Octapolis (video game)

Octapolis is a 1987 video game for the Commodore 64, designed and programmed by the Finnish game programmer Jukka Tapanimäki and published by English Software. The game is a hybrid between a shoot-'em-up and a platform game.[1]

Octapolis
Developer(s)Jukka Tapanimäki
Publisher(s)English Software
Designer(s)Jukka Tapanimäki
Engineproprietary
Platform(s)Commodore 64
Release1987
Genre(s)Shoot-'em-up, platform game
Mode(s)Single player or double player

Octapolis was Tapanimäki's first commercial release. Its shoot-'em-up phase resembles Stavros Fasoulas's Sanxion, which inspired Tapanimäki to try designing games.[2][3] Tapanimäki had sent a demo of the game to several foreign publishers, of which Hewson, CRL and English Software had replied with an offer about a publication contract. Tapanimäki initially agreed with English Software's contract, but the company went bankrupt soon after publishing Octapolis,[4] which made Octapolis less famous.[5] The music of the game was composed by Wally Beben.[1]

The name "Octapolis" comes from the eight cities in the game, each of which contains a short shoot-'em-up part and a longer platform game part. The shoot-'em-up part includes two screens similar to Sanxion, one of which is a top-down view and the other is a side view. The game is played around a landing platform. The player's ship moves left or right automatically, and its speed can be adjusted. A sound effect tells the player when they can land on the platform and enter the platform game part. The better the player does on the shoot-'em-up part, the easier the platform game part will be.

The platform game part consists of a character resembling an astronaut moving around on single-screen (non-scrolling) rooms in which the character has to reach the exit. The character is armed with a raygun and can jump upwards or diagonally. Some enemies can be shot, some have to be avoided. The challenge is to shoot enemies well in advance and watch the movement patterns of unshootable enemies carefully to get past them. When enough rooms have been passed, the city has been cleared. When all eight cities have been cleared, the game restarts with more difficulty.

The Finnish magazine C-lehti rated the game with five stars out of five.[1]

Sources
  • Kuorikoski, Juho: Sinivalkoinen pelikirja - Suomen pelialan kronikka 1984-2014. Saarijärvi: Fobos Kustannus 2014. ISBN 978-952-67937-1-9.
  • Saarikoski, Petri: Koneen lumo. Mikrotietokoneharrastus Suomessa 1970-luvulta 1990-luvun puoliväliin. Saarijärvi: Nykykulttuurin tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja 83, University of Jyväskylä 2004. ISBN 951-39-1948-X.

References
  1. Kauppinen, Jukka O.: Suomalaisen pelialan varhaiset vuodet ja ensimmäiset suomalaiset pelit, Dome 1 November 2013. Accessed on 21 November 2015.
  2. Kuorikoski, p.13.
  3. Saarikoski, p.267.
  4. Kuorikoski, p.14.
  5. Saarikoski, p.268.
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