3D Monster Maze
News of the BBC's plans to shoot Syntax Era - a comedy drama based on the rivalry between Clive Sinclair and Chris Curry (ie the Curry who gave us Curry's) in the 1980s (should be on BBC4 this Oct) - got me thinking about the genius of the ZX81 (the iPhone of its time kids) - and specifically the joy of playing 3D Monster Maze. With the help of the hefty 16K external memory booster megapack stuck on the outside of the hard-drive/membrane keyboard/CPU, and several hours spent getting it to "download" from the memory stick cassette player, you could be transported into another dimension.
The object was simple: run through the maze to the exit, or be eaten alive by a giant T-Rex. You could run a bit faster than the monster - but thanks to the hours of ambient time spent walking around the identical walls, waiting for it to arrive, and the seconds it took to pounce when it did finally show up, more often than not you were chomped up instantly after waiting for ages. No weapons. No extra lives. Just the chance to do it all over again. Existential terror has never been colder or more accurately detailed in pixel form. Good times.
31st Jul 2009 - Tumblr