In my opinion, MINDFIGHTER is one of the most difficult and
abstract games of the adventure genre. Below is a short
a look at the game's debut, complete with some discoveries made
a little later.
MINDFIGHTER
────────────────────────
Abstract Concepts, 1988
All around Robin was a desert of charred stones.
From the top of a mountain of crushed concrete slabs, he carefully
looked at the distant blackening landscape. Closer, to the east of
himself, Robin noticed the collapsed ruins of skyscrapers. The road led
down the mountain.
"It's no use, Robin. We can't help you if
You can't get out on your own." - said Professor Fergere calmly
tone.
"Anyway, Robin, remember that it might just be
great theatrical action. You must give me the best
proof if you want me to take you seriously!”
Harry added sarcastically.
This is how the adventure game "MINDFIGHTER" begins. This game
works in two modes - 48/128 kilobytes. 128th mode
features additional graphics - one drawing accompanies
approximately five locations. Find out if additional ones have loaded
graphics, very simple - if the picture first changes after
Pressing any key means everything is fine. Well, if not -
then only the 48th one loadedgraphics with a minimum of drawings.
This program provides an excellent opportunity to test your
knowledge of English. If other adventure games
describe locations in literally one or two sentences, then
"MINDFIGHTER" each location is accompanied by a short story
in English. Moreover, such vocabulary is used that is not
you can always find it in a large English dictionary. (But not because
this is profanity, but simply because of the rarity of its use
expressions and words). And if by "splitting" other games I practically
I never look in the dictionary, so here I was forced
constantly resort to his help. Although, to understand in general
The meaning of the text does not require any special knowledge.
Well, didn't I scare you too much? But the main difficulties
still to come, because the game was created with English speakers in mind
user.
By pressing "ENTER", you will find yourself in the main menu of the program,
where you will see (from left to right):
Icon with a picture of a note - enable/disable
sound when pressing keys.
Computer with a picture on the monitor - remove/leave
graphics.
Arrow with the inscription "SAVE" - record the game state on
current media. Moreover, when writing two files to disk with
with the same names, the previous file is not destroyed, but the new one
is written after it.
Microcircuit with inscription"RAM" - this icon is not
is selected, it is purely informational and shows
the current media the program is working with. (In this case
This is the computer's RAM).
Arrow with the inscription "LOAD" - load deferred
state from the current media. If there are several files on the disk with
with the same names, then the first one in the directory is loaded.
A computer with the monitor turned off means exiting the game. (You
will be asked to confirm the decision). This is followed by a request
"Do you want to play some more?"
Second row of icons:
Printer image - enable/disable parallel
output to paper. The printer driver "ZX - LPRINT" is used. On
The printer outputs absolutely all text information,
appearing on the screen.
Paper scroll - by selecting this icon, you can
remove location descriptions, leaving only the name and information about
exits from it.
Triangular marker - return to the main program.
Pictogram depicting a floppy disk, cassette and microcircuit
allows you to change the media on which recordings will be made
shipment. The image of the device will change accordingly.
from above.
Question mark - this section displays information about
state of the main character and his environment: Time is printed,
date, day of the week, Robin's general condition - his health,mood, feeling hungry or tired, need for sleep, and
also injuries. In addition, a short list is printed here
things that Robin owns, his clothes, the number of collected
your points, and the number of commands you gave.
"OOPS!" icon - "OH!", this icon only works
in the 128th mode, and allows you to return one action
back. It is good to use in cases of sudden death. But, to
Unfortunately, the action of the icon for some reason does not affect the state
Robina. That is, if in some location you received a fatal
wound, then you will still have it, and you will die.
Move through the menu using the cursor keys.
So, our hero is a teenager named Robin. Oh him
age is indicated by some signs: for example, in one of
locations, Robin is attacked by a specially trained fox. From
accompanying text it becomes clear that the fox grabbed
BOY in the throat. The fact that Robin is young is also indicated by
the fact that the samurai sword in one of the locations is too heavy for
him. And the name itself is Robin, a diminutive of Robert,
in relation to a teenager.
The first mystery of the game is the area where the main events take place.
events. Everything around is destroyed, traces are everywhere
radiation, the population turned into a herd of wild, slaughtered
animals commanded by the guardians of the System.(What is System
also unclear). But we can assume that before us
the results of a worldwide nuclear disaster, especially since this
indicates a huge number of facts. For example, if you read
a piece of newspaper (which can be found on the street) then, except
information about the golf championship, you can also read
next headline: "World War III is Coming!" But how
then to be with Professor Fergere and Harry? Maybe it's
parallel world?
The newspaper itself gives rise to another mystery - when all this
happening? From the program you can find out the exact date and time:
15:01, Tuesday, June 30, 1987. And the newspaper is dated April 5
1988! There is a clear anachronism. Moreover, wandering around
destroyed city, you can find a wooden board with the inscription:
"This is Alison's final resting place." Perhaps
Are we talking about the Alison who gave Robin the ring?
Unlike other games in the adventure genre, this
program, the plot changes a little if you start a new game.
So, while exploring the ruins, I discovered the teenager Robert, quite
gloomy personality. But after downloading the game again, and not
taking advantage of my shipment, I came across... a corpse
Roberta.
Simply fantastic! By the way, with all the characters whom
You will meet in the game, you can talk by typing: SAYTO
"". Moreover, the messages can be complex, say,
like "SAY TO DARYL "TELL ME ABOUT THIRD WORLD WAR". But, not
hope that they will want to have a conversation with you. Over the entire area
The atmosphere of apathy and despondency prevails, there is no time for conversation. More often
In general, the object of your attention simply moves away from you, and
in the future, when he sees you, he tries to immediately hide.
While wandering around the city, you can witness several
characteristic scenes showing the horror of post-war life. These
the scenes are not repeated and take place in different locations. For example,
when I went out to one of the squares, I saw a crowd of backgammon,
gathered around the bound man. A guard approached him
System, and slowly, slowly sawed off the man’s hand with his sharp
with a sword. Having finished the execution, the guard raised the sword to his lips, and with
He licked the bloody blade with pleasure. The crowd dispersed
taking with him the unfortunate victim.
In another location I saw three men who were scoring
yard dog. Having noticed me, they quickly ran away, taking
your reward.
Yes, yes, exactly a reward, because a dead dog in these conditions
it is first and foremost food. And since Robin hasn't eaten anything lately
days, he does not disdain such food. So, finding a dead
dog, feel free to eat it (EAT DOG) - at least somehow tame the feeling
hunger. And, looking into the bigan iron pipe that miraculously survived
among the debris, we find a little rain accumulated there
water to quench your thirst.
By the way, a characteristic feature of this program is
that you don't have to see the item to use it. B
in particular, in a location with rainwater, you can simply give the command
"DRINK WATER" to drink it without bothering with a command
"EXAMINE TUB". In addition, the long word "EXAMINE" can
replace with a shorter one - "READ". It's really convenient
Moreover, the program does not understand abbreviations.
In addition to food, Robin also needs sleep, like anyone else.
to another person to restore strength. You can fall asleep by giving
"SLEEP" command. Sleep is also fraught with danger - territory
patrolled by System guards who kill those who fall asleep
passers-by So, choose the place and time to sleep carefully. K
besides, Robin apparently suffers from sleepwalking, and
may try to walk in some direction in a dream.
* * *
USEFUL TIPS:
1. You can find out which exits lead from a given location by
by entering the command "EXIT". If any direction coincides with
entrance or exit from buildings, then the program will duplicate these
exits, for example "possible exit: east, north and out".
(direction "east" and "out"are equivalent.)
2. Find the adjustable wrench - WRENCH. This heavy
a good tool to fight with.
3. Do not enter fenced area with signs
in Chinese it is a giant grave of radioactive corpses.
4. Do not enter a location filled with green gas either.
worth it. But you can go into the adjacent room with
south. In this room you can find a chisel with a dull blade. If
sharpen it, then it may turn into a formidable weapon. But
here's how to do it?
5. Talking to security guards is a bad idea. you them
You are only interested as a possible victim.
6. At the docks on the seashore covered in yellow fog,
there is a lot of work going on. There are flocks running around the docks
guard foxes specially trained on people, who are called upon
hold outsiders until security arrives. If you don't want,
to be pierced through with a sword, you should avoid contact with
these creatures (usually you have one turn to leave).
An interesting detail: when I picked up a dead rat from
with the back part bitten off, from which blood dripped, the foxes became
attack immediately, as soon as he sees me. Perhaps they feel
the smell of blood?
7. Please note that in one house there is a dark corner,
covered in cobwebs. I was unable to remove it, although once I
I noticed a spider there, which quickly disappeared intocorner. It's obvious
means something.
8. The terrain in which the game takes place is very
confused. If you went north, this does not mean that
the return road lies to the south. Full of one-way crossings.
* * *
That, in principle, is almost everything that I managed to “unearth.”
It’s amazing, but after going through so many locations, I haven’t been able to
score no points. One can only guess how much
extensive playing space. The fact that it is very large can be
judge at least by the abundance of files on the disk.
So, in addition to everything described above, let's say that
in the debut of this game you need to make friends with teenagers,
whom you will meet there. And the first step to friendship will be
"SNOWSTORM" (this is such a children's toy). Give "SNOWSTORM"
Darila and you will see for yourself what will happen...
* * *
...Entering a house with a snowstorm inside
(children's toy) and cobwebs (web), I found that:
Firstly, the web is torn with bare hands (tear cobwebs). Behind her
lies a copper key, dusty and dented (?). Secondly: after examining
stairs to the top floor, I noticed that one step
loosened. Using an adjustable wrench and a chisel, you can
separate (it will stay in place but will not stick) (3
points). The staircase looks great this waya trap into which
Daryl, who was walking in these places, immediately fell in love. He fell from
stairs and fell to his death. After restarting the game, I tried
use a variety of expressions to warn him about the step, but nothing
it didn't work out.
Then it was discovered that if you hit the step again
once, she separates from the stairs and falls down. Now Daryl
sees an empty space and jumps over it. It seems like all of this
needed to deal with some pursuer, and then
remove the step so that Robert and Daryl do not fall into the trap.
But no one has tried to follow me yet.
Further, having examined the ruins of the Civic Center, I discovered
passage down, where I found a bucket of gasoline and a gas mask, putting on
which, I entered a location with green fog and took a curve there
steel rod Even earlier, having examined my suit, I noticed that
There is a lighter and 10 pence in my pocket. They can be obtained by the team
take ... from the pocket.
A bucket of gasoline can be emptied (empty) and set on fire
gasoline using a rag. First you need to set the rag on fire (at
this should be in your hands). The rag falls out of your hands,
gasoline explodes, and upon re-inspection of the location it is clear
that the gasoline remained intact (!?), but the rag was burnt. Probably this one
the trick will come in handy somewhere, but where?
After a while I noticed that with the main character
are going onstrange things - he turned red and began to appear on his skin
blisters. Perhaps it's the sun and the destroyed ozone layer
land? Anyway, the old blanket I picked up and put on
saved me from this misfortune.
Now about the foxes: they guard certain wooden
containers. The foxes got hungry and couldn't resist
the dead dog I suggested (2 points). Having gotten rid of the foxes, I
I examined the boxes more closely. They were sealed
some are stacked against the western wall. Neither push nor open
(push, smash, break, etc.) they failed.
The fence: it is energized and deadly. Confusing
me sign in Chinese - the fact is that wandering in those
edges, I once met a certain Yabushi, definitely Chinese.
He had a samurai sword with him. No way to explain to him
it worked. Apparently he doesn't understand English.
It’s interesting that I only met a samurai and his sword
one day, another time there is no one in the available playing space
was at all. Perhaps Yabushi can climb over a fence?
Yabushi doesn't really appear in the game right away. He
arrives at the port of the destroyed city by ship later.
* * *
How to score 12 points:
1. Give snowstorm to Daryl (5 points).
2. I give the dog to the foxes (2 points). So she found itapplication. The description advised to eat it, but this is not true.
3. In the Civic Center Ruins location, I examine the ground and find
pass down (2 points).
4. Using a wrench and a chisel
(chisel) in the location Inside the Building I disconnect the step from
fastening with the break step command. This only needs to be done once.
If you give this command again, the step breaks (3 points).
After that, break web and find a copper key. I'm closing
door (close door) and lock it with a key (lock door).
Now you are safe: coming down from above the enemy will fall from
stairs, but he won’t be able to get through the door.
I lured Daryl, Robert, tall into this trap
guard (it’s better not to kill the latter until the end of the second day, so
how at approximately 17:15 he kills an unshaven guard).
Attention! On the second day in the Jetty and Amonqst the locations
crates from 14:00 a ship appears on the horizon, and at 15:00 it
moored to the pier. Yabushi comes out with a samurai
sword and heads to the place behind the fence (Fence).
It is known for sure that Robin can turn into an eagle!
The transformation procedure is as follows: inhale, exhale
(exhall), and then give the command: “metamorphose” and “eagle”.
The location where you should transform is Jetty (to
fly to the ship). But I can’t transform!!!
It's clear thatto transform you must first be with someone
chat with (Yabushi?) to find out the spell for
transformation...
* * *
By ship:
I find the key (golden, from the open cabin) and arrange
sabotage: on the deck I pour gasoline (empty can), take it out
lighter (take lighter fom coat) and light the flap (burn gas).
The ship burned down... But they didn’t give me any points! There is an opinion that
you need to lock Yabushi in the cabin and blow up the ship. Try it!
* * *
What follows is a map of the area where they are deployed.
events. We hope that it will help you in your future
research.
*MINDFIGHTER*
┌───────┐
39─29─28─>─31
│─┐ │
37─┐ 32 30─27 └<┘
│ │ │ │
36─33─26─25─23
│ │ │
35─34─┘ 24─22
║ │ │
40 43 21─┘
│ │ │
41x42 ┌─19────>┐
│ │ │ │
44 3─20─18──┐ │
║ │ │ │
2──4──6─>│ │
x │ │ ││ │1 └──5─16─17 15x38
│<┤ │ │
┌───┬─7─└─<─┘ 14
│ ║ │ │ │
└─<─8x9═10─11─12─13.i4
Legend:
║ - enter - exit (in/out)
x - up - down (up/down)
<> - one-way passage
Here is a list of locations:
1.Viewpoint
2. Base of the mound
3. Ruined building
4. Rubble Path
5. Wasteland rubble path
6. Wasteland croasroads
7. Waste tip
8. Upper floor
9. Inside the building
10. Beside the building
11. Ruined flats
12. Ruined flats by a sign
13. Bend in Road
14. Ruffle clip
15. Civic center ruins
16. Cemetry
17. Chared parkland
18. "Kingsway"
19. Barren park remain
20. Road in derelict buiding
21. Road in city center
22.Bargate
23. Road by old wall ruins
24. Ruined shops
25. Bend on the road
26. Road by skeleton of building
27. Road across wasteland
28. Southern fence
29. Western fence
30. Industrial wasteland
31. North-eastern fence
32. Control baths
33. Dockland
34. Dock
35. Jetty
36. Amonqst the crates
37. Flower mill rubble
38. Remains of a shelter
39. Ravine
40. Deck
41. Cabin
42. Passageway
43. Engine room
44. Yabushi cabin
45. ...??? (other locations are yet to be discovered)
* * *
Severalclarifications.
The "OOPS" option has no effect on Robin's state if it is
is chosen after his death. If you select it in the system
menu, you can go back a few moves by pressing "ENTER".
After eating a dog, Robin died at the end of the second day, and
abstaining - in the midst of the third. It's clear that the dog
radioactive.
By the way, about food. Where the sign "Golden Grove" lies
concrete slab. Is "Golden Grove" a restaurant? And what closes
stove? The slab cannot be examined. Robin can't even move it
crowbar Maybe we need to combine the efforts of all three?
Robin does not suffer from sleepwalking. This happens during sleep
other characters walk around him. If the system guard comes - game
will end.
Regarding the dead rat: brothers, don’t touch this disgusting thing -
you will live longer, since foxes attack even after the rat
will be thrown away.
The explored space has at least seven
locations in which, after some action, they can open
new passages.
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