ROCKFALL

by B. Andrews

from ZX Computing Feb/Mar.1984



Watch our for the falling rocks in this Spectrum

game from B. Andrews of Charlton.





This is a game for the ZX Spectrum which follows the general

'chase' theme. Although written in BASIC, and so not up to

arcade game speed, the game is fun to play and should

provide a springboard for you to improve upon it.



The idea of the game is that you manoeuvre your character

around the rocks trying to gather the six tokens which are

scattered around the playing area. It's not quite as easy as

it sounds as you are being chased by a number of ghouls

intent on stopping you fulfilling your quest. There are nine

levels of play, level nine being the easiest and perhaps the

level you should start at when you first get to grips with

the game. As you might have guessed, as you go up in level

so the ghouls become faster and chase you with more fervour.



Once you have collected all six tokens, you move

automatically to the next level and the game begins again

complete with another six tokens for you to collect. Extra

points can be gained by maneuvering your character so that a

rock falls on a following ghoul - not too easy, but with a

bit of practice it can be done!



The game includes a high score readout once you have either

cleared all nine levels or failed in your task.





Too many variables?



Here is a general guide to the variables used throughout the

program:



Z, Q, G and S   General variables.

X and Y         The position of your character.

X(G) and Y(G)   The position of the ghouls.

SCORE           The score.

HS              The highest score so far.

C               The number of tokens collected by your character.

SK              The skill level you have chosen.

GHOUL           The level of the ghouls arranged to chase you.

S$ and Z$       General reply variables.





Line by line



Here follows a brief breakdown of the program:



Lines 10-70     Hold the user-defined graphics.

Lines 90-290    Set the screen display.

Line 300        Sets the variables.

Line 310        Prints the scores and sets the level.

Lines 320-360   Await the keyboard inputs.

Lines 370-400   Update the score and print the man.

Lines 410-440   Ask you if you would like to play another game or not.

Lines 450-480   Ask you for your skill factor; ie. which level

                you would like to start on.

Lines 490-590   Move the ghouls and test whether or not the

                ghouls have caught up with you.

Lines 610-760   Contain the subroutines which move your character.

Lines 770-880   Contain the subroutine which makes the rock

                fall should your character pass underneath.

Lines 900-910   Print the rock as it falls on your character's head.

Lines 930-1180  Give you the instructions for playing the game.

Lines 1190-1300 Contain the subroutine for a rock falling on a

                ghoul's head.

Lines 1310-1400 Contain the 'finish game' subroutine and the

                subroutine which works out your final ranking.

Lines 1410-1500 Contain the 'live or die?' subroutine should a

                rock fall on your character's head.

Lines 1510-1820 Contain the 'death' subroutine.

Lines 1830-2030 Contain the subroutine which sorts the game

                out once you have finished a level.





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Another Fine Product transcribed by:

Jim Grimwood (jimg@globalnet.co.uk), Weardale, England

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