Streaker (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Streaker is an arcade adventure game published by Mastertronic
on their "Bulldog" label in 1987. The game runs on Amstrad CPC
, Commodore 64
, MSX
and Sinclair ZX Spectrum
.
, a cafe
, a supermarket
and a chemist's shop
. As Streaker finds more clothes, he is able to enter more and more locations. The game is won when he is fully dressed.
The game is an arcade adventure, somewhere between a puzzle-based adventure game
and an action game
. Gameplay is controlled through a nested menu system, as in Mastertronic
's Spellbound. There are a multitude of items in the game, many of which can be used and some of which seem to have no purpose. Streaker can pick up key
s to open doors, eat food items to raise his hunger levels, and needs to solve a number of simple puzzles.
("beam transfer") by using a number of different coloured beamers. These will teleport Streaker to the location of the corresponding beampad. These beampads can be moved by Streaker and are a good way to avoid thieves. Nice touches include Streaker's ability to advance time by acquiring a stopwatch (the game is played in real time, and you often need to wait for a particular location to open) and the "Save" and "Load" options appearing after Streaker picks up a Tape Recorder.
Streaker's quest is made more difficult by the presence of a number of thieves. They will steal Streaker's clothes on contact, or cause him to lose a life if he is naked. The clothes may be regained from the thieves by finding and offering the thief an item that he wants.
The thieves are as follows:
Mastertronic
Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was the dominant software publisher in the UK, a position achieved by selling cassette-based software at the £1.99...
on their "Bulldog" label in 1987. The game runs on 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,...
, 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...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
and Sinclair 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...
.
Overview
The hero of the game is Carlin, a naked man who has been mugged and stripped, and needs to find all of his clothes. Carlin is in a town on the planet Zuggi, which resembles a town in Earth in many ways, with locations including an hotelHotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, a cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
, a supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
and a chemist's shop
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
. As Streaker finds more clothes, he is able to enter more and more locations. The game is won when he is fully dressed.
The game is an arcade adventure, somewhere between a puzzle-based adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
and an action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
. Gameplay is controlled through a nested menu system, as in Mastertronic
Mastertronic
Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was the dominant software publisher in the UK, a position achieved by selling cassette-based software at the £1.99...
's Spellbound. There are a multitude of items in the game, many of which can be used and some of which seem to have no purpose. Streaker can pick up key
Key (lock)
A key is an instrument that is used to operate a lock. A typical key consists of two parts: the blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. The blade is usually intended to...
s to open doors, eat food items to raise his hunger levels, and needs to solve a number of simple puzzles.
Game setting
While most aspects of life on Zuggi are very similar to Earth, there are a number of fantastic elements in the world. For example, Streaker may teleportTeleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
("beam transfer") by using a number of different coloured beamers. These will teleport Streaker to the location of the corresponding beampad. These beampads can be moved by Streaker and are a good way to avoid thieves. Nice touches include Streaker's ability to advance time by acquiring a stopwatch (the game is played in real time, and you often need to wait for a particular location to open) and the "Save" and "Load" options appearing after Streaker picks up a Tape Recorder.
In-game characters
The thieves are as follows:
- Abner: Plays rugby for the pub team. He is terrified of the dark.
- FaustFaustFaust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
: Used to be good at tricks - now gambles and drinks. - Jasper: Shops for the hotel - he may be the key to a fortune.
- CyclopsCyclopsA cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
: Is a big eater, he also has an eye for helpful groupiers. - Golem (n.b. not GollumGollumGollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
): Loves science, robotics and dining out. - Ladon: Is always on the lookout for sporty visitors. A fruity gent!
Naming
Despite the rather unusual aim of the game, there does not seem to be any prurient content therein. During the 1980s, young children occasionally unwittingly perplexed and embarrassed their teachers by telling them they had spent an evening "playing Streaker".External links
- Streaker at World of SpectrumWorld of SpectrumWorld of Spectrum is a website devoted to cataloging and archiving material for the ZX Spectrum home computer popular in the 1980s, and has been officially endorsed by Amstrad which holds the rights to the ZX Spectrum brand...
- Review of Streaker at Your SinclairYour SinclairYour Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
- Review of Streaker at CPC Game Reviews