Jon '95

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Jon '95
JonTitle.gif

Release type: Freeware
Release date: 1995
Levels: 13
Author: Adam Tyner
Related games: Bear Fun Show, Blip!

Jon' 95 bears a very strong resemblance to the later, more abstract Mister Spiff games.

There is a period where Adam Tyner's projects tend to involve large side-scrolling mazes full of one-way doors, gravity and animation trickery, and lock-and-key mechanisms. These mazes tend to be highly stylized, with the tiles either resembling nothing in particular beyond an interesting pattern, or holding an ironic commentary on their own function (as with blocks that hurt the player labeled "Ow! These hurt!"). Populating the mazes tend to be an assortment of monsters that seem inspired by whatever was on Tyner's desk at the time, which rarely die so much as they become stunned when attacked.

JonSprite.gif
Defying the second dimension, in Jon '95

All of these traits are in place here, as is much of the typical iconography: Mr. Bear, corn, "Weird Al" Yankovic. Jon '95 is very much a variation on a form: all of the familiar elements, arranged just a little differently. This may in part be explained by the game's purpose, which seems to be a gift for a person whom Tyner had not previously met.

Outside the basic structure and components, the game serves as sort of a sandbox, allowing for experimentation in some unusual techniques. The three big ones here are anaglyphic (magenta/cyan) 3D, requiring an according pair of glasses; extensive use of morphing, which seems to have been facilitated and/or instigated by a newly available application; and the extensive importation of scanned photographic material.

In each level, the Jon character morphs into something different: a Power Ranger, Mr. Bear, a can of Spam. The background contains a different photograph, setting the ostensible scene. There is a different set of keys to collect, which may in fact be shaped like keys or may otherwise be trophies, or pieces of cheese.

If you push through the first five levels (or stumble into a secret level select), you find yourself momentarily trapped in a game of Frisbounce. Which is suitably random.

Story[edit]

Hey, it's YOUR birthday. You get this cheesy game from some kid you don't even know and put on the 3D glasses that came with 'em. (gasp!) Well, you can guess what happened. You were sucked into the cheesy game and must (of course) fight your way through to get out.

It's not original, but just play the game.

Level One[edit]

Room With A View:

You are in the FlizzumCorp Factory. The only way out is locked. You need 4 keys to unlock it. Look at Crater Lake in the background! FlizzumCorp makes monsters for video games. Brandon got a job there, so he's a monster. Another monster morphs into a rocket! The last monster is a robot suit. Try to get to the next level.

Level Two[edit]

Bear's Lair

You are trapped in Bear's Lair! Like a dog's sight, it looks like it's black and white. Wow, that rhymes! Well, get the awards to the actor guarding the exit to win. Look out for Bear's friends! One is a disembodied head that turns from color to grey! Bear can even morph into Weird Al! A deadly spinning diamond is another worry. Look out for bombs that drop from the ceiling, too!

Level Three[edit]

Oh, great! The portal takes you to Seattle. No time to look around! There are three more enemies to look out for! One morphs from a robot-orb to a fireball. Another morphs from an old monster to a spider. The last is...Crown Air Freshener!!!!!! Give 4 pieces of cheese to the tall guy to get past this level.

Level Four[edit]

You find out that you are still stuck in Seattle! Now, fight by the Space Needle.

Level Five[edit]

Noooo!!!!! Just when you thought you were out of this mess, you get stuck in a garden with a security bot!

Instructions[edit]

The title screen and the animations before each level are in 3D. You need Red/Blue 3D glasses to see the effects, though.

Morphing:

Just stand still to morph into something different every level!

Moving:

Use the numeric keypad or a joystick to move. Press F9 to calibrate the joystick and F8 to activate it (you may wanna ask your dad to set up the joystick because it took me a while to figure how to set up mine and I'm the stinkin' programmer!)

Firing:

Press ENTER or any button on the joystick to serve up some pizza!

Level One[edit]

The enemies here are:

Krohad: A monster that morphs into a rocket!

Brandon: Uh-oh! He morphs into a monster!

ExoMech: A robot suit!

Get 4 keys and open up the lock. If you die, you lose all your keys.

Level Two[edit]

Bear-Al-A-Mode: Morphs from Bear to Weird Al!

P. Al Etteswapped: Can not be stunned! If he's color and he's hit with pizza, he'll turn grey and move slowly. Hit him again and he'll move faster!

Neil the Diamond: Neil spins around and temporarily disappears when he's hurt.

The Mad Bomber: A machine that drops bombs on you. Shoot the bombs if you want, but don't let the explosion get you. It will blow enemies up, too!

Al Ackerman, an actor at the end of the level, has lost all of his 4 awards. To get past him, get them back for him. If you die, you lose all of your awards.

Level Three[edit]

Mel the Morphin' Man: He morphs from an old man to a spider.

Burnout: Morphs from a small robot orb to a fireball.

Crown Air Freshener: A Crown that tracks you!

Give 4 pieces of cheese to Chip the Cheese Guy to beat the level.

Level Four[edit]

SnizzleTron: Morphs from a SnizzleOrb to a SnizzleStick. Basically just flies around.

Scattershot: A guy with an Uzi on his head.

BaBOOM!: A balloon that changes colors.

So, you're still stuck in Seattle. This time you get to fight along the Space Needle. Paco Taco is guarding the exit. Feed him 4 tacos to exit. Any blocks with OW! on it will automatically kill you.

Level Five[edit]

Goop: Morphs into a spiky goop. Touch him when he's spiky and you die!

Mister BaBOOM! To You: Like a BaBOOM! from Level Four, but has a face and is faster.

Flower Power...of Death!: A little, harmless flower morphs into a monster.

Now you're in a garden! This isn't going to be a picnic, though! Ralph the Security Bot is guarding the exit. Scramble his circuits with 4 cobs o' corn. Look out for OW! blocks and a new threat: Goop Machines. They make deadly goops. Some may drop on you or be there when you land! Be careful!

Credits[edit]

Jon '95 by Adam Tyner

Digitized effects: thanks to Alan Caudel for gettin' 'em for me! (That's the guy in the 3D photo!)

Graphic Enhancements: (Morphing, 3D, etc.) I used RMorf, Screen Thief, Turbo Paint, Graphics Workshop, and PhotoWorks!

Availability[edit]

This game is not known to have been distributed in any form, prior to its addition to the Archive.

Archive History[edit]

After an earlier wave of rediscoveries, on July 13 2011 Alan Caudel provided another archive of previously missing Game-Maker material, including the following:

Links[edit]

Downloads[edit]