The Thompson Twins Adventure

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The Thompson Twins Adventure
Sleeve and label of The Thompson Twins Adventure.
Developer(s)Quicksilva[2]
Publisher(s)Computer and Video Games
Programmer(s)David Shea (Spectrum)
Fred J. Preston (C64)
Platform(s)ZX Spectrum
Commodore 64[3]
Release
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

The Thompson Twins Adventure is a 1984

ludological
aspects which have been uniformly panned by critics.

Plot

Based on the Thompson Twins' 1984 "Doctor! Doctor!" single, the plot of The Thompson Twins Adventure revolves around the efforts of the three Thompson Twins members (Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway) to gather ingredients for the concoction of the titular doctor's potion. The game opens with the Thompson Twins at a beach location.[5] From there they must travel through several areas including a forest and a cavern to search for ingredients for the doctor's potion.[2] When they have collected all ingredients and located the doctor, the doctor creates his potion and the game ends.

The nature of the doctor's potion was the secret answer to a competition launched concurrently with the game's release by Computer and Video Games.[3] The contest ran for one month (ending on 16 November 1984[3]) during which time contestants were intended to gather and examine clues by listening to the "Doctor! Doctor!" single (a selection of which was included on the flexi disc), listening to the game's special introduction message recorded on the same disc by the Thompson Twins, and playing through the game.[2][3][6] When the identity of the potion was discovered, contestants were supposed to send in their answers to Computer and Video Games. The first correct answer would win the grand prize: free tickets to an upcoming Thompson Twins concert with the opportunity to meet the musicians backstage afterward.[2][3] Prizes would also be awarded to ten runner-ups.[6][7] Due to difficulties in the creation of the Commodore 64 version of the game, the contest deadline was extended by an extra month (i.e., to December 1984) for Commodore 64 users.[7] The winner of the Spectrum competition was announced as Alison Wagstaf in the magazine's January 1985 issue (Issue 39).[7] The winner of the Commodore 64 version of the contest would get tickets to and backstage access at a later concert.[7]

Gameplay experience

Installation

To begin playing The Thompson Twins Adventure a player must transfer the game data from the flexi disc to the microcomputer (ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64). This can be accomplished in two ways. For both ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 the recommended method involves making an intermediate 331⁄3

other audio-fidelity problems.[8] In some cases it may be necessary to re-record the game data more than once at different recording levels to correctly transfer it to the microcomputer.[3]

Gameplay

The player characters stand before a cavern. The text caption and prompt appear below the image and the parser line appears at the very bottom marked by an underscore.

The gameplay of The Thompson Twins Adventure falls within the

inventory.[3] Compass directions in the game are not always intuitive and the graphical depictions are not always accurate so gameplay often involves the creation of a game map on paper.[10]

Development

Computer and Video Games was aware of earlier efforts by magazines like

master tape by Flexi Records and this was used to press a metal copy of the disk.[2] The final Spectrum version flexi discs were pressed from the metal master and were attached to the front[3] of C&VG's October 1984 issue (Issue 36).[1] As promotional freebies, these copies of the game were used by C&VG to soften the impact of a coinciding magazine price increase from 85p to 95p.[6] By the end of 1984, the C&VG contest associated with the game had ended and the magazine gave readers the opportunity to directly obtain additional copies of the game if they included the return postage (a 13p second class stamp). The first 25 responders received prize T-shirts.[12]

The development of the Commodore 64 version of the game was hampered by significant technical difficulties that resulted in delays in its release and extensions to the C&VG contest deadline for Commodore users. The original plan was to include both the Commodore 64 and Spectrum versions as separate tracks on a single flexi disc release.[6] During production of the disc for its October 1984 release, it was decided that both versions of the game would receive their own flexi disc pressing, with the Commodore 64 version mastered by Magnetic Recording Company. Due to space limitations on the magazine's cover, the more technically challenging Commodore 64 version was ultimately not included with the magazine's October 1984 issue. Readers were instructed to write away for a free copy of the Commodore version and the contest deadline was pushed to 16 November 1984 to accommodate Commodore gamers.[3] Reporting "considerable problems" in the production of the Commodore 64 version of the game, C&VG ended its contest for the Spectrum version of the game and awarded prizes in November 1984 as scheduled, but again extended the deadline to December 1984 for Commodore users who had not yet had a chance to play the game. A separate but identical prize (i.e. free concert tickets and a backstage pass) would be awarded to the winning Commodore gamer.[7]

The Thompson Twins Adventure was re-released in 1995 as part of an Epic Games compilation CD-ROM entitled "Speccy Sensations".

Reception

The Thompson Twins Adventure received little critical attention at its time of release. In its 1985 Yearbook Special, Computer and Video Games reported that the Thompson Twins had taken "a great interest in the whole idea", noting that

Sabotage Times' Paul Brown simply described it as "uninspiring".[15]

In contrast, fan reception of the Computer and Video Games promotional contest was reported by the magazine as being particularly enthusiastic. Reader response rates reached into the hundreds[7] with both written and phoned responses.[2] At this point in the magazine's history this was their most popular contest.[2]

More recently, the game has become something of a collector's item due to its rarity on the secondary market.[16]: 57 

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781326073589
    .
  2. ^
    ISSN 0261-3697
    .
  3. ^
    ISSN 0261-3697
    .
  4. ISBN 978-85-766-9215-7
    . Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Carroll, Martyn (29 January 2008). "Rock Star Games". Eurogamer. Gamer Network Ltd. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  6. ^
    ISSN 0261-3697
    .
  7. ^
    ISSN 0261-3697
    .
  8. ^
    Condé Nast Publishing
    . Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b Veneziani, Vince (19 June 2007). "Video Games Hidden In LP Records". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  10. ^ a b c Doctorow, Cory (19 June 2007). "Video games hidden in the grooves of LPs". Boing Boing. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  11. ISSN 0261-3697
    .
  12. ISSN 0261-3697
    .
  13. ISSN 0261-3697
    .
  14. ^ Passantino, Dom (23 July 2004). "Top Ten Rubbish Video Games That Feature Musicians". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 August 2004.
  15. Sabotage Times. Archived from the original
    on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  16. ISSN 1742-3155
    .

External links
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