Gapper
Release type: Incomplete
Release date: N/A (begun in 1994)
Levels: 1
Author: James Faux
Related games: none
For every complete Eclypse game, there are ten unfinished experiments. Of those, Gapper is one of the more curious specimens. There are only a scant few puzzle or high-concept action games for RSD's game engine, and most of those are critically hampered by that same engine -- perhaps explaining why there are so few such games.
Gapper is sort of reminiscent of Discovery Software's Zoom! for the Sega Genesis. You scoot around on a grid, turning white lines blue, and occasionally climb the crumbling facade of a castle. The goal is to clear everything you can clear, then to enter the door.
As far as it goes, Gapper works just fine. The tiles clear, the door remains locked until they're clear, and then it opens. It's perfect. The main problem is that the game provides no motivation. There is no particular challenge or strategy or danger; it's just digital vacuuming. The closest the game comes to trickiness is the crumbling castle wall. Scoot along it more than twice, and gravity will pull you down, making the route inaccessible. So there's one mechanic, that the game might use.
Another potential problem is the whole counter thing. You can't give the player multiple lives, because with the Xferplay engine the tile counter won't reset. If the counter carries over, the game is rendered meaningless. This limitation isn't necessarily a big deal; it all depends on the game's design. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell where the game would have gone. We've just got the one level, and although it proves its concept it's kind of underdeveloped.
So, Gapper is an interesting experiment. It could have been a neato game. Or not. It's definitely original, though.
Instructions[edit]
The arrow keys move your Gapper in the four cardinal directions.
The goal is to clear all of the lines on the grid, then to enter the castle door.
Credits[edit]
Graphics, Concept, Design: OmegAkira
Availability[edit]
Prior to this archive's online presence, this game is not known to be publicly available.
Archive History[edit]
This game has been part of the archive from within hours of its inception, courtesy of the author's SiNiSTRY BBS.
Links[edit]
