Game of the Month

KOOKY'S QUEST

by Eric Anschuetz, Robert Anschuetz, and John Weisgerber

A windowed scrolling maze adventure where you fight monsters while searching for the magic key that's your only escape from a multi-level dungeon.  Runs in BASIC on any Atari computer with 32K disk or 24K cassette.

Trapped in an evil dungeon, your only hope of escaping is to descend to the lowest level, retrieve the magic key, and use it to unlock the portal at the uppermost level.
  Check the program with TYPO II as you type it in.  SAVE the game before you RUN it.  Playing Kooky's Quest uses the keyboard and a joystick in port one.  There are two skill levels.  In the beginner game, you're aided by a displayed map of the dungeon, which is erased for the expert game.
  To move from one dungeon level to another, you must obtain enough treasures-rings and chests.  You need only one treasure to descend from the first level to the second, but you'll need five to reach each of the deepest dungeons.
  Once you have enough treasures to change levels, go to the up or down staircase, shown with a D or U on the map. if you are playing without the map, you can identify a staircase by sound effects, because the stairs aren't in your view.

VICTORY OVER MONSTERS

Getting treasures is not an easy task.  In each room, you will find a treasure and a monster. it is important to get to the treasure before the monster gets it, before you kill the monster or the monster kills you.  In each case, you'll lose the treasure.
  If you clear all the rooms on any level and don't have enough treasure, you'll be forced to wander that level forever-or until you stop the game.
  You have ten lives for the entire game.  If you'd like more, rejuvenate yourself at line 610.
  You'll be asked to choose a weapon as you enter a room.  Available weapons are listed at the bottom of the screen and, can be selected with numbers.  The axe, mace and sword are swinging weapons-press the fire button and move the joystick from left or right.
  The knife, lightning bolt and fireball are throwing weapons.  They are used in the same way as swinging weapons-except they continue moving in a straight line until they hit something.
  Choose your weapons with care.  Each has different properties.  You'll find that some require six hits to kill, others only one hit.
  Note that while fighting, you can only attack to the left or right, and can't protect yourself from above or below.
You can encounter six types of monsters-vampire bats, giant hobgoblins, wicked skeletons, venomous serpents, decaying mummies and malevolent spiders that inhabit only the lowest level.  Your adventurer, Kooky is shown as a happy face symbol.
  Instead of escaping the dungeon. you may choose to accumulate points.  Treasures are worth five points, defeated monsters ten.

All three authors are 19-year-old computer science majors at Eastern Michigan University.

Listing: KOOKY.BAS Download