Mancopter
Encyclopedia
Mancopter is a computer game by the company Datasoft
that appeared on the Commodore 64
computer system in 1984.
-like flying device over an ocean, and competing with other computer-controlled pilots.
The player flies the copter by rapidly pressing the fire button on the joystick
. If the player stops pressing the button, or runs into some sort of obstacle, then the copter will fall into the sea. For a few of these falls, the player is saved by a whale who surfaces with the copter on its head and allows the player to continue the game. If the player runs out of "Fish," (which can be stolen or recaptured from flying pelicans,) then a "Jaws
"-inspired shark eats the player instead and the game is over.
Mancopter was programmed by Scott Spanburg, and the distinctive music was composed by John A. Fitzpatrick.
Datasoft
Datasoft, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher founded in 1980 by Pat Ketchum. Based out of Chatsworth, California, Datasoft ported games from arcade systems to personal computers and acquired licenses for games from famous movies and TV shows....
that appeared on 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...
computer system in 1984.
Summary
The player controls a person piloting a helicopterHelicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
-like flying device over an ocean, and competing with other computer-controlled pilots.
The player flies the copter by rapidly pressing the fire button on the joystick
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
. If the player stops pressing the button, or runs into some sort of obstacle, then the copter will fall into the sea. For a few of these falls, the player is saved by a whale who surfaces with the copter on its head and allows the player to continue the game. If the player runs out of "Fish," (which can be stolen or recaptured from flying pelicans,) then a "Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
"-inspired shark eats the player instead and the game is over.
Mancopter was programmed by Scott Spanburg, and the distinctive music was composed by John A. Fitzpatrick.