(metal_head from the Llamasoft board, upon receiving and playing the completed Gridrunner++)
Lovingly hand-crafted by the Grunting Ox for your hardcore shooty pleasure.
Many moo-ns ago, I created a game called Llamatron, originally for the Atari ST, and subsequently for the Amiga and PC. Inspired by Eugene Jarvis's coin-op masterwork Robotron, Llamatron was the distilled essence of shooty pleasure, and became quite popular with many gamers; it was even at least partly instrumental in breaking the concept of "shareware" into the minds of UK gamers.
My last couple of games have been fairly gentle-paced affairs, and this time out I decided that I wanted to return to my shooty roots. This time I chose not to turn to anyone else's work for my inspiration; instead I chose to look at one of my own early works, a game called Gridrunner that I created for the unexpanded Vic-20 two decades ago, when I was but a calf :).
The original Gridrunner was of necessity quite a simple affair - when 3.5K is all you have for code, data and screen RAM, simplicity is inevitable :). At first glance it looked a bit like Atari's Centipede, but playing it revealed a game that was quite different in essence from that gentle garden-based shooter. Gridrunner was faster and had a much harder edge. Periodically bolts of energy would fire across the Grid, causing the player to be in a constant state of heigtened awareness and always on the move. The action was extremely fast and furious, yet was simple enough that anyone could pick up and play the game immediately.
The XY Zapper fires as herds of evil fluffy plushie sheepies attack relentlessly.
I approached this project in much the same way that I did when I created Llamatron (and, in later years, Tempest 2000 and Tempest 3000) - attempting as best I could to retain something of the essence of the original, yet to bring to the game more depth and playability than was afforded by the somewhat Spartan nature of the original. Oh, and sheep.
The Sheepiezapper weapon crackles out from the player's ship as he moves in to rescue a fluffy sheepie.
A few month's work, and I am quite happy with the result, as are the numerous friends who have been helping play- and beta-test the game on the Llamasoft forum. It is simple to pick up and play, yet fiercely addictive. It has that crucial aspect that any good shooty game must have - the ability to transport the player to "the Zone", that almost trance-like state where one's attention becomes focussed into the game almost to the exclusion of the real world :). I'm confident that players who enjoyed Llamatron, Tempest 2000 or Tempest 3000 will find in Gridrunner++ an equally rewarding experience.
Chains of Pod Lasers kick off in this challenging level.
For all its simplicity, there is the capacity for strategic play within the game. Advanced players can use techniques such as the Sheepie Save to survive in situations that would otherwise seem hopeless. Sheepies can be rescued for extra points and essential weapons power-ups, or left alone for a beleaguered player to - quite literally - fall back on should things go wrong. And each of the 50 levels requires the player to assess the methods of attack and use his weapons, skill and intelligence to formulate the most effective response.
Rescue enough sheepies and you are rewarded with The Pill - a giant sheepie head that zooms around the screen killing enemies!
Throughout the game you will be subjected to the sort of near-sensory-overload abstract graphical flourishes that have become the hallmark of this ox's creations over the years :). The combination of intense gameplay, nice solid sound effects, firework-style particle effects, and lots and lots of sheep will, I hope, lead you to gaming delight :).
These Furry symbols moo-ve incredibly quickly and the Zapper fires very frequently, leading to sphincter-twitching times for the player!
So - d'ya wanna play?
Learn how to play and pick up some tips from an expert?
Find out something of the history of Gridrunner?
I hope you enjoy my game :).
Thanks to Eric Kendrick for the rather lovely title picture at the top of this page (and for many of the sprites used in the game!). And, of course, to all the Llamasofties who helped with the project, through contributing artwork, testing, and just keeping this ol' ox sane throughout some difficult times. Cheers guys - beers all round on me at the next Llamasoftie meet :).
- Yak 10/8/2002