- the player character's death scream as he falls into a lift shaft. This scream was later re-used in another game Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes BackBeach Head II: The Dictator Strikes BackBeach-Head II: The Dictator Strikes back is 1985 computer game, a sequel to Beach-Head. It was developed and published by Access Software. It was designed by Bruce Carver and his brother, Roger, and was released for the Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit , Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.The spelling...
. - Professor Atombender's opening line: "Another visitor. Stay awhile... staaaaay FOREVER!" Other prominent lines are his exclamation, "Destroy him, my robots!", a devilish laugh when the clock runs out and the game is over, and admitting defeat shouting, "No. No! NO!"
- a female voice saying "Mission Accomplished. Congratulations!" when the game had been completed.
Enemies
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
. Their defense was high voltage: their bodies were electrified, and some were able to use a short range death ray
Death ray
The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon of the 1920s through the 1930s that was claimed to have been invented independently by Nikola Tesla, Edwin R. Scott, Harry Grindell Matthews, and Graichen, as well as others...
. According to the instructions, the robots used linear induction motor
Linear induction motor
A linear induction motor is an AC asynchronous linear motor that works by the same general principles as other induction motors but which has been designed to directly produce motion in a straight line....
s to move around, and different robots had different features enabled. Some would be stationary; others move in patterns, and others would specifically hunt the player. Some would shoot and others would just try to ram the player. Some had to actually see the player, and others knew where the player was at all times. The robots' abilities were randomized, so that a room that was easy to explore in one game might be much more difficult in another.
The second enemy was an enormous hovering electrified ball. Much rarer, most of these would chase the player (with a couple of exceptions). They were inspired by the Rover
Rover (The Prisoner)
Rover is a fictional entity from the 1967 British television program The Prisoner, and was an integral part of the way 'prisoners' were kept within The Village. It was depicted as a floating white ball that could coerce, and, if necessary, disable inhabitants of The Village, primarily Number Six...
"security guard" from the Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
TV series. While it would be affected by a "snooze," unlike the robots it still had a high voltage when disabled. The hovering ball would disappear if it came in contact with a robot. In certain rooms, it would be possible to stand on a movable platform with the hovering ball directly underneath, and push the ball off the bottom of the screen, only to have it re-appear at the top.
Gameplay
The player has six hours of game time to collect 36 puzzle pieces. Every time the player dies, 10 minutes are deducted from the total time. The puzzle pieces are assembled in groups of four. The puzzle pieces overlap, so three pieces can be assembled before the player realizes he must start over. Pieces may be in the wrong orientation, and the player may have to use the horizontal or vertical mirror images. Additionally, the puzzle pieces are randomized in every game. A completed puzzle forms a nine letter password which allows the player to reach Professor Atombender.The most obvious winning strategy is to avoid dying as much as possible, while systematically searching every object in every room of the base. In many cases, it is much safer to leave a hard-to-search object behind, remembering where it is, and come back to it when a snooze pass is available to you. With six hours of game time, a patient player will spend a good deal of time winning snooze passes from the musical puzzle rooms, rather than risking death and wasting time. A successful player will also manage to memorize the layout of each of the rooms, the location of Atombender's door, as well as the orientation of the puzzle pieces.
Ports and sequels
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the Apple II, Atari 7800
Atari 7800
The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a video game console re-released by Atari Corporation in January 1986. The original release had occurred two years earlier under Atari Inc. The 7800 had originally been designed to replace Atari Inc.'s Atari 5200 in 1984, but was temporarily...
, 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...
, 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....
, 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...
, 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,...
, NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
. Not all of the ports had the same features as the C64 edition, such as speech.
The NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
Atari 7800 version has a confirmed bug
Software bug
A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
that makes the game impossible to win; it places some of the code pieces underneath computer terminals, which the player cannot search (since attempting to do so will access the terminal). The bug was fixed in the PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
version. Rumors of a bug fix for the NTSC version were put to rest when Atari formally announced the retirement of the Atari 7800 on January 1, 1992.
The NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
Atari 7800 version was converted from the Commodore 64 version by Computer Magic, Ltd. Contractors Brian Richter started the conversion, with Arthur Krewat finishing it. Arthur states that he was able to complete the game in the final version he gave to Atari, but somehow either Atari used a previous development version for the cartridge, or that they tried to shrink the memory footprint so that it would not require as much static RAM in the cartridge. Atari themselves tested the game and approved it, paying Computer Magic for the final product. Arthur is adamant in stating that the final version supplied to Atari was bug-free. Arthur is working on resurrecting his source code of Impossible Mission for the Atari 7800 as of December 2008, and has found that the code he supplied Atari is identical to the ROM image available on AtariAge.com. Work continues to determine how the bug came about.
The 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 also had this bug, although it only sometimes made the game unwinnable; not always.
The sequel, Impossible Mission II
Impossible Mission II
Impossible Mission II is a 1988 computer game for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Enterprise 64 and 128, Nintendo Entertainment System, MS-DOS based PCs, Atari ST, Apple IIe with at least 128K, Apple IIc, Apple IIGS and Amiga computers, developed by Novotrade and published by Epyx...
, followed in 1988. It further complicated the quest with new traps and items. Elvin's stronghold also grew in size, now divided into a number of towers which the player had to traverse, all the while picking up pieces of the password (an aural one this time around).
A 3D sequel was planned as a launch title for Epyx's "Handy" system which eventually became the Atari Lynx. The game was eventually renamed Electrocop
ElectroCop
Electrocop is a 1989 video game developed by Epyx and published by Atari.-Summary:This video gamewas one of the first games developed for the Atari Lynx, and was released with the platform's launch....
and the released version had no apparent connection to the original Impossible Mission, but appeared similar to earlier version of the game in which it still bore the name.
In 1994, Impossible Mission 2025
Impossible Mission 2025
Impossible Mission 2025 is a side scrolling platform and action game for the Amiga computer system. It was released by MicroProse in 1994 as 2 different versions. One for the Amiga 500 and 600 systems, and a version for the AGA enhanced Amiga 1200, 4000 and CD32 systems.-Characters:The player can...
, the final game in the series (so far), was released for the 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...
. It kept the same idea as the previous games, and mainly featured updated graphics and audio, as well as allowing the player to choose between three different characters. The game also contains the original Impossible Mission.
In 2004, Impossible Mission was one of the games featured on the C64 Direct-to-TV
C64 Direct-to-TV
The C64 Direct-to-TV, called C64DTV for short, is a single-chip implementation of the Commodore 64 computer, contained in a joystick with 30 built-in games. The design is similar to the Atari Classics 10-in-1 TV Game...
.
Impossible Mission was to be remade for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance by Oceanic Studios under license from Ironstone Partners in 2004
2004 in video gaming
-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
. The development deal seems to have been put on hold.
Developers 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,...
are revamping Impossible Mission for the Sony PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
(it is often mistakenly believed to be the first WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
game, but is a budget title released on the 31 August in the UK
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...
). In the US, the Nintendo DS version was released exclusively at Gamestop stores by Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
and the Wii version was released in March 2008.
There is also a Commodore 64 version on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
, that was released in Europe on April 11, 2008.
External links
- Images of Impossible Mission box, manual and screen shots from C64Sets.com
- Speech Box - dedicated area to Commodore 64 speech (inc. Impossible Mission) at The-Commodore-Zone
- Complete video from the C64 version at Archive.org
- Linux game based on puzzles of Impossible Mission
- System 3 website of revamped Impossible Mission
- Official website of the Wii revamped game at System 3