Robbo (video game)

Robbo is an action puzzle video game designed by Janusz Pelc and published by LK Avalon in 1989 for the Atari 8-bit family. A success on the Polish domestic market,[1] it was later ported to other computer platforms and released in the United States as The Adventures of Robbo.

Robbo
Atari 8-bit cover art
Developer(s)X LanD Computer Games
Publisher(s)LK Avalon
Epic MegaGames (DOS)
Designer(s)Janusz Pelc
Platform(s)Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS
iOS
Release
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot

The game's design was partly inspired by Boulder Dash,[2][3] but with the gravity aspect removed. The player controls the titular little robot through a series of planets (56 in the original Atari version), each being a vertically-scrolling maze filled with various objects and obstacles. The goal of each level is to collect a preset number of bolts scattered around (there could be extra bolts on the map, and bolts could also be acquired from random item generators), and then reach a capsule that takes the hero to the next planet. On his way Robbo must avoid deadly obstacles that include moving creatures, laser turrets, and large magnets. Various items can be found, including keys that open doors, bullets that kill enemies and destroy impassable walls of rubble, crates that can be pushed, bombs that explode upon being shot, and mirrors that teleport the hero around the level.

Development and release

Robbo was designed and programmed by Polish programmer Janusz Pelc in 1989 for the Atari 8-bit family, and was the first product of the company Laboratorium Komputerowe Avalon, which he established together with his school mate Tomasz Pazdan that same year in Rzeszów; both were 19 years old and had just passed the matura.[1][4] A demo version was also published,[2][5] as an advertisement for both the game and the company, that contained 4 unique levels, and listed addresses of Avalon's software distributors that sold Robbo.

The game's initial release announced a contest in the on-screen manual, in which the first five players that finished Robbo and sent description of the ending sequence to Avalon, would receive the company's next game as a prize. By 1991, the company received a few thousand solutions.[2]

Pelc created a construction kit called Robbo Konstruktor, published by Avalon in December 1990 in a bundle with another game Lasermania. The utility allowed to edit level layouts and save them as standalone games.[6] This led to a large number of different Robbo games being created on the Atari by enthusiasts, with new versions still surfacing as of April 2016.[7]

Ports

Pelc left Avalon in 1990[4] and was hired in a Kraków-based company Doctor Q, which also employed his friend Maciej Miąsik.[8] Under the wings of Doctor Q both developers began porting Robbo to the IBM PC compatible platform, which resulted in a demo version with 6 levels, published in 1991.[9] When that same year Marek Kubowicz, one of the chairmans of Doctor Q, left to establish a new company XLand with the intent to publish video games, he was joined by Pelc and Miąsik.[8][10][11] In the new company the developers finished Robbo for DOS, which was consequently published by XLand in Poland in 1993.[11] This version had enhanced 256-color VGA graphics and digitized sound, included a password system for maintaining game progress, and added four new levels to a total of 60.

Through a deal with Epic MegaGames, the XLand version was also distributed in 1993 in the United States by mail-order, under the title The Adventures of Robbo. Customers could also order Epic Puzzle Pack, a compilation of three XLand games including The Adventures of Robbo, Heartlight and Electro Man. The Adventures of Robbo would be later distributed in a box under the "Monkey Business" label by The B&N Companies, Inc. in 1994.

In 1993, LK Avalon published a Commodore 64 port of the game, developed by high-school student Sebastian Nowak.[12] This version contains76 entirely new levels,[13] and some additional types of objects not found in the original.

An Atari ST port followed in 1994, developed by Rafał Janicki, Paweł G. Angerman and Michał Juszczak and published in Poland by Larix. This version has 136 levels, including the ones from the Atari 8-bit version. The game sold in only ca. 80 copies.[7][14]

Reception

The Epic Puzzle Pack was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon #206 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the compilation 3 out of 5 stars.[15]

Legacy

On 30 June 2000[16] Avalon published an enhanced remake for Windows titled Robbo Millennium. This game contained all the original Atari levels plus more, totalling at 130, along with updated graphics and sound, and a prerendered 3D intro. As of 2014 the game is available for purchase both as a boxed CD[17] and as digital download.[18]

On 25 June 2006, after obtaining approval from the rights holders, Maciej Miąsik released the three games from Epic Puzzle Pack, including The Adventures of Robbo, through the Classic DOS Games website under the Creative Commons BY-SA 2.5 license as freeware.[19][20]

In 2010 the original Robbo game was ported to iOS by U-Play Interactive in close cooperation with Janusz Pelc, and published under the title iRobbo.[21]

A fan-made port of Robbo for Linux was started in 2002 as a GNU GPLv2-licensed project called GNU Robbo, now available on a variety of platforms.[22] According to the project's documentation, the project has got approval of Janusz Pelc, which holds the rights to the Atari version, while the XLand version is currently owned by LK Avalon.[23]

References
  1. Pazdan, Tomasz (16 February 2009). "Polska przestała być krajem z filmu "Miś"" [Poland no longer the country depicted in the film "Teddy Bear"]. Wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  2. "Robbo". Tajemnice Atari (in Polish) (2/91): 15. June 1991. OCLC 839137464. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  3. Borkowski, Marcin; Michalski, Dariusz (February 1994). "XLand - kraina gier" [XLand - the land of games]. Bajtek (in Polish) (2/94): 14. ISSN 0860-1674.
  4. Ożyński, Mateusz (September 1998). "Mała, wielka firma - z wizytą w rzeszowskim LK Avalon" [Little big company - a visit in LK Avalon of Rzeszów]. Secret Service (in Polish) (60): 12. ISSN 1230-7726.
  5. "[PREV] Robbo". Atarimania.com. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  6. Trawka, Andrzej (September 1991). "Nowe przygody Robbo" [New adventures of Robbo]. Tajemnice Atari (in Polish) (5/91): 15. OCLC 839137464. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  7. Wachowski, Adam (26 April 2016). "Robbo – kwietniowe aktualności" [Robbo – April news]. AtariOnline.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  8. Wrzesiński, Maksymilian (May 1995). "Chaos Works". Gambler (in Polish) (5/95): 59. ISSN 1230-8676.
  9. "Robbo na PC - Forum Atarum" [Robbo for PC - Forum Atarum]. AtariOnline.pl (in Polish). 21 November 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  10. Miąsik, Maciej (21 February 2012). "20 lat Electro Body" [20 years of Electro Body]. Miasik.net (in Polish). Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  11. Galiński, Michał. "Wywiad z Maciejem Miąsikiem" [Interview with Maciej Miąsik]. Galu.info (in Polish). Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  12. Dziubałtowski, Benedykt (9 April 2009). "Rozrywka w stylu retro" [Entertainment retro style]. Chip.pl (in Polish). p. 2. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  13. Michniewicz, Tomek (21 February 2010). "Robbo - jak to działa?" [Robbo - how does it work?]. C64Power (in Polish). Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  14. Ziembik, Krzysztof (23 May 2014). ""Robbo ST" raz jeszcze" ["Robbo ST" revisited]. AtariOnline.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  15. Petersen, Sandy (June 1994). "Eye of the Monitor". Dragon (206): 57–60.
  16. "Robbo Millenium (PC)". GRY-Online.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  17. "Robbo Millennium wersja pudełkowa" [Robbo Millennium boxed version]. Avalon24.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  18. "Robbo Millennium wersja do pobrania" [Robbo Millennium downloadable version]. Avalon24.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  19. Miąsik, Maciej (25 June 2006). "Moje gry dla każdego" [My games for everyone]. Miasik.net (in Polish). Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  20. "Adventures of Robbo". RGB Classic Games. 25 June 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  21. "iRobbo: History of the game". UPlayInteractive.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  22. "GNU Robbo". Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  23. "/gnurobbo/README". GNU Robbo. sourceforge.net. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
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