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Nightshade (video game)
Encyclopedia
Nightshade is a ZX Spectrum
video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game
in 1985. Building upon the earlier titles Knight Lore
and Alien 8
using the flip-screen
, isometric
gameplay branded Filmation
, Nightshade introduces a scrolling
isometric environment branded Filmation II.
The player takes the role of a knight
who enters the plague
-ridden village of Nightshade to vanquish four demon
s who hold sway over it. Similarly to the major foes
in Underwurlde
, each demon is vulnerable to a particular object which must be collected by the player (a hammer
, a Bible
, a crucifix
and a hourglass
). To help the player locate the demons, these objects also glow when in close proximity to the demon they destroy.
Aside from the demons, Nightshade is densely populated by several different types of plague-carrying monsters. Contact with these monsters infects the player, with repeated contact turning the player's color from white to yellow to green then death. Rather than relying on more convention weapons such as sabre
s, the player can collect a range of "antibodies
" which materialise within the buildings of Nightshade. These "antibodies" can be fired at monsters to destroy them, but each only kills a specific type of monster - if fired at the wrong monster, it will "mutate
" the monster into a different, and possibly worse, foe.
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game
Ultimate Play the Game
Ultimate Play The Game was a critically acclaimed video game developer of the early home computer era. "Ultimate Play The Game" was the trading name of Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd. , a software company founded in 1982 by two ex-arcade game developers Tim and Chris Stamper...
in 1985. Building upon the earlier titles Knight Lore
Knight Lore
Knight Lore is a computer game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1984. The game is the third in the Sabreman series, following on from his adventures in Sabre Wulf and Underwurlde. Unlike the earlier games in the series it used Ultimate's filmation engine to achieve a 3D look...
and Alien 8
Alien 8
Alien 8 is a ZX Spectrum video game. It was written by Tim Stamper and Chris Stamper of Ultimate Play The Game, and was released by the company in 1985. The game was also ported to the BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC and MSX platforms. It is the follow-up to Ultimate's Knight Lore, which had been released...
using the flip-screen
Flip-screen
In video games, flip-screen is a principle whereby the playing environment is divided into single-screen portions...
, isometric
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
gameplay branded Filmation
Filmation engine
Filmation is the trademark name of the isometric graphics engine employed in a series of games developed by Ultimate Play The Game during the 1980s, primarily on the 8-bit ZX Spectrum platform, but various titles also appeared on the BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 64 platforms.The...
, Nightshade introduces a scrolling
Scrolling
In computer graphics, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display. "Scrolling", as such, does not change the layout of the text or pictures, or but incrementally moves the user's view across what is...
isometric environment branded Filmation II.
Gameplay
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
who enters the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
-ridden village of Nightshade to vanquish four demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s who hold sway over it. Similarly to the major foes
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
in Underwurlde
Underwurlde
Underwurlde is a video game for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1984. The game is the second in the Sabreman series, following on from his adventures in Sabre Wulf. The format of the game is a 2D side view flip-screen platform game...
, each demon is vulnerable to a particular object which must be collected by the player (a hammer
Hammer
A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
, a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
and a hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
). To help the player locate the demons, these objects also glow when in close proximity to the demon they destroy.
Aside from the demons, Nightshade is densely populated by several different types of plague-carrying monsters. Contact with these monsters infects the player, with repeated contact turning the player's color from white to yellow to green then death. Rather than relying on more convention weapons such as sabre
Sabre
The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
s, the player can collect a range of "antibodies
Antibody
An antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin, is a large Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique part of the foreign target, termed an antigen...
" which materialise within the buildings of Nightshade. These "antibodies" can be fired at monsters to destroy them, but each only kills a specific type of monster - if fired at the wrong monster, it will "mutate
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
" the monster into a different, and possibly worse, foe.
External links
- Nightshade at Ultimate Wurlde
- Nightshade review at CRASH magazineCRASH (magazine)Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.-Development:...
- A walkthrough video of Nightshade on the ZX Spectrum
- Play Nightshade Online - Java Spectrum Emulator