I'm trying to remember a game... can you help?

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by Gary7, Nov 22, 2017.

  1. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2007
    Location:
    ★•* The Paper Men *•★
    There was this game I had played on a Windows PC (DOS mode) a number of years ago, and I can't for the life of me remember what it was.

    Here's the details I remember:

    • The objective was to take your avatar figure from one part of the screen to another, a kind of "exit" so you can get to the next screen. Overall, you'd want to make it all the way to the last screen. I think there were about 20 screens or so.
    • There were 2 sets of games, if I remember right. A part 1 and a more difficult part 2.
    • Each screen had a kind of obstacle course, presented in 2D. Not simple bland graphics like LodeRunner. The illustrated graphics were very detailed. This was similar in some way to "lemmings" but with better graphics and with a single avatar (not a bunch of them you'd control individually). No specific theme to it, like of ancient peoples or certain lands.
    • There was a gravity effect where the tendency would be for your avatar to fall to the ground if you stepped off a wall. I think you can fly in spurts by jumping up, but you can't "hover". You have to land on way points to keep from falling to the ground.
    • Nasties would try to get you. I think you could only evade them, not shoot at them. No weapons.
    • The obstacle courses would have you running and jumping around over hard surfaces (like rock/stone) and you may be jumping over fire pits. There would be very simple ones at the start and then very elaborate ones later. Very imaginative ones where it could be a complex "puzzle" of a path to reach the exit.
    • I'm trying to remember how the risk was designed... It may be that you accumulate lives as you go on, picking up some gems or something. And if you get killed, you'd use up a life. You'd be restarting on the screen where you got killed. Maybe you start with 3 or 5 lives?
    Does this sound familiar to anyone here?
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2017
  2. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2001
    Location:
    The Lensman
    The only thing I can think that sounds sort of like that is Loderunner or Montezuma's Revenge.

    What system were you playing it on?
     
  3. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2007
    Location:
    ★•* The Paper Men *•★
    Thanks for trying to help. It's a more graphical game than the old Broderbund LodeRunner. While a 2D platform game, it has detailed illustrated graphics. It didn't have an Aztec theme, so it wouldn't have been Montezuma's Revenge. I played it on my PC, so it would have to run in Windows.
     
  4. USS Triumphant

    USS Triumphant Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2008
    Location:
    Go ahead, caller. I'm listening...
    I wracked my brain on this, and a few games came to mind, but I'm pretty sure they're all too old and/or the wrong platform. Sorry. I hope someone else is more help.
     
  5. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2007
    Location:
    ★•* The Paper Men *•★
    Thanks for trying. I'm not sure when the game came out... I'm thinking it was before the year 2000. Maybe 1995?

    It was a fun puzzle-solving kind of game. In thinking more about it, the graphics reminded me of the arcade game Joust. But no pterodactyls or riding ostriches. ;) Much more attractive than those terribly simple looking "Lode Runner" and "Montezuma's Revenge" type games. I'll try to describe the game more. When a screen would start you'd be placed in a certain location of the screen and have to traverse across it to get to the exit. There would be floating platforms and walls with gaps to sneak through. I can't remember what the nasties were, but I think they were all pretty much the same. You'd have to time yourself to fly or leap over them. The pathway to get to the exit would require creative thinking in how to traverse the screen. If I remember right, the nasties could get you by either touching you or throwing something at you. Fireballs? Darts? Because they're drawn to you, you could lead them away from a location where you want to go. Sometimes you could trap them. Some screens were really challenging. I remember getting stumped on a few and having to resort to searching on the Internet for solutions.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2017
  6. USS Triumphant

    USS Triumphant Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2008
    Location:
    Go ahead, caller. I'm listening...
    I'll continue to ponder this in the back of my mind, but the one thing that screams out at me right away is that if it was 1995, maybe it *wasn't* Windows-based, but actually DOS-based, and just capable of running from a Windows icon. Which I only mention in case it helps your web searches.
     
  7. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2007
    Location:
    ★•* The Paper Men *•★
    Thanks! Actually it was a DOS mode game--thanks for pointing that out. I was playing it on a Windows PC. :)

    I watched this curious YouTube vid that gave a tour of many old DOS games... hoping it might be in there. But it wasn't.


    The CGI quality is similar to the re-release of Lode Runner Legend Returns, but without all the detailed background images. I'm starting to remember more... I think your objective was to also pick up some kind of items along the way and you'd get a bonus if you got all items off a screen. But you could make your way through the exit while leaving some items behind, unlike Lode Runner where the last item collected opens the exit.
     
  8. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2007
    Location:
    ★•* The Paper Men *•★
    I found a helpful Wikileaks page, that lists out Platform 2D video games (another LINK, all names). I browsed through the whole list... didn't see a name pop out at me. Either I've forgotten it badly enough, or they just didn't list every single platform type video game. Those do focus on "side scroller" games, but the one I'm talking about doesn't scroll. Maybe that's why.

    Found another site, for Best MS-DOS Games. Seems to be a pretty comprehensive list. Still didn't find that game... very weird. I'm not recalling some imaginary game from a dream. ;) I distinctly remember playing it.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2017
  9. Captain Chris

    Captain Chris Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2017
    Choplifter?
     
  10. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2007
    Location:
    ★•* The Paper Men *•★
    Nope, no helicopters involved. Single figure avatar on the ground, that can do "super leaps" into the air, but no sustained flying or hovering.
     
  11. ralfy

    ralfy Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2013
    As a side note, I remember playing something similar during the early 1990s, but I could not remember the name until I searched through the wiki list of platform games you provided. I thought it had the word "side" or "planet" in it, and then realized that it's "Another World":

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_World_(video_game)

    Thanks!
     
  12. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    Glasgow
    Can you remember if it was a side scrolling platformer or a flip screen platformer or just a one screen platformer?
     
  13. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2009
    Location:
    Northern Ontario, Canada
    Probably because the game was called something else in different markets. But it was quite an innovative game for its time.
     
  14. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2007
    Location:
    ★•* The Paper Men *•★
    It wasn't a slide scrolling platformer. The screen would be static. Your avatar would move through it from one end to another. It might be top left to bottom right, bottom left to top right, etc. After you got through the screen, a new screen is shown with your avatar at the "entry point" of the screen.

    No, it definitely wasn't "Another World." That one has too elaborate and colorful backdrops. This game I'm trying to remember was more like "Lemmings", but with a richer resolution. More detail to the platforms commensurate with late 90's games.

    I took a break for a few days, then tried to recall again thinking the rest would help... but still, can't think of it. I've browsed a number of sites for 90's MS DOS games. Couldn't find it. :(

    I'm puzzled... because it was a really great game. Took a lot of dexterity and some creative thinking to figure out the path to get from the entrance to the exit of each screen. There were 2 releases, if I remember correctly. They each had about 30 or 40 screens. The 2nd set was definitely a little more challenging.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2017
  15. P Tom

    P Tom Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2004
    Location:
    I live on Earth !
  16. Leviathan

    Leviathan Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2004
    Commander Keen? Chips Challenge? Incredible Machine?
     
  17. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2007
    Location:
    ★•* The Paper Men *•★
    Thanks for chiming in guys... no, definitely not Prince of Persia, Commander Keen, Chips Challenge, or Incredible Machine. I have a feeling I may have it installed on an old computer that I'll have to dig out and fire up... will hopefully find it when I get back from my travels.