Mels Disco Bassoon
(AKA: Name Mels Band)
This is a novel little puzzle game, with versions for the Atari400/800, C64, C16, Vic20, ZX Spectrum, MSDOS, or Windows/Linux via SDL. The program is small, for example the Vic20 version is under 3K. The executables are in the "melbass" sub-folder.
Use a Joystick, or keys:
QAOP or RCDF or cursor: move Up/Down/Left/Right.
K or ESC - Quit to title screen.
N - New Game.
(PLUS Special version: keys Y: Restart level, U: Skip to next level)
What should Mel call his band? Hot Funky Seagull? Dark Punk Emu? Offbeat Whisky Jazz? Mels Disco Bassoon?
The computer generates a random band name for Mel, and scatters the letters across the screen. Your task is to collect the letters in order, to progress to the next level. The new name is one letter longer on each level.
You leave a track behind each move, and you cannot cross your old tracks. Wildcards [?] can be collected to replace hard-to-reach letters. Collect Flowers for bonus points (4xLevel). The top line of the screen shows the core, the next/remaining letters, and the level. The next letter flashes.
If you are trapped on all 4 sides, the game is over. If you can see that there is no way out, you can hit (K) key to quit early.
HINTS
On later levels, you get more Wildcards, you will need them, to replace difficult letters. Try to plan a few letters ahead, using wildcards early to avoid travel, filling the screen with tracks. Leave the flowers until late, it will be easier to see the best way to pick those. You dont need to collect all Flowers/Wildcards.
NOTES
The 2K unexpanded VIC20 version uses a random letter generator to make the "words".
The source code is included in the zip file. The Dictionary is in the code, you can customise the word list.
It includes the VTDL library needed to compile it, See the file tdl/vtdl.txt for info on building the code.
There is a special version for people who purchase the software, with extra commands to step to next level (U) or restart current level with new words (Y).
Note: The files are free, except "mellbass108extra.zip" with a version with some extra features and cheat mode, for a small donation.