Adventure games aren't common on the Acorn platform, and good ones are certainly a rarity. It says something that most fans of the genre still regard the Magnetic Scrolls' products of 1988-91 as some of the best Acorn adventures.
In recent times, we have seen the emergence of the graphic adventure as the predominant form of computer puzzling, with classics such as Simon the Sorcerer attracting many players who would otherwise ignore such titles.
Detritus, from a new software house called Myndgaemz, (marketed by Byte Back Computing) follows in this style, but the stunning photographic visuals hark back to those of Magnetic Scrolls who first proved that adventure games really could be brightened up with beautiful images.
{"Heading" on}1991-1995
{"Heading" off}So, have the last four years produced anything new in terms of interface and design?
At first sight, you might think not, as the main graphic for each location takes over the top two-thirds of the screen, and the user interface dominates the bottom. However, gone is the traditional flashing cursor waiting for such odious input as:
{"Italic" on}{"NoSpace" on}> North
> Open gate
Which gate? The blue gate or the big gate?
> Open blue gate
> Get toffee
> Eat toffee{"NoSpace" off}{"Italic" off}
Ah, that brings back memories!
{"Heading" on}Detritus
{"Heading" off}Detritus avoids all this, providing a panel of verbs, allowing object manipulation, and examination of your location.
Movement is achieved by positioning your mouse over the image of your location ('filmed' on location in Gosport living medieval village), and either pointing to a visible exit or to the edge of the screen. The pointer will change into an exit arrow, allowing you to click to enter the next room.
If you locate an object or character in the image, you will be given a little information, but the {\144}examine{\145} verb tends to be more useful.
{"Heading" on}Storyline
{"Heading" off}The plot for Detritus comes in two halves. The first, described in the impressive, animated introduction sequence, describes how a nuclear incident has reduced the world's population to small enclaves of people living in tiny, historical villages.
Just as in the Middle Ages, people spent their entire lives in and around the same location, rarely travelling outside the realms of their village, so this future society exists, with its blacksmith, tavern, druid, monks and alchemist.
The second half of the storyline is given in the novella supplied with the package. This tells the story of Nikki, a young woman whose husband, Toni, has been kidnapped by the evil daemon, Arrut Loopaz. In order to free him, Nikki must complete several tasks for the various other demons who inhabit the land.
{"Heading" on}Presentation
{"Heading" off}The presentation of Detritus is something of a mystery to me. The main visuals are stunning, with each location given full photo-realistic treatment. However, the verb panel and manual are poor, to say the least.
When you're paying {\163}30 for a product, you expect some kind of professional packaging.
{"Heading" on}Puzzles
{"Heading" off}The difficulty with any graphical adventure is that you are limited to the verbs shown on the screen. This effectively means that with a little (?) time, you can solve the entire game by trial and error.
The second problem is that text-based adventures can provide more information and clues in their room and object descriptions. Mazes are also easier to implement.
However, by providing a large array of objects, strange characters and obscure locations, there are enough puzzles in Detritus to keep most people happy.
As an experienced adventure gamer, I must say that I found most of the puzzles rather simple, and the only difficulties were caused by illogical results from completing certain tasks, and my repeatedly missing a pipe which was cunningly hidden in one location!
There is a substantial collection of red herrings, and this is no bad thing, but I did end up feeling that perhaps a little more could have been done with the items and locations available.
{"Heading" on}Final words
{"Heading" off}It's difficult to draw a single conclusion on Detritus. Much of it is wonderful, with the music and graphics particularly so. The variety of characters and puzzles should keep most players amused for some time, but I find it hard to recommend the game to ardent adventure fans.
It's a shame that the graphical adventure style has brought with it an awful lot of fairly simple adventures, but almost no really taxing titles, like those seen on the BBC.
Anyway, if you've completed Simon the Sorcerer (which still gets my vote for number one), and are looking for another game of the same ilk, I recommend purchasing Detritus. It's just a shame that a little more effort wasn't put into perfecting some of the other aspects of presentation.
{"Rule" on}Detritus costs {\163}29.95 from Byte Back Computing.{\160}{font Dingbats}u{font}{\160}
