Star Avenger
Release type: Freeware
Release date: 1995
Levels: 14
Author: Adam Tyner, Alan Caudel
Website: On Target Programming
Related games: Star Avenger II, Star Avenger III, Star Avenger IV, Mister Spiff
The Star Avenger series is an interesting run of games, largely due to its refusal to follow established patterns. You get that in each individual game, but also in the stark differences between the games and in their collaborative origins.
Of Tyner and Caudel's four Star Avenger games, the first is probably the most experimental. By current standards, Star Avenger is a very non-traditional design -- though one can't help but to feel in its non-conformity that it echoes the earliest days of arcade games, from before design was codified into the handful of templates that we still use and recognize today, or else work against. Any current games that work against the mold tend to be the spitfire indie efforts, which put their work into questioning the assumptions that have come to define videogames since the late 1980s. So in this sense, Star Avenger comes off rather contemporary.
Star Avenger is a curiously tranquil, undemanding game. It presents few obstacles, let alone hazards. Further than that, it presents no clear goals. You can shoot at a few targets, but generally you don't need to. After a predefined time limit, the level will end and you will move along. Gradually the game introduces a few twists, but the known existing copy (at this time) goes corrupt at around the point where it starts to promise some action. (That would be after level 7.)
- (Incidentally, the level descriptions in Integrator procedurally misquote The Vapors' "Turning Japanese". Significance? Unknown.)
Adding to the bafflement is Star Avenger's control scheme, which is perfectly valid and practical, yet is so far removed from expectations that it can take a while to accept what the game is doing. With one hand you both slide the ship up and down, and you shoot eight ways. It's not quite Robotron. It's not quite anything familiar, though it borrows familiar elements. The controls just are what they need to be for the game concept... whatever that may, precisely be.
Adding to the interest is a very early example of a "sprite whip" mechanic (as seen in Blinky 2, Invasion of the Blobs II, Rōdïp), with the ship's smart-looking flame thrower. It would hardly be an Alan Caudel game without some kind of advanced engine-bending.
Baffling and interesting. That would seem to sum up Star Avenger. Like the Star Trek movies, this is a series where the even games really stand out -- but the original is fascinating for its refusal to behave the way we tend to think it should. It's still not clear exactly what it has to say, beyond that refusal -- but it's rare enough to see a thing try that the refusal itself comes off as decent commentary.
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Contents
Story[edit]
Triulph used to be a peaceful planet, based mostly on science. Unfortunately, hyper-drive experiments opened a portal which allowed intruding aliens to enter and began robbing stars of their power. You, the Star Avenger, must destroy the oncoming aliens! If you get hit by the aliens (which change colors the more they're shot), you'll hyperwarp to Triulph where your ship will be repaired. However, it can only be repaired 5 times.
In the level from Star Avenger II, you are without a ship and must fight aliens (we haven't created a full storyline--we don't even know if you're the same person from Star Avenger!).
Instructions[edit]
Controlling your ship:
MOVE UP: Press +
MOVE DOWN: Press ENTER
FIRING: Use the numeric keypad
It's easiest to use the + and ENTER by the keypad.
Joystick controls[edit]
Press the joystick in the direction you want to fire. B1 goes up and B2 goes down.
It's worth mentioning that when asteroids hit you, you get extra energy.
Animation sequence[edit]
Press ENTER to skip it.
Star Avenger II demo[edit]
At the end, after level 12 and a nifty animation sequence, there is a level (level one) from Star Avenger II.
Moving[edit]
Use the numeric keypad to move in those directions. Press ENTER to fire. You fire in the direction of the last movement you made (press left and then pressing ENTER fires left). See the green triangular object? If you get it, press + to use it to protect you. Get hit by an asteroid to gain an extra hit point.
Joystick controls[edit]
Press the stick to move once it's been enabled, just like the keypad. B1 fires the shield once you touch the triangular object and B2 fires your guns. Enjoy!
Credits[edit]
by: Adam Tyner, Alan Caudel
Background[edit]
Alan Caudel:
- The original Star Avenger was a single screen game... It's kind of hard to say what to compare it to. The first thing that comes to mind is a sort of mix between Asteroids and Space Invaders, but not exactly. You could move your ship around the screen, but it didn't scroll. You could shoot in different directions and Orb-like alien ships came at you from all sides. You had to fight them off until time was up and you'd go to the next level. It was pretty different from any of our other games. We kind of tried to do something different with every game.
- Adam says he's pretty sure the shooter level from Mr. Spiff 1 is related to Star Avenger 1, but he's not sure.
Original website:
- Star Avenger is our first "non-side-scroller" game. It's in the style of those old 80's shoot-em-up games. We think it's really fun.
Availability[edit]
This game was published to the On Target Programming Web site. Other distribution is unknown.
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]
- Star Avenger (166 kB)
