The Death Trap
Encyclopedia
is a video game developed and published by Square for the NEC PC-8801
, NEC PC-9801
, and Fujitsu FM-7 in 1984
. The game and its supporting computer platforms were only released in Japan
.
The Death Trap is the first game developed by Square, created before they were even an independent company. At the time, Square was a software branch of Denyuusha, a Japanese software firm; it wasn't until 1986
that Square Co., Ltd. was independently established. Square followed up with a sequel to The Death Trap in 1985
. The game is titled Will and subtitled The Death Trap II.
The Death Trap is an interactive fiction
game, which relies on simple command lines from the user's input to progress through the game. As opposed to most "text adventures", with only text as output, The Death Trap provides graphical feedback using still pictures.
The game's plot is set during the 1980s. In the game, the Cold War has become tense, and many countries have begun to prepare for a global-scale war, working on new weapons. One of such countries is the mysterious "B country" in Eastern Africa, which in an attempt to create biological weapons kidnaps the famous scientist Dr. Gitanes. An agent named Benson is sent to B country in order to rescue the doctor and avert the new threat to world peace.
, who founded Square in September 1983, believed that it would be more efficient to have graphic designers, programmers and writers work together on common projects. Upon Square's inception, Miyamoto initially hired university students Hironobu Sakaguchi
, Hiromichi Tanaka
and three others as part-time workers. They shortly began work on The Death Trap.
Sakaguchi and Tanaka were friends at their university, often playing the Apple II
game Wizardry
, and computer games designed by Nasir Gebelli
(of whom which would work for Square later on). Sakaguchi had developed an interest in game development based on American games for the Apple II, and created games with similar aspects. They shortly began work on The Death Trap. He held the position of producer and scenario writer. Harunobu Kato held the position of programmer, which was shared with Tanaka. Other scenario writers were 雪ノ浦美樹, 林明弘 and 鈴木尚志. The graphics team consisted of Hiromi Nakada, 雪ノ浦美樹, 今泉美保 and 斉藤智子. Lastly, 井出康代 held the position of data editing.
The game was published in Japan for the NEC PC-8801
in October 1984. It was later released for the Fujitsu FM-7 in December 1984.
, NEC PC-9801
, Fujitsu FM-7, and Sharp X1
in 1985
. The game and its supporting computer platforms were released exclusively in Japan. Will is the sequel to The Death Trap, and was Square's second release.
Much like its predecessor, Will is an interactive fiction game, which relies on simple command lines from the user's input to progress through the game. As opposed to the earlier "text adventures", with only text as output, Will provides graphical feedback by using screenshots. Square recruited a postgraduate student
from Keio University
to program the bitmap
graphics of Will. The game is considered one of the first animated
computer games
. Will sold 100,000 copies in Japan, which, while less than its predecessor, was a major commercial success at the time of its release.
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
, NEC PC-9801
PC-9801
The NEC PC-9801, part of the PC-98 series, is a Japanese 16-bit microcomputer manufactured by NEC.- History :It first appeared in 1982, and employed an 8086 CPU. It ran at a clock speed of 5 MHz, with two µPD7220 display controllers , and shipped with 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB...
, and Fujitsu FM-7 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...
. The game and its supporting computer platforms were only released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The Death Trap is the first game developed by Square, created before they were even an independent company. At the time, Square was a software branch of Denyuusha, a Japanese software firm; it wasn't until 1986
1986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
that Square Co., Ltd. was independently established. Square followed up with a sequel to The Death Trap in 1985
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
. The game is titled Will and subtitled The Death Trap II.
Gameplay
Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
game, which relies on simple command lines from the user's input to progress through the game. As opposed to most "text adventures", with only text as output, The Death Trap provides graphical feedback using still pictures.
The game's plot is set during the 1980s. In the game, the Cold War has become tense, and many countries have begun to prepare for a global-scale war, working on new weapons. One of such countries is the mysterious "B country" in Eastern Africa, which in an attempt to create biological weapons kidnaps the famous scientist Dr. Gitanes. An agent named Benson is sent to B country in order to rescue the doctor and avert the new threat to world peace.
Development
The Death Trap was the first game developed by Square, a computer game software branch of Denyūsha Electric Company. Masafumi MiyamotoMasafumi Miyamoto
was the founder of Square in 1983. Initially, he was the president of the company which was a subsidiary of Denyuusha . While at the time game development was usually conducted by only one programmer, Miyamoto believed that it would be more efficient to have graphic designers, programmers and...
, who founded Square in September 1983, believed that it would be more efficient to have graphic designers, programmers and writers work together on common projects. Upon Square's inception, Miyamoto initially hired university students Hironobu Sakaguchi
Hironobu Sakaguchi
is a Japanese game designer, game director and game producer. He is world famous as the creator of the Final Fantasy series, and has had a long career in gaming with over 100 million units of video games sold worldwide...
, Hiromichi Tanaka
Hiromichi Tanaka
is a Japanese video game developer, game producer, game director and game designer. He is currently Senior Vice President of Software Development at Square Enix and the head of Square Enix's Product Development Division-3. He is best known as the former lead developer of Final Fantasy XI, Square's...
and three others as part-time workers. They shortly began work on The Death Trap.
Sakaguchi and Tanaka were friends at their university, often playing the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
game Wizardry
Wizardry
Wizardry is a series of computer role-playing games, developed by Sir-Tech, which were highly influential in the development of modern console and computer role playing games. The original Wizardry was a significant influence to early console RPGs, such as Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. ...
, and computer games designed by Nasir Gebelli
Nasir Gebelli
Nasir Gebelli is an Iranian-American programmer and video game developer. Gebelli co-founded Sirius Software, created his own company Gebelli Software, and worked for Square .-Sirius Software:...
(of whom which would work for Square later on). Sakaguchi had developed an interest in game development based on American games for the Apple II, and created games with similar aspects. They shortly began work on The Death Trap. He held the position of producer and scenario writer. Harunobu Kato held the position of programmer, which was shared with Tanaka. Other scenario writers were 雪ノ浦美樹, 林明弘 and 鈴木尚志. The graphics team consisted of Hiromi Nakada, 雪ノ浦美樹, 今泉美保 and 斉藤智子. Lastly, 井出康代 held the position of data editing.
The game was published in Japan for the NEC PC-8801
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
in October 1984. It was later released for the Fujitsu FM-7 in December 1984.
Reception
The Death Trap sold about 500,000 copies and resulted in the development of Will: The Death Trap II. Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Harunobu Kato and Hiromi Nakada continued producing games for Square, while the rest of those credited left.Sequel
Will: The Death Trap II is a video game developed and published by Square for the NEC PC-8801NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
, NEC PC-9801
PC-9801
The NEC PC-9801, part of the PC-98 series, is a Japanese 16-bit microcomputer manufactured by NEC.- History :It first appeared in 1982, and employed an 8086 CPU. It ran at a clock speed of 5 MHz, with two µPD7220 display controllers , and shipped with 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB...
, Fujitsu FM-7, and Sharp X1
Sharp X1
The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
in 1985
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
. The game and its supporting computer platforms were released exclusively in Japan. Will is the sequel to The Death Trap, and was Square's second release.
Much like its predecessor, Will is an interactive fiction game, which relies on simple command lines from the user's input to progress through the game. As opposed to the earlier "text adventures", with only text as output, Will provides graphical feedback by using screenshots. Square recruited a postgraduate student
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
from Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
to program the bitmap
Bitmap
In computer graphics, a bitmap or pixmap is a type of memory organization or image file format used to store digital images. The term bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits. Now, along with pixmap, it commonly refers to...
graphics of Will. The game is considered one of the first animated
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
computer games
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
. Will sold 100,000 copies in Japan, which, while less than its predecessor, was a major commercial success at the time of its release.